Instructors

Nick Williams

Nick Williams has embodied the passion and spirit of swing dancing ever since his first lesson in 1998. His in-depth understanding of Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Collegiate Shag stems from studying with the original dancers. His successes include World Lindy Hop Champion, U.S. Open Swing Dance Champion, American Lindy Hop Champion, National Jitterbug Champion, International Lindy Hop Champion, Ultimate Lindy Hop Champion, American Classic Balboa Champion and California Balboa/Swing Champion. He is also an accomplished choreographer and has been featured on the hit television show So You Think You Can Dance? As an instructor, he is known for his ability to break down movements and technique to create a fun and lighthearted learning environment.In 2004, Nick was honored to be recognized by the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame.

Laura Keat

Laura Keat began her swing dance career in Denver when she joined the award-winning Lindy Hop performance team 23 Skidoo! She immediately developed a passion for the art of swing dancing. Ever the disciplined student and skilled competitor, Laura began winning national titles and gaining recognition as a championship Lindy Hop follow with an independent style and point of view. She loves dancing with a wide variety of leads with diverse styles and ideas to challenge and broaden her own abilities as a follow. And as an instructor, she brings a fresh perspective towards developing each student’s technical foundation and individual style. For Laura, every dance is a chance to put smiles on peoples’ faces with an entertaining performance which shares and inspires the joy and excitement for swing dancing.

Jeremy Otth

Jeremy Otth has amassed a great amount of knowledge on the historic essence of vintage swing dances from many of the original jitterbugs and swing dancers. Along with his seemingly inexhaustible amount of energy, Jeremy’s natural talent and dedication led him to accumulate championship titles at many acclaimed dance competitions such as the International Lindy Hop Championships, National Jitterbug Championships, American Classic Balboa Championships and the US Open Swing Dance Championships. Jeremy is now able to share that breadth of knowledge and passion for these classic partner dances by entertaining and educating feet from Southern California to around the world.

Kelly Arsenault

Kelly, from Knoxville, TN, has been dancing as long as she can remember. As a child she took ballet and jazz, but she was especially drawn to modern dance. At age 11, Kelly joined the Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble. She was with the modern dance company for 6 years, performing around the globe including Taiwan, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Kelly attended the University of Tennessee from 1997-2001, during which time she was a member of the UT Dance Company. She was also a dancer and choreographer for Circle Modern Dance Company. In 2003, Kelly moved to New York City where she continued her modern dance career performing with Von Ussar Danceworks and MAD About Dance.

And it was also in New York that Kelly discovered her love for Balboa and Lindy Hop. She holds repeat victories at the Balboa Rendezvous for 2006, 2007, and 2010. She is the 2008 ABW American Balboa Classic Champion and the 2012 ABW Showcase Champion. She has won the Balboa Strictly Divisions at ILHC and the European Swing Dance Championships as well. Kelly's love for swing dancing and teaching has taken her all over the United States and across the world, including Canada, Europe, Korea, and Australia.

Tise Chao

Tise started swing dancing in Southern California in 1997, learning first hand from local original swing dancers Ann Mills, Hal Takier, and Bart Bartolo, as one of the “Old School” kids. Her dance education began in her early years, studying lyrical jazz and flamenco dances with master teachers, and she continued to expand her dance knowledge throughout her dance career. Tise has performed and taught around the world with top Balboa, Collegiate Shag and Lindy Hop instructors Nick Williams, David Rehm, Bobby White, Augie Freeman, Jeremy Otth and Mike Mizgalski, as well as consistently winning top placements in international level dance competitions. Tise works as the head judge and competition coordinator at numerous international dance competition and events, and continues to mentor and support the next generation of dancers.

Tise is dedicated to preserving yet innovating the dance, with Balboa being one of her favorite dances from the original swing era. With her smooth fast feet and her jitterbug energy it’s difficult to keep up with Tise on the social dance floor! Tise hopes to inspire other dancers to find their own sense of style and spirit by sharing her vast knowledge, passion, and energy with the people who appreciate the art of swing dance.

Mickey Fortenasce

Mickey began swing dancing in Los Angeles in '99. A year later he was teaching local swing classes at NYU. After graduating he worked with local teams in New York including Varsity Swing and Hop Swing and a Jump and later started running his weekly dance White Heat (something he's been meaning to start up again).

Mickey and Kelly Arsenault have been dancing and competing since about 2005. During this time, their innovation and showmanship, coupled with their love of dance history and theory, have led them to become internationally recognized teachers and competitors in both Lindy Hop and Balboa. Together their winnings include repeat victories at the Balboa Redezvous for 2006, 2007 and 2010. They are 2008 ABW American Balboa Classic Champions as well as winners of the 2010 ILHC and ESDC Balboa Strictly division. Mickey and Kelly have taught extensively in the US, Canada, Europe, Korea, and Australia

Watch Mickey & Kelly being amazing at All Balboa Weekend.

Matt Mitchell

Since 1998, Matt has been honing his dance skills; starting with East Coast, he quickly moved into Lindy Hop and other Swing-era dances–with a very short detour into Ballroom. He’s studied with top Lindy Hop and Balboa contemporaries as well being influenced by the original greats (Frankie Manning, Dean Collins, Maxie Dorf and Willy Desatoff).

From 2007 through 2011, he was one of the lead instructors for Get Hep Swing (assisting the incomparable Valerie Salstrom) and helped choreograph Hustle and award winning Swing routines. He strives to bring solid fundamentals and just-the-right amount of connection to Lindy Hop and Balboa, while creating room for musicality and playfulness. In 2011, he relocated to his home town of Austin where he’s enjoyed teaching Lindy Hop and Balboa for Four on the Floor, and is a contributing instructor for BalAustin. He’s happy to be wrangling the talented group of DJs Austin is lucky enough to have at the Swing Syndicate.

Nationally and internationally, Matt has been an instructor at Boogie By The Bay, the Eastern Balboa Championships, Dance Renaissance, and the Canadian Balboa Championships. He competes regularly in Balboa, consistently making the finals and has several placements at ABW, EBC, CBC, ILHC, and Camp Hollywood. He was also a stand-in for Kevin Bacon in Footloose.*

*Recreating the famous dance scene in a skit. C’mon, he’s not that old.

Jennifer Barnett

Known for bringing a little math and science into the ballroom (don’t worry, just a little), Jen began tap dancing in pre-school and continued dancing and later teaching through high school. After putting aside dance to focus on chemistry in college, Jen was happy to return to dance during graduate school–-this time the partnered swing dances of Lindy Hop and Balboa. During that time, Jen began teaching and promoting, co-running beloved Philly events such as the Saturday Night Fish Fry, Philly Bal Night, and Bal Jam ’08. She now calls New York City home and enjoys teaching locally at You Should Be Dancing! and dancing at White Heat among other favorites.

Jen teaches and competes in Balboa on the international stage, having won the All Balboa Weekend J&J five times (0.500 batting average this last decade :)) She has also won or placed in various strictly competitions at the All Balboa Weekend, California Balboa Classic, Camp Hollywood, and the Eastern Balboa Championships (R.I.P.) and teaches around the world. In addition to competing and teaching, Jen also enjoys performing. (What can you say? She’s an only child.) She can be seen dancing real fast in NYC’s own AmazeBals as well as at private events. Jen’s favorites have been smack dab in the middle of the Museum of Natural History, right under the giant blue whale, and of course Lincoln Center!

As a teacher, Jen tries to balance her straight-forward manner and high expectations with lots of love, humor, and support for her students. She’s known for being able to teach truly multi-level classes where everyone is challenged to push their best a little farther. Never forgetting to address both follows and leads, Jen blends a clear, technical presentation with the musicality and spirit that make swing dancing so enjoyable.

Annabelle Hale

Annabelle started swing dancing in 2012 and quickly became obsessed with all the different styles of dancing within Swing. She’s been passionate about reviving Collegiate Shag in Australia with Nial Bruce. Together they have taught across Australia, and internationally. Annabelle has also been part of several lindy hop, solo jazz, and shag performance troupes. Most of all, she loves getting out into the wider community and showing people how much fun dancing can be.

Nial Bruce

Nial hasn't sent us his bio yet, nor could we find one for him online. As such, this placeholder will have to suffice. :)

- The HRH Tech Overlord

Tabitha Robinson

Tabitha Robinson fell in love with swing dancing in 2001 in Orlando, Florida. She quickly jumped into Lindy Hop, Shag, Balboa and Charleston just wanting to dance as much as possible. She met her now-husband Joseph Robinson there, and the two began a partnership of competing and teaching together. She helped start and run two Collegiate Shag teams, one in DC and one in Austin, and most recently helped start a Chorus Girl team. One of her passions is choreographing team routines and routines for her and her husband. She also loves to fly through the air and is always up for trying new air steps.

Joseph Robinson

Joseph Robinson found swing dancing in 1998 in Orlando, Florida after being persuaded by some girls. He really liked it and kept going even though the girls didn’t. He danced 6-7 nights a week, never wanting to take a break. He was instrumental in starting the UCF Swing Club and has one of the most vast collections of vintage dance clips. He eventually met his dance partner and wife Tabitha Robinson and the two began to compete and teach together. He loves the music and the dance and his focus has always been on maintaining the authenticity of the original dances and being creative within that structure.

Jennifer Reed

Jennifer learned her first rock steps a long, long time ago from Valerie Salstrom and Joel Plys in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. After a foray into West Coast Swing and sparkly clothes, Jennifer returned to Balboa and Lindy Hop and began dancing competitively in 2010. When she's not traveling to events, competing, teaching Balboa classes in Austin, or coaching the Capitol City Feetwarmers (Matt and Jen's dance team), you can find her helping others organize dance events and volunteering for The Austin Swing Syndicate. This woman is all about #community.

Andrew Muñoz

Originally from Fort Collins, Colorado, Andrew started dancing in 2003, and within a year started performing and teaching with the longest standing Lindy Hop dance troupe in Colorado. Currently, he performs and competes across the US, and also has performed and taught in France and Japan.

Based on the many styles Andrew has studied and practiced, his dancing has become unique to him while preserving the main tenants of connection and musicality that make partner dancing so great. His synthesis of styles is one heavily based in technique, strengthened by improvisation, and emphasized by performance styling.

Andrew’s teaching style is primarily focused on the success of his students. Coming from teaching and tutoring backgrounds, he is very concerned about the well-being and learning styles of his students, employing many different techniques for imparting dance knowledge while never getting “too serious”. He loves laughing with his students, and believes maintaining lighthearted, yet focused lessons is the best environment in which to learn; not to mention dancing is supposed to be FUN!

Amanda Pincock

Amanda began swing dancing in 1995 in Southern California and did her first swingout a year later. After moving to Austin, Texas in 2014, she fell in love with Collegiate Shag and immediately began competing, winning the first competition she entered. She has been teaching and performing regularly since that time.

Amanda loves spreading her love of Shag and other swing dances with new and experienced dancers alike, and regularly travels nationally to instruct. With a background in gymnastics and classroom teaching, she brings years of experience of teaching adults to her classes, and enjoys blending serious technique with fun and love for the dance. Currently, she teaches regular Collegiate Shag classes at Four on the Floor in Austin, Texas, and leads an all-female Collegiate Shag team, The Shag Hags.

Zach Lockett-Streiff

Zach’s first encounter with partner dancing was overhearing his dad’s attempt to sign him up for lessons as a child. He promptly screamed in terror, and the studio never called back. He joined his college swing club in 2011 – much to his dad’s bewilderment – out of a need for PE credit.

Despite his preference to not compete, Zach still teaches nationally. He danced on the Austin shag team, Rad Youth, which took 4th place at Camp Hollywood in 2016. His style emphasizes nuanced musicality, listening to his partners, and solid fundamentals of connection. Locally, Zach co-runs twice-monthly shag house parties, serves on the Hot Rhythm Foundation, and teaches. As an instructor, Zach leverages his background as a programmer (so original, right?) to maintain a precise and analytical perspective, with a focus on questioning assumptions and shameless dad jokes. He strongly believes we never stop being students of our craft, and never stop learning and making ourselves better.

Dance Instructors