Bio & Promotional Materials
Fancy Dougherty
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 in and taught Lindy, Balboa and Shag all over the world, 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!
Below are some of the fine and talented individuals with whom she regularly has the pleasure of sharing the dance floor and the classroom.
Vasu Sharma
Vasu first discovered swing dancing while studying at the University of Florida and has been hooked ever since. What started as a hobby quickly grew into a lifelong passion that takes him around the world—social dancing, performing, competing, and teaching Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Collegiate Shag. Known for his sharp technique and his ability to bring energy to any tempo, Vasu loves experimenting with new rhythms, shapes, and connections. He has a particular soft spot for Pure Balboa, where he’s always exploring fresh ways to approach traditional partnership. Whether he’s putting his heart out on a social floor or training hard for the next performance or competition, his love for swing dancing always shines through. A lifelong learner, Vasu is just as excited about sharing what he’s learned as he is about growing his own craft.
Jeremy Otth
Jeremy Otth amassed a great amount of knowledge on the historic essence of vintage swing dances and personal stories and interactions with some of the original jitterbuggs and swing dancers. His interest has focused on the Lindy Hop, Balboa, Jazz and Collegiate Shag. Along with his seemingly inexhaustible amount of energy, Jeremy’s natural talent and dedication led him to accumulate championship titles at many acclaimed dance competitions such as the International Lindy Hop Championships, National Jitterbug Championships, American Classic Balboa Championships, California Balboa Classic and the US Open Swing Dance Championships. Jeremy is now able to share that breadth of knowledge and passion for these classic partner dances by entertaining and educating feet from Southern California to around the world.
Nejc Zupan
Nejc started dancing swing back in 2003 as a result of his contemporary dance experience and a strong love for jazz music. Because of this he became a main culprit for popularization of Lindy Hop and Balboa in Slovenia in the early 2000s.
His Swing dance experience is a collection of endless research into different dance forms, many international workshops and his humble willingness to keep learning from anybody who is willing to teach him. He pays special attention to jazz movement and musicality, both quintessential to any Swing dancing.
Albert Ferran Toll
Albert has loved to dance since he was a child, and in 1996 finally discovered folk dancing. Then one magical evening in 2000, between waltzes at Plaça del Rei in Barcelona, he was invited to a swing dance. That’s when he started dancing lindy. Enthralled with social dancing, he discovered balboa in 2005, and towards the end of 2006, he and Gloria and began teaching this amazing dance locally and growing the scene in Barcelona. In 2011, they started teaching international workshops, and in June 2014 during a competition in the US, Albert had a personal crisis that made him question whether the way he danced was consistent with who he was and how he felt about partner dancing. That’s when he decided to embark on a different path.
Sandy Lewis
Based in Barcelona, Sandy Lewis was born and raised in south Louisiana dancing to Cajun and Zydeco music. After moving to Spain, she began swing dancing and immediately fell in love with Collegiate Shag. Her style is joyful, free-spirited, and a little rascally when the mood strikes. And her teaching style follows suit. You’ll learn while laughing and the lesson always comes with a wink and a smile…and maybe some swear words in between. She believes in empowering dancers to be themselves and encourages people to let their inner dancer shine on the dancefloor.
When she’s not dancing, you can find her emceeing various swing festivals around Spain, and also at home being a kick-ass mom. Her favorite color is red, and according to her son, her hair is fantastic.
Stephen Sayer
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.
Photos
Photo credits (top to bottom) Left column: Buksil Jang (https://www.instagram.com/buksil/?hl=en) ; Bal & Hop; Center column: Antanas Minkevicius (https://www.instagram.com/minkevicius.photography/?hl=en) ; David Poul (https://www.instagram.com/david.poul/?hl=en) ; Marc Vilaró (https://www.facebook.com/marc.vilaro.77/) ; Right column: Raelene Goddard; David Poul (https://www.instagram.com/david.poul/?hl=en)