Teachers
Mike Faltesek (aka Falty)
Mike Faltesek brings to the dance floor an incredibly diverse social and performance dance talent that includes not only Lindy Hop but also Cakewalk, Black Bottom, Traditional Jazz, Tap, Charleston, Breakaway, Balboa, Big Apple, Blues and many other Authentic Jazz dances.
Mike has been dancing for well over 14 years, in that time he has traveled to instruct, compete, and perform all over the globe. From Harlem to Los Angeles and all throughout Europe. Mike is well known for his charismatic personality, approachability and passion for the essence of Authentic Jazz dance and music. He possesses an enthusiastic ability to convey ideas and movements explicitly, making him a popular instructor wherever he goes. He teaches workshops internationally, each time leaving a lasting impression on his students.
Mike's main source of inspiration are the greats of yesteryear. Dancers and performers like Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, the Nicholas Brothers, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, John Bubbles, Earl "Snakehips" Tucker, and the Berry Brothers.
Mike has done a two year residency in Sweden as a member of the world's foremost Jazz Dance Company, The Harlem Hot Shots. He has since moved back to the states in Seattle, WA and can be found wherever people love swing music.
Hunter Demaray
Hunter began dancing in 2004 in the Sacramento/San Francisco area and immediately became addicted to the syncopated rhythms of swing music. After winning local competitions, the national competition circuit soon became a goal. He then proceeded in making finals/placing in advanced divisions at events such as Camp Jitterbug, Camp Hollywood, Lone Star Championships, Inspirational Weekend and Midwest Lindyfest. Since then he has explored many other dances such as Ballet, Modern, Jazz, and Tap to further pursue body awareness and control. Hunter enjoys bringing elements from other dance art forms as inspiration and awakening different methods of movement.
Audrey Kanemoto
Audrey Kanemoto wanted to grow up to be Fred Astaire and started tap dancing at age 11. She found the excitement of being Ginger through partner dancing and lindy hop in 2001. She continued work on her technique, style, and stage quality with lindy hop performance groups SF Bounce, The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue, and the 3-Minute Maniacs.
Audrey has traveled and competed at lindy hop events and camps earning a name for herself as an exuberant and passionate solo charleston dancer. Her highest lindy hop success was a clean sweep of the three first place trophies at Inspiration Weekend 2007 in Orange County. When she is not dancing, Audrey is an architect specializing in green custom residential additions and remodels.
Audrey runs and teaches classes at Wednesday Night Hop in Mountain View.
Stefan Durham
Stefan "Danger" Durham has been doing the swing dance for over a decade. He first started with a Portland performance group called the "Dance Mafia." That was in a pre-Patriot Act world. Since then he's won placements at a few swing dance comps, and also at the 2010 Herrang twist competition, which he sometimes reflects back on while humming Chubby Checker tunes. Stefan "Danger" Durham thinks maybe 1930's NYC jazz music and Lindy Hop were some BOMB REAL and doesn't it seem like they never get old like the truth never gets old? A roller skating guru recently told him to work on his long flow, which should keep him busy.
Bethany Powell
Bethany "the aztec" Powell is still fond of the lindy hop because it's a street dance and ultimately allows the body to let go of all contrivance and rediscover the truths it was born with. She is drawn to dances that don't seek to homogenize but that instead celebrate novelty and diversity, an impulse that jibes with the very universe itself. It seems to her that the highest pinnacle of lindy hop (and of existence?) is the feeling that anything could happen. Then again Bethany might not even exist. Maybe she never did. No one knows who will show up at these classes to teach with Stefan but it's pretty exciting.
Jean Ma
Jean has won numerous awards at prestigious events including Camp Hollywood, Camp Jitterbug, The U.S. Open and Boogie By the Bay. She is also an accomplished hip hop dancer, and a former member of the world renowned group “Culture Shock”. Don’t be fooled by her 5′0 stature or “ballerina” dance move - when it comes to teaching, Jean means serious business… sometimes. Jean strongly believes in pushing a class to the limit and making lessons challenging, yet keeping the element of fun in every one of them. Jean hopes that her students will be able take the concepts from her classes and build them into their dancing to make it their own.
Bromley Palamountain
Before taking up swing dancing, Bromley was a gymnast on the UC Berkeley Men’s Gymanstics team. Bromley is an award-winning dancer, instructor, choreographer, and performer specializing in vernacular movement through the dance patterns of Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Charleston with placements at Camp Hollywood, Camp Jitterbug, The U.S. Open, among others. He also assisted in the choreography of a routine for the show “So You Think You Can Dance” in 2009. Bromley is the co-owner/co-founder of the premier swing dance venue in Berkeley, CA, The Dancers’ Den. When teaching, Bromley strives to make tough concepts easy to understand by boiling them down into simple ideas that will help enhance the look and feel of his students’ dancing.
Patrick Wall
Patrick Wall has been a staple of the Northern California dance scene for over 12 years. Since picking up Lindy Hop from his older siblings in 1999, he has traveled all over the country, and made a name for himself at events such as Camp Hollywood-NJC, Lindy on the Rocks, Lonestar Championships, Boston Tea Party and Camp Jitterbug. Patrick enjoys teaching intermediate/advanced workshops in the Sacramento area on a regular basis. Patrick is known for his fun, fluid dance style, and attention to musicality. As a teacher, he specializes in keeping the attention of large classes with his sarcastic humor and wide array of animal noises. Plus, he loves lindy hop and the music that inspires it and wants all of his students enjoy it as much as possible.
Ann Mony
Ann has been teaching lindy hop and related swing dances such as charleston and balboa since 2004, and there is nothing she loves doing more. While keeping an eye on the basics, she aims to teach moves and ideas that inspire her students to stretch their dancing in new directions. She also likes to come up with ridiculous imagery for said moves. She is committed to preserving the improvisational link between lindy hop and jazz, empowering followers, and celebrating the cultural wealth of vernacular jazz dances.