Gilles Bouvier was raised on cheese and creme fraiche in Paris, France. He came to the United States in 1997 to work as a chip design engineer in the Silicon Valley. Just as he was starting to discover the Lindy Hop, he was exiled (okay, not really) to Britain for 6 months. But the Swing madness had already got to him and he started taking classes with Graeme & Ann in Bristol, England. Back in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998, he continued to learn under Rob & Diane. When not practicing Jazz steps, he is either rock-climbing, hiking a mountain, playing a little guitar, spending too much time on his Mac, or thinking about French food.
Justin DeWitt began dancing in Ithaca, NY, while attending Cornell University. He was lucky to have stumbled onto a scene with great dancing and greater teachers, and took great advantage of them for the few years he was there. Little did he know that his frequent bouts of dancing and DJing were merely preparartion for the climax of his dance career in the Bay Area. After moving to California, he was quickly gobbled up by the Swing Cats -- and that's when the rest of his life began. If you're lucky enough to find him off the dance floor, you'll catch him skiing, skating, or playing his saxophones.
Trevor Gattis made his way from the Tarheel State to the Golden State in 1993. Two years after that, he began to discover the wonders of social dance while attending Stanford University. After being versed in the basic for about 15 different dances through classes at Stanford and DeAnza, he was introduced to the world of lindy at the Monsters of Swing '99 swing camp. Since then, it's been a non-stop lindy-coaster ride. When he's out dancing, you can find him gettin' his groove on to old school R & B, dancing salsa, Argentine tango, and swing. When he's not dancing, you can find him playing ultimate frisbee, basketball, dabbling in video production work, gettin' jiggy wit it, working on miscellaneous programming projects, collecting music, practicing his moonwalk, and just enjoying life. Catch Trevor teaching and DJing at Starlite Dance Club.
Dave Kale began swing dancing with his sister, Meg, in Fort Smith, Arkansas, taking lessons from a local country station DJ. He danced off-and-on until joining Stanford University's student swing troupe, Swingtime, during his junior year. Over the course of his four years with Swingtime, he not only performed but also helped run the group and choreographed with his sister Meg. The siblings have learned swing from greats like Rob and Diane and Kevin St. Laurent, as well as hustle from Raul Ante and Arte Phillips. Whatever the dance, they always bring energy and athleticism and excel at high-flying aerials. Dave is working on his MS in Computer Science at Stanford, where he also teaches and does machine learning research.
Meg Kale hails from Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she collected 12 years of ballet, tap, jazz, and hip hop experience. After a two-year stint with Dance est Joie, Inc., she transitioned into swing dance at the age of 15.During her sophomore year at Stanford University, Meg and three other students founded Swingtime, an student-run swing performance company. During her four years with Swingtime, she served as artistic director, teaching lindy technique and choreographing five complete pieces, as well as countless solos and jazz breaks, with her brother David. She's also performed with Knotts Dance Company and trained under such dance greats as Arte Phillips, Kevin St. Laurent, and Catrine Ljundgren. When she's not dancing, she's running long distances while listening to NPR, eating Thai food, reading, or writing.
Evonne Kaminaga discovered the joy of lindy hop in 2005 and slowly became addicted to social dancing, classes, workshops, and exchanges. Her dance background includes ballet and jazz, but after moving across the Pacific as a child she exchanged dancing for competitive swimming and basketball up until college. By day she works as a Financial Analyst for a green technology start-up in Silicon Valley. When she is not dancing, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and hosting themed parties.
Ari Levitt is a recent transplant from Seattle where he was an original member of the Savoy Swing Club. He founded the Central PA Swing Society while doing his medical residency in Harrisburg, PA, where he was also the founder and artistic director of Jump Cat productions. Ari has lectured, taught, and performed music, poetry, literature, dance, and medicine on Cruise Ships throughout the world. He is also currently a member of "Los Salseros" - a Salsa performing group at Stanford.
Tali Manber first learned to swing dance in high school in Tucson, AZ, when a friend dragged her to an after-school dance class. She has been actively dragging friends out dancing ever since! At Stanford she was a member of Swingtime, and she has since performed with Decadance and Knotts Dance Company as well. In addition to lindy, Tali can be found on the dance floor when a salsa, west coast swing, hustle, or really any song at all is being played. In her non-dance life, she works in a psychology research lab and is learning to play the guitar.
Tal Mashhadian started his dance career in jazz and tap at the early age of 7. He subsequently ended it at age 8. It wasn't until much later in life that he relized the excitement and smooth style of Lindy Hop. He grabbed up as many group and private classes he could fit and slowly worked his way into the social dance scene. He graduated from UC Davis in International Relations and performed as a member of the stunt team during his time there. He has kept himself busy with many sports but now is content to split his time with Lindy, Tango and Hockey.
Julie Tsai, an original member of the Swing Cats, is happy to be part of the troupe again after a long hiatus. A native New Yorker, she transplanted herself twelve years ago to the Bay Area for school. Upon graduating from Stanford University with a BA in psychology she found herself unable to leave such a swinging area. Her dance background includes ballet, tap,and social ballroom (especially Argentine tango and waltz). As an undergraduate (and beyond) she has performed with the Stanford Viennese Ball Opening, Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble, and Academy of Danse Libre. When not on the dance floor she can be found reading (anytime, anywhere), watching old movies or new theater productions, cooking up new recipes, hamstering, and trying not to accumulate too much "stuff."
Rob & Diane van Haaren are considered trendsetters and leaders in the world of swing. They frequently travel all over the United States and Europe to teach and perform. They were voted the No. 1 Swing Dance instructors in the Bay Area, as noted by San Francisco Magazine, "Best of San Francisco," January 1998. They are known around the globe for their style and flair on the floor. They've been featured numerous times on both Fox and ABC television specials, as well as the PBS special with Wynton Marsalis, Frankie Manning, Illinois Jacket, and Jimmy Slide on the life of Duke Ellington, "Swingin' with Duke." Perhaps you saw them on Wynton Marsalis's Lincoln Jazz Orchestra's year 2000 tour in the Bay Area called "For Dancers Only." What's more, they were the opening act for former President Clinton during his visit to San Francisco.
