Featured Instructors
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Johnny Lee & Rebecca Williams (San Francisco, CA) — Johnny and Rebecca are the 2009 National Jitterbug Shag Champions. Johnny is the founding member of The San Francisco Jitterbugs, a professional dance troupe who have been featured with top acts such as The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Benny Goodman Orchestra and Les Brown. Ever since he saw two dancers "shagging" at The Derby in Hollywood in the late 90's, he has had a fascination with this vintage dance form. In 2000 he started teaching Shag at the HiBall Lounge and Broadway Studios in San Francisco. Since then, Johnny has appeared on televised shows such as Big Band Magic, Check Please! and KRON's New Year Special and featured dancing in two full length motion pictures, "Swing" The Movie & "24 Hrs. On Craigslist." In 2001 he earned the 1st place title in the Boogie By The Bay Lindy Hop Championships and 1st place in the Balboa Championships in 2004. In 2007, he re-introduced Collegiate Shag to San Francisco and started teaching to sold out classes! He then founded and produced the San Francisco Shag Jam Championships in 2007. In 2008, he taught and performed in Munich, Germany at the Rock That Swing Festival and at the 2009 Canadian Shag Championships (Shag Explosion). Johnny has placed 2nd Place at the National Jitterbug Championships in 2007 & 2008 in the Pro Collegiate Shag Division. Together, Johnny and Rebecca have performed and taught Collegiate Shag and "Shagboa" classes throughout the San Francisco bay area! They made their international debut together performing and teaching at the 2009 Montreal Balboa Revue. They have also been invited to teach at the 2009 Canadian Balboa Championships, Boogie By The Bay and in Europe. Johnny and Rebecca also host, teach and perform at the San Francisco Collegiate Shag Jam Championships in California.
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Zack Richard (Montréal, QC) — Zack is an ever-exploding dynamo of talent and creativity. His experience as a choreographer and coach has given him a keen eye for detail and movement. An international teacher, he has shared his knowledge in Australia, England, France, USA, Canada, Germany. Zack is a notorious joker, as you can see in his picture. Zack is one of Canada's most successful competitive swing dancers, with more than 50 titles under his belt, many of which were earned coaching teams. Zack's vision of a great teacher: someone who can find balance between focus, entertainment and precision.
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Maryse Lebeau (Montréal, QC) — Maryse, dance teacher for almost 10 years, has earned the equivalent of 20 years' worth of experience! She has taught thousands of individuals worldwide, in cities such as Sydney (AUS), London (ENG), Paris (FR), Toulouse, Lyon, Berlin (GER), San Francisco, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York. In Montreal, she is the soul of her studio Swing ConneXion with her happy, welcoming presence, and her concern that every single student feels at home. Known for her sensitivity and good sense, her teaching is always of superior quality, and she always strives for more. In competition, Maryse has earned more than 30 titles, and as a coach she has brought many teams to the podium.
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Patrick Szmidt (Montréal, QC) — Where there's adventure, there's Pat! Some of his hobbies include parachuting and riding motorcycles, and if that wasn't enough he also moved to Israel in 2006 to build up a new Swing dance scene. Now, he's in Montreal, working at the Studio 88-SWING and starting up a new branch of studio in the West Island with his partner Natasha Ouimet. One of his specialties is teaching arials. Pat as a competitor has lately placed 2nd in Canadian Showcase and Showcase at The Canadian Swing Championships 2009 with Natasha. Has anyone thought about dancing as a mean of sharing love? Patrick has!
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Natasha Ouimet (Montréal, QC) — The arts being her passion since her childhood, Natasha fell especially in love with dance. After studying a variety of styles and being a part of the KlaXon Tap Dance Company for five years, she met the Swinging Air Force and developed a love for Swing. A performing and competing member of the Swinging Air Force since 2005, she teaches Lindy Hop, Charleston, West Coast Swing, Solo Blues, Tap and more at Studio 88-SWING and coaches 2 of the 5 Swinging Air Force teams. In February 2008, she opened a branch of the Studio 88-SWING in the West Island with her partner Patrick Szmidt. She has placed in competions over 25 times in the past two years, several in Team and Cabaret divisions with the SAF and has placed in Lindy Hop, WCS, Balboa, Jack&Jills, Showcase and Canadian Showcase.
Movie Time!
Now see these teachers in action along with other great Shag dancers in our videos section!