University of York Swing Dance Society Presents
10th-12th February
ILHC 2014 - OPEN CLASSIC - FINALS
HECTOR ARTAL AND SONIA ORTEGA
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Hector and Sonia are professional Lindy Hop teachers and performers. The pair teach Lindy Hop every day in Barcelona and are responsible for the success of Lindy Hop and Swing Dance across Spain.
With joint teaching experience of over 20 years, Hector and Sonia teach classes and workshops at multiple dance schools in Barcelona and other cities across Spain. They are also huge believers in "spreading the Lindy Hop word", embarking on as many interesting projects as they possibly can, in the hope of demonstrating their love and enthusiasm for Lindy Hop to others so that they can do the same.
Hector and Sonia teach with a focus on the fundamentals. Pulse, partner communication and quality of movement form the basis of their teaching. Though teaching "cool" moves is not the priority, Hector and Sonia utilise them as tools to make their classes enjoyable and enable students to remember the key principles of Lindy Hop.
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The pair incorporate their own individual creativity into their teaching, showing students original moves and inventions in steps and movement. They aim to inspire students on their own creative journeys, and feedback has shown that students love the clear examples used to explain certain movements.
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Outside of class, at public events, Hector and Sonia love seeing students apply what they have learnt in their classes. In Spain there are many events in outside spaces and plazas where Lindy Hop conventions take place regularly. It’s a great opportunity for Hector and Sonia to dance with their students outside of class and helps them promote the dance they love so much.
SCOTT CUPIT AND JENNY THOMAS
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As the founder of Swing Patrol and choreographer extraordinaire respectively, Scott and Jenny are two of the most prestigious teachers we are privileged to have here in the UK, having taught all over the world! They bring enthusiasm, energy and passion to the dance floor, and together make for a one-of-a-kind teaching couple that we can't wait to welcome to York!
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While travelling in America with his brother, Scott stumbled upon Swing dancing. He was instantly drawn to the energy of the dance, the music and the people. Scott made a New Year’s resolution to learn how to swing dance.
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Soon after, he began teaching classes and things took off from there. Along with his business partner Claudia, he started Swing Patrol, often called the world’s largest swing dancing school. Scott’s love for swing dancing was contagious—his classes grew from 23 people on the first night to over 200 people after eight weeks.
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Seventeen years later Swing Patrol run weekly classes in Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania, Berlin and London. Scott moved to London in 2009 to open Swing Patrol London which now has over 900 students a week through its many venues and weekly social dances.
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Jenny trained at The Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts and has been performing and competing pretty much her whole life. Winning her first competition at the age of 4, she went on to win the All England Championships Tap, Ballet & Modern divisions, winning the Tap division 3 years in a row. Discovering the Lindy Hop in 1992 it wasn’t long before she was adding The US Open, American Swing Dance & UK Open Lindy Hop Championships to her many titles.
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Jenny began Lindy Hopping 24 years ago in Anthony Van Laast’s show “Souls in Motion” where she joined Ryan Francois’ dance company Zoots and Spangles.
During those years Jenny has travelled the world teaching Master Classes, sharing her extensive knowledge of dance technique and exposing countless people to her love and passion for the dance and continues to do so. To many in the swing dance community she is thought of as one of the “Teachers Teachers”.
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Performing on some of the most prestigious stages in the world – The London Palladium, Royal Opera House, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Hall, The West End & Broadway. Including Soloist and Assistant Choreographer for the Original cast of The Broadway Musical SWING , The Tony Awards, Macy’s Day Parade and The Blockbuster Movie The Polar Express with Tom Hanks.
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HULLZAPOPPIN' 2015 TEACHERS CABARET
Jenny has even performed at Her Majesty The Queen’s residence Buckingham Palace with the boys from TAP DOGS which led to a collaboration with Paul Robinson, Dougie Mills and Joanna Goodwin creating The Tap Team, which gave regular classes at London’s Pineapple Studios and toured England giving masterclasses.
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During the last 10 years she has also coached, choreographed and performed on the top Prime Time TV shows of today including Strictly Come Dancing, So You Think You Can Dance and USA's Dancing with the Stars.
LSF 2012 - STRICTLY LINDY FINALS - 1ST PLACE
BIC AND SIMONE GRAHAM
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Simone and Bic met on a crowded dance floor and have never looked back! Their passion for the dance has taken them across the globe to places such as New York, China, Sweden, France, Barcelona and Bali, experiencing the various local scenes and the top teachers around the world. Bic & Simone now run their own Lindy Hop troupe and perform at events across the country.
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Between the age of 2 and a half and 18 Simone took classes in tap, ballet, jazz and modern dance and performed in many professional shows at various venues, including the Kings Theatre in Portsmouth, Southsea.
A few years later Simone started Swing Jive classes and eventually became a demonstrator and a taxi dancer for many years.
After discovering the world of Lindy Hop, Simone was invited to join Jenny Thomas’ girls troupe the ‘Sophisticated Ladies’ who performed at many dance events over the years. Sadly she is no longer a member as other Lindy commitments have taken priority.
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Bic has worked in the theatre and dance industry for nearly 25 years. As with many swing dancers in the UK, Bic’s first introduction to partner dancing was Modern Jive, which he did for over 6 years, demonstrating, helping organise events, DJing and teaching for several organisations on the south coast.
Bic had discovered and become obsessed with Lindy Hop for a while, then met Simone at a dance event, and together they spent every spare moment dedicated to the dance!
As well as dancing, Bic also enjoys DJing at swing events and is in demand at many UK dances and camps, as well as international camps – including a Lindy camp in Bali!