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, FL, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 SLO 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!

Nathan Dias & Ilsa Nadezda

Nathan and Ilsa are swing and Lindy Hop dancers, performers, and teachers based in San Francisco.  They met social dancing and soon discovered their innate dance chemistry while dancing to live music at San Francisco clubs like Cat’s Corner, Club Deluxe, and Local Edition.  They recently performed as the star dance couple in Stella Heath’s “Billie Holiday Project”, showcasing a variety of styles including acrobatic Lindy, Charleston, Blues, Shag, Balboa, and Solo Jazz.

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

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.

As a partnership, Nathan and Ilsa value fun, connection, improvisation, and musical expressiveness, always rooted in solid fundamentals.

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.

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.