Natalia (she/her) is a visual artist and a jazz dancer, teacher and performer based in San Diego, California. Her swing and jazz adventures began in late 2010 although she had been dancing since the age of 4 and considers movement to music akin to breathing. Since her first steps into the professional swing dance circuit around 2012, she has taught, competed and performed at many notable national and international dance events, acquiring numerous awards along the way.

While performing and teaching are a great source of passion for her, Natalia feels the most fulfilled when creating meaningful connections with her students and colleagues on the social dance floor.

Hello, I’m Christian Frommelt (he/him/his), a swing dancer and musician from St. Louis, Missouri. As a teacher, organizer, and social dancer, I’ve dedicated much of my life to bringing people together through music and dance. The African-American vernacular dance values of spontaneity, rhythmic propulsion, and communal improvisation captivated me as a teenager, and I’ve been bent on learning jazz-based artforms ever since. It has become a privilege to also share the stories, sounds, and skills I’ve gained along the way as a teacher, writer, and performer. 

I’m proud to have been recognized with competitive accolades at the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown and the International Lindy Hop Championships, which include awards for choreography with Jenny Shirar. For nine years I served as co-organizer of the renowned Nevermore Jazz Ball & St. Louis Swing Dance Festival and Cherokee Street Jazz Crawl in the effort of collective expression. I’ve played piano for the Gaslight Squares jazz band since 2019.

Annabel has been teaching Lindy Hop and Balboa around the world for more than a decade. She is addicted to the communication and spontaneity of social dancing and is known far and wide for her huge grins and prodigious laughter on the dance floor. She has taken home top prizes in such events as the International Lindy Hop Championships, All Balboa Weekend, the California Balboa Classic, and Camp Hollywood, to name a few. She and Bobby White are the winningest Balboa partnership in the modern scene. In the classroom, Annabel is passionate about fostering a fun and inspiring environment that honors the history and legacy of the various swing dances while spurring her students to explore their potential and embrace their individuality. Currently, she resides in Washington, DC and is a founding board member and Director of Education at New Columbia Swing, DC’s premier swing dance organization.

Javier Johnson is a rocket scientist by trade, and he brings a powerful analytical sense which joins the mechanics of dance and the soul of expression. He is well versed in all the swing dances, but specializes in Balboa and soul. As an international swing dance instructor, he's traveled around the world sharing his joy of teaching and his passion for jazz dances.

Thalia (she/her) has always been an avid dancer–from tap and jazz to Hellenic folk dancing, she hasn’t stood still since the age of 4! Her passion for music and dancing found a new home in the swing dance community back in 2015, and it was love at first sight. As she went from social dancer, to organizer, and eventually teacher, Thalia continues to find joy in the creativity and unique forms of expression that swing dancing offers on and off the floor. Every dance presents an opportunity to learn, adapt, and have the most fun non-verbal conversation with friends old and new. 

You can find Thalia dancing the night away right here in St. Louis, Missouri. And if she happens to sing along to songs while you’re dancing together, she apologizes–she just can’t help it! 

Xander (he/him) started his swing dance journey in 2018 by taking some local classes but quickly began traveling to events across the country to learn more and share that knowledge with local dancers. He has dedicated lots of time to cultivating a caring and friendly balboa scene in St. Louis and brings that friendly nature with him wherever he goes. Xander is very playful, musical, and creative in his dancing. Xander also has a passion for teaching, and always puts his best effort into making material as fun and understandable as possible. He excels at encouraging his students to try new and challenging concepts while providing the support and knowledge to help them succeed.