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In 2003, as an 18-year-old college student in LA, I found swing dance at Memories (in Whittier). It changed my life.

Since then, I split my time between California and Chicago, with the exception of 2008 when I spent time in Cincinnati training and performing with Joel, Melanie, and the Snapshots. 'Sup my Cincy old schoolers!

In Chicago, I trained with and worked at Big City Swing under the leadership of Julee Mertz before moving to San Francisco. I spent over a decade in San Francisco deepening my movement practice, I returned to Chicago in January 2025 with renewed focus and intention.

Today, I'm dedicated to studio life and study in the styles of Lindy, Blues, and House dance. I have recently been training with Jo Hoffberg and the instructors at RhythmHood & Snipes.

I'm passionate about solo movement. I seek to help dancers build creativity, confidence, and musicality first alone, then with a partner.

As a non-binary queer switch dancer, I'm here to help break down gender norms in partner dance while honoring the Black American roots that built this artform.

Claire began their social dance journey at UC Berkeley in 2015 and has been sharing her love of Lindy Hop, Blues, and Solo Jazz as a teacher since 2017. As both a lead and follow, Claire has danced on and led several choreography teams, hosted workshops, and helped run weekly dance scenes. They also served as President of Swing Ann Arbor, where they aimed to grow and foster an inclusive and joyful dance space in the wake of COVID-19.

Claire's teaching philosophy centers on the belief that dance is more than just mastering moves—it's about finding joy and exploration in movement. She emphasizes body awareness, balance, connection, and the beauty of imperfection, encouraging dancers to embrace the learning process with curiosity and play. Their classes aim to create a welcoming environment where dancers can explore small but meaningful ways to feel more at home in their own bodies—and more connected to their partners.

Queen City Swing Dance on Facebook

Daniel fell in love with swing dancing over a decade ago, mesmerized by the healing power of dance. The more time he spent on the dance floor, the greater his curiosity grew about the music that drives the movement. As that exploration deepened, Daniel began djaying with a focus on making each playlist a unique experience. His sets feature a solid foundation in the original jazz of the 20s and 30s, paired with a healthy dose of current artists, complete with a surprise or two. 

Swing Dance America - Lexington | Facebook page

Aaron began dancing Lindy Hop and Blues in his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky in early 2010's thanks to Lexington Lindy Hop and Balboa legends Mike and Mary Richardson (Hepcats! Website). Since 2017, Aaron has served our community as the President and Lead Instructor for Swing Dance America Lexington. He gets around our region quite a bit to dance, teach, and learn. Keep your eyes peeled and you may catch him at a dance in your local scene! 

SwingColumbus   SwingColumbus LinkTree   LindyRoos 

Shannon Varner discovered Lindy Hop while living in New York City ages ago. Since then she has been fortunate to live in Lindy Hop-centric cities ever since. Whether Washington DC, Chicago, or Columbus, OH, they all have provided rich opportunities to hone her dance skills, and influence her dance styles. She enjoys sharing her passion for these dances with others and truly believes dancing is for everyone.

Shannon has won numerous awards, placing in such competitions as the American Lindy Hop Championships, Beantown Dance Camp, Nevermore Jazz Ball, SwingIN, Southern Swing Challenge, and Midsummer Night Swing in NYC.

Shannon also co-founded the award-winning competitive dance team SwingColumbus and served as co-choreographer.

SupermurgaNati! 

Joel has been teaching, performing, community building, and producing events in the Swing Dance community all over the Eastern United States since 1997. His current project (since 2023) is SupermurgaNati!, a partnership with Delaan Sumler based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

SupermurgaJoel is a former Virginia State Open Jitterbug Champion and Southwestern Regional Lindy Hop Champion. He has served as Competition Coordinator and/or Head Judge for the American Lindy Hop Championships (Stamford, CT), Lindy Focus (Asheville, NC), and Beantown Dance Camp (Boston, MA) multiple times. Joel has taught classes at many events.

Joel is a founding and honorary lifetime member of the Piedmont Swing Dance Society in Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was a founding member and first president of the Atlanta Swing Era Dance Association. He has founded and directed three different Swing Dance Troupes: Bums and Bombshells (Greensboro, NC), Heavens to Murgatroid! (Atlanta, GA), and The Cinci SnapShots (Cincinnati, OH).

In Cincinnati, among other things Joel served as a co-producer of SwinGallery (Cincinnati’s longest running weekly swing dance event) from 2006-2016. He still tries to be there every Thursday that he can, DJing and teaching almost every month.