#56 Sean Vitale

We sit down to chat about the Korean swing dance scene, Meti’s dance journey from clubbing to jazz, and her passion for creating performances. We also talk about taking care of your body as a dancer and training in a sustainable way. Finally, Meti shares her experience performing in New York with the K-Swing Wave show and running her Deep Dive event that connects swing and street dancers. 

We sit down with Sing to explore her dance journey, what’s kept her excited for decades, and the lessons she learned from Frankie. She shares her experiences running a dance studio in Singapore: honouring the dance's African American roots, creating uplifting classes, and finding new ways to teach. Finally, we discuss Asia's current dance scene and its growth.

Sean shares his experience in dancing, physical therapy, and teaching. We discuss the connections between physical therapy, psychology, and learning new skills—and how to apply them in dance classes. We also get into Sean’s background in performing, being part of a dance troupe, and training for aerials. Finally, he offers a few tips for dancers on taking care of their bodies.

Sylvain & Marion share the story of their partnership and how it has evolved over the past ten years. We explore their approach to teaching and choreographing, and discuss the roles of leader and follower in dance — creating space for a more conversational exchange where both partners contribute equally. We also chat about competitions, overcoming setbacks, and our shared visions for the future of the swing dance community. 

We chat with the brothers about how jazz came into their lives, the role their family played in supporting their path, and memories from the first choreographies. Malik and Deniz share their approach to practicing, improvising, being patient when training, developing style, and finding mentorship. We also talk about organizing the festival “Jumpin’ at Istabul,” the dance community in Turkey, and dealing with setbacks. Photo by Sara Pista taken at Spring Lindy Weekend.

Irene shares her creative journey in dance and visual arts, her experience working in an artist-run space in Athens, and how she finds inspiration and balance in the creative process. She talks about her choreographic approach, teaching philosophy, experiences with competition, and what stepping outside your comfort zone means. We also discuss embracing your personality and letting it shine through your dancing, navigating the dance community as an introvert, and finding the people and events that truly resonate with you.

Elze Visnevskyte, Steven Coombe, Andreas Olsson, and Arnas Razgunas sit down to discuss some hot takes about the Swing world. Recorded live at the Swing Paradise festival in Vilnius, Lithuania.

We talk with Juan about the early days of Lindy Hop in Argentina, what drew him to the dance, and his future as an artistic director in Bangkok. He shares thoughts on the concept of home, life on the move, and how his physical education background shaped his teaching. We chat about knowing when to pivot, why competitions shouldn't be taken too seriously, dance trends, event organizing, and his love for music and the pursuit of beautiful things.Photo by: Ana Luz Crespi (@analuzcrespi)

We sit down with Carlos Machava to talk about his 20+ years in the dance world—from first seeing dance on the streets to training at a dance academy and eventually discovering Lindy Hop. Carlos shares what drew him to dance, his experience training with a dance company in Mozambique, and his first impressions of jazz dance. We also discuss different teaching approaches, the counting vs. scatting debate, and how we can express ourselves more through dance.This Podcast series is part of the Swinging Europe project, which is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Commission.Photo by Sara Pista

We sit down with Sakarias to reflect on his 30-year journey in the jazz community, from running the Chicago Swing Dance Studio to training with the Hot Shots. We discuss competitions, his approach to judging and performing, the influence of old clips, and the challenges he's encountered along the way. We also explore how the dance scene continues to evolve and Sakarias' experience playing in the Hornsgatan Ramblers band.This Podcast series is part of the ⁠Swinging Europe⁠ project, which is co-funded by the⁠ Creative Europe Programme⁠ of the European Commission.