Dancing has always been a big part of Natalya’s life and she believes the world would be a better place if everyone danced a little more. Natalya grew up training as a ballet dancer in Toronto, Canada. She danced professionally for 10 years, performing in several large theaters in Toronto and touring to South Korea, and the US. She also taught ballet and baroque dance to students of all ages and levels and studied many other types of dance, including modern, jazz, flamenco, salsa and contact improv.

Natalya discovered the wonderful world of swing dancing in 2007, when her coworker dragged her down the street to a lindy hop night at a local jazz bar. She was very excited about being able to listen to great music, hang out with great people, get exercise, dance, communicate through connection and be creative, silly and fun all at once! She has been dancing lindy hop ever and has also taken up blues and west coast swing.

Natalya’s mother was a ballerina and her father was a musician, so in a moment of teenage rebellion she took up studying physics. Eventually, her interest in science became more than a bad habit and lead her to retire from ballet and move to Boston in 2009 to start a PhD in Geophysics at Harvard University. Swing dancing continues to be a big part of her life in Boston, and she is excited to be teaching and sharing her passion for dance and movement with others.

Shawn began studying Lindy Hop from Kerrin Flanagan and Elizabeth Miller at the Lindybaby studio in 1999. Having always loved and studied jazz music he was immediately drawn in by the dance. He has studied extensively at camps and workshops across the US with many nationally renowned Lindy Hop instructors.

In addition to being an avid social dancer he has won awards at several national and regional competitions. Shawn began teaching Lindy Hop with Marilee Annareau in 2002 in order to help share his love of dance and music. In 2004, he happily joined the It's All Swing studio and has been teaching there ever since.

Shawn also occasionally teaches and performs with his sister Betina Hershey. Betina and Shawn were brought to Tokyo in 2004, and again in 2005, to teach Lindy Hop workshops. He has also taught workshops at Boston University with Diana Byrne, Kerrin, and Betina. He also often teaches with Amanda Gruhl at It's All Swing and regional workshops.

Shawn (in red) and Amanda performing to Bugle Call Rag with D'Shebam at Waterfire 2007:



For additional videos of Shawn's performances, go to www.ShawnHershey.com.

For private lessons, feel free to contact him via phone or email.

Email: shawn@newschoolswing.com
Phone: (617) 470-8105

Liz has been dancing lindy hop since 2000, and teaching since 2005. A self-proclaimed "connection junkie," she finds joy in shared movement, momentum, and playful inspiration. A dynamic, creative, and innovative instructor, she is known for leaping around enthusiastically when her students have 'aha' moments! She's also a fan of tricks and aerials, and loves learning and teaching the solid dance technique which makes powerful and musically expressive movements possible.

Although she competes periodically at local and national lindy and blues events, Liz focuses mostly on the joy of social dancing. She is currently dabbling in tango, hoping to become 'fluent' in several styles of dance eventually. When not dancing, she works as a therapist, teacher, and graduate student in counseling psychology. She hopes to be a friendly, available, and supportive teacher, and is interested in making our dance community as welcoming, friendly, and lively as possible!

Julie is a lindy and blues instructor, focusing primarily in blues. With a background in performance and solo dance, she is known for her energy, musicality, and style. As a teacher, Julie specializes in solo movement, lead-follow conversation, and styling. Julie teaches regularly in Boston, and has also taught nationally in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Dallas, and San Francisco. She has placed in many national competitions including 1st place BluesSHOUT 2009 Juke Joint, 1st place Mile High Blues 2010 Jack&Jill, 2nd place BluesSHOUT 2010 Ballroomin', and 3rd place BluesSHOUT 2010 Champions Jack&Jill.

Julie and Topher (2nd couple out) competing at bluesSHOUT! 2009 in the Juke Joint Finals:

Megan began dancing at the age of three and has performed, taught, and competed in tap, jazz, and ballet. It wasn't until March of 2007 that Megan learned her first swingout from the great and now late, Frankie Manning. Shortly after that, she began her formal instruction under Kristen LeChevet and Chiles VandenBosche of Baltimore and was asked to be a member of their performance group, The Fly Cats. She happily obliged and was given the opportunity to perform challenging Lindy Hop routines involving Savoy style choreography and aerials. Taking advantage of one of the best Lindy Hop scenes in the world, Megan attended a variety of swing classes at the world-renowned Jam Cellar in D.C. She began teaching solo jazz and Lindy Hop after to moving to Boston in 2008. Megan aspires to combine her classical training and her love for jazz dance to further her dance education as well as her students’.

Megan competes and performs on a regular basis. She placed third in the Open Jack & Jill at the American Lindy Hop Championships in 2009 and third in the Strictly Lindy at Swingin’ New England in 2009. She performs regularly with the Wicked 9s of Boston, a dance group specializing in authentic American jazz dance. Megan is the co-organizer of Blues Cafe, a monthly dance in Boston that focuses on Lindy Hop, Balboa, Blues, and Soul dancing.

The Wicked 9s (New School Swing Instructors) performing at Blues Cafe in 2009:

Joe first started lindy hopping in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2007, where he was taught by the great Carla Heiney at San Francisco's Swing Central. He loves fast music and thinks energetic dancing is an expression of the joy of being alive.

Joe focuses primarily on social dancing, although he has been known to compete in a Jack & Jill from time to time. He emphasizes connection and technique in his dancing. Joe completed Carla's teacher training program in late 2008 and has been teaching dance classes at various levels ever since.

Sometime around 1999, Lee Tucker made his first foray into swing dancing near Ithaca, NY at an assembly of his high school chorus. However, not even the allure of sopranos doing Charleston could overcome his awkward adolescence. Nearly four years later and 1,000 miles away as a college freshman in Minnesota, Lee was finally ready to try again. Needless to say, this second experiment was much more successful, and dancing has remained a major part of his life ever since.

After a four-year stint in DC, Lee moved to Boston in August 2010 to begin his PhD in Economics, and he has become a fixture of the local and regional dance communities. Lee is an active teacher, DJ, competitor, and social dancer. He has won or placed at events around the country such as the Big Big Event (DC), Lindy on the Rocks (CO), the Wicked Lindy Weekend (MA), Midwest Lindyfest (MN), and the Orange County (CA) Inspiration Weekend. He is also the 2008 International Lindy Hop Pro-Am Champion, and is fond of using that title to impress his non-dancing friends' parents. Lee believes in the value of Lindy Hop as a social dance, and his teaching style emphasizes developing technique that gives both leaders and followers more options to explore their own creativity.

Alex's unhealthy fascination with all things swing began in the spring of 2005, when a group of friends dragged him kicking and screaming to a dance in Towson, Maryland. From that point on, it was a downhill spiral of lessons, classes, and social dancing five to six nights a week. In late 2006, Alex joined Baltimore's premier performance troupe, the FlyCats, at the behest of his instructors Chiles Vandenbosche and Kristen LeChevet. In 2007, Alex moved to Boston, where he currently performs, teaches, DJs, and valiantly struggles against completing a 5-year Doctoral Program at Boston University.

Given the topic of Alex's dissertation research, his focus in jazz dance is primarily on historically-informed performances and styles harking back to the 1920s and 1930s, especially authentic solo jazz dance. Alex has competed and placed 3rd in the Strictly division of Swingin' New England (2009), 1st in the Dirty Dozen in Providence, RI (2010), and made finals in the solo division of Stompology (2010). Alex also has a prodigious collection of swing and traditional jazz, and is in regular rotation in the Boston DJ circuit, and is a regular DJ for such organizations as Boston Swing Central and Monday Night Practice, and has DJed for such regional and national events as BIX (2010), Lindy Focus VIII (2009), and Beantown (2009, 2010).

Photo courtesy of Zac Wine.

Gina Helfrich began dancing the Lindy Hop in 1999 with the Boston College Swing Kids, where she was taught to swing out at her very first lesson. She was completely hooked and has maintained a deep (some might say obsessive) love of the dance ever since. Gina is also a talented dancer of Balboa, Charleston, Blues, and vernacular jazz. For over a decade, she has studied extensively at camps and workshops across the U.S. and Europe, including Herrang Dance Camp in Sweden. Gina is an accomplished teacher, competitor, and performer of swing era dances. She also likes to DJ.

Gina has taught classes all over the Southeastern U.S., as well as in Boston, San Francisco, Austin, Denver, Orlando, and as far away as Toulouse, France. From 2007-2009, Gina was a headline teacher for Swing Out New Hampshire, an annual international summer dance camp. In addition to her extensive teaching experience, Gina performs and competes around the country. In 2009, Gina advanced to the finals of the "World's Biggest Jack & Jill" at the Frankie 95 Festival in New York City, as well as the Hellzapoppin semi-final (dancing with Carl Nelson). In 2007, Gina was a cast member of the Jump Session Show at Camp Jitterbug. In 2006, she was invited to be a Peer Judge at the international Lindy Hop contest, the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown. A testament to her versatility and social dancing prowess, Gina has taken top prizes in a variety of swing dance competitions, including Lindy Hop, Charleston and authentic jazz dance, Balboa, Blues, and numerous Jack & Jill contests.

Her teaching style focuses on the social dance floor and empowering her students to really "own" their dancing. She is especially committed to helping followers find their voice and confidence in the dance. Gina's skill at breaking down difficult concepts into easy-to-grasp pieces makes her a sought-after instructor. Most of all, she loves sharing the joy of jazz dance and swing music with others.

Paul first started swing dancing in Santa Cruz, CA in 2005. After learning lindy hop in college from Sarah Spence Adams, he was dragged to a blues house party in 2006 and has been hooked ever since. Paul loves establishing a crystal clear connection with his follow and discovering their unique blend of musicality together.

Paul is based in Boston and teaches weekly classes and local workshops with national blues instructors Julie Brown and Amanda Gruhl. Paul has placed in several competitions, including second place in the Open Strictly at Blues Blaze 2009, third place in the Open Jack and Jill at Sweet Molasses Blues 2010, second place in the Jazz Jack and Jill at Enter the Blues 2010, and first place with Amanda Gruhl in the Choreography Competition at Enter the Blues 2010.

Paul and Anna Washenko winning 2nd Place in the Jazz J&J at Enter the Blues 2010:

Kate began her dance journey in the realm of ballet before deciding to leave a choreographed, solo dance for something partnered, improvised and quite silly. She learned her first swingout at the University of Virginia swing club in Fall 2007, going on to become the club President. Additionally, she was heavily influenced by classes at DC's Jam Cellar and workshops at dance events throughout the country. After teaching and organizing while at UVa, she moved to Boston in 2011 for grad school and became involved with New School Swing. Other than lindy and ballet, Kate's dance experience also includes blues, balboa, modern, jazz, and a smattering of other dance forms. She believes that the best dances are part technique, part musicality, and plenty of hilarity.

Chris is known in the Blues and Swing dance community for his musicality, creativity, and fun-loving spirit. A self-proclaimed Lindy Hop addict until he found Blues in 2006, Chris was drawn into dancing by its unique freedom of expression. Since then he has created a style of his own, with influences from Tango, Ballroom, and everything in between.

Chris loves the challenge and camaraderie of national Blues and Swing competitions — Give him any song and any partner, and he's going to have fun. He is adored by students everywhere from Hawaii to Heidelberg, and his teaching and dancing can be summed up best by this quote: "Technique? Check. Fun moves? Check. Playful attitude? Check!"

Amanda has been dancing since age five. Experienced in dance instruction, choreography, performance, and show production, she has studied blues dance, lindy hop, jazz, ballet, tap, lyrical dance, sacred dance, and hip hop. She has also had instruction in other dance forms such as Argentine tango, flamenco, modern dance, popping/breaking, and ballroom dance.

Amanda and Ogden Sawyer have been dancing, choreographing, and competing in blues dance since 2000, and teaching blues dance since 2002. Their style of modern blues combines historic blues dance with modern concepts of strong connection, partnered improvisation, and elements from many of the different dance styles they have studied. This unique blend has given them a national reputation for inspiring and emotional partnered blues dancing. Their teaching style communicates their passion for blues dancing, and encourages dancers of all levels to take chances and push their personal boundaries.

Since 2003, they have been teaching at national events and workshops, including Blues Shout, Down Home Blues, Cheap Thrills, Red White and Blues, and Emerald City Blues Festival, and encouraging and supporting the recent growth and popularity of blues dance.

Amanda has also been teaching locally with Shawn Hershey since 2005 and they have since traveled and taught together at workshops and events around North America, including Austin Blues Party, Down Home Blues, From Montreal With Love, the Blues Blast Workshop Weekend in central PA, and Albany Smorgasboard. Their style of blending lindy hop, ballroom, blues, and Argentine tango into their dancing is both beautiful and powerful, and earns them praise wherever they go, most recently at the Emerald City Blues Festival, where they took 2nd place in the Strictly Competition.

Amanda and Shawn (in blue) performing with D'Shebam at BIX 2007:

Carl Herrmann grew up in rural Illinois, and would like to report that it’s a good place to be from. In 2008, he started dancing in pursuit of a woman. Before too long, he was over her, but he hasn't been able to stop dancing. He is shocked that they have not made a romantic comedy about his life yet. He is known for his improvisational dancing, unique sense of style, and, most of all, his deep thoughts. He thinks about dancing as about momentum, communication, and fun. He loves rules - because they are fun to break.