Eglė Nemickaitė is a swing dancer from Vilnius, Lithuania where she is dancing, performing, teaching and inspiring the community at What a Jazz dance studio everyday. Dance followed Eglė through all her life, but she found the real passion for Lindy Hop and later on for Collegiate Shag too. Dance has always felt like a big liberation for Eglė. Liberation from routines, thoughts, work, limits. Dancing makes her feel true to herself, music and partner. It gives her the power of total freedom and also a peace to the mind, body and heart. Her rich teaching experience is being increasingly appreciated at the international workshops as well. She shares her enormous passion towards a dance with great joy and commitment.

Arnas Razgūnas is a devoted swing dancer and teacher. True social dancer and explorer who often gets lost to surprise himself and discover things he didn’t think he could do. Acknowledged jazz enthusiast inspired mostly by African American vernacular jazz art forms and energetic effortless swinging music Arnas is actively seeking for deep understanding of what’s swing in music and dance. Rich experience in teaching weekly local classes grants quality and fun with clear explanation of his material by expressing music and yourself in it. Arnas is a co-founder of What a Jazz Dance Studio and co-organizer of Balboa & Shag festival in Vilnius, Lithuania – Swing Paradise.

Here you can watch them dancing!

With over 7 years of experience dancing Collegiate Shag, Jordan Hunter (USA) & Charlotte Liebenow (GER) bring their passion of the dance to the floor and the studio, where they focus on fundamentals, technique, musicality, and exploring new ideas.

Since first meeting in the summer of 2021, they had an instant connection and shared love for the dance, and shortly thereafter started teaching Collegiate Shag in Berlin, where they currently reside, and across all of Europe. In the last few years, they have competed together at multiple events around the world, including Barcelona Shag Fest, Warsaw Shag Fest, and recently winning the Shag contest at the National Jitterbug Championship in 2023.

They love to challenge each other and their students and their goal is to help take the shag community to the next level! You can find a first impression here and a lot more in their Instagram channels.

For our big Saturday Night Swing Party we are happy to have the Swing Shouters on stage!

In 2013, five musicians crossed paths and The Swing Shouters was born! The Swing Shouters are an explosive group, full of surprises. The band developed a new energy, rearranging the famous musical standards from the 1920s to the 1940s. With more than 200 concerts to their credit, they have become one of the most popular bands on international swing dance. From Paris to Quebec, via Sweden, Spain, Germany and Romania, they have conquered the public and the dance floors, year after year. They have a vast musical repertoire focused on the quintessence of Swing music that comes from New Orleans and Rhythm & Blues extensions.

You will find 6 tracks in total, 2 of them are Shag Tracks, 2 of them Fast Lindy. Furthermore we offer 2 Specials, focusing on Transitions and Shag History Moves.

In terms of difficulty, the “+” tracks in Shag (Lillian) and Fast Lindy (Ella) are more advanced compared to the others (Julia and LaVern). Julia and LaVern are targeted at an Intermediate to Intermediate-Advanced level, while Lillian and Ella are aimed at Intermediate-Advanced to Advanced dancers. The special tracks (Bessie and Mary Lou) are considered “open level” with a minimum requirement of an intermediate skill level.

Despite the designated levels, the teachers will adjust their material to suit the group's abilities. The choice of track depends on your dance experience, modesty, ambition, and honest self-evaluation. Keep in mind that other workshop participants are having their own different or similar experiences and that everybody is responsible for creating a comfortable environment in the classes. Therefore, opting for the most challenging track might not always be the best decision.

Julia Lee, born on 31st october 1902 in Boonville (Missouri), is considered the most well known Jazz, Blues and Rhythm & Blues singer and pianist from Kansas City, who had an important influence on the transition of Kansas City Jazz to Rhythm & Blues. She even made it into the white house, where president Harry S. Truman may have listened to her music. Unfortunately she passed away way too early in 1958. In case you have never heard of her, here is one of her most famous songs King Size Papa.

In this track you will start mixing your Shag up with some fun rhythm changes. Also your instructors will teach you some flashy redirects to make your Shag flow even more, and show you how to use rotation to your benefit.

This track is for you, if you’ve been dancing Shag frequently for more than a year and have already participated in other workshops. You can dance the shag basics easily, feel comfortable dancing them to higher tempi and are familiar with some more complex variations. Take this track if you want to challenge yourself but prefer a slower pace of learning.

Lillian ‘Lil’ Hardin Armstrong was born on 3rd february 1898 in Memphis, Tennessee. Being a composer, singer and pianist she was one of the most important persons “behind the scenes” in the development of the early jazz. Lil’ was married with Louis Armstrong for some years, not a happy marriage, but a major factor for Louis’ career. So for instance she wrote Struttin’ with Some Barbecue (1928), which Louis Armstrong was recognized for.

In this track you will take a deep dive into shag outs. Brace yourself for rhythmical twists in social combos that will push your limits. Plus, we'll spice things up by playing with footwork rhythms, empowering you to unleash your creativity on the dance floor with speed and flair.

This track will be challenging but not overwhelming for you, if you’ve been dancing Shag frequently for at least a few years already and you have participated in quite some international workshops. You dance the shag basics in your sleep as well as complex combos, feel comfortable dancing them to fast tempi. Adapting to the music and your partner is natural to you.

LaVern Baker, who's given name was Delores Baker, was born on 11th novembre 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. Rather a bit late for the swing era, she had several Rhythm & Blues hits in the 50’s and later, for example Jim Dandy.

In this track you will get to explore the fun playground of sugar pushes – a basic that brings so much more to the table than you think! Your instructors will also bring some flashy Lindy in their pockets – so prepare to lose some of those feathers changing your flow, redirecting, turning & jumping in this class!

This track offers challenging input for all of you who would normally dance Lindy to rather slow tempi and switch to Shag when the tempo rises. You should be an experienced Lindy dancer rating your skills to intermediate and a bit higher and be eager to push yourself to dance Lindy to some uptempo music.

Ella Fitzgerald, born on 25th april 1917 in Newport News, Virginia, is widely recognized as the Queen of Swing and well known for her unique scatting, for example here in one of the most famous Swing Jazz Tunes "It don't mean a thing", and her wide vocal range of three octaves! Assuming that everybody in the worldwide swing dance scene knows Ella,  there's really no need for further introduction here.

We'll shake up your dance repertoire and make your feet fly. First up, Running Charleston will turbocharge your Charleston skills, combining it with Swingouts. Brace yourself for Fast but Dynamic Lindy. We'll delve into various techniques and rhythms for dancing Lindy Hop at high speeds. It's all about keeping up the pace while still dancing with style and control!

This track is designed for experienced Lindy dancers who get the brightest smiles on their faces once the tempo is rising! If you've been hitting the dance floors locally and internationally for a few years and are usually at home in the more advanced level at international workshops, this is the perfect opportunity to challenge yourself with uptempo Lindy music.

Bessie Smith, born on April 15th, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was the most popular female blues singer and known as the Empress of Blues. She candidly discusses her difficult childhood in her song "Washwoman’s Blues".  Unfortunately, Bessie died prematurely in a car accident in 1937. Her life story was adapted into the jazz opera "Cosmopolitan Greetings."

Why limit yourself to just one dance style when you can blend them all? In this track you'll start mixing up Fast Lindy and Shag to get more variety in your dance, adapt better to the atmosphere of the music, and simply enjoy at least a first bit of the entire swing dance universe. You will learn a variety of ideas to switch between the dances without loosing your flow and connection to your partner.

You should feel right in this track when you are at least intermediate level in both dances meaning that you are dancing Shag and Lindy frequently at least for a year on socials with various partners, you feel comfortable dancing to faster music, you already participated in a few international workshops. We recommend that you also book one of the other tracks in the dance style you're less experienced with to be prepared for the challenge.

Mary Lou Williams, born on May 8th, 1910, was an American jazz pianist and composer who arranged music for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. She notably composed "Roll’ em" and many other pieces for Andy Kirk.

Mary Lou will take you on a journey back to the origins of Shag dancing. The teachers took a lot of effort to gather old, original moves from the 30s and 40s, studying old clips and other ressources. They will share that knowledge with you, for example through inspired combos reminiscent of the Harvest Moon Ball era.

You should feel right in this track when you are at least intermediate level meaning that you've been dancing Shag regularly for at least a year at social events with different partners, feel comfortable dancing to faster music, have attended a few international workshops, and are eager to delve into the roots of Collegiate Shag.