P. O. Box 97459, Phoenix, Arizona 85060, United States 425-512-2168
Tina French
Tina French, is our current GPSDC president,
Tina has been dancing and falling in love with west coast swing for 9 years. She loves being out on the dance floor and that’s where you will find her, teaching and dancing. She teaches privates and WCS in various locations. She currently is the President of the Greater Phoenix West Coast Swing Club.
Caroline Monterubio Skarr
She loved the playful style of West Coast Swing and decided to specialize in it. Caroline traveled to WCS-events around the world non-stop for 1 year to learn from champion instructors. Caroline now competes at the All-Star level in Jack and Jills (social competitions) and in the Showcase (routine division with lifts) at the US Open and NASDE circuit. Her favorite thing to do is to teach privates and Pro-Am routines as that is were she feels she can help a dancer grow the most. Her goal is for you to leave her class with universal dance knowledge that you can use to express yourself in any type of dance.
Caroline is full of bubbly energy and is known for her creative shaping and graceful movement. She is from Norway, where she went to dance school full-time (her favorite subjects where Jazz, Modern, and Hip Hop). After intensive training in solo movement, she focused on partner styles like salsa, zouk, kizomba, blues and bachata (which she won second place in the Norwegian championships).
Caroline Skarr - 316-616-2869
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Andrew Mitchell
Drew Mitchell, has been a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer since 2010. He has an extensive background in partner dancing in Ballroom, Latin, Country Western, and of course West Coast Swing. In 2015 Drew decided to shift his main focus to West Coast Swing in his pursuit of becoming a champion. Drew strives to be a leader and role model in the local, and dance community as a whole.
Mona Brandt
Mona Brandt is a full time dance teacher in the Phoenix, Arizona area where she teaches group and private lessons, coaches competitive dancers, competes with her students in pro-am, and travels around the world, teaching, judging competitions and coaching. Her company, Shall We Dance Phoenix, is dedicated to teach dance in a way that is fun and easy for everyone. Mona teaches West Coast Swing, Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Salsa, Country and Line Dance. Mona is the director of the annual UCWDC Arizona Dance Classic, and is also a 6-Time UCWDC Country Dance World Champion.
Reach her for private lessons: Mona@ShallWeDancePhoenix.com, or 480-491-2393
Rob "I" Ingenthron
Rob began line dancing in the early '90's. He soon decided to compete entering the UCWDC Country couples and line dancing competitions. He moved to the "Superstar" division winning a world championship in line dance choreography. One of his dances was selected for official UCWDC competition. The mid '90's found his focus shift to West Coast Swing gaining Champion status. Rob brings unusual styling to his WCS, an influence from hip hop days. Rob's mantra-It's just dancing and it should be fun!
Rob definitely makes it look fun. If you missed his 2nd place dance with Florie Adams at the Phoenix 4th of July 2018, you really missed something.
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Jesse Dickson & Lannie Sullivan
Jesse Dickson and Lannie Sullivan are professional swing dancers based in Tucson, Arizona. In November of 2016 they debuted their first west coast swing routine "Goodbye My Lover" at The Open, finishing in 8th place. Since their debut they have traveled the country together, consistently placing and winning in the Classic Division as well as Jack and Jills and Strictly Swing events.
Jesse and Lannie are proud to share their combined experiences as artists and technicians of dance with audiences and students everywhere they go. As educators they aim to always share everything they know so that this fantastic dance can keep evolving.
Olivia Burnsed
Olivia recently relocated to Phoenix from Atlanta. We were lucky enough to have her come to the club to teach for us and become our dance director soon after her arrival. Olivia and her husband, Roger White, are both professors at Arizona State University.
Before moving here, she taught in Atlanta 2 to 3 times a week at their Swing Dancers Club and other places as well. Olivia has trained with the Swing Literacy Development Method under Myles and Tessa Monroe. Olivia is one of the organizers for the newcomer track for Atlanta Swing Classic.
She loves leading and following, but her true passion is teaching. She employs many of the same engineering strategies to break down difficult concepts in west coast swing as she does in teaching Biomedical Engineering at ASU (her day job). Olivia is excited to cheer you on and share her passion for teaching, dancing, and building our dance community!
Tyler Osborne
Tyler Osborne, All Star dancer, recently moved here from Salt Lake City.
He definitely won over the students the first time he taught at our Friday night dance.
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Lori Ross Blasingame
Lori Ross is an internationally known teacher, performer and successful competitor of dance, with well over 40 years professional dance experience. Starting her Partner Dance career at 14, she performed, competed, taught and choreographed for a Las Vegas Ballroom Dance Team. At BYU, she majored in dance and communications, and helped instruct several classes at Brigham Young University, during which time she danced and performed with the BYU Dance Teams: Ballroom, Latin, Social, and International Folk Dance Teams. Her range of versatility includes all popular forms of partner dancing, including Authentic Argentine Tango, All forms Swing, International, American, and “Street” versions of Latin and Ballroom dancing, as well as Country Western Dance. She was categorized within the Champion of Champions, of West Coast Swing Dance Competitions.
She has been referred to as “A Dance Master,” and as a knowledgeable and articulate instructor, by other Internationally recognized Professional Dancers.
In 1994 Lori enthusiastically pioneered the Argentine Tango as a popular form of social dance within the Greater Phoenix area, since which time, she has hosted a series of several local Dance Masters Workshops, and several trips to Buenos Aires with a new group of students each year, to study with the most renowned Dance Masters of Argentina. She initiated the first Fusion of West Coast Swing and Argentine Tango, back in 1996 that is now referred to as the “SWANGO,” with Daniel Trenner, Producer of the “Bridge to the Tango”, and more recently with Professional Dance Master, Michael Walker. Lori was recruited by the ASU Department of Dance, to initiate and developed the Argentine Tango Dance Program for the Arizona State University, in addition to teaching a variety of other Social Dances. Before moving to Arizona, Lori developed the Social Dance Program for the University Nevada Reno. Many of her students continue to carry on a legacy of enthusiasm for dance, some of which have also become successful professional dancers and teachers.
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