Dancing since 1974, Chester Whitmore originally studied to be a cinematographer. An encounter with famed tap dancer Fayard Nicholas changed his life. Eventually, Mr. Nicholas became his teacher and mentor.

Mr. Whitmore has been jumping ever since. Lately, he has been traveling around the world on tour as dancer, teacher, choreographer, director and entertainer. He and his dance company, Black Ballet Jazz, have performed with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the direction of Mercer Ellington, the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Frank Foster and the great Miles Davis.
The summer of 1999 sent him touring through Canada and Europe with the Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra in a tribute to Duke Ellington.

Chester Whitmore's choreography can be seen in music videos by Weird Al Yankovic, Tina Marie, Boys 2 Men, and most recently, Sugar Ray.

Mattias is both a dancer, a teacher, a choreographer and a producer. He is just as successful as he is versatile and he has been dancing lindy hop since 1991. He choreographed for the comeback of "Singing in the rain" with Roine Söderlundh. During april 2010 Mattias performed lindy hop in "The Last Bounce", a show with the streetdance-company "Bounce".

Mattias and Hanna became dance partners in 2004 and are known for their great spirit, passion and knowledge.
They joined The Rhythm Hot Shots, that later became Harlem Hot Shots, in the late 90´s. Until 2007 they performed and taught all over the world with the group and were seen in Swedish, German and American television in different commercials and shows.
They master many styles of performing and have worked in modern pieces like ”Rhythm instrument” in Hamburg and ”Passion” at Wallman´s in Copenhagen. They also produce their own shows, like ”Swing sing fling” and ”Rhythm of life”.
Hanna and Mattias are the organizers of the Swingkids and Swingteens camp during the first two weeks of Herräng.

Meschiya began her singing career at the age of nine, earning a
regular gig and winning $500 upon winning an adults only singing
contest in a South Dakota Steakhouse. In 2000 as a young woman, she
met and began traveling with the Know Nothing Family Zirkus Zideshow
and End of the World Circus - a troupe blending traditional circus
arts with modern sideshow varieties where Meschiya honed her
performance skills with such thrilling acts as glass and insect eating
and fire dancing (dangerously twirling around on stage with
flame-doused nunchucks). It was while touring with this troupe that
she fell in love with and felt immediately embraced by the culturally
rich and one of a kind city of New Orleans, her home base for the last
decade and counting.

In the Spring of 2007, Meschiya began singing with the traditional
jazz outfit the Loose Marbles on the French Quarters Royal Street.
Joined by jazz dancers Chance Bushman and Amy Johnson,
a new revival of traditional jazz and dance consequently blossomed:
Bringing the joy and vitality of New Orleanss spirit, wowing
audiences both young and old alike, they toured the United States and

Andrew was first exposed to the Lindy Hop back in 1998 but didn’t actually develop rhythm until booty dancing in college. Since 2005, Andrew has developed a uniquely energetic style of Swing dancing with a focus on fun and just making things work. Having fun is awesome. He hopes you like awesome too.

Max Pittruzzela
Max is from Montpellier France. The art of swing dancing is how he makes his living, teaching, performing, from the Ninjammerz and also teaching and competing around the world. He is passionate about sharing his understanding of all the details that create a good connection between partners and give the most energy to Lindy Hop. He is dedicated to spreading the passion of swing all over the world, pursuing Frankie Manning’s vision.

Max has a very long list of achievements in competition. Lately, he won 1st place in the Showcase division of the International Lindy Hop Championships (2008 to 2011) and he also won the Hellzapoppin’ contest at Frankie95 with Annie Trudeau.

Max was a part of the recreation of the famous Hellzapoppin’ dance scene during the Frankie95 event and he also worked as a choreographer in the new Cirque du Soleil show “Elvis: City Center” in Las Vegas.

Alice Mei

Didier "Charmin' Dee" Jean-Francois
A founding member and co-owner of the SAF Entertainement Group , Studio 88 Swing (along with his partner Annie Trudeau) as well as co-organizer of The Canadian Swing Championships and now the C-Series, Dee is one crazy workaholic! With a life-long love of Jazz and blues, a background in Hip Hop and a strong affection for partying, he took to swing like a trumpet player to Miles Davis. His stage presence and charisma earned him the nickname ''Charmin' Dee'' early on in his swing career.

Mike and Laura started dancing in the early 2000s in San Antonio. It wasn't a very large scene, and the people teaching them hadn't been dancing very long, but they quickly came to love lindy hop, charleston, jazz, lindy history and everything involved. Then they came to love each other -- bonus! Now Mike and Laura travel the world teaching, competing, performing and learning. They are passionate believers in dancing with swing, dancing for your partner, and dancing while you dance. They are also active participants in their home community, Austin, TX; co owning a teaching company, The Lindy Project, with Scott Angelius, participating in the Austin Swing Syndicate board, DJing, organizing community events, and any number of things to keep Austin one of the best scenes around.
www.thelindyproject.com
www.mikeandlauralindy.com

Our lovely ladies that make up Sister Kate are:
Casey Schneider
Robin Nunnally
Charra Fulton
Lauren Kayda
Katie McLaughlin
Kara Noyes
Gaby Cook
Amy Best
Eva Robinson

Amy Johnson is a full-time traditional jazz & swing dance performer, teacher, and producer of one of the most prestigious swing dance festivals in the world, The New Orleans Swing Dance Festival & The Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown. She also co-produces (with musician Ben Polcer) a week-long music and dance camp called Welbourne Jazz Camp, and often tours with Meschiya Lake & The Lil Big Horns.

After spending 9 years studying swing dancing and traveling around the country to a plethora of swing dance events, Amy spontaneously moved to New Orleans in January 2007. Not long after moving, she had a serendipitous meeting in the streets of New Orleans with the now defunct Loose Marbles, a band of young traditional jazz musicians who had also just moved to the city. From then on, she began performing almost every day on Royal Street in New Orleans, Washington Square Park in New York, and on street corners and squares of Amsterdam and Berlin. Amy still works closely on various music and dance projects with former members Meschiya Lake, Chance Bushman, Jason Jurzak, and Ben Polcer.

Max is originally from Montpellier France but he moved to Montreal in September 2006. The art of swing dancing is how he makes his living, teaching at Studio 88-SWING in Montreal, performing for the SAF Entertainment Group and also teaching and competing around the world . He is passionate about sharing his understanding of all the details that create a good connection between partners and give the most energy to the Lindy Hop. He is dedicated to spread the passion of swing all over the world, pursuing Frankie Manning's vision. He is a proud member of the Ninjammerz team of Lindy Hoppers.

Annie is an former competition gymnast. She is a co-founder and co-owner of Studio 88-SWING in Montreal (Canada) where she has taught swing since 2001. As the artistic director, she also manages and dances in the Montreal Swinging Air Force dance performance troupe, which has been 2008 Team Divisions Champions of the Canadian and American Championships. She is passionate and enthusiastic as a swing dancer, teacher and competitor. Her style joins dynamism and power with a subtleness that is very feminine. She is a proud member of the Ninjammerz team of Lindy Hoppers.

Stefan Durham has been teaching Lindy Hop for a few years now (most recently in Portland, DC and San Francisco areas), and he has been flattered to win stuff at some competitions along the way. But his unflagging loves for partnered jazz dance and for the music that engendered it are at the heart of his devotion to Lindy Hop. Stefan likes to teach ideas, rhythms and moves that feel good and are useful to a variety of dancers. Stefan likes dancing really fast and really slow. He likes Charlie Chaplin and ice-cream cookie sandwiches. And he likes swinging his steps as he's walking down the street, all cool-like.

Jessie Sawyers is a Seattle-based tap dancer whose involvement in the entertainment industry spans over a decade. She began her training with Cheryl Johnson and Anthony Peters and has had the honor of studying with tap masters Harold “Stumpy” Cromer, Arthur Duncan, Jeni LeGon, and the late tap greats Cholly Atkins, Ernest “Brownie” Brown, Gregory Hines, Fayard Nicholas, LaVaughn Robinson, Jimmy Slyde, and Prince Spencer. Jessie has worked with Savion Glover and performed his choreography in DANCE This at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, A stage upon which she was also invited to dance with the late Gregory Hines. In April of 2010, Jessie produced and performed in her first full-length show, called FLOW, featuring live music by The Teaching, tap dancers Travis Knights and Mark Mendonca, contemporary dance from VAM performance, a group piece with 22 tap dancers from around Seattle, and a silent auction of her ceramic artwork with proceeds benefitting the Starlight Children’s Foundation. FLOW played in Seattle at the Triple Door to a sold out house of 300. www.jessiesawyers.com

Northern Lights is a dance troupe from Canada highly enthusiastic about expressing and promoting the spirit of Lindy Hop and vernacular jazz dance! The team was created through the mutual desire of its members to provide a source of inspiration for each other and for their local communities. These like-minded dancers love the dance and love to share their love!

Although he's only been doing it for four years, Jovon Miller has already made his mark and has established himself as one of the up and coming young lions of tap dance. In just his second year of tap, Miller was one of ten recipients nationwide (one of two dancers) for the prestigious Congressional Black Caucus Spouses Heineken USA Performing Arts Scholarship Award for 2009-2010.

As a hoofer, Miller has performed at the Masters of Lindy and Tap Young Talent Showcase and with various artists such as Greta Matassa (four time Earshot jazz vocalist of the year). His audiences have included notable individuals and organizations including but not limited to, members of the United States Congress, spouses for the Congressional Black Caucus, artist Sam Gilliam, actor/director/producer Tyler Perry, and executives/CEO’s of Disney, Coca-Cola.

Hailing from the sunny city of Seattle, Gaby is a dancer, choreographer and teacher in all things vintage jazz. She has competed and taught all over the country and holds national titles in Bal and Lindy Hop. She is a principal choreographer for the prolific group, Sister Kate, and shares her vision of swing through her many performances at dance cabarets. She's thrilled to be involved with Camp Jitterbug this year as a dancer and director.

Patrick and Natasha founded their dynamic partnership in 2007, while training with the champion team the Swinging Air Force and working at Studio 88-SWING in Montreal. They have since acquired extensive performance, competition, teaching and coaching experience.

Their talent and reputation as dancers and teachers was noticed by the Cirque du Soleil, who hired them to train artists of their show "Banana Shpeel" in the art of Swing aerials.
Patrick and Natasha have appeared in several Canadian television shows; La Vie est un Cirque, La Culture pour ou Contre, Ben et Jarrod, Relève en Folie, and L'heure de Gloire. They have even found themselves replicated hundreds of times for a Sam Roberts video clip ''Them kids''.

Becky Bloom grew up dancing in the Pacific Northwest at Bothell Dance Studio with Ray Bussey (That’s Jazz) and Cheryl Johnson and Anthony Peters (Tap Dance Seattle). At age 17, she was awarded a scholarship in honor of Honi Coles to the Portland International Tap Festival, selected for the award by Marion Coles and Cholly Atkins. At 18, she moved to Los Angeles to join Jazz Tap Ensemble, under the artistic direction of Lynn Dally and alongside dancers such as Sam Weber, Mark Mendonca, Channing Cook-Holmes, Steve Zee, and Roxane Butterfly. As a part of Jazz Tap Ensemble, she performed at the Joyce Theater (New York), Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival (Boston) with Jimmy Slyde and Diane Walker, The Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles), The Ford Amphitheater (Los Angeles), the Louis Armstrong Theater (New Orleans), and many other locations throughout the United States. She was part of the original cast of “Groove”, an original work by Gregory Hines for Jazz Tap Ensemble, and had the opportunity to perform it with him in Los Angeles. On tour she performed the famous Fred Astaire and Elanor Powell number “Begin the Beguine” with Sam Weber.

Vikas has been and avid tap dancer since he was 9 yrs old. He has had the privilege of training with Josh Scribner, Becky Bloom, Jessie Sawyers, Jason Samuels Smith, Jason Janas, Jared Grimes, Sam Webber, Chloe Arnold, Lane Alexander, Danny Wallace and many more. In 2008 he was invited as one of 30 kids from around the world to participate in “Tap Into the Network”, a weeklong intensive culminating in a show in LA run by Gregg Russell. Most recently, he flew with his tap teacher, Josh Scribner, down to New York City to participate in “Run The Night”, a dance competition run by Jared Grimes and Broadway Underground in Times Square, where they took home 1st place.