Instructors

Hep Jen & Ken Watanabe

Hep Jen has been teaching Lindy Hop full-time since 1997.  Originally from Seattle, she moved to San Francisco in 2004 and quickly established herself in the Bay Area’s Lindy Hop scene.  Jen has been running the Lindy Hop classes at the Verdi Club/Woodchopper’s Ball since 2005, is currently the head instructor at Lindy in the Park, and has also taught at Cat’s Corner, UCSF, Page Street Studio, and the Rent Party.  In addition, Hep Jen is a Lindy Hop choreographer, DJ, and performer, recently performing in Kim Nalley’s original musical play “Ella: The American Dream”, and choreographing for the CCSF Hot Bloods Lindy Hop performance troupe.

Ken is the head organizer and co-founder of San Francisco’s world-famous Lindy in the Park, running weekly since 1996.  He started teaching Lindy Hop in 1998 and has been teaching classes with Hep Jen since 2004, currently at Lindy in the Park, in the past at Cat’s Corner, UCSF, Page Street Studio, and the Rent Party, and now at the Woodchopper’s Ball.  Ken has also taught at the 9:20 Special, the Doghouse, Ashkenaz, and the Allegro Ballroom, as well as workshops in Japan and Spain.

Andree George

Andree began swing dancing in 2011 at his college club in Gainesville, Florida, and ever since, he has spent time learning, traveling, teaching, choreographing, performing, and competing in an effort to push himself as a dancer.  He currently teaches at the Breakaway in Oakland, and occasionally at Lindy by the Lake.  During his travels, Andree has competed at several local and regional events, most recently placing in the 2021 Camp Jitterbug mix and match.  He describes his style of dancing as playful and conversational, treating each dance as a chance to try something new or revamp something old.  Andree brings this energy to each lesson, encouraging his students to play in a variety of ways to change the feel of the dance and to converse with their partner and the music.  Most of all, he tries to embody the original spirit of swing dancing and believes that the only rule in dancing is to have fun.

Anton Ochs

Anton started dancing Lindy Hop at UC Davis in 2015, and as a lifelong fan of music, it is no wonder that he quickly tried to learn as much as he could about swing jazz and its vast umbrella of dances, including Collegiate Shag.  He has competed individually and with teams at the collegiate and amateur levels, and he loves traveling to events to listen and dance to lots of live music.  As a teacher, he prioritizes helping his students find the fun in any movement, and loves bringing smiles to the classroom and dance floor.

Autumn LaVarta

Autumn LaVarta has been teaching swing dancing in San Francisco since 2005.  He was the organizer for the Friday Night Swing dance party and has taught at several different events over the years, including the Metronome Dance Center, Cheryl Burke Dance Studio, Rent Party, Cats Corner, Tuesday Night Jump, and, most recently, Woodchopper’s Ball.  He also teaches Salsa and Tango, and occasionally DJs at local swing dance events.

Brandon Chen

Brandon has been swing dancing since 2015, when he joined a Lindy Hop performance team at UC Berkeley.  Since then, he’s become an avid social dancer in the Bay Area, doing his best to enjoy all the swing outs, live music, and community that the scene has to offer.  Fascinated by the many ways one can connect with their partner and the music through dance, he enjoys both leading and following, and has also studied other partner dances such as Balboa and West Coast Swing.  As a teacher, he values helping students learn how to listen to and communicate with their partner and the music in a way that allows them to have fun together on the dance floor.

Carissa Koo & Tor Helmer

Carissa and Tor are a dedicated partnership committed to spreading the love of Balboa in the Bay Area.  They love to teach Balboa in a manner that is both fun and easy to understand–with a heavy emphasis on connecting to your partner and conveying the music.  They believe very strongly in mastering the basics and having a good understanding of the fundamental aspects of the dance.

Carissa and Tor have competed and traveled around the world doing Balboa and would love nothing more than to share what they have learned with their students.

Catie Riggs & Zach Olstein

Catie is an artist, musician, and acoustician, and a Bay Area social dancer since stumbling upon Lindy in the Park in 2017.  Primarily a lindy hopper and lover of blues, balboa, shag, and fusion, she draws on a background of solo dance, music theory, and competitive sports to consider body mechanics, musicality, and other fundamental concepts.  Catie emphasizes building on simple foundations and movements the body is familiar with.  As a leader and follower across dance styles, she loves finding fun rhythms and a good connection with any dance partner.

Zach learned to dance Lindy Hop in 2013 and has danced avidly in San Francisco since 2017, branching out into other styles of swing, as well as blues and fusion.  He loves dance for its ability to inspire a greater connection to, and understanding of, both music and people.  As a dancer and instructor, Zach emphasizes solid connections, clear leads, and responsiveness to one’s partner and the music.  He also seeks to study dance with the mind of an engineer, learning how physics and mechanics inform connection and communication between partners.

Chad Kubo

Chad is one of the original Lindy Hop founders in the Bay Area, dubbed the “Ambassador of Swing” in San Francisco.  He is also a co-founder of Lindy in the Park and owner of the Doghouse for 9 years, and he is part of the second generation of teachers taught by the original Lindy Hoppers Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, and Dawn Hampton.  With his extensive knowledge of Lindy Hop and martial arts, Chad has created Zen Dance, combining principles of flow and momentum into Lindy Hop.  Chad continues to grow the Bay Area Lindy scene and currently teaches at Hidden City Ballroom in Richmond, CA.

Chris Ortega

From his very first triple step as a college freshman in 2018, Chris was absolutely hooked on swing dancing, and since then his love for dancing has only grown.  He dedicates much of his time to Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, and Solo Jazz.  He also loves DJing in the Bay Area and competes at events across the U.S..

As a dancer, Chris values the music and loves listening within the partnership.  As an instructor, he values communicating clearly and efficiently, teaching technique, and making his lessons fun.  He wishes to inspire his students to find joy in, and gain a deep understanding of, dance, music, and their intertwined history.

Deniz Akin

Deniz first discovered swing dancing as a teen, then dove deep into choreographing, teaching, competing, performing, and, of course, social dancing her way through numerous pairs of shoes as a member of UC Davis’s first lindy hop performance team (Tranky Moo! 🐮).  She loves traveling to exchanges to meet new dancers and experience new scenes, and it’s important to her that newcomers feel supported, engaged, and connected to the community.  She’s so excited to share her love of the dance with the next generation of swing dance enthusiasts at the Woodchopper’s Ball!

Ed Paddock

After a childhood of dance, Ed discovered lindy hop and collegiate shag in college at UC Davis and fell in love with the dances and the community.  After moving to Oakland in 2018, he branched out into solo jazz as well as continuing his training in rhythm tap.  He is passionate about rhythm, technique, and making dance a fun and welcoming experience for dancers of all levels!  Ed’s recent dance achievements include choreographing the winning solo jazz team at Camp Hollywood 2022, traveling around the country to learn more collegiate shag, and buying too many new pairs of tap shoes.

Hanah Yendler

Hanah is a swing dancer, pirate historian, avid baker, and a software engineer.  She is very excited about all things solo jazz and lindy hop, having taught and performed for over 7 years in the Bay Area (and beyond).  Hanah loves helping her students find their own voice and creativity in both partner and solo dancing.  Come find Hanah on the dance floor–she is always down for a solo jazz jam out.

Idalia Ramos

Idalia (she/they) fell in love with dancing 15 years ago and loves to share her passion and joy with others through teaching, performing, and competing.  In the past, she has won contests at Stompology, ILHC, Inspiration Weekend, Fog City Stomp, and more.  But don’t be intimidated!  Idalia is really sweet, playful, and encouraging to her students.  She loves seeing her students grow in their comfort and joy, and discover new ways to enjoy the music.  Her classes focus on quality of movement, finding what feels good, musicality, and exploration.

Ilsa Nadezda

Ilsa is an international traveling dancer who started out swing dancing in Moscow and has taught local classes in Russia.  She has also explored and enjoys dancing Kizomba and Bachata.  Though she’s only been in San Francisco for 3 years, Ilsa is already well known in the scene for her musicality and joy of dancing.

Jeff & Mimi Liu-Leyco

Jeff can never seem to keep his feet still.  Growing up with a background in classical piano, music has always been an essential part of his life.  He began dancing Lindy Hop in the mid-2000s on a dare.  He loved it so much, he decided to stick around.  Now, Jeff is an award-winning dancer, placing in regional and international competitions.  He spreads the joy of swing dancing as an instructor and portrait and event photographer.  Jeff currently lives in San Francisco with a constant soundtrack of Count Basie, Artie Shaw, and Sidney Bechet in his ears.

Mimi is ecstatic to share the spirit of the Jazz Age in her dancing and teaching.  A lifelong dancer, she started swing dancing in 2005  in Pasadena, California.  After moving to New York City, her love for jazz music and its related dances blossomed exponentially.  Today, as an established teacher, performer, and choreographer, Mimi is recognized as an up-and-coming force in the Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Authentic Jazz worlds, known for her sassy and graceful stylings on the floor and winning numerous dance awards locally and nationally.

Johann Joson

Johann started his swing dancing journey in Orange county while attending conservatory for classical voice in 2013.  He danced in the Chapman Swing Cats for four years and assisted in teaching the university swing dancing classes.  After returning to San Francisco, he joined the SF Shag dance team and fell in love with collegiate shag.  Johann hopes to grow the Bay Area shag scene and help dancers build confidence in technique, musicality, and expression.

When he isn’t dancing, you might catch him at the opera, singing in choral ensembles, or doing production work for other chamber ensembles in the city.

Jennifer Leong

Jennifer was one of the founding members of the Northern California Lindy Society that helped grow the Lindy Hop scene in San Francisco in the mid-1990s.  She taught weekly classes at the Doghouse for many years, as well as several local workshops, working with internationally renowned teachers Frankie Manning and Chester Whitmore.  Jennifer has performed throughout the Bay Area, and at Swing Camp Catalina.  Her teaching focuses on lead-follow technique and musicality.

Juanita Dickhaus

Juanita Dickhaus fell in love with music, dancing, and choreography as a small child.  After moving to the Bay Area, she quickly found most partner dancing both terrifying and addicting, traveling across the Bay and beyond to learn from everyone she could to get different perspectives—and to find her own.  Juanita has made finals at many national competitions and has placed internationally in balboa, but she also loves collegiate shag, lindy hop, and other dances, as well as helping organize events.

As a teacher, Juanita is always excited to dive deep into technique, connection, and variations, adapting to different learning styles and goals.  She wants everyone to be able to confidently express themselves to music and to have fun dancing together.  Feel free to come say “hi” and ask her to dance!

Karen Huddleston

Karen Huddleston is excited to teach and share her love of collegiate shag!  Karen has been swing dancing for 12+ years and formerly taught Lindy Hop at Cat’s Corner in San Francisco.  She has trained in a variety of styles including Lindy Hop, Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Blues, Fusion, and Ballroom, and she is passionate about leading and following most styles.

Katie Coleman

Katie has been swing dancing since her days at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2015.  There, she was lucky enough to take her first collegiate shag class that ignited her excitement for the dance.  Her top priority when dancing is to always have fun, and she hopes that her lively energy extends that feeling to others.  You can find her dancing any style of fast dance all over the Bay Area, but mostly down in the South Bay.

Katie O’Neill

Katie took her first Lindy Hop and Balboa classes in the Bay Area in 2011.  Since then she’s traveled for dance events, helped organize the swing dance scene in San Luis Obispo from 2012-2015, moved back to the Bay, and placed in competitions including All Balboa Weekend & Camp Hollywood.  As a teacher, she values clear communication and playfulness between dance partners, and making movement comfortable & easy so students can bring their creativity to the dance floor.  When she’s not dancing, she’s taking pictures of her dog, who is very cute.

Liz Miller

Liz Miller got her start as a professional Lindy Hop instructor, dancer, and event promoter in the Boston area.  She has taught in residencies and workshops around the U.S. and in Europe.  After moving to San Francisco in 2015, Liz joined the local Lindy Hop community and began practicing and studying with Chad Kubo.  Chad and Liz focus on optimizing the fundamentals of connection, momentum and technique.  Liz’s favorite thing is supporting dance students to meet them where they are and scaffold them to their next level of Lindy Hop happiness!

Mark Carpenter

While most well-known for his work in the fusion scene, Mark has been dancing and teaching lindy hop (and related dances) since 2005.  Coming up in the central coast San Luis Obispo scene, Mark’s swing style is largely influenced by a blend of the distinctive SF and LA flavors.  He has taught all over the world and currently runs the Fusion Dance Academy here in town.  Bringing together multiple styles of dance and modalities of movement, Mark strives to make his classes fun, engaging, and full of multi-layered content!

Max Ramirez & Helen Garfinkle

Maxwell (he/him) and Helen (she/her) are transgender Lindy Hop and Vernacular Jazz dancers based in San Francisco.  After meeting in a performance troupe in 2017, they discovered a mutual love for each other’s dancing and have been working and teaching together ever since.  Max and Helen’s classes foster an environment that encourages everyone to find joy in rhythm and connection, and to develop a style that works for their body and personal expression.

Minh Hoang

Minh Hoang found out about lindy hop in 2017 at Wednesday Night Hop and was instantly hooked by the dance and the welcoming community.  Once started, he just couldn’t stop going to classes and workshops.  For his first few years, he was dancing almost everyday!

On the dance floor, Minh loves to synchronize with the music and his partner, and to flow around effortlessly together.  Outside of dance, you can find him dabble in a lot of hobbies, but nothing seems to stick as deeply as dancing.

Nathan Dias & Sia Brodeur

Nathan and Sia are Swing and Lindy Hop dancers and teachers based in the SF Bay Area.

Nathan brings a decade+ experience teaching and performing Lindy Hop, Charleston, and Jazz both locally at the Cat’s Corner dance party as well as at regional and internal workshops, including in Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden.

Sia has been dancing from a young age and fell in love with swing dancing in 2005.  With her degree in education and experience in teaching dances and pilates, she brings her passion for pedagogy and love for movement with a focus on posture, connection, and self-expression.  Her experience teaching in Montreal, USA, and France contributes to her creative approach to teaching and dancing.

As a partnership, Nathan and Sia value community building by sharing their passion for dancing.  Conscientious and experienced, they value pedagogy and teaching tools to promote confidence and creativity in dancers.  Moved by music as a source of creative expression, Nathan and Sia approach each dance as a new canvas to paint.

Paula Bahia

Paula came to Collegiate Shag from other swing dances, such as Lindy Hop and Jive.  However, it only took a couple dances for her to catch the Shag bug.  Since first performing for the SF Shag team at Camp Hollywood she has performed and competed all over California.  She believes in helping people build crisp, clean movement that still feels natural and fun, the way Shag should be.  Paula wants Shag to be something people can enjoy whether they have years of time invested or just a couple classes under their belt and is excited to share her love of this dance with more people in the Bay Area.

Ryan Calloway

Ryan Calloway shines on the dance floor.  His dancing is full of enthusiasm, buoyant rhythm with boundless creativity.  Most nights you’ll find him  performing music or pounding the floor at one of the city’s local jazz and swing clubs.  Ryan’s goal as a teacher is to inspire his students to find their own creativity.  With an open and warm style, he welcomes individuals to not only learn the traditions of Vintage Jazz Dance, but to add to it as well.

Sean Krazit

Sean Krazit began dancing at the University of Delaware in 2012. Now he has experience teaching, competing, performing, and DJing at dances around the country. Sean’s favorite classes involve exploring strange rhythms and shapes, as well as responding to his partners’ ideas. He’s known for creating some out-of-the-box classes that expand students’ sense of creativity and exploration in the dance. Additionally, Sean is a jazz musician who plays for dancers, giving him a deep connection to the music he loves to share with students.

Stuart Collins

Stuart loves lindy hop because it’s playful, rhythmic, and cooperative, and he loves sharing that with others.  Learning dancing includes learning steps, but it is also about how to enjoy an evening at a dance.  Stuart will show you how to hear the music’s rhythms, how to ask people to dance, how to practice, how to take steps, and how to dance with your partner.  Stuart has been dancing for 20+ years across the U.S., and has taught many classes along the way.  In short, he will show you how to have a great time dancing!

Tré Larsen

Tré R. Larsen is a professional freelance dancer, choreographer, registered yoga teacher, and when those don’t pay the bills, a baker.  Using the body to express oneself through safe movements has been one of Tré’s passions for years, as they completed a Yoga Behind Bars, Seattle, (teaching trauma-informed yoga to incarcerated persons) certification in 2018, teaching as well on psychiatric units and hospitals.  Tré brings years of experience in the dance world and is excited to share their love of dance, movement, rhythm, and musicality with the dancers at the Woodchopper’s Ball.