We take pride in the quality of our instructors. We believe offering differing styles of teaching instruction gives students a broader, more rounded experience when learning Lindy Hop (and its variations).
You can review who is teaching this and next month, as well as the lesson plans on our Class & Event Calendar.
Hover your cursor over a photo to get a brief bio.
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Victor began dancing as early as he could walk with Grandma White who not only taught him 'the steps' but also how to interpret early Jazz music. Victor took the lessons he learned from Grandma and began teaching Swing dance and DJ'ing danceable Jazz music. His passion for swing motivated him to begin the Swing Dance nights at the Mercury Café and establish a performance swing dance troupe, The Flying Aces. Today, as acting president for the Colorado Swing Dance Club, Victor continues to DJ, teach and perform with his wife, Margaret Skokan.
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David had his first Swing dancing experience (attempting East Coast Swing) at New York's famous Supper Club in the spring of 1999. And now, nine years later, David's proud to say that he has danced at least twice a week since then. David has taught at the Turnverein for almost seven years, focusing on getting beginning dancers into Lindy Hop. David is one of the volunteer organizers of the Denver Lindy Exchange and currently teaches classes on Thursdays at the Turnverein. More information about David's Lindy instruction can be found on his website, Eight Count Magic - www.eightcountmagic.com.
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Amanda began learning Lindy Hop in the late 90's (one of those crazy kids inspired by the Gap commercials and swing revival). Despite a sever-year- hiatus while away at college, Lindy had apparently left an indelible mark on Amanda's life, and after returning to the scene in 2007, she is now officially hooked.
Amanda is also an avid Blues dancer, and she has dabbled in other dance styles, including Balboa, West Coast, and Tango. Amanda is part of the planning team for the annual Denver Lindy Exchange, and she began teaching with David in 2007.
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Back in 2005, Scot Mattson threw a house party and played some blues music. It was awesome. Now he wants everyone else to enjoy listening and dancing to blues. In his classes, Scot hopes to teach you how not to suck at blues.
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Chris Morse started dancing in da' burbs of Chicago back in 2000. Having access to on of the oldes lindy scenes in the US, she had the absolute privelage of learning from some of Chicago's oldest and most elite dancers both in the "classroom" and on the dance floor. In addition, exposure to Chicago's incredible live music scene, as well as a fortunate proximity to the St. Louis blues scene, has left her with an incurable addiction to dancing to and enjoying groovy jazz and blues. Considering herself primarily a social dancer, her emphasis and passion lies with the importance of connection in both lindy and blues, and making your dances as "buttery" as they can be. :)
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Matt and Shauna met dancing at a Denver Lindy Exchange! Between the two of them there's about 16 years of social dancing, 20 Lindy Hop Exchanges, 5 years of coaching, 6 years of marriage, and 2 kids. They've taught in Denver, Sacramento, and Salt Lake City. They just opened a children's theater called Prairie Playhouse in Brighton, CO., they've coached numerous club teams for teens, and love to teach basic techniques to upcoming dancers.
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Michael started dancing east coast swing in 1998, at a small club in Colorado Springs. Lindy hop followed soon after, but he didn't really become hooked until 2001. Since then, he has traveled throughout the country, attending workshops, camps and exchanges from Los Angeles to Philadelphia. He joined Focus on the Lindy in 2004, and continued to teach in the Springs as a part of that group until (finally!) moving to Denver in 2007.
He remembers a workshop in Houston, March 2003, where he became utterly entranced while watching a dance called the Balboa; he returned home as one of the first "Bal addicts" in the Colorado scene. He loves to share his passion for both dances.
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Miranda has been dancing almost as long as she has been alive, at least from the apocryphal tales of her dancing in the crib before she could walk. After years of studying classical dance (ballet, modern and jazz) then totally forgetting all about her love of dance, she forced a friend into dragging her out swing dancing and just never stopped! In her 4 years of Lindy Hop, she has really explored the creativity and fun of partner dancing while becoming a notable solo jazz/blues dancer. She can't wait for her next chance to go out and dance with you!
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On December 2004, a bitterly cold Northern Michigan night, this nomadic fellow roamed into a free Lindy Hop lesson at Central Michigan University. Since then, he has went on to teach, organize events, and perform dance in Michigan, the Western Slope and Front Range, and in SE Utah. But all the while roaming from place to place, dancing, running, and climbing his was across the great U.S. of A..eh. Eventually, landing in Denver, the mecca city for dancing and outdoor activity galore! He reveled in the local talents knowledge and has benefited from the copious amounts of lessons. Finally, at a point were he can give back to his new community, the one that has given him so much.
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An enthusiastic teacher with an ever-ready smile, Jami is looking forward to creating a fun environment for beginners and intermediate dancers to learn socially-leadable lindy hop moves. She will guide her students toward communicating creatively with their partners on the dance floor. There are no 'mistakes'...only variations! What Jami loves most about lindy hop is that she learns something new from every dance partner, through each person's individual dance style. She can't wait to meet you!
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Scott's philosophy is that dancing should be a fun social activity and technically accurate as well. How do you mix the two? The simplest answer is that you learn both while in a lesson, but worry only about the fun when someone asks you to dance. Scott will concentrate on teaching while remembering the fun. He is certainly available to answer questions during the social dance as well. Please come up and ask him to dance or ask questions.
Scott learned to Lindy five years ago and has since branched off into waltz, salsa, rumba, foxtrot, cha-cha, polka, and even country. His favorite is the waltz and the Lindy and he wishes that he had learned to dance as a kid.
Namaste!
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Chelsea learned to dance at the Turnverein early in 2004. Back then it was just a small group of people dancing in the basement. She's enjoyed seeing the Turn grow along with her dancing. Chelsea is passionate about teaching people not only the techniques of dancing, but the importance of just relaxing and having fun.
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Josephine can't even remember what what her life was like before swing dancing, since she became addicted about 4 years ago, that’s really all she's done. Josephine loves swing dancing because when you dance it's just you, the music, and your partner - nothing else matters. All of life’s worries just go away, and you just dancing for the sake of dancing. Swing is truly one of life simplest purists pleasures!
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Jimmy started out break dancing in New Mexico and then stumbled into swing about 4 years ago and just fell in love with it. Recently he moved to Denver to pursue swing even more, and looks forward to being able to do that at the Turn. Jimmy believes there is nothing better then sharing that momentum and connection with your partner and he looks forward to seeing you guys soon!
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A good old Georgia boy who never thought he would call himself a
dancer. Stumbled into teaching ballroom dance classes in college and
was drawn to social Lindy hop after meeting the forever moving Frankie
Manning. A.D. has been teaching swing since 2004 and has a passion
for growing the skill set on the social dance floor. A.D. loves the
technical aspects of the dance while is always searching for new ways
to express himself. Move.
Don't forget to do the things that make you smile!
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Matty began dancing in Prague when she accidentally befriended a Lindy Hop teacher and realized that dance is one of the few things that can be learned without language. Often getting laughs for taking up a truly American dance form while traveling outside the US, she was happily surprised when she returned to Colorado and found a thriving Swing community she'd never known about.
Matty thinks the best dancing happens when a person truly listens to the music and lets herself play along.
One of her favorite lindy experiences may have been when she told her ninety-year-old grandmother that she'd been doing a lot of swing dancing lately. "Why do you call it 'Swing Dancing?' " Nana replied as she led a swingout. "This is how I've always danced."
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Rachael is an accomplished blues and lindy hop dancer and instructor. She focuses on concepts such as simplicity, clarity, expression, and body awareness which are critical to advanced social dancing. She strongly believes in incorporating both creativity and technique into social dancing and teaches her students how to find a balance of the two within their own dancing. Being an avid listener and fan of the music she dances to, Rachael loves to emphasize the importance of musicality in social dancing including rhythms and layering to match the music. Overall, she has a genuine passion for teaching every level of social dancer and is excited to share her knowledge and love for dance with those who would like to learn.
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Brian started swing dancing in 1998 in Los Angeles. After discovering the swing scene he moved to San Diego for college. By 2002 he was a regular DJ at San Diego venues and competed on the hip-hop Lindy fusion team “Lindy San Diego” at Monsters of Swing in 2001-2. He has since attended many Lindy events in the US and Europe dancing in Sweden, Finland, Russia, Germany, Switzerland and France. Brian began teaching Lindy Hop in 2003 with Evita Arce (featured on “So You Think You Can Dance) at The Dance Doctor in Santa Monica, CA, and taught Lindy Hop and ballroom classes full time at Arthur Murray for the two years following that. Brian, most recently, was a member of the team “One2Swing Jump” from Los Angeles and continues to DJ and train with local partners.
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Lolly started dancing 6 years ago because she needed something new. She trained in belly dancing and salsa before discovering Lindy. Since then, she has danced all over the world and has traveled for several camps. She's taught in Virginia. Lolly doesn't want you to take Lindy Hop too seriously because you're probbaly not having fun.
