Audrey Kanemoto wanted to grow up to be Fred Astaire and started tap dancing at age 11. She found the excitement of being Ginger through partner dancing and lindy hop in 2001. She continued work on her technique, style, and stage quality with lindy hop performance groups SF Bounce, The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue, and the 3-Minute Maniacs.

Audrey has travelled and competed at lindy hop events and camps earning a name for herself as an exuberant and passionate solo charleston dancer. Her highest lindy hop success was a clean sweep of the three first place trophies at Inspiration Weekend 2007 in Orange County. When she is not dancing, Audrey is an architect specializing in green custom residential additions and remodels.

Audrey runs and teaches classes at Wednesday Night Hop in Mountain View. She also teaches weekly classes on Monday nights with Nathan Dias in the Sunset district at Amura Dance Studio in San Francisco.

Brian Zimmer hated (failed at) dancing for most of his life. Through a strange twist of fate he ended up being coerced to dance while passing a swing dancing group in college and has been hooked ever since. Fate had a pretty good time watching Brian fumble around awkwardly for months - he had no sense of rhythm, and had to ask all of his follows to find the beat for him. However, Brian prevailed and showed fate what's up!

Brian has taught at various locations throughout the Bay, including UC Berkeley, Pixar, and Google. He is sort of OCD about understanding the mechanics of dance, and brings this to his teaching through imparting solid technique grounded in understanding momentum (he credits most of this to Jean and Bromley training him as a member of the Frequent Flyers). He also believes that any class that you're not having fun in is probably not worth your time.

In the "real world", Brian is currently a (you guessed it) software engineer in Silicon Valley. When he isn't working or swinging, he dabbles in tap dancing, hip hop, and photography; reads sci-fi and philosophy; attempts to gain more culinary prowess; and utillizes his Netflix account to the greatest extent possible.

After teaching for two years at HepCat Productions in Seattle, Cheryl Crow is thrilled to be bringing her engaging, effective, and often silly teaching style to Wednesday Night Hop. Cheryl believes that people learn best in an environment that is equal parts informative, supportive, and FUN, and she lives to see the a-ha moments where a concept suddenly becomes clear to a student. She is passionate about making dancers feel welcomed into the larger community and comfortable with the often challenging process of learning this incredible dance. With a background in high level soccer, Cheryl brings an energetic and dynamic athleticism to the dance and firmly believes that if a former "jock" like her can learn to dance, anyone can!

When not on the dance floor, Cheryl can be found studying for her Masters in Occupational Therapy at Samuel Merritt University, kicking the soccer ball around, baking delicious gluten-free goods, learning how to use her DSLR camera, volunteering for Jolkona Foundation, or playing with her ridiculously cute kittens.

Last year, Cheryl made a video called Why I Dance which details her experience dancing with rheumatoid arthritis and exhibits her enthusiasm for dancing through all obstacles life might put in front of you.

This year, she took on the challenge again and made a follow-up video called Why We Dance. The video highlights the reasons people dance, from Athens, Greece to San Francisco, California. Quotes from dancers are shown between clips of lindy hop and swing dancers social dancing, competing and performing in various cities and venues, mostly on the West coast of the US.

Gilles Bouvier was raised on cheese and crème fraîche in Paris, France. He came to the United States in 1997 to work as a chip design engineer in the Silicon Valley. Just as he was starting to discover the Lindy Hop, he was exiled (okay, not really) to Britain for 6 months. But the Swing madness had already got to him and he started taking classes with Graeme & Ann in Bristol, England. Back in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998, he continued to learn under Rob & Diane.

When not practicing Jazz steps, he is either rock-climbing, hiking a mountain, playing a little guitar, spending too much time on his Mac, or thinking about French food. Since 2002, Gilles has been dancing and performing with The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. Gilles teaches at Wednesday Night Hop at Cheryl Burke Dance.

When Lori Taniguchi's father was diagnosed with Type II diabetes and given stern doctor's orders to exercise 3-4 times a week, he took it as carte blanche to attend every conceivable dance class in the East Bay. His enthusiastic daughter was happy to tag along and it wasn't long before the Lindy love-bug bit her.

Lori is an indiscriminate consumer of all types of dance and a peppy partner on the dance floor, proving that the right attitude can make up for many technical sins. When not dancing, she works as an administrator at Stanford University, eats her body weight in sushi, and juggles at least five books on her nightstand at once.

Belly dancer, was the answer Pinar Bailey gave when, in first grade, she was first asked about what she wants to be when she grows up. Her academically oriented parents laughed and worried a bit. Her dance interests broadened over the years from Turkish folk dancing in grade and high school, to ballroom dancing during college and finally lindy hop and vintage swing dances - such as Balboa and Charleston - since she moved to San Francisco in 2000.

Pinar has taught swing dances in California and competed and performed locally and across the U.S. for many years. She was a member of swing dance troupes like SF Bounce and 3 Minute Maniacs. She enjoys doing yoga and taking a variety of dance classes to apply body movement and alignment concepts to her dancing and teaching. When dancing, she is most captivated by the syncopated movement that originates from the unique rhythms and the experience of sharing how she interpretes the music in the flow of a dance with her partner.

Pinar grew up in Istanbul, Turkey before relocating to the Bay Area and recently got her Ph.D. in Biophysics at UCSF. She enjoys cooking, gardening and good design and one day would like to be a surfer chick.

Andrea Waybright has been dancing literally all of her life. Wanting to wear a pink tutu, she started with ballet. Then came tap, jazz, lyrical & cheer. But in 2005 she discovered swing dancing and instantly fell in love with the music and the movement.

She now takes every chance she can get to go dancing, locally or out of town, at social dance venues or at 3 day, til 5am events. She enjoys social, dancing, teaching, djing, performing and competing and has placed at Camp Hollywood, Inspiration Weekend, Boogie By The Bay, and am. bal at Balboa Rendezvous. Andrea believes that you should never take yourself too seriously on the dance floor. Breathe, smile, laugh, have fun.... you're dancing!

An avid jazz dancer for over a decade, Adam Boehmer invokes the spirit within. He is often sought after as an entertaining instructor and performer, or sometimes just to show up; his positive energy is relentless.

As a teacher, he presents an honest and fresh perspective on dance and boils down advanced concepts into graspable, concrete information. He believes that a good instructor is one-part dancer, one-part comedian and one-part poet. As a competitor and performer, he brings a jovial and effervescent feel to the floor. Confident in Jazz Dance as a path to one's overall individualism, Adam stresses the break-down of preconceived notions concerning style, culture, and gender roles in dance.

Learn more about Adam at www.AdamBoehmer.com.

Angela Lee was dragged into the Lindy scene by her boyfriend in Beijing, China, 2004. Her eyes were really opened when she first attended Sea Jam in Singapore a year later — she never had thought partner dance could be so much fun! For all sorts of reasons, she pretty much stopped Lindy Hopping from 2005 till the summer of 2008, when she returned to the dance floor at Wednesday Night Hop.

Lindy hop is all about having fun and making great friends for her. Other fun stuff that she does includes but not limited to ^_^: outdoor paintball, photography, watching animated movies, cooking, playing rock band, watching dance clips on Youtube (a lot)!

Arnold Cabreza was born in the Philippines and moved to the Bay Area in 1992. He discovered swing music in the late 90s during the swing revival and learned the Lindy Hop in 2002. Many workshops and swing dance trips in and outside the country eventually followed. His favorite swing dance event is the one where you require Advil in the morning so you can dance again the following night. He was introduced to Balboa and started learning the dance in 2004. He appreciates the versatility and the many subtleties of the dance.

You can usually find him dancing wherever swing music is playing around the Bay Area. He prefers to dance to music from Chick Webb and Django Reinhardt.

Chris and Emma Farrell met after following the hordes of teenagers going to swing dance classes in the late nineties and suddenly found themselves members of "The Rugcutters". A few years later, Chris and Emma became founding members of the Foothills Swing Dance Society bringing the joy of dance to the communities of Placer and Nevada Counties. Chris and Emma love to share their knowledge and obsession for dance and can be found teaching nearly every night of the week. Their chemistry with each other along with their unique ability to break down the intricacies of each movement make their classes fun and productive.

Chris and Emma have been teaching extensively in the greater Sacramento area and are the driving force behind the budding Sacramento Balboa scene. Visit them at www.intheswingofthings.com.

Chris aka "Enriquez" fell in love with swing dancing in San Diego after seeing a swing out for the first time. He wasn't sure what it was but he knew he had to learn. After 2 years of working, dancing, and staying out way too late, he ended up moving to the Bay Area for school and setting up his second swing dancing home.

When he isn't dancing, Chris can be found putting broken ankles and feet back together, on a bike, or tackling a new adventure.

Evonne Kaminaga discovered the joy of lindy hop in 2005 and slowly became addicted to social dancing, classes, workshops, and exchanges. Her dance background includes ballet and jazz, but after moving across the Pacific as a child, she exchanged dancing for competitive swimming and basketball up until college.

By day she works as a Financial Analyst for a green technology start-up in Silicon Valley. When she is not dancing, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and hosting themed parties.

Andrea Wolf and Gabriel Takacs have been enthusiastic members of the dance scene since 2000 when they began Lindy Hopping together in Tucson, Arizona. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2001, they continued learning Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, Jazz, and Blues from renowned instructors, including Ben and Sheri Yau, Debbie Gitt, Patrick Fredrickson, and Doug Silton. In 2005, Gabe started graduate school at Stanford University where he began teaching weekly lessons. Meanwhile, Andrea taught Lindy Hop and Blues classes in Los Angeles until moving to the Bay Area in 2006.

Expanding their love of social dancing to choreography and performance, Gabe and Andrea joined the dance troupe Double or Nothing in 2005 and 2006, respectively. In addition to weekly classes at Stanford, Gabe and Andrea have been seen teaching at Bay Area venues, including Swing Central, Steppin' Out and now Wednesday Night Hop. They enjoy using technique intensive concepts to continually reach new levels in their dancing and teaching. Since 2007 they have been traveling nationally to Lindy exchanges and events in order to continually expand their dance perspectives.

Jandi Kim is one of Korea's top followers and is recognized around the world as a top swing dancer and instructor. In addition to her busy schedule in Korea, Jandi finds time to study and teach with the best swing dancers in the world. Most recently she has taught lessons and workshop series with our good friends, Peter Vawter, Thomas Blacharz and Max Pitruzzella.

Jandi is known for her approach to rock-solid basics, her playfulness and innovative styling on the dance floor.

Jeff Kroll was drawn to Ballroom dancing in college and pursued it for over 9 years. The big band swing music was his siren's call, though, so you can imagine his thrill when he discovered Lindy Hop in the 90's... All swing music, all the time! He hasn't looked back since. His big Lindy influences early on were Rob & Diane van Haaren and Ryan Francois & Jenny Thomas.

Later, his world changed again when he discovered Balboa via Steve Garrett & Heidi Salerno. He was a founding member of the their Oaktown Alligators Balboa performance group, and started teaching in 2003. Jeff has danced on TV and for the big screen, and has performed, taught, and DJed at countless public and private events all over the country and even internationally!

His love for dancing and his desire to share it is reflected in the enthusiasm and positive energy he brings to his classes. Jeff infuses everything with fun and creativity, even the most technical of details, and he is known for relaxed, patient individual attention and encouraging guidance.

Jeff is currently teaching regular weekly group classes on Tuesdays at Tuesday Night Jump, on Wednesdays at Wednesday Night Hop, and on Thursdays at 200 Grand.

Julie Tsai, a native New Yorker, transplanted herself a number of years ago to the Bay Area for school. Her dance background includes ballet and social ballroom. As an undergraduate (and beyond) she has performed with the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble directed by Richard Powers and the Knotts Dance Company. She is currently Artistic Director of the Academy of Danse Libre, and a founding member of the Swing Cats Rhythm Revue performance troupe. She is enthusiastic about spreading the joy of dance in its many forms and likes to incorporate different styles in her lindy.

When not on the dance floor or at her clinic she can be found reading, watching movies or theater productions, cooking (or really just eating), and dreaming of traveling the world.

Kevin St Laurent and Jo Hoffberg bring a fresh edge to Lindy Hop with inventive aerials, musical routines and high speed dancing. They began their partnership in 2007 and are founding members of the Vintage Jazz Dance Troupe, The Killer Dillers. Together they hold titles at the International Lindy Hop Championships, European Swing Dance Championships, American Lindy Hop Championship, Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, Camp Hollywood and Camp Jitterbug.

Since 2000, their professional careers have taken them to over 22 countries on five continents including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. With clear and humorous instruction, these two creative and versatile dancers will entertain, inspire and help you become the best dancer you can be.

kevinstlaurent.com
johoffberg.com

Matt Richey began dancing at the tender age of eleven with the pressure of his sisters riding on his back. They tried and tried several times to get him into a dance class of any kind. Eventually it took a dare, two cute girls and his best friend to sign up for his first Beginning Lindy Hop class. Since then he has performed on cruise ships, Disneyland and in Mexico. Now Matt has been a place holder in several competitions around the US as well as being a familiar face at Lindy events around the country.

Matt has a passion for all Jazz music and loves to share his passion by DJ-ing at swing dances and events whenever he gets the chance. With enthusiasm Matt loves to teach others to dance, about as much as he loves to dance himself! Being obsessed with the golden era and all it has to offer, Matt wants to wish you all Happy Swingouts!

Nathan Dias is an accomplished swing dance instructor, performer and DJ in San Francisco. Dancing since 1997, Nathan first discovered swing dancing while "trapped" aboard a ferry boat with a group of friends. They taught him the basic steps and a few moves, and he was hooked instantly. He continued dancing through college, taking full advantage of his campus swing club as well as frequenting many of the live music swing dance hot spots in New York City. Returning to the Bay Area in 2001, Nathan began studying Lindy Hop in earnest. He learned more of his chops on the social and competitive dance floor, at national and international dance camps, and as a performer with the SF Bounce and 3 Minute Maniacs swing dance troupes. He started teaching dance in 2005 after leaving his computer engineering job to pursue a more artistic and people-oriented career. He now owns and manages Avenue Dance Studio and the Cats Corner Wednesday Swing Dance Party in San Francisco, where he also teaches weekly group dance classes.

Nathan specializes in Lindy Hop, Charleston and Jazz dance. He enjoys the creativity, physicality and personal connection of social dancing as well as the challenge and satisfaction of working on and improving his dance... a passion which he does his utmost to share with students in all classes he teaches.

When Rebecca Shannon was growing up in Alabama she had three favorite things, a tutu, a raccoon tail (which she wore everyday pinned to her underwear) and the Wonder Book of Art. Since being a raccoon was out of the question she decided to become a ballerina and eventually studied with the School of American Ballet in New York. Alas, a career in ballet was not to be so she gave up dancing cold turkey and took up her last favorite thing, art. She became a successful artist and art teacher and for the past 16 years has gleefully guided hundreds of kindergartners through 8th graders down the path of color, line and form.

In 2005 she came across Lindy in the Park. Her feet were uncontrollably pulled towards the happy rhythms of the music there and she took her first lesson ever since going cold turkey so long ago. After spending a year in East Coast Swing Land she finally got the nerve to learn Lindy Hop but cried every night because she thought it was too hard. Her dance Epiphany came during her first Frankie Manning workshop and she was saved-and hooked! She has gone on to learn Balboa, Collegiate Shag and Blues dancing as well as Lindy hop. She has taught, performed and competed throughout the Bay Area and currently is the teaching partner of David Blood at City College of San Francisco where she also performs with and does choreography for the CC performance group the Hot Bloods. Rebecca will proudly tell you that she has ADD (addicted to dance disease) and is eager to get her students hooked too.

After trying different types of dances starting in 2001, Romain Feuillette discovered lindy hop and balboa in summer 2004 in Montpellier-France. From then on, he stopped all other forms of dancing as he fell in love with lindy hop and balboa. In September 2004, Romain was among the founders of Grenoble Swing, an association that aims to promote the swing dancing scene in Grenoble, France through teaching, weekly dances, and workshops. Romain currently teaches weekly in Grenoble, has also taught in Aberdeen (Scotland), and thoroughly enjoys traveling around Europe and the United States to expand his dancing.

When not dancing Romain is working in the Grenoble area as a microelectronics industry manager, hiking and cooking!

Ryan Calloway discovered his love for swing and jazz in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After moving to Los Angeles in 2006, his passion for the dance continued to grow as well as his interest in solo movement and musicality. Since relocating to San Francisco in 2008, Ryan has been teaching, competing and performing. He has performed at the 920 Special and with Carla Heiney's 101 Junction at the Rhythm Lounge. He is also the Jack and Jill Champion of the 2009 Fillmore Jazz Festival.

Ryan continues to explore the elements of solo jazz and finding playful ways of incorporating them into lindy hop. He is bearded and looking forward to sharing his joy and creativity with the Wednesday Night Hoppers.

Kim Tran was born and raised near the beaches of Southern California. She moved to the bay area for college and has yet to leave! In the summer of 2006, Norma Miller came to teach a workshop and inspired Kim to embrace Lindy Hop. Kim has been a regular at bay area dance venues since graduating in 2007. Though not formally trained in dance, Kim attributes her coordination to her competitive soccer days. From 2006-2008, Kim performed with the dance troupe Double or Nothing.

Kim enjoys traveling to swing camps around the country and learning from a variety of instructors. She currently is a member of 101 Junction and Rhythm N Honey performance troupes. When not dancing, Kim works at Stanford where she conducts research on Cystic Fibrosis. She also loves watching sports, cooking and eating yummy foods.

Laura Robeck is a Bay Area original; born and raised in the south bay. A graduate of the University of Southern California and Stanford, she has always had a passion for dancing. By day she is a mild mannered science teacher at Carlmont High School, at night she likes to let loose on the dance floor. She has always danced, tap, jazz and ballet, even before she was born.

Laura fell in love with swing while studying in Los Angeles. She has a passion for performing so come see her sparkle while she gets down with her bad self. She previously choreographed and performed around the Bay Area with The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. After taking some time off to have a baby, Laura is back teaching at Wednesday Night Hop.

Andrea Owens was a dedicated member of the WNH Team over the years, but in 2009 she found a great job opportunity in Pasadena, CA. We will miss her very much and wish her the best in her new adventures, and much dancing at Lindy Groove.

Andrea has been in the fitness industry for many years teaching classes such as Cardio Funk, Step, Body Sculpt, Yoga/stretch, Body Pump, High and Low impact, Stability ball, Circuit, and Jump rope. She has also competed in the National Aerobics Championships with an appearance on ESPN in 1999! In 2000, she received her Master's in Kinesiology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and is currently managing a corporate fitness center.

Andrea's addiction to swing dancing began in 1998. Since then, she has not stopped dancing. She was a long time member of The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. She can frequently be seen dancing at any swing dance venue within a 60 mile radius of her current location, and next time she's back in town hopefully teaching at Wednesday Night Hop.

Megan Hornbecker is a talented dancer, instructor, performer and choreographer. She started Lindy Hopping in Santa Barbara in 1996. After moving to the Bay Area in 1997 she jumped into the swing revival in San Francisco, social dancing a minimum 5 nights a week and attending as many workshops, camps and classes as possible.

In 2000, she was a member of Paul and Sharon's 20 couple Grease Monkeys performance at Swing Camp Catalina, in addition to Rob and Diane van Haaren's performance troupe The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. Megan has traveled the country and globe dancing, teaching and performing and has organized numerous lindy exchanges and events to promote Lindy Hop, indcluding SFLX 2001 and 2003. She combines her love of lindy, blues, shag and tango with her unique styling and sense of humor to create fun and inspiring classes.

From 2000 - 2006 Megan performed around the Bay Area with her dance troupe The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. In 2005 she and Trevor founded Wednesday Night Hop, formerly known as Sunnyvale Swing and Steppin' Out. After taking some time off to pop out two kids, Megan is back and can be found teaching at dancing at 9:20 Special and Wednesday Night Hop at our new location at Cheryl Burke Dance.

Trevor Gattis began Ballroom and Salsa dancing in 1995 and took up Lindy Hop in 1999, learning from internationally renowned and loved Lindy Hop instructors Rob & Diane Van Haaren. In 2001, he joined Rob & Diane's performance troupe, The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue.

In 2001 he began teaching for Rob & Diane at Swing Central and from 2002-2005 he ran the operations of the venue, which hosted more than 100 dancers every Tuesday night. Trevor currently choreographs new routines and performs around the Bay Area with his dance troupe, The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue.

Trevor deejays once a month at Cheryl Burke Dance on Wednesday nights and at various Lindy camps, events and local swing dance venues. In addition, he teaches Lindy Hop Lessons at Wednesday Night Hop at Cheryl Burke Dance.