Joe DeMers:
Joe DeMers is a champion Blues instructor from Denver, CO. He has toured the world teaching and performing from South Korea to France, Canada, Israel and all over the US. He loves to dance and is proud to be a dancer, performer, competitor, and instructor. In 2013 and 2014, he won the title of International Blues Dance Champion. His Drag Blues style is nicely blended with Jookin’ and captures the lively rhythms and themes of Blues music. He is known for encouraging follower expression in the dance as an equal partner to the leader.
He is a proponent of Frame Matching and the creator of ΔpTed and the Hierarchy of Creating Partner Connections, frameworks for analyzing and teaching partner-dance connection. He frequently runs Blues dance instructor trainings in his travel and is proud to be the National Dance Teacher of the Year, teaching middle school dance in Denver Public Schools as his day job. For more information on him, or Frame Matching and ΔpTed, check out his website at joeandnelle.com. Also, watch his free How to Dance Drag Blues instructional videos on youtube: http://youtu.be/tuIt9ooDKXE. You can see his latest Contemporary Blue routine: http://youtu.be/ySJGx4SIBsE.
Mike Legenthal:
Mike is a passionate aficionado of jazz and blues dances, known all over the world for her friendliness, teaching skills, beautiful following, and expressive dancing. A full time blues and jazz instructor since 2007, she has been honored to teach at international events like BluesShout, Berlin Blues Explosion, and Blues Muse. Some of her past awards included placing in invitational/champion/all-star competitions at events like BluesShout, Bambloozled and Snowbound Blues, but the award she treasures most is the Keith Shapiro Memorial Award for community contribution. She brings both vibrant energy and technical precision to the classroom, and strives to make every social dance the best experience possible. Mike’s ultimate goal as a teacher is to help her students fall in love with the music and the movement of blues dance, and to help them develop themselves into better movers, thinkers, and partners in pursuit of that love.
Dan Repsch & Jenny Sowden
Dan & Jenny are both full-time international dance instructors traveling to share the joy of dance. They've won many competitions around the country both separately and together in Lindy Hop and Blues. Dan & Jenny have found themselves teaching together with ease throughout events with a focus on musicality, fine movement detail, and play between partners.
Dan is immersed in the music and the movement. He constantly travels to continue learning, happily sharing his ideas along the way. In his teaching, Dan’s enthusiastic approach brings a focus on innovation, connection, and attention to your partner. Dan is also a veteran DJ, spinning for events locally and across continents on a weekly basis, and has dabbled in organizing for events and local dances. In the end, Dan is most excited to push his own dancing and to see his students break through their boundaries.
Jenny, based in NYC, is also a DJ and Director of nycBABBLE.com and Brooklyn Swings. Jenny has been training in dance for 25 years and teaching for 20 years, with a BA in Dance and Theater from San Diego State University. She is trained in 34 different styles of movement including Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, West African, Capoeira, Aikido, Tango, Salsa, Lindy hop, Balboa, and Blues. Her background influences her teaching and general style through musicality, variation, expression, and an understanding of body mechanics. Jenny believes the dance floor is a 'World of Yes' where we accept and are inspired. In turn we take classes in a 'World of Intention'
to expand our 'World of Yes.' Check out more at jennysowden.com.
Dan & Jenny’s general vibe is uber playful; just watch them dance!
They like to challenge and play with their students,
sharing both classic and new approaches while keeping one’s own unique style.
Jeff Meyer & Sara Lapan
Jeff and Sara have been dancing together since 2003. As dancers, they are known for being fun, friendly, and approachable. According to Sara's mother, Sara was a dancer even before she was born. Sara flipped through elementary school and high school, training as a gymnast. After retiring from gymnastics, Sara dabbled in many dances before going to college where she fell in love with swing dancing and met Jeff. Jeff started swing dancing in college as a fun social activity to share with old friends and to meet new ones. To this day, this philosophy is still a driving force behind his passion for the dance. Over the years, Jeff and Sara have studied a wide range of dances, including (but not limited to) ballroomin’, jookin’, and drag blues as well as lindy hop, charleston, balboa, solo jazz, tap, and argentine tango. Oh, and they both have Ph.D.’s in mathematics, so they do that, too.
As teachers, Jeff and Sara are known for their fun, engaging style of instruction, clearly breaking down body movements and dance patterns. They strive to instill in their students their passion for swing and blues dancing as something fun, social, musical, and artistic. Over the years, they have taught at local and regional events throughout the country and are thrilled to be back teaching for a second year at Dance St. Lou Blue.