Swingdancevegas Academy
instructors
NIck peterson |
Mark BruntonMark has been dancing since 2002, and has no intention of stopping. Ever. When he is not teaching, Djing, or competing, Mark spends his time reading and working on his next crazy cosplay ideas. It his express pleasure to contribute to the Vegas swing scene and spread the love of Lindyhop to as many people as he can.
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Felicia BonannoMy name is Felicia Bonanno and I’ve been a part of the Swing Dance Vegas community for 11 years. I am a science teacher by day and a swing dancer by night. I have taught both beginner and intermediate classes for the past 8 years and can both follow and lead. Back in 2019 I competed in the Solo Team Division, Student Team Division, and a Showcase at Camp Hollywood. Our Student Team took 1st place! Although my goals for dancing have changed year after year, this year I want to learn to become a better lead and inspire more people to become switch dancers (both a lead and follow).
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Justus KerrStarting at an early age Justus Kerr was always drawn to dance. Introduced to hip hop at an early age in the '80s, he was hooked instantly. Artists like The Beastie Boys and L.L. Cool J influenced him to get into Poppin' (a form of breakdancing using upper part of the body). After a long hiatus from dance, Justus was introduced to swing in 2016. It took a second for him to fall in love but the more he practiced, social danced and listened to Swing music, it began to get in his bones.
During the first year of the pandemic, Justus teamed up with Amanda Dickens and began working hard on lead follow social dance concepts and solo jazz. Together they branded themselves under the name JAM which says it all. In the fall of 2021 JAM began teaching beginner swing classes for Swing Dance Vegas Academy every Tuesday night. Justus looks forward to helping foster his local scene as well as traveling to other social scenes and occasionally entering contests with Amanda in the future. Find out more about Justus here! |
Amanda dickensAmanda is originally from Arizona where she first encountered swing dancing at Arizona State University in December of 2013. Amanda's introduction to dance was a Latin Swing and Ballroom class. Soon after the first class she was invited to the local swing club on campus and learned swing outs on the first night. Falling in love with the music and the dance she began going to classes and learning about vernacular jazz, six count and eight count swing, Charleston, collegiate shag, St Louis Shag, blues and one of her personal favorites Balboa. While in Arizona Amanda participated in the Phoenix bomb squad and three solo Jazz teams. In May of 2020 Amanda moved to Las Vegas and became dance partners with Justus Kerr. Immediately upon working together both were able to further their knowledge as individual dancers and as partner dancers. In 2021 Amanda and Justus created JAM Swing and Solo Jazz and began teaching. Together they have taught introductory solo Jazz classes in Vegas, taught swing dancing on TLC's 90-day fiance and in late 2021 Amanda and Justus partnered with Swing Dance Vegas and SwingDanceVegas to teach the weekly beginner level swing dance classes.
Find out more about Amanda here! |
Anthony ShamI began dancing hip-hop during my sophomore year of high school when some friends introduced me to MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Eventually in college, I discovered swing and learned 6-count basics. It wasn’t until after graduating that I attended a social dance at the Glen Echo Ballroom in Maryland and became more interested in swing. Once I arrived in Las Vegas, I found social dancing at Boomers and was immediately hooked. These days, my focus is on fast dancing, namely Collegiate Shag and Balboa.
Find out more about Sham here! |