31 Jan - 2 Feb 2025
teaching LINEUP
Help! I need somebody! We love to get recommendations from our community of who we should ask to join us for Lindy in the Sky. Our requirements? Inspiring, creative, fun, would want to chat with them over a pint. We reckon we've got a great lineup for 2025- we're finalising some details, here's who's confirmed so far!
Stephen Atemie & Korantema Anyimadu
Stephen is a fresh young talent emerging from the new generation of Lindy Hoppers. In 2017, Stephen travelled to South Africa to spend a month working with the charity Sing Inchanga. There he shared skills with local children & young people across their own dance styles and Lindy Hop. Stephen's performance/competition credits include 10 Downing Street, Harrods, Savoy Cup (France), ILHC (USA). His latest projects include organising talks, webinars and advocacy for cultural appreciation within the Lindy Hop/AAVJ communities across the world as a board member for Collective Voices For Change (CVFV)
Korantema Anyimadu is a dancer from London and fell in love with African American Vernacular Jazz in 2014. She has tapped for Zadie Smith and performed at the 2012 London Olympics. When she's not dancing, Korantema is a curator and zine maker, and runs an award winning creative project called Black Hair Stories. She is passionate about the cultural links between the past and the present, and the stories of the African and Caribbean diaspora. Korantema was the former co-leader of the chorus line troupe, The London Starlings (formerly known as The Dinahs)
Angela Andrew
Angela Andrew is a multi-disciplined artist from London, UK.
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Her dance story began with the first generation of hip-hop dancers on the streets of Hackney, where she was born and raised. She began lindy-hopping in 1991. By the time Angela started teaching Lindy-Hop, she was already an established educator working in schools, colleges, other institutions, and festivals.
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Angela’s artistic work is varied and trailblazing. For just over 6 years, Angela was the Artistic Director for Rhythm Tap N' Swing association based in Lyon, France (where the Lindy Hop started its French journey). Her mission there was to reboot the scene and forge strong links between music organisations and other dance disciplines in Lyon and across France; a goal which she vibrantly achieved.
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Angela continues to share her knowledge in and out of the Lindy Hop sphere. She accomplishes this with her Mentorship Program (working with many leading artists and academics across the AAVJazz discipline), and teaching at Performing Arts institutes such as LAMDA. Working for years advising organisers and artists alike, she has proven to be an authoritative voice of the profession. She has her finger on the pulse of current developments and is well-versed in the inter-generational conversations currently being had.
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She created the hashtag #sankofaswing to encourage mindful transmission of Lindy Hop and its derivatives.
Angela's artistic project "Radical Integration" made its debut at Chisenhale Dance Space in 2018 and continued through to 2022. In May 2024, she presented her seminal work "mearchivingme" as part of the Artist Archive program at Siobhan Davies Studios.
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Angela is a member of the CDS Artistic Community and a board member on the Equity Dance Committee. Angela is also the Godmother of Hodi Afro Swing, Mozambique, and Anduze Jazz Dance Camp, France.
Maria Mallan & Clàudia Fonte
Swing dancers (Lindy Hop and Authentic Jazz), Maria and Clàudia’s work is focused on
developing their own context for couple dancing. While having learnt from the classics,
from Lindy Hop and Authentic Jazz roots, showing admiration and gratitude they also
look for expressing their own interpretation and voice always adjusting their individual
moves to each other.
Although working on the dynamics from both roles, they believe in initiating the
movement from the body as a whole; as one unit. Body awareness is one of the
foundations that enables them to develop and work on a continuous and flow of
movements, adding rhythmical contrasts.
Their objective is to find different ways to understand movement and rhythm changes
in order to apply it to Swing music and give way to playful interpretations. What they
believe is that the more open we are to learn and explore, the more freedom we can
feel to fill the dance with personal characteristics united with the partner and enjoy the
swing songs together.
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Hannah Ballard - Sole Rebel
Tap Taster
Hannah is a multi-disciplinary dance artist, experienced in performance, direction and choreography. Her practice draws from her experience in rhythm tap dance, somatic and release based contemporary dance and improvisation.
Hannah studied professional tap and music practice at Escola Luthier de Dansa, Barcelona. She completed her original training at London Studio Centre gaining a BA (hons) in Theatre Art. From 2018-2020 Hannah studied her Masters in Performance at Liverpool Hope University, a practise as research study under the supervision of Annalaura Alifuoco and Silvia Battista.
From 2010 – 2018 Hannah performed as an aerialist with Wired Aerial Theatre touring worldwide, including the large-scale show ‘As the world tipped’, combining dramatic film projection with interactive aerial performance on a stage suspended 10 metres high above the audience.
Hannah teaches regular classes in Liverpool for all levels and abilities at MDI, LIPA and Liverpool Hope University.
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Wendy Okoli
Afro Dance Taster
This taster will be a fusion of popular African dance styles that has taken the world by storm! Suitable for all levels
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Wendy Okoli is a self-taught dancer of Nigerian Heritage. She first started dancing at the age of 14 performing hip-hop on stage from secondary school to University.
After moving to England Wendy learned other dance styles; Salsa, Dominican Bachata, Merengue, Semba, Kizomba and Brazilian Samba. She specialises in teaching and performing Afrodance and Brazilian Samba. Wendy is the co-founder of Samba Livre, a dance troupe that has performed all over the country and beyond, at events as well as commercials and TV. As an Afro dancer, Wendy teaches at colleges and youth centres as well as giving dance workshops in collaboration with various CICs such as Afrodance Academy, Movema, and Wigle Dance Dance CIC to name a few.
Wendy is also an actor and model represented by Urban Talent and has appeared in various films, tv programmes and commercials.
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live bands and dj's
Friday - Ma Bessie and Her Blues Troupe
Nicknamed the 'Empress of the Blues', Bessie Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s/30s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest performers of her era and was a major influence on other jazz singers.
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Ma Bessie and Her Blues Troupe perform a narrated show, featuring music such as 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' and 'Ain't Nobody's Business', as well as showcasing many of Bessie's songs. The show chronicles Bessie's life from a one-room shack in Blue Goose Hollow, to becoming the highest-paid black entertainer of that time, to the tragic accident on Route 61 in September 1937 that ended her life aged 43 years.
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www.facebook.com/MaBessieOfficial/
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For Friday social only tickets, click here - www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ma-bessie-and-her-blues-troupe-tickets-1067459533199
Saturday - Castle Rock Jazz Band
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The Castle Rock Jazz Band are in the business of serving up hot swing music, played by dancers for dancers. They draw influence from the great jazz artists and orchestras of the Swing era, while their experience as dancers ensures that the floor will be kept full all night. When they're not on the stage, they're busy jamming, working out new arrangements and throwing down on dance floors in Edinburgh and beyond
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https://castlerockjazzband.co.uk/
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Photo by Georgie Rastall
www.instagram.com/cheekyrastallphoto/
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For Saturday social only tickets, click here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/castle-rock-jazz-band-at-lindy-in-the-sky-tickets-1142372680439
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workshop streams
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All streams will have sessions with all the core instructors, and you’ll have access to the panel discussion and taster workshops.
We are a community of dancers who are IN community - all growing, learning and playing together. You will be alongside others at all times, people perhaps with different strengths to you. We believe that you get out what you put in, so whatever Stream you pick, it’ll be boss because you are boss :)​​
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Ringo - Develop
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your octopuses garden is really growing. Like all good drummers you are hearing rhythm everywhere and exploring how to express it.
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This group will be best for people who want to develop creativity and rhythm whilst working on key core concepts
Paul - Innovate
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The first few albums went down well, you’re ready to bring in the whole orchestra and plan an international tour
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This group will be best for people who are ready for a challenge. 'Tain't what you do, it’s the way that you do it is the key theme here. You’ll be expected to have very good rhythm and timing and good adaptability to new ideas at a range of tempos.
​George - Grow
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‘Lindy’s really got a hold on me’, and you’re ready to add new songs to your playlist.
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This group will be best for people who want to work on a key concepts and go into good depth on them. Learning speed moderate.
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Schedule
The long and winding road leads
Classes:
The Arts Bar on Hope Street
Liverpool Guild of Students
Party Venues:​
Friday & Saturday Night - Mountford Hall, Guild of Students
Sunday Night - Stanley Theatre, Guild of Students
Please note- the Arts Bar has steps to the entrance and lifts internally. Other venues are fully wheelchair accessible, if you need more detailed info, email us
Friday
6.30pm Registration opens
7.pm Social begins
11.45pm Social ends
Saturday
9.30am Registration opens
10am Classes start
1.45pm Panel Discussion
3.45pm Classes end
7pm Social starts
11.45pm Social ends
Sunday
10.30am Classes and tasters start
3.45pm Classes end
4.30pm Social starts
7.30pm Social ends
Registration
Passes:
*SOLD OUT Regular Prices:
Full Weekend Pass (all classes & socials) £170
Socials Pass £60
*SOLD OUT* Early Bird:
Full Weekend Pass (all classes & socials) £160
Socials Pass £55
*SOLD OUT* Super Early Bird:
Full Weekend Pass (all classes & socials) £150
Socials Pass £50
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All tickets will be released on 5th October
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Early Bird Full Weekend pass will be on sale throughout November
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Regular Weekend passes will be on sale throughout December & early January
​​Contact us for:
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Shared passes are for two people sharing the same ticket- only one person from the pair can be at the festival at a time- it's ideal for parents, carers or those managing health conditions that might mean they're unable to do a full weekend.
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Pay What You Can if you're unable to pay full price, contact us to get on the waiting list for these passes (no questions asked), we release one place for every ten passes we sell.
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Group Bookings​ Groups must be equally balanced with leads, follows or switches. Bookings need to be confirmed by 30th November and will need to be paid by 27th December.​
email: info@merseyswing.com
Friday Social Only Pass £25
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ma-bessie-and-her-blues-troupe-tickets-1067459533199
Saturday Social Only Pass £25
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/castle-rock-jazz-band-at-lindy-in-the-sky-tickets-1142372680439
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