Your Jump, Jive & Sail Staff

  Chandler & Angelia

Chandler Smith and Angelia Williams teach ongoing swing classes and workshops in Fort Worth and are known for breaking moves down into manageable, comprehensible pieces, concentrating on lead-and-follow technique. They are professional performers whose trademark is finding the musical nuances in a piece and reflecting that in their dancing. She and Chandler perform as part of Ignatz Ratzkywatzky and His Naggin Hag-Draggers. Chandler has taught workshops around the United States and in Australia, and he co-owned Retroglide Dance Society studio in Los Angeles for four years before moving home to Fort Worth several years ago. While in the L.A. scene, he was part of the Hollywood Jitterbugs performance troupe headed up by fellow cruise instructor Rusty Frank. While Angelia and Chandler both enjoy performing, their favorite thing is simply social dancing with that vintage style and attitude.

Jean Veloz

Jean Phelps Veloz, the icon of the Hollywood-Style Lindy to new generations of swing dancers, provides a living bridge from the Los Angeles dance scene of the 1940?s to the present-day Lindy Hop revival that has swept the United States and the rest of the world since the late 1990?s. For a detailed Bio on Jean and her dancing and movie career, visit: www.jeanveloz.com

  
 Jofflyn  & Amber                                           

This dynamic duo have collectively devoted over two decades of their lives to swing dancing, specializing in all styles from the `20s to the `50s. Collectively and individually, they hold several titles and are frequently invited to perform, teach, and judge across the U.S. and Canada. Their clear and concise teaching methods have been developed through several years of partnership, allowing them to break down, demonstrate and describe even the most difficult movements with ease. Together, they own and operate The Bobbysox Brigade, a professional swing dance troupe dedicated to preserving and performing the dances of the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. The 48-member strong, award-winning troupe (National Jitterbug Competition 2005, US Open Swing Dance Championships 2006) has performed at a variety of events and venues throughout the west coast.

Rusty Frank

Rusty Frank is a Lindy Hopper, Tap Dancer, producer, choreographer, writer, and dance preservationist.  Rusty began dancing at age 6, has been a professional dancer since her college days, and has performed throughout the world and locally at such locales as Broadway's 42nd Street, The Hollywood Bowl, Disneyland, and the Derby. She is a highly sought after teacher and regularly travels near and far bringing her tap and swing expertise to dance communities around the globe.   Since 1998, Rusty has been bringing swing dancing to Los Angeles both at her school "Lindy By The Sea" and her weekly swing dance "Rusty's Rhythm Club."  She is the  producer and choreographer of the stage revues "Swingin' The Century - The Big Band Show" [co-produced with Bill Elliott] and "Jazz Tap." She is the author of the critically acclaimed book “TAP! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories 1900-1955.”  Rusty is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, and as a result of her on-going dance preservation work has received many honors from the dance world.   Rusty owns and operates “On Tap!,” through which she promotes dance productions, offers special dance workshops, presents historical programs, and produces instructional swing and tap dvds.  RUSTYFRANK.COM

   
Roger Schmidlin & Katharina Froehlich

Katharina is a very joyful dancer with her very own groovy style. She started Lindy Hoppin' in 2005 in her hometown Zurich. Her last name translates to happy, which is exactly what she spreads. Roger has been dancing Lindy Hop since 1995. He started in Herräng und made his way through the U.S.A. and settled in Australia for 8 years where he founded the Swing Scene in Perth in 1998. His classes are well known for its energy, and that not referring to the speed of music. He now also lives in Zurich where he was born and raised. Together, they are a very harmonic couple, that have much to offer on variety..

    Steve Conrad

Steve Conrad has been teaching/performing Lindy hop and East Coast Swing for over 12 years and was a founder of the Arizona Lindy Hop Society in 1996 (www.AZLindy.com). He taught at the Desert Dance camp in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Carnage Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, Albuquerque, NM, and throughout Europe. He worked with the Mercury hip hop squad, the Phoenix Suns dancers, and the Arizona Sidewinders, teaching or performing at half time. He also performed with the Judds for the Millennium New Years Eve reunion and taught Ashley Judd aerials. Steve has taught more than 18,000 people how to dance through workshops, school districts, classes at Borders Books, and over 12 years of lindy hop classes in Arizona. He was also the promoter/DJ/instructor for the Bash on Ash for 5 years. Currently Steve runs swing nights at Fatcat Ballroom in Phoenix, the Gaslight Studio in Glendale, and he hosts the summer swing series at the Wrigley Mansion.