The amazing teachers crew
Grace & Blake ( USA )
As Southern California college students, both Blake and Grace discovered swing dancing at their respective universities and were instantly hooked. With SoCal's rich history and dozens of the world's best dancers and instructors, they developed a relentless obsession for Lindy, Balboa, and Collegiate Shag, and regularly social danced up to five nights a week. Both together and with other partners, they have won a variety of national and international competitions including ILHC, Camp Hollywood, California Balboa Classic, Hot Rhythm Holiday, and Camp Jitterbug. Blake and Grace share a deep reverence for history of the dance and music, especially the original dancers from Southern California, and often teach classes that focus on particular styles and techniques they used. As instructors, they emphasize beautiful basics, the joy of connected partnered movement, and how to connect the dance to the music.
Natasha & Michael ( USA )
Natasha Shevchenko and Michael Tan are New York City–based dancers, performers, competitors, and instructors who have taught throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Together, they are passionate about helping dancers build meaningful connection through musicality, communication, and joyful partnership.
Natasha brings more than two decades of dance experience, beginning in competitive Latin Ballroom before finding her home in the swing dance community. Michael discovered swing dancing in 2016 which led to a deep love for balboa, inspired by the unique connection created between two partners. Together, their complementary backgrounds create a teaching style that blends technical clarity, creativity, play, and curiosity.
Between them, they have earned titles and finalist placements at many of the world's premier balboa and lindy hop events, including California Balboa Classic, The Snowball, BalWeek NYC, Bal Love, Valencia Balboa Festival, Camp Hollywood, and the International Lindy Hop Championships. Their classes emphasize thoughtful movement, strong partnership, and creating an encouraging environment where dancers feel inspired to explore, grow, and have fun.
Luis Arredondo & Maria Acuñas ( Spain )
Luis Arredondo is noted for his energetic dance style, risk-taking, never-ending smile, and detailed approach to the learning process . He relocated to Toronto in 2011, where he lived for ten years, traveling, teaching, and competing across North America. He is now back in Spain, working to build the Balboa scene in Mallorca.
Luis likes to keep his lessons moving by including lots of positive energy, a creative approach to partnership conversation, and a healthy dose of technique. He likes to make sure that each class gets everything it needs to succeed, and no two classes are the same!
In North America and Europe, he has won and placed in numerous national and international contests.
Maria Acuñas began dancing swing in 2014, and her love of the learning process has kept her going, adding more and more abilities and ideas to her distinctive style. She is a fan of high energy swing music, so Balboa was an obvious option for her next step.
She started Jazz Bouncing, a dance studio in Mallorca, in 2015, where she is the principal instructor of Lindy Hop and Balboa, quickly becoming one of the island's reference followers.
She has been dancing and competing in national and international events since the beginning of her dance career, winning various competitions, the most recent in Balboa being a second prize in Valencia Balboa or a first place in the European Balboa Championships.
Her dance is defined by her FUN and carefree style, with a strong emphasis on creativity, musicality, and partner communication.
Emiliya & Andrew
Andrew brings his enthusiasm and infectious energy to both the dance floor and the classroom! His classes prioritize comfort and conversationality - and leaving ample time to dance it out and find your way of doing it. Andrew is a regular competition finalist and teaches both internationally and locally in Munich.
Emiliya Bazlyankova is a swing dance artist from Bulgaria. From an early age, her life has been infused with a wide range of dance styles, from ballroom and traditional dances to contemporary movement practices.
In recent years, she has deepened her practice through somatic movement studies, exploring how the nervous system, imagination, and precise body awareness can work together to unlock creativity. In her classes, establishing the body–mind connection comes first. Expect solo movement explorations designed to awaken the senses, deepen body awareness, and help you develop your technique more efficiently.
Emiliya is deeply fascinated by individual body language and sees each dance as an opportunity to co-create a new world, not necessarily pinned to one style.
"Experience the music, let yourself be moved — the body already knows."
Emiliya is the co-founder of the Balboa scene in Bulgaria, sharing her love for the dance and helping it grow since 2020. In 2026, she organized SenseBalboa, a warm and intimate international event focused on fostering meaningful connections between participants, while working on core movement principles and exploring creative approaches to the dance, including her signature BalboaBody class methodology.
For Emiliya, it is important to create inclusive environments where dancers of different experience levels can learn from, collaborate with, and inspire one another.
