Instructors

We've asked our instructors to blow your mind and they have risen to the challenge. We can't wait to see what they have in store!

Don West & Tina Davis (Dallas, TX) Don West has been dancing since 1997 and teaching since 2000 in Dallas. He's been in a number of dance troupes including Smiley's Lindy Hoppers, Uptown Swing and began his own troupe called the Madcap Maniacs and is now the creative director for the ACME Swing Company. He was also the 2000 American Lindy Hop Jack and Jill Champion in Connecticut as well as first place winner in several local competitions in Austin and Houston. Don's teaching style focuses on technique and communication in social dancing, and he wants nothing more than to share his love of the dance with you and for you to enjoy yourself on the dance floor. Tina has been dancing Swing, Lindy Hop and Blues since 1999, getting caught up in the resurgence of Swing Dancing thanks to those crazy Gap ads. Since then she's been dancing up a storm, fitting in a growing love for West Coast Swing, Argentine Tango and Ballroom Dance with all that swingin'. Tina is continuing her love affair with dance by teaching and spreading her love of Blues dance across the land. She has organized and/or taught at several workshops in Austin and Dallas, and at national events like Austin Blues Party, Blues Boot Camp (Dallas) and ReEnter the Blues (Atlanta). Tina likes to emphasize to students sound fundamentals, the basics of rhythm, and love of the music. But most of all, dancing has just got to be fun.

Jeff Benoit & Kristen O'Neill (Waterloo, ON) Jeff and Kristen have been dancing and teaching since the late 1990s. They currently own and operate the dance company Addicted to Dancing in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The name is self-explanatory for what dancing is to them and to many of their students. Jeff and Kristen both have an incredible passion, enthusiasm and love for dancing and instructing. They pride themselves in being down-to-earth, laid-back, approachable, and involved in their students' learning with right amount of fun, humour and entertainment value. Jeff and Kristen both possess university degrees in Kinesiology (the study of human movement). Their knowledge of biomechanics, anatomy, and motor learning are applied throughout their classes and help build solid dance technique for their students. Their instruction is based on key principles that can be applied to all forms, figures and styles of dancing so students can put their own individuality into their dancing. Even the most complicated figures, concepts and techniques are presented in an easy to understand manner that develop into exciting and impressive dance skills.

Brooke Filsinger (Toronto, ON) Brooke fell in love with dance during her first trip onto the dance floor... and she hasn't stopped spreading the love since. This love of dance is apparent in all of the classes that she teaches. Brooke will do whatever it takes to get you on the dance floor and having fun! She'll give you a solid grounding in technique and then teach you how to break the rules to really make the dance your own! Brooke first got her swing start in Waterloo where she quickly became a fixture in the scene. Brooke has since relocated to Toronto, where she has taken the position of Director for the Swing and Tap Academy of Toronto. With a roster of national and internationally renowned instructors, the Swing and Tap Academy is spreading the love of dance to downtown Toronto through weekly classes and special events.