I am privileged to have a variety of dance partners that I teach and compete with from around the country.
Please send me a message to hire me with any of the following wonderful dance partners:
Tim O'Neill (Los Angeles, CA), Andrew Smith (Seattle, WA), Nicole Balcom (Washington, DC), Joe DeMers (Denver, CO), and Jae Wilson (Bristol, UK).
Please send me a message to hire me with any of the following wonderful dance partners:
Tim O'Neill (Los Angeles, CA), Andrew Smith (Seattle, WA), Nicole Balcom (Washington, DC), Joe DeMers (Denver, CO), and Jae Wilson (Bristol, UK).
Tim O’NeillTim O’Neill started dancing in 1997 and couldn’t stop! He has studied and taught Blues, Lindy, Ballroom, and Argentine Tango and even wrote two theses for an MA in Sociology on social dynamics and body language observed in dance venues. Since 2009 he has trained or taught at over fifty events and has thirteen Blues competition titles to his name from the biggest events in the US. Tim believes the best way to dance is to have fun, and learning dance enhances that ability. When taking Tim’s classes expect to laugh, have fun, be entertained, and learn—a lot. And be sure to ask him to dance!
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Andrew SmithTeaching internationally for over a decade, Andrew still wears the same pair of dance shoes he bought after falling in love with social dance at the end of high school. In classes around the world, he draws upon his experience in social, vernacular, and classical dances to inspire and challenge his students. He brings a balanced focus to technique, body mechanics, spirit, and creativity and strives to create a positive, safe learning environment. Andrew continues to hone his skills through competitions and wins at events around the country, including Enter The Blues, Rose City Blues (twice), and Portland Blues Experience (twice). In his spare time, Andrew is a software engineer and holds a Master's degree in Sustainable Design and Construction from Stanford University. He enjoys hugs, yoga, and dark chocolate. Visit www.AndrewSmithDance.com for more info.
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Watch Rachel and Andrew take 1st place in the Rose City Blues 2015 Strictly! or here in the bluesSHOUT All-Stars Strictly finals!
Nicole BalcomA social dancer at heart, Nicole loves Blues music and dance, and looks at an open dance floor in the same way a kitten would, because she is a kitten. Her playful nature leads her to a belief that individual style and creativity are a must, and need to be wound around a solid fundamental core. Her approach to instruction reflects this by placing the basic concepts into boxes, where she can be found peering out from one of them, or hopping from one to another; connecting and relating them to provide a cohesive understanding of the dance. Wide eyed and full of energy, Nicole can be found dancing across the country and hopes that she can provide you with mew tools to make the dance your own.
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Joe DeMersJoe DeMers is a champion Blues instructor from Denver, CO. He has toured the world teaching and performing from South Korea to France, Canada, Israel and all over the US. He loves to dance and is proud to be a dancer, performer, competitor, and instructor. In 2013 and 2014, he won the title of International Blues Dance Champion. He is a leading ambassador for a style of Blues, called Drag Blues; a modern dance form of Blues evolved from Ballroomin', Strut, and Slow Drag. While based on vintage traveling Blues dances, Drag Blues has a more defined technique and incorporates Swing moves and movements.
He is also a proponent of Frame Matching and the creator of ΔpTed and the Hierarchy of Creating Partner Connections, frameworks for analyzing and teaching partner-dance connection. He frequently runs Blues dance instructor trainings in his travel and is proud to be the 2015 recipient of National Dance Teacher of the Year, teaching middle school dance in Denver Public Schools as his day job. For more information on him, or Frame Matching and ΔpTed, check out his website at joeandnelle.com. Watch his free How to Dance Drag Blues instructional videos on youtube: http://youtu.be/tuIt9ooDKXE. |
Watch Rachel and Joe dance in the bluesSHOUT 2015 All Star Finals!
Jae WilsonI wasn’t a dancer the first time I heard live blues in Rochester, New York on a cold November day in 2004. I was just a sophomore in college. I was a classically trained flautist who fumbled with jazz saxophone through primary school. I was unprepared for a medium as raw, gritty, and heart wrenching as the blues. So I cried, and then tried to explain it to my baffled roommate. He didn’t get it.
So I became a dancer and instantly fell in love: with the dance, the people, the stories, the lifestyle. I’ve been a vagabond, homeless, rich (sorta), flat broke, and busted. But I’ve seen dance halls in Dublin, Geneva, Heidelberg, Honolulu, New York, Denver, Portland, and a myriad of cities in between. I was blessed to be inspired by Frankie Manning, and I hope to share my love of the dance with you. So whether I’m spinning some Delta, Chicago or Kansas City Blues for ya, ask me to dance. |