https://www.rickynye.com/
Ricky Nye on Facebook

RICKY NYE INC. in trio or quartet formations plays piano blues and ballads, New Orleans stylings and traditional boogie-woogie. The group has experienced great success with the release of their discs "Swingin' Some Blues" (2014), "Quick 'N' Dirty" (2003), and "Piano is Fun!" (1998). This aggregation is adept at either simmering or creating a rollickin' good time!

Traditional blues, boogie woogie, and classic New Orleans jazz and R&B all come flying from the fingers of Cincinnati, OH pianist and vocalist RICKY NYE. The driving force behind the annual BLUES & BOOGIE PIANO SUMMIT held in Greater Cincinnati from 1999 to 2017, Ricky has been inducted into the International Boogie Woogie Hall Of Fame in 2013, voted “Blues Artist Of The Year 2019” in Cincinnati’s CEA Awards, and "Best Local Musician" by CityBeat Magazine's "Best Of Cincinnati 2018” reader's poll.

Ricky began his performing career at age twelve with his family’s band, and in his twenties and thirties established working relationships and friendships with artist such as world renowned jazz guitarist Wilbert Longmire, Cincinnati blues icons Big Ed Thompson, H-Bomb Ferguson and fellow pianists Big Joe Duskin and Pigmeat Jarrett.

For over twenty years Ricky has maintained notoriety on an international level, performing his infectious blend of American roots music in solo, duo and combo settings in locales such as France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Vienna, England, and Switzerland. Ricky also celebrates a long-time performing and recording collaboration with "The Paris Blues Band", the very finest purveyors of swingin' blues and boogie in Paris, France.

 “Known for its rollicking, foot-stomping jubilance, the boogie-woogie sound erupted from the American South during the late 1920s. This piano-centric subgenre of the jazz tradition drew its structural elements from the blues and spirituals, but introduced an intoxicating rhythmic complexity that inspired generations of young dancers. Ricky Nye is one of the nation’s leading players and preservationists of boogie-woogie, stunning audiences with unmatched authenticity, virtuosic speed and playful arrangements”- Vail Jazz

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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.

Swing Dance Club at Indiana Univesity

Ava Francisco is a Collegiate Shag, Balboa, and Lindy Hop dancer based in Bloomington, Indiana. She began her dance journey in Houston, Texas, where she developed a love for swing dance and social connection on the floor. Now an active member and board leader of Indiana University’s Swing Dance Club, Ava helps build an inclusive and welcoming dance community. With a background in music, theatre and costume design, she approaches dance through storytelling, musicality, and character, bringing intention and embodiment to both social and performance spaces.

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! 

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Mark hails from Columbus, Ohio and is a recognized dancer in the Midwest region. He is known for his musicality, technique, and methodological approach to partner dancing. 

As a competitor, Mark holds various contest awards from dance events like Beantown Dance Camp, Nevermore Jazz Ball, and Lindy Focus. He advanced to semifinals in the World’s Largest draw contest at Frankie Manning’s 95th Birthday celebration in New York City. 

With Shannon Varner, he co-founded the award-winning competitive dance troupe Team SwingColumbus serving as a core choreographer for over a decade, engaging the community through camaraderie and artistic expression.

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Bio

Swing Dance Club at Indiana Univesity

Zoe Shepard is a jazz violinist, teacher, and performer currently pursuing her masters degree in jazz studies at Indiana University (IU) after training as a classical violinist since the age of 11. With no prior dance experience, she instantly fell in love with Lindy Hop in 2022 after her very first class at IU. Zoe’s dedication to the dance has led to her success competing at events such as LindyFest, BeanTown Dance Camp, St. Louis Getdown, and more. Concepts of movement quality, groove follow technique, dancing as if an honorary member of the band, and the fullness joy that is jazz music and dance are injected into her teaching style. You’ll never fail to see a wide smile on her face whenever there’s dancing involved.

Bio

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. 

SupermurgaNati! 

Hello, everyone! I started my dance career in 2018 as a sub-par Lindy Hopper, but shortly after going to school for Music Education, I discovered a drive to bring Swing Dance to a broader community here in Cincinnati! I believe that through community participation and visibility, the mostly forgotten art of partnered dance can rise anew! I love the idea of celebrating tradition by adding a modern twist to it - making these spaces inclusive for and of all different music genres, perspectives, creeds, and ability levels, and so I hope to aid in this cause by working within the SupermurgaNati brand to introduce as many people as possible to the culture and work with existing dancers to create enriching opportunities.

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/or teaching almost every month.