Inspirers

Annette Kühnle (she/her) – Germany

Annette Kühnle lives in Heidelberg, Germany, and is one of Europe’s most prominent champions for blues dance.

As a teacher, dancer, DJ and organizer, she has been spreading her love for early Black American dances in general and blues dancing in particular for almost two decades, and is renowned internationally for her expertise, dedication, energy, and kindliness.

Her infectious appreciation and passion for blues music, dancing and history shines in every step she takes and every lesson she teaches.

Annette will partner up with Dexter Santos for multiple partnered Blues tracks and an optional workshop.

Breonna Jordan (she/her) – USA

Some of Breonna Jordan’s most cherished childhood memories are dancing with her siblings — whether they were cooking, cleaning, or on road trips, music and movement were simply part of everyday life. It wasn’t until she moved to New Orleans and experienced traditional jazz music for the first time that she discovered her love for jazz dance! 

Since then, Breonna has taught Lindy Hop and Vernacular Jazz at numerous international festivals and workshops. As a New Orleans-based instructor, she teaches at the Louis Armstrong Summer Jazz Camp, where she highlights the connections between music, dance, history, and authentic self-expression.

Breonna is not identifying as a ‘ contemporary blues dancer or teacher’. Yet, her cultural competency, her high level social dance and performative dance skills, her curiosity for blues, her understanding and embodiment of black American culture and relationship to blues music (being from New Orleans and raised in a musical space) make it for Big City Blues an immense and worthy opportunity to learn from her. 

Breonna will be the main inspirer for the performance solo track, and will work with Felix Berghäll for multiple partnered blues tracks and an optional workshop.

Dexter Santos (he/him) – USA/Spain

Dexter Santos discovered Blues dancing in 2005 in San Francisco, California and found himself immediately drawn to the rhythms and sounds of the Blues. The emotional depth and range, the varied subjects and stories, the gut-wrenching and the hip-shaking, the gritty and the smooth would give new inspiration and expression to his dancing. 

With a background in Lindy Hop, Dexter has studied with and collaborated alongside leading figures in the global Blues dance community, earning a reputation as one of the most respected and engaging instructors on the international scene.

As a teacher, Dexter aims to inspire dancers of all levels with the possibilities that Blues dancing has to offer while preserving its cultural roots, historic identity, and art form.

Dexter will partner up with Annette Kühnle for multiple partnered Blues tracks and an optional workshop.

Elise Klein (she/her) – France

Elise Klein is a dancer and dance teacher, passionate about African-American dances and their origins: Blues,Lindy Hop, Solo Jazz. With about thirty years of experience in a range of genres, her artistic and dance path is marked by diversity.

Elise is now based in Lyon, France, but she worked for a long time as a Lindy Hop and Blues dance teacher in Paris between 2015 and 2020, then in Tours, where she founded her own local Blues association to honor the culture of Blues music, its history, and to place the notion of well-being at the heart of pedagogy.

Elise contributes as much as she can to value and honour Blues music, dances and values in France by conducting extensive research about the socio-cultural contexts of Black American dances, by keeping learning from gorgeous artists, by creating a partnership with musicians, by co-organizing events.

Elise will partner up with Hadrien Haden for multiple partnered Blues tracks.

Felix Berghäll (he/him) – SE

Felix Berghäll is an internationally recognized dancer, choreographer, educator, and DJ, deeply rooted in Lindy Hop and African American Vernacular Jazz. Having danced since the age of 8, his passion for the rhythms and history of jazz has led to a dedicated career exploring, preserving, and sharing these dance forms with the world. A strong connection to the origins and cultural context of the music and dance characterizes his work.

Felix is a dedicated educator and coach, and engaged within organizations such as Collective Voices For Change (CVFC), The All Minns Next Generation and Herräng Dance Camp.

Felix Berghäll is a dynamic and versatile force in the jazz dance world, constantly working to develop both his artistry and the community around him through performance, education, production, and social engagement.

Felix will partner up with Breonna Jordan and with Nawelle Saidi for multiple partnered blues track and optional workshops. He is one of the inspirers for the social solo track.

Genia Tsvietkova (she/her) – Ukraine

Genia’s dancing story begun when she was 6 years old. She is a lindy hop and blues dancer from Kyiv, Ukraine. She likes to learn, teach and explore. She really appreciates the process of teaching, working with people, sharing energy and ideas.

During the classes she mostly works on discovering body motion, body control, joy of listening to music and being moved by music.

Join Genia for an optional solo blues workshop.

Hadrien Haden (he/him) – France

Since discovering blues in 2010, Hadrien Haden (he/him)  has decided to fully immerse himself in this expressive and liberating dance, gradually setting aside his initial passions of Rock & Roll, Latin dances, and Lindy Hop. Inspired by the musical and cultural richness of blues, he uses his experience as a physiotherapist to help his students feel at ease in their bodies and move comfortably. 

His classes, open to everyone, mix humor, kindness, and personal exploration of movement. For Hadrien, dance and music go hand in hand: he encourages everyone to draw from the richness of blues to inspire their creativity and expression.

Join Hadrien to discover a new freedom in movement, in a warm and inspiring atmosphere!

Hadrien will partner up with Elise Klein for multiple partnered blues tracks.

Jamica Zion (they/them) – USA

Currently living in St. Louis, but hired around the world, Jamica Zion takes pride in being a groovy solo dancer, a dynamic follow, and growing lead. Jamica aims for range, not just in connection and style, but across genres too! Since starting jazz and blues dances over 15 years ago, they’ve built a diverse and abundant performance portfolio as well as collected multiple titles from contests.

Jamica’s approach towards sharing dance with others includes a critical understanding and appreciation of its history and culture, while simultaneously ushering students to build their own styles and meaningful connections to it. Jamica draws on their professional training from various social justice organizations and a long educational background which includes nearly three degrees in Sociology. In the past years, Jamica has been proudly collaborating on multiple queer-centered projects.

This unique blend of experiences, teacher training, and knowledge allows Jamica to deliver inclusive and culturally responsible content that is creative, thought provoking, and original!

Jamica will partner up with Kenneth Shipp for multiple partnered blues tracks.

Kenneth Shipp (he/him) – USA

Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO as an instructor who grew up dancing hip-hop and DJing breaking comps before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way.

Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and teaching style so that students walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding. With every class and practice, he’ll enourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.”

When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention, or desperately trying to dismantle toxic institutions.

Kenneth will be partner up with Jamica Zion for multiple partnered blues tracks.

Krysia (she/her) and Filip (he/him) – PL

Krysia and Filip, founders of Shake That Blues, are active contributors to the blues dance scene in Warsaw. They began their dance journey in 2016; although their first loves were Lindy Hop and Balboa, Blues quickly captured their hearts and remained at the center of their creative path.

They value the diversity of blues in both music and dance. Their favorite styles are Texas Shuffle, Slow Drag, and Funky Blues.

In their classes, they focus on the values, aesthetics, and cultural roots of blues dance, creating an open, welcoming space for anyone wanting to explore its depth and beauty.

In teaching, they blend their interests. As a musician, Krysia loves to explore how the body connects with music, while Filip emphasizes social interaction. Together, they connect with students on many levels and share a broad perspective on social dance.

Krysia & Filip will work with the Shufflers partnered blues track.

Nawelle Saidi (she/her) – France

As far as she can remember, music has always played a central role in Nawelle’s life. Raised in the countryside of Lyon, she grew up in an Algerian descendant family where music and dance was always in the center of her community. American black music and dance forms played are her main influences where the Blues has a special place in her heart.

In 2013, she co-created “Shake that swing” association, based in Paris, dedicated to promoting jazz dance heritage, through different types of events. She mostly teaches lindy hop but blues is never far away. Her path and passion for music is so diverse that you can see her jumping on metal music or performing the “pop dip and spin” category on the ballroom scene, with a particular interest for trance states and healing.

Nawelle will partner up with Felix Berghäll for an optional workshop.

Sep Vermeersch (he/him) – Belgium

Meet SEp, your playful dance facilitator, MC, performer and co-organiser of/at Big City Blues. He has always been immersed in the thriving blues scene in Ghent, working with blues legends such as Tiny Legs Tim and the Ghent blues club Missy Sippy.

More then 10 years ago, with Brecht Devloo, Sep started organizing the first legendary blues dance parties in Belgium. And as LouisLou (now Upside Down) Leni and Sep were co-creators of the epic Boogieville parties.

Sep loves holding space to inspire and support dancers in developing a personal expression. As a guest in the culture, he likes to start from the question: ‘how can we develop our ways in blues, while trying to respect the powerful black African American Roots of the dance and its culture?’

Sep is one of the inspirers in the social solo track and performance track.

Valérie Villers (she/her) – Belgium

Valérie is a local teacher, dj and facilitator supporting different styles within the swing & blues dance community. She values connecting people to their body, to the music, to fellow dancers and the community. Dance has become her main way of communication and growth.

As a teenager she first did a couple of years of street dancing, but very fast she also dove into more traditional African dances & percussion, following her interest in African cultures, music and dances. The love for all kinds of jazz & blues music grew alongside her art studies. With the discovery of Lindy hop and Blues dances, the love for music, cultures and movement fell into place.

Within her classes, she likes to challenge people to get out of their comfort zone and authentically express how the music makes them move their body (out of the box).

Valérie will partner up with Elena Cancilla for the Total Beginners Track