A Vintage Jazz Workshop Weekend

Jake Sanders will be bringing the vintage jazz jams all weekend with a quintet, a septet, and a trio for the late night dance.

Naomi Uyama will be joining Jake Sanders for the Saturday night main dance at the Chicago History Museum.

Jake Sanders

A self-taught guitar and banjo player Jake truly delved into into vintage music while working for renowned bandleader Vince Giordano in New York City. While living there he formed The Cangelosi Cards, planting a seed for the current, thriving, young, traditional jazz scene you find in New York today. He’s played with many notable projects including The Fat Babies, a renowned hot jazz band playing in Chicago and beyond. He currently performs with Naomi & Her Handsome Devils and has collaborated with Naomi on numerous original arrangements for the band.

Naomi Uyama & Peter Strom

Naomi Uyama discovered Lindy Hop in her hometown of Washington DC in 1997. Before graduating high school she had already been hand picked by Aretha Franklin to perform with her onstage, and had won numerous national level contests. Today she is a top performer and competitor and has collected dozens of titles at such major competitions as the US Open Swing Dance Championships and the International Lindy Hop Championships. As an instructor she has taught thousands of students in over 20 countries. Today, she travels the world teaching dance and singing with her band “Naomi & Her Handsome Devils”, while calling Minneapolis home.

Peter Strom is one of the most dedicated and well traveled instructors on the lindy hop scene today. His humor in classes is only matched by the clarity and care he takes with his students. Since his start in 1998 he has taught at international dance camps from Australia to South Korea to Herrang, Sweden. In addition to teaching he brings with him his skills as a sought after DJ and experienced Master of Ceremonies. He was a member of the renowned lindy hop team the Silver Shadows and the founder of Uptown Swing in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mia Halloran & Andy Reid

Mia Halloran (Goldsmith), with her incredible string of competition wins and international teaching and performing gigs, excels in dances from the Jazz Age and is known as one of the best Balboa Swing dancers in the world. Her unique approach to teaching is full of energy and creativity, bringing a passionate and motivated air to the classroom. She is known for her highly impressive footwork, elegance, improvisation, and individual approach to the dance. Above all else, she is driven by her desire to create with both partner and band on the social floor.

Andy Reid is one of the most well known and influential swing dancers out there. Since he started dancing in the late nineties, Andy has left an indelible mark on the dance scene. Andy’s style is a balance of the refined and the eccentric. His proficiency with rhythm and partnering make his dancing rich and inspiring to watch and experience. While Andy specializes in and is passionate about the original styles of Lindy Hop, his dancing is a mix of many influences, is always inventive, and is never encumbered by labels.

Jenny Shirar & Christian Frommelt

Since being introduced to Lindy Hop in 2008, Jenny Shirar has quickly become known as a dynamic dancer, teacher, competitor, and performer. She embodies a distinctive, high-energy style that favors audacity and individuality over perfection. Ever proud of her hometown roots in St. Louis, Missouri, Jenny also specializes in St. Louis Shag and the regional dialect of swing that developed in St. Louis between the 1930s-present. She has been privileged to learn from and dance with some of the great St. Louis Shag and Swing dancers of eras prior and as one of the only followers in the world to have had this training, she enjoys sharing this unique perspective with students from all over. Jenny has had numerous competition successes, including first place wins at the International Lindy Hop Championships, Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, Midwest Lindy Fest, and more. As a teacher, she adopts a people-first approach and gets most excited about seeing dancers discover and explore their own way of moving.

Christian Frommelt is a passionate swing dance instructor, performer, and social dancer who has dedicated his life to bringing people together through music and dancing. His unique style blends an emphasis on traditional swing movement and a highly personal character. In addition to his renown as a lindy hop and solo jazz dancer, Christian is the foremost aficionado of St. Louis Shag, which he learned in his hometown from original jitterbugs through interviews and close study. Some of Christian’s proudest accomplishments include winning the 2014 and 2015 Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown Battles in New Orleans, Louisiana and placing 1st in the Open Showcase contest at the 2015 International Lindy Hop Championships with partner Jenny Shirar. Christian is thankful to travel the world doing what he loves most–dancing–but is equally grateful and proud of his projects in St. Louis, including organizing the Nevermore Jazz Ball & St. Louis Swing Dance Festival, cultivating a strong community of dance through the St. Louis Jitterbugs, and learning jazz piano.

Jon Tigert

Jon Tigert found swing dancing at the tender age of 15 and never looked back. Now, somewhat older than 15, Jon shares his knowledge of the dance all over the United States and the World. You may know him from his roles at events such as Lindy Focus, Lindy Fest, The Canadian Swing Dance Championships, The Chinese Lindy Hop Championships, Herrang Dance Camp, The International Lindy Hop Championships and many more. Known for his concise language, historical knowledge and and infinite supply of dad jokes, Jon’s classes are immensely informative and entertaining. Beyond teaching, Jon is often seen behind the microphone as a well known MC and host, behind the computer as a DJ, or behind the drum kit playing and singing with various bands.

Julee Mertz & Andrew Twiss

Beginner Track

Julee Mertz has been dancing since she could walk and teaching since she was 15. But, she had to learn to swing out, follow, and lead from the very beginning, which is what makes her knowledge so deep and her instruction so clear. She helps her students find joy in every count. Having taught both nationally and internationally with some wildly talented leads, Julee has since returned her focus to the studio she founded right here in Chicago back in 1997, Big City Swing, where teacher training courses have produced a band of fantastic instructors who themselves have gone onto national acclaim.

Andrew Twiss, a tap dancer from the age of 10 and a Lindy Hopper since 1996 is known for his seamless connection, momentum based creativity, and dynamic musicality, which is what makes his dancing so eye-catching and his choreography so unique. He has taught, performed, judged and competed in Lindyhop, Blues, and other Swing Era dances in the U.S. and Europe with both Evin Galang and Julee Mertz. He is most inspired by participating in and sharing his love of the social and improvisational aspects of the dance and his relaxed, humorous teaching style makes every topic more fun to learn! He continues to teach and dance weekly in Chicago, and continues to be inspired by many different dance forms including Salsa and Tango.

Julee and Andrew have been swinging out and teaching together for over 20 years! They have mastered the art of delivering instruction with clarity, brevity, and humor. They each have a long resume of teaching all over the world, but teaching together in Chicago always puts a smile on their and their students’ faces!

Bril Barrett

Tap Elective

Bril Barrett is a dedicated tap dancer, whose mission is to preserve and promote tap dance as a percussive art form, foster respect and admiration for the history and creators of tap, and continuously create opportunities for the art form and its practitioners.

Bril is the founder of M.A.D.D. (Making A Difference Dancing) Rhythms, Co-founder of M.A.D.D. Rhythms Canada, director of The Chicago Tap Summit and founder of The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy. His Performance opportunities include Riverdance, Tap Dance Kid, Imagine Tap, The St. Louis Tap Festival, The Calgary Tap Summit and many others. Bril has taught and/or performed in Prague, Canada, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Albania, Amsterdam, and across the U.S. He has started many outreach programs in Chicago’s public schools, Park districts and even a performing arts high school in Gary, Indiana.

Mr. Barrett has been running an After School Matters Youth Tap Program at The Better Boys Foundation in the North Lawndale community for the last 3 years and has just started one at Englewood High School in Englewood this year. The BBF program has been so successful that it has spawned a new addition to the M.A.D.D. Rhythms family. “ M.A.D.D. Rhythms West: The BBF Crew”

The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Jr. Squad is in its second year and quickly gaining a reputation for layin’ some madd rhythms on the wood.

Bril is determined to make a difference in his community by using tap and it’s history to expose our youth to the art form that saved his life!

Respect The Dance!