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.

Nina Gilkenson and Andy Reid are some of the most well known and respected teachers, performers, and competitors in the international Lindy Hop scene. Since 2003, Nina and Andy have been traveling the world together inspiring dancers with their knowledge and love of the dance. Between them, Nina and Andy can lay claim to more than 25 national Lindy Hop titles from some of the most prestigious swing dancing competitions in the world, including the International Lindy Hop Championships, the American Lindy Hop Championships, Hellzapoppin', and the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown. Performance credits include television appearances on PBS; Apollo Theatre; Lincoln Center and concert performances with the Brian Setzer Orchestra and Aretha Franklin. Their classes focus on authentic Lindy Hop technique, musical interpretation and the history and future of the dance.

Nina and Andy are two of the founding members of Silver Shadows, a dance troupe that helps set the bar for the height of Lindy Hop group performance. Nina and Andy are also founding members of The Jam Cellar, a groundbreaking dance party and troupe in Washington, DC.

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

Jenn Salvadori and Justin Zillman have been dancing since 1996. They are not only masters of musicality, connection and timing, but they do it all keeping the original flavor of lindy hop alive. Together and separately they have placed top three in more than 12 national competitions. They are well rounded DJ's, being asked to DJ across the country, including the US Open Swing Dance Championships. They are national level judges. Having taught all over the United States. their travels have taken them from New York City to Hawaii including the 2001 and 2002 Great Southwest Lindyfest, the 2001 and 2002 Midwest Lindyfest. With the help of a few friends, they annually organize and hold the LA/OC Lindy Exchange (a.k.a. Lindy Binge). Jenn and Justin are particularly well known for their uncanny knack for breaking down lindy hop, and teaching it to the masses in order to further the knowledge of where we came from in this dance. They are firm believers in the theory that, "You have to know where you came from, to know where you are going."Know your roots!

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

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.

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 a decade, in that time he has traveled to instruct, compete, and perform internationally. 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.

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.

Clever bio will be arriving shortly

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''.

These are the instructors who are confirmed so far...stay tuned for a few more fabulous names to be added to the line-up.