What can you expect at the Warsaw Collegiate Shag Festival classes? Expect sweat, hard work, and an abundance of inspiration. Get ready for new ideas and cool moves taught by some of the best Collegiate Shag teachers around! Classes will be held in the city center area.
Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Fancy (a birth name) fell in love with Lindy and Shag in 2008, with Balboa trailing not far behind.
She’s been hooked ever since, constantly endeavoring to improve her technique on a never-ending quest for connection, improvisational freedom in social dancing and the true jitterbug spirit.
She has performed, competed and taught all over the world, was nominated for the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame in 2014 and is a five-time winner of the National Jitterbug Championships in the shag division.
She loves to dance with new people and beginners, so be sure to ask her to dance!
Stephen Sayer is a dancer/instructor who is dedicated to preserving the great American partner jazz dances of the 1920′s-1950′s.
Originally from Dayton, Ohio Steve began dancing in 1998 at the age of 16. Falling in love with lindy hop and other dances of the swing era he traveled to the east and west-coasts to dance, study and learn the different styles of swing dancing.
He is committed to improving and pushing the limits of his own dancing as well as those who take his classes. His focus of connection to partner and music are what makes his dancing and teaching so unique.
Eglė Nemickaitė is a swing dancer from Vilnius, Lithuania where she is dancing, performing, teaching and inspiring the community at What a Jazz dance studio everyday.
Dance followed Eglė through all her life, but she found the real passion for Lindy Hop and later on for Collegiate Shag too. Dance has always felt like a big liberation for Eglė. Liberation from routines, thoughts, work, limits. Dancing makes her feel true to herself, music and partner. It gives her the power of total freedom and also a peace to the mind, body and heart.
Her rich teaching experience is being increasingly appreciated at the international workshops as well. She shares her enormous passion towards a dance with great joy and commitment.
Arnas Razgūnas is a devoted swing dancer and teacher. True social dancer and explorer who often gets lost to surprise himself and discover things he didn’t think he could do.
Acknowledged jazz enthusiast inspired mostly by African American vernacular jazz art forms and energetic effortless swinging music Arnas is actively seeking for deep understanding of what’s swing in music and dance.
Rich experience in teaching weekly local classes grants quality and fun with clear explanation of his material by expressing music and yourself in it. Arnas is a co-founder of What a Jazz Dance Studio and co-organizer of Balboa & Shag festival in Vilnius, Lithuania – Swing Paradise.
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 regular 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 the guitar, trombone and mandoline. He’s one of the founders of The Cajun Spices 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.
Kasia Dybowska and Michał Oblaciński fell in love with swing dancing in 2005, successfully launching the Lindy Hop scene in Warsaw in 2009.
From the very beginning they spent most of their spare time traveling around the world first learning and later also teaching the happiest of all dances both locally and internationally.
Since they came across Collegiate Shag in 2014 they are spreading their love for it all around Poland and Europe supporting its global revival everywhere they go. Alongside their students and with great support of Arnas and Egle from Vilnius - they started the Collegiate Shag fever in Poland.
On a day-to-day basis Michał and Kasia teach weekly Lindy Hop and Collegiate Shag classes and run the Warsaw Shag Team dance troupe in Swingout.pl Swing Dance Studio.
In swing dancing they are looking for a perfect balance of a general dance technique, natural and functional movement, leading and following skills but also some childish craziness, musicality, fun and raw energy.
With over 7 years of experience dancing Collegiate Shag, Charlotte Liebenow (GER) and Jordan Hunter (USA) bring their passion of the dance to the floor and the studio, where they focus on fundamentals, technique, musicality, and exploring new ideas.
Since first meeting in the summer of 2021, they had an instant connection and shared love for the dance, and shortly thereafter started teaching Collegiate Shag in Berlin, where they currently reside, and across all of Europe. In the last few years they have competed together at multiple events around the world, including Barcelona Shag Fest, Warsaw Shag Fest, and recently winning the Shag contest at the National Jitterbug Championship at Camp Hollywood 2023.
They love to challenge each other and their students and their goal is to help take the shag community to the next level!
Below is the class schedule, which may be subject to change. Rest assured, if any changes occur, we will promptly notify you.
According to your requests, we will trust your self evaluation this year. There will be no auditions for any of levels. For yours and your class mates comfort please read the levels description carefully.
If you have any questions or concerns about the registration process, levels or the festival in general, drop us a line!
