Stephen Sayer and Chandrae Roettig are dancers/instructors who specialize in LA/smooth style lindy and collegiate shag. While they have a love for all things that swing, their primary influences and inspirations come from the Los Angeles Jitterbugs of the 1940’s and 1950’s.
Their partnership began in late 2010 and together Steve and Chanzie have taken First Place titles in several national swing competitions. In 2011 they won 1st place in the Lindy Hop divisions at the National Jitterbug Championships and US Open Swing Dance Championships.
In 2012 they took 1st Place in the Lindy divisions at Camp Jitterbug and again at the US Open. In 2014 they regained their 1st place title at the National Jitterbug Championships and also took their LA Shag team to a 1st place victory in the team division.
In addition to those titles, Steve is also the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 National Collegiate Shag Champion. In 2012 Steve was inducted into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame. Steve and Chanzie are based out of Los Angeles where they teach weekly in North Hollywood, but you can find them teaching and performing all over the United States, Europe, Canada and Australia.
They are committed to improving and pushing the limits of their own dancing as well as those who take their classes, while keeping their regional style of swing alive.
When not fine tuning plans to take over the world, Gosia can be found on the dance floors all over Europe ( …and abroad ) , realising her new projects and creating dance adventures. Gosia found Swing dancing whilst looking for a way to express her love of music and vintage style.
Starting with Tap and Authentic Jazz, she quickly came to discover Lindy Hop, Balboa, St Louis and Collegiate Shag. From these days she has continuously trained, seeking inspiration by traveling around the world.
When teaching Gosia focuses on connection, a strong foundation from which the character of each partner can find expression in individual style.
Rokas Borusevičius
Lithuanian Elf renowned for his grace and mastery of magic, and weapons such as fast dancing and immortal energy. His dancer’s spirit brings other people to fall in love with the whole World of Swing.
Rokas began his adventure in 2011 in Vilnius, the land of the Swing Masters. While being inspired, discovering and training for days and nights under the eye of the best he grown his individual style and is still searching for new projects, ideas and new experiences.
Specialising in all styles from the Jazz era like Authentic Jazz, Balboa, Lindy hop, Tap dance, Collegiate Shag and finally his biggest passion – St Loius Shag, Rokas focuses on the authenticity and technique of each dance and each dancer.
Gosia and Rokas
Their roads crossed for the first time many years ago while taking Tap dance classes. From then on, while constantly dancing and adventuring around the World, their paths met again to combine those two superpowers to Fire up a new project – St Louis Shag Europe!
MAJA & RYAN
Ryan Martin is well known in the world of Shag.
He was one of the original co-founders of the Hot Rhythm Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote and sustain the jazz music and dance forms that originated in early part of the twentieth century. He was involved with running that organization and its main event, the Hot Rhythm Holiday, for eight years.
Today Ryan travels to teach and compete in Collegiate Shag, both domestically and abroad. He currently holds regular classes in Collegiate Shag at both the Rhythm Room dance studio in Dallas, TX and Four on the Floor dance studio in Austin, TX. Also there is a documentary made by Ryan Martin called “The rebirth of Shag”.
Maja discovered Swing Dance in the local community in Copenhagen in 2015 and enjoys dancing, learning and trying all kinds of dances and styles like Lindyhop, Solo Jazz, Balboa and Collegiate Shag. She loves the social aspect of swing dancing and is fascinated by the amazing community and the great uplifting atmosphere at national and international parties, workshop and events. Her new dance passion is Collegiate Shag, perfectly combining a fast and challenging partner interaction with totally funny and silly moves, which always puts a smile on her face. She is very well known of winning all Endurance Shag competitions together with her swing dance partner, Teis.
CHERRY & FILIP
Cherry and Filip met in 2013 on a Lindy Hop course in SWINGOUT.PL dance studio. They started to dance Collegiate Shag in 2014 among a bunch of enthusiasts who brought it to Warsaw, and partnered up while performing with the Warsaw Shag Team. – Cherry, do You want to be the best in the world one day? – Yes, why not… – Me too, so let’s do it! With this frivolous conversation they started to work together and train regularly. After 3 months they won the Strictly Shag competition during Warsaw Collegiate Shag Festival and after 6 months they became instructors in SWINGOUT.PL. Since that moment they teach regulary Lindy Hop and Collegiate Shag around Poland and abroad. Their dance is full of energy. Cherry dances with a wild Latin temperament, elegance and open head, playing with the rhythm and shaking things out. She loved to dance since she remembers. At the age of 6 she started with ballet and contemporary, then switched to ballroom and lyrical jazz for a while. Filip is a musician for many years, playing on the guitar, trombone and mandoline. He’s one of the founders of The Cajun Spices – a Polish gypsy jazz band. His passion reflects the way he dances and makes it a fine form of expression. They are full of enthusiasm, looking for new ideas and challenges. The first class they gave together was held in a Zoo for a group of children.
BARBL & MARCUS
Marcus and Bärbl are from Munich Germany and are now dancing together since 1991. Without a doubt, two of the finest TEACHERS of dance in the world. Not only are they amazing Balboa dancers, but their attention to detail on HOW they teach makes for some of the best classes you can take in the world.
They both started with ballroom dancing in 1984 before they lost their hearts to Boogie Woogie and Swing. Marcus was also deeply involved in building up the Boogie Woogie in the German Rock’n’Roll- and Boogie-Woogie-Federation in his function as a sports manager.
For 13 years Marcus and Bärbl also have been part of the organization committee of the famous Boogie-Bären Witsun camp. Traveling and teaching all over the World they brought Boogie Woogie and Swing in many corners of the globe.
With an excellent synthesis of Boogie Woogie, Lindy Hop and Hollywood Style they formed their own style with their own outstanding character. This unique character made them so popular and let them win so many competitions.
Their performances and classes are full of energy and fun. Join them and you will see. They started the scene of Collegiate Shag too and you will be amazed since their style is unique. We are very proud to have them this year at Barcelona Shag Festival for the first time!
Pol Prats is the founding director of Spank the Baby School in Barcelona. He has taught in different festivals in the UK, Sweden, Portugal and Finland including Stir it, Gnsh and London Swing Festival. He has been finalist in Good Night Sweetheart and Barswingona Jack and Jill competitions and Semifinalist at Frankie ‘ 95 in NY, as well as being a member of the Barcelona Jazz Cats performance troupe. African dance, tap dance, Alexander technique and others have been part of Pol’s interests and is recently fond of acrobatic dance. Co-founder of the BCN SHAG FESTIVAL.
Sara Planas started dancing classical ballet when she was 4. Ballet, contemporary, hip hop…dance has always accompanied Sara. It was not until 2009 that she fortunately discovered lindy hop and has been a passionate dancer and teacher since. Even though she has another profession, she has been spreading shag and acrobatics in other cities in Spain and outside the country in the last 4 years.
Co-founder of the BCN SHAG FESTIVAL. We have been the first promoters of Collegiate Shag in Spain and organizers of one of the biggest festivals of Collegiate Shag in the world together with Warsaw Shag Festival and Camp Hollywood and Rock that Swing.
Last awards: 1st place Showcase Savoy Cup 2016 2nd place Showcase AM Camp Hollywood 2016 4th place Shag Strictly Camp Hollywood 2016 1st place Shag Strictly MBSW 2016 – 1st place J&J Shag MBSW 2016 – Sara 1st place Shag Battle at Rock that Swing 2017
Coming straight from the heart of Lithuanian Swing Dance scene, partnered up from the very first dance Arnas & Eglė are dancing, performing, teaching and inspiring the community at hoppers’ dance studio everyday.
Passion and joy for Lindy Hop & Collegiate Shag gained their name as international instructors in regular small workshops around Europe, specially in Poland, where they inspired Warsaw Collegiate Shag Festival.
Rich experience in teaching every day classes grants quality and fun with clear explanation of their material by expressing swing music and yourself in it. Arnas is also a part of well-known swing DJ duo project Rhythm Lord Brothers.
Together with Eglė they are Co-Organisers of the one and only Balboa & Shag festival in Lithuania – Swing Paradise. Arnas and Egle along with SWINGOUT.PL community are the creators of Collegiate Shag scene in Warsaw and in Poland. Since 2014 they taught several workshops which were the very first opportunity for Polish dancers. They are the owner of the great What A Jazz Dance Studio in Vilnius.
