Nick Davis -Eugene, OR

 

 

 

 

 

Nick Davis began dancing in 1998 and discovered Lindy Hop in 2002. After founding

Eugene's Track Town Swing in 2012, Nick has traveled around the globe to hone his

dancing skills. He was the 2014 Frankie Manning Foundation Ambassador to Herräng

Dance Camp in Sweden.

 

Since then, he has become part of the Frankie Manning Foundation and is actively

involved in shaping the future of the global swing dance scene. When not traveling to

dance events Nick can be found teaching and DJing in his home scene of Oregon. He

believes bringing people together through the joy of Lindy Hop is his true life calling.

 

 

 

Nika Jin - Eugene, OR

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                                                                                                                         Nika started teaching and organizing Lindy Hop related shenanigans in                                                                                                                                     Eugene, OR in 2013.  She is on a continuous quest to learn how to listen to                                                                                                                               her body and how to listen to jazz, which are basically the keys to the                                                                                                                                         kingdom for good social dancing, and a good healthy life in general. She                                                                                                                                   loves sharing dance, and strives to bring an open-mind and unbridled                                                                                                                                       enthusiasm to the classroom. Nika has been a finalist and winner of several                                                                                                                             solo jazz and lindy hop competitions, but her priority will always be going                                                                                                                                 ham on the dance floor.

                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                         She also loves burritos, trees, and those crazy geodesic domes.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                             Stephanie Hinton - Boise, ID

 

 

Stephanie Hilton started dancing in 1998 learning primarily Tap and stage choreography.

A talented percussionist, Stephanie has been studying music since 1992. She has played in

marching bands, community groups, and orchestras, and uses her musical knowledge to

train dancers by giving them the tools they need to understand musicality and timing.

Stephanie started teaching at Heirloom Dance Studio with Joel Hunter in 2012.

She has brought and excess of skill and knowledge with her that has helped the dance

scene in Boise grow in both skill and number.​

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Dabney Hopkins - Mesa, AZ

                                                                                                                 

 

                                                                                                                  Dabney went dancing for the first time in the summer of '99 and hasn't looked                                                                                                                         back since! He has won various comps over the years and has learned from many                                                                                                                   of the greats. He has been running The Kats Korner every week for 17 years, and                                                                                                                       organizes BadAZ Balboa, Swingdependance, and the Phoenix Lindy Exchange.                                                                                                                       Dabney loves teaching, and his favorite thing is when someone gets hooked on                                                                                                                       Lindy Hop.

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                  In addition to being an accomplished Swing Dancer, Dabney is an excellent                                                                                                                             juggler.  He is proficient with three or four balls, or much less proficient with three                                                                                                         pins/knives. He once juggled three butcher knives from the kitchen over his                                                                                                                            prom date’s head as she lay on the ground in the living room. He actually                                                                                                                                  dropped one of the knives on accident and kicked it out of the way right at the last second. Needless to say, she didn’t go out with him again. In high school, Dabney got into slight of hand magic, and perfected his Emery Shuffle and other popular slight of hand mechanics. He would do magic and juggle at kids’ parties. These days, Dabney can be found practicing his contact juggling, a skill he has been working on since 7th grade when he saw David Bowie’s character contact juggle in the movie ‘Labyrinth’.                                                                                                                            

 

                                                                                                                   Karen Vizzard Hopkins- Meza, AZ

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Karen Vizzard, first became enamored with Lindy Hop in 2003, when she was                                                                                                                        introduced to the dance at a Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert in Santa Monica.                                                                                                                          Since then, she has dedicated herself to become an exceptional follow, as well                                                                                                                        as a versatile dancer with experience in Balboa, Collegiate Shag, Solo and

Partnered Charleston, and tap. While she has placed in many competitions, her

greatest accomplishment was being inducted into the Camp Hollywood -

National Jitterbug Championships Hall of Fame. Her other credits included

running/choreographing for the award winning all-female dance troop the

Gypsy Jitterbugs, performing with the Hollywood Hotshots, as well as being

cast as a dancer in Katy Perry's music video "Thinking of You", and being cast as

a principal dancer for the episode “Static” on the TV show “Cold Case”.                                                                       

                                                       

                                                                                                             

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                                                                                                                                     Joel Hunter - Boise, ID

 

 

Joel Hunter has been dancing since 2003 in a wide variety of dances, has

been teaching dance since 2005, and opened up his own studio in 2007 in

order to build the dance scene in  Boise. Continuing to grow the

community to this day, Joel owns and operates Heirloom Dance Studio and

organizes Boise's largest Swing event 'Boise City Swing'. Skilled in various

styles of Ballroom, Latin, and Swing, he specializes on dances that focus on

improvisation, creativity, lead/follow, musicality, and connection. His

innovative and unconventional teaching stile has helped many students to

grow in their dance by giving them the tools they need to creativity

interpret the music and clearly communicate with their partner.

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