Chisomo Selemani is a dance and teaching enthusiast. She loves movement, learning, collaboration, and cultural exchange. Her artistic endeavors in the Swing dances are inspired from her Zambian tradition and Afrobeats. Her teaching methodologies invite you to explore your own style and artistry. She is passionate about the swing dance community—how we learn and grow in dancing skill and education, how we care for one another in community, and how we celebrate and center the Black American communities from which these dances came.

Meet AJ Howard, a vibrant force in New York City's Lindy Hop scene. As a celebrated dancer, teacher, and competitor, AJ brings undeniable energy to the floor—his dynamic style and deep love for the dance have made him a standout at events across the globe. He’s performed in productions like SW!NG OUT! and earned his place in the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame.

When he's not dancing, AJ keeps the rhythm alive as an emcee, hyping crowds at world-class events like ILHC, Paris Jazz Roots, and the International Swing Dance Championships. Whether leading a packed workshop or lighting up the social floor, AJ blends skill and showmanship with a deep commitment to community, creating spaces where dancers of all levels feel welcome, inspired, and connected.

Andrea Gordon stumbled into jazz dance in the late ’90s with all the enthusiasm of someone who hated jazz — until she realized it didn't have to be all bland and mushy like that. Since then, she’s become an award-winning Lindy Hopper, a cast member (okay, really an understudy) of the hit stage production, Sw!ngOut, a sharp-tongued and crowd-loving emcee, and a voice for inclusion and equity in jazz dance spaces. Andrea’s teaching, emceeing, and ambassadorship are rooted in African American cultural values of safety, love, and respect for the community—and when the spirit moves, swinging out on beat.

Andy Reid has been part of the Lindy Hop community since the late '90s, known for his playful style, strong sense of musicality, and deep appreciation for the roots of the dance. Drawing inspiration from this Black American art form, Andy has taught and performed around the world and continues to explore the music and movement in New Orleans, where he now lives and plays bass with local bands. As a member of groups like Silver Shadows, Minnie’s Moochers, and Mad Dog!, he's been lucky to collaborate with many inspiring dancers over the years. He’s excited to return to the lovely Lindy Focus community and looks forward to sharing his experience with everyone there.

Annabel has been teaching Lindy Hop and Balboa around the world for more than a decade. She was addicted to the communication and spontaneity of social dancing in 2002 and has taken home top prizes in such events as the International Lindy Hop Championships, All Balboa Weekend, the California Balboa Classic, and Camp Hollywood, to name a few. In the classroom, Annabel is passionate about fostering a fun and inspiring environment that honors the history and legacy of the various swing dances while spurring her students to explore their potential and embrace their individuality. Currently, she resides in Washington, DC and is a founding board member and Director of Education at New Columbia Swing, DC’s premier swing dance organization.

Anthony's first ingress into the performing arts was at age 8 when his parents convinced him to learn and perform Chinese lion dances. Since then, he has trained in other dance styles including West Coast Swing and various modern street dances, but most of all he enjoys using this background to expand upon his technique and creativity in Lindy Hop.

His love of both leading and following, combined with his professional background in education, make the classes that he teaches both clear and intuitive. He is an active scene builder in his community and founded Salt City Swing, a non-profit in Utah where he teaches locally.

Bobby White is an international instructor of Lindy Hop, Balboa, and swing era Jazz Dance, and a lecturer on swing era dance history. He is honored to be the co-director of The Harvest Moon Hoppers, a New-York based groups that strive to honor the Black American pioneers of performance Lindy Hop such as the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers and Mama Lu Parks Dancers. He is the writer of the blog Swungover and the book Practice Swing.

Dee Mathews (they/them) picked up Lindy Hop as a hobby in high school and fell in love with both swing jazz and moving to it. They began teaching balboa, lindy hop, and solo jazz in 2010, as well as competing and winning awards from national events such as Camp Hollywood, All Balboa Weekend, California Balboa Classic and teaching events both nationally and internationally. They are committed to helping people play and connect to their partner at all levels of the dance, and explore connecting to music and movement in new ways. They run local events for Lindy Hop and Balboa in Durham, NC. They can be found on Instagram at @dmbalboa.

Gaby Cook is an esteemed, active professional in the global lindy hop community. For 20 years, she has established her career performing and teaching for major swing dance festivals worldwide — including Lindy Focus, Stompology, Swing Out New Hampshire, Camp Hollywood, Beantown, Herräng Dance Camp, Lindy on the Rocks, and Paris Jazz Roots. On stage, she is a principal dancer for the acclaimed "SW!NG OUT", which premiered at the Joyce theater (2021) and tours regularly. She regularly advocates for lindy hop in industry dance communities and is consistently "on-call" with university dance programs. She is honored and excited to rejoin the staff of Lindy Focus, one of the best lindy hop events on earth!

Nothing brings Irina (she/her) more joy than sharing a dance and building community. Since discovering Lindy Hop at 15, she has been a lifelong lover of social dancing—a passion that grew to include Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Solo Jazz, and West Coast Swing. Raised in Southern California, she feels fortunate to have learned in a scene shaped by some of the world’s finest dancers, teachers, and musicians, and today she co-leads Salt City Swing in Salt Lake City with her partner in both dance and life, Anthony Chen. Investing in her local scene through teaching, organizing, and creating space for others to connect has been one of the most rewarding parts of her journey. As a teacher, Irina strives to inspire students to value the foundations and culture of these dances while also celebrating individuality, expression, and confidence through movement.

Currently living in St. Louis, but hired around the world, Jamica takes pride in being a groovy solo dancer, a dynamic follow, and growing lead. They aim for range, not just in connection and style, but across genres too! Since starting jazz and blues dances over 15 years ago, they've collected multiple titles from contests across top US events including Lindy Focus, Camp Jitterbug, Beantown, and Camp Hollywood. 

Jamica draws on their professional training from various social justice organizations and a long educational background which includes nearly three degrees in sociology. This unique blend of experiences, teacher training, and knowledge allows Jamica to deliver inclusive and culturally responsible content in the dance classroom and other settings. In the last couple of years Jamica has been proudly spotlighting neglected aspects of blues music and history such as their popular Environmental Justice and the Blues presentation, as well as collaborating on queer blues and jazz history presentations, the traveling Queer Walk of Fame display, and facilitating community discussions with Adam Brozowski.

Jon Tigert is a world recognized Swing Dancer and musician. Specializing in Vintage dances such as Lindy Hop, Balboa, Blues, and Charleston, he has won titles from the International Lindy Hop Championships, The Canadian Swing Dance Championships, Lindy Focus, and many more. Swing Dancing since 2005, Jon has made a home in the swing community as a teacher, an MC, a performer, an organizer, and a musician. As a teacher, Jon is well known for his historical and musical knowledge, clear and concise communication, and endless supply of terrible dad jokes.

Jon now lives in Baltimore where he teaches at the Mobtown Ballroom and sings and plays drums with The Corner Pocket Jazz Band.

Julie Brown (any/all pronouns) is a Boston-based blues dance teacher, DJ, choreographer, competitor, organizer, and enthusiastic student. They have been participating in blues dance since 2004 and has since gone on to teach blues dancing around the globe and won many national competitions. As a teacher, Julie aims to help students connect with and understand blues dance’s deep roots, find their own voice, and connect to themselves & others authentically, joyfully, and respectfully. For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://www.julie-brown-blues-dance.com/

Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO as an instructor who grew up dancing hip-hop and DJing breaking comps before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and teaching style so that students walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding. With every class and practice, he'll encourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.” When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention, or desperately trying to dismantle toxic institutions.

Nathan Bugh is one of the world's leading exponents of Lindy Hop and vernacular jazz dance. His on-stage appearances include: Carnegie Hall (Swing Swing Swing w/ New York Pops), The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Meet Ella, SW!NG OUT), The Apollo Theater (Swingin’ Frankie’s Way), and Jacob’s Pillow (Earthbeat!, More Forever, SW!NG OUT). He is also one of the creators and choreographers of the Joyce Theater's SW!NG OUT, the greatest proscenium, swing-dance show since SWING! the musical. An active swing-dance competitor since the late 1990’s, Nathan holds numerous first-place titles in Solo Jazz, Lindy Hop, Team, Invitational, Slow Dance, Showcase, and Mix/Match divisions at events like the International Lindy Hop Championships.

Timothy Christopher was first a musician! His journey with jazz starts with self taught piano from and old recordings. He stumbled into dance years later while looking for a jazz jam when got back to his home town from college!

He found himself in a room full of people moving there bodies around to swing music, but there was one couple that was dancing!
The next day he found himself in the couples house learning this lovely dance called the lindy hop!

Clearly he got obsessed with this dance and the culture surrounding the dance and now he is competing, dancing, and teaching internationally! He was in the most recent installment of the Swing out Show in New York 2023, has performed at the Lincoln center in New York and maintains good working relationships with most other instructors in the Lindy hop scene. (easy to work with)

Viktor is a multi-faceted teaching and performing artist, with over a decade of experience specializing in Lindy Hop and other Jazz Dances. Having traveled multiple continents to share in and facilitate jazz dance, he brings together his varied experience and highly developed communication skills to teach stimulating classes and organize engaging performances.