theswingmovement
KARA FRENZEL
Kara's passion for dancing flourished at a young age. Throwing herself into as many dance classes as possible at local dance studios, at her high school and community college simultaneously, she studied various dance styles including jazz, ballet, hip hop, modern, swing, ballroom, salsa, improvisation and choreography. While attending College at BYU-Idaho, Kara majored in Business Management/Marketing and minored in Dance. She expanded her knowledge of dance, studying all styles of Ballroom, Latin, Night Club, and Lindy. Kara performed on multiple tour groups Nationally and has been teaching ever since she first worked for a Ballroom studio in 2005! Today, Kara is an All Star/ Champion dancer on the West Coast Swing circuit. She can be found teaching, judging, and competing at WCS dance conventions, swing clubs and dances, nationally and internationally! She has choreographed, performed and placed with former partners in the prestigious Classic and Showcase divisions. She also runs a home business, offering private lessons, group classes, and a dance in San Luis Obispo. (Check out karafrenzel.com) Kara is often complimented as a “good teacher” and a “beautiful dancer,” known for her sexy, playful style, emotion, musicality, and love of technique, developed from partner dancing and contemporary dance.
DEMETRE SOULIOTES
Demetre Souliotes’ love of dance first manifested itself at a young age in the form of Hip-Hop and Break Dancing. By age 13, he was competing, battling and winning in three different styles of Hip Hop. Demetre found West Coast Swing, a dance that introduced him to the unique joys of partner dancing while still allowing the same freedoms of individual creativity, self-expression and musicality that he enjoyes with Hip Hop. Dance, West Coast Swing in particular, quickly became an all-encompassing passion. Within 2 years on the competition circuit, he was asked to partner with one of the top champion dancers of the day, Beata Howe. Demetre and Beata traveled the USA full time on the WCS professional circuit competing, performing, teaching and then capping the year with a 6th place finish at the US Open Swing Dance Championships. Following that explosive start as a WCS Dance Professional, Demetre traveled the world competing, performing, teaching, judging and choreographing. He spent 4 years teaching all over Asia and started the WCS community in China. When he isn't busy traveling, Demetre teaches and hosts classes and dances all over Southern California. In 2014, Demetre and his new partner, Kristen Humphrey, placed top 12 in the Classic Division at the US Open Swing Dance Championships. When asked, Demetre describes his style of WCS as focused on a base of micro connection, clear lead and silent conversation to create the framework in which free body movement and expression can take place – along with a touch of Hip Hop for good measure. Through the last decade, his style has evolved from the inspiration of his Hip Hop roots, his friends in Lindy Hop, his amazing peers in the WCS community and the natural evolution of this amazing street dance called West Coast Swing.
MATTHEW LIETZKE
MICHELLE CROZIER
Michelle Crozier & Matthew Lietzke are Advanced level West Coast Swing competitors. As a new partnership, they placed in the Rising Star routine division throughout 2015, including 1st place at Boogie by the Bay, a well respected Bay Area event. Entering into their second year together, Michelle and Matthew have put a greater focus on community building. Michelle teaches weekly Beginner and Intermediate classes throughout the Bay Area, hoping to spread the joy of the dance. They share a passion for creating a positive experience for new dancers as well as an excitement and deep love for the past, present and future of West Coast Swing.
Contact
Michelle Crozier
831-392-5842
CIERRA BOOTS
Cierra is an Athletic Trainer and school teacher by day! She started dancing on the West Coast Swing circuit two years ago and currently competes at the novice level. She started learning Country Two-Step and West Coast Swing under the instruction of Donnie Carl and Regina Shpigel in Las Vegas, NV in 2014. Cierra then continued to grow in her passion for dancing while carving a home for herself in the Phoenix, AZ dance scene in 2015. Most recently she has joined the SLO dance community and started sharing her dance obsession by teaching under the direction of Kara Frenzel. She can lead and follow, so make sure you ask her for a dance!
CONNOR GOODMANSON
Connor has been dancing West Coast Swing since 2005. Connor teaches WCS for a living and travles consistantly for workshops and compititons around the United States. He choreographs and coaches competitive routines along with competing himself. His love of teaching is unparalleled, watching the joy people have while learning to dance is magical. He runs a similar event to swing movement in the bay area, called Swing Beginnings.
(925) 817-7176
MALIA SAN NICOLAS
Malia San Nicolas is a local California girl, born in Newport Beach in 1975, and currently residing and teaching in Orange County. Malia began her passion for the stage and dance at the age of two where she started her formal training in classical ballet under the tutelage of several Russian ballet coaches and ballet companies. She performed principal roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia and Cinderella. She also began studying tap, jazz, contemporary and has a background in gymnastics. After spending her early years in the classical arts, she entered the scene of partner dancing to further explore other genres of dance. She began competing with a three-time Grand World Champion country dance troop in 1993. During her travels with the team, she was introduced to West Coast Swing and quickly fell in love with the versatility and style of this musically driven dance. She began competing in the Showcase division on the swing circuit while simultaneously competing with her team on the country circuit. In 2001 she began training, teaching and competing in American Ballroom and Latin. Malia decided to teach full time in 2008 and has continued to grow her local business and assist in running a dance, Swingin’ the Blues, at Atomic Ballroom, Irvine. She hit the routine competition floor again in 2010, this time in the Classic Division after a long time hiatus from competitive routines. She most recently competed in the Sophisticated division taking 1st Place at the US Open Dance Championships in 2015. She is known for her smooth quality of movement and sassy personality and is a much sought after instructor both on and off her tour competing at the Champion level.
JUSTIN TOMAS
BRITANY SCHIRO
Justin and Brittany started dancing in college. They have been dancing and competing together for over a year. Justin was introduced to west coast swing at Swing Movement in 2015, and Brittany took her first lesson with Kara one year ago. Justin is a 4th year computer science major at Cal Poly and Brittany is in her 2nd year, studying psychology. They often teach at the SLO Motion WCS Dances hosted by Kara every second, fourth, and fifth Tuesdays. They are a part of Kara's Teacher Training Course and are avid line dancers!
LINDA DRAKE
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LINDA DRAKE
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LINDA DRAKE
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FORREST HANSON
Over the last few years Forrest has been one of the fastest-rising DJs on the circuit. A deep love of music comes through his fun and creative sets, which emphasize traditional blues rhythms through the lens of modern R&B, hip-hop, and pop music. When teaching, Forrest focuses on technique and solid partnering as the basis on which to build a great performance and develop a unique style.
TONY SCHUBERT
LARISA TINGLE
Tony Schubert & Larisa Tingle have been making waves in the WCS circuit, rising quickly through the ranks and putting on an impressive showing with their awesome routine! This couple is one of the top up and coming couples in the WCS world, and are known for their unique brand of musicality. We are very excited about the energy they will undoubtedly bring with them!
Tony Schubert fell in love with dance in college. He competed on the ASU ballroom team for 4 years and returned after graduation to help coach. He started West Coast Swing shortly after and hasn’t looked back since. Tony is competing at an All-Star champion level and is passionate about teaching and building his partnership with Larisa.
Larisa Tingle has been in love with music her whole life, from violinist to vocalist and finally to dancer. She is now competing at an All-Star champion level and excited to share her dancing dream with her partner Tony. In addition to competing and teaching, Larisa started DJ’g at local dances in Southern California but got known quickly for her groovy late night “Tingle Time” sets, becoming one of the sought after DJ’s on the convention circuit around the country.
LIZA HILLMAN
Liza Hillman is celebrating her 10 year danciversary this month! With a background in competitive international ballroom and latin dancing, having competed at the amateur and professional levels, she quickly found a love for this artistic partner dance and the free, expressive, more laid back world of west coast swing. She's since added to her dance training by stepping away from partner dances and into Jazz, Ballet, and Hip Hop, and has loved being able to apply everything from her repertoire back into swing. If only for a brief time, she was able to compete in the Rising Star routine division, winning several competitions and placing top 5 in all. From the start, Liza has loved competing in Jack and Jills, growing and learning from each event. In her first years as a competitor, she ealked away with prestigious awards from events like Swingdiego. Most recently, Liza has become increasingly competitive in the All Star division as well. She enjoys competing as a lead, finding new and exciting challenges from this change of pace, and loves being able to teach both roles with that experience behind her. Teaching, after all, has been one of her greatest passions when it comes to dance and she is always very excited to share her knowledge anywhere she can. She plays an important role in helping this awesome dance community grow!
LINDA DRAKE
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LINDA DRAKE
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LINDA DRAKE
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LINDA DRAKE
National Award Winning Dancer and Instructor, Linda Drake, has been gracing the dance world with her talents for over 20 years.As a dancer, Linda has been consistently recognized as the top in her field through local and national awards. In 1984, her career began with a bang when she became the National East Coast Swing, Jack & Jill Champion. Throughout the 1990s, she consistently ranked among the top 6 female competitors in West Coast Swing.As a Dance Instructor, Linda has taught Swing, Ballroom, Country Western and Latin. After successfully managing Arthur Murray Dance Studios for several years, Linda opened her own business, first in Southern California and now on the gorgeous central coast.
ANGELA MAULDIN
Angela has a vital member of the SLO dance community for several years. She's that helpful mentor student who gets to know everybody! We love her. She is dedicated to her dance education in many styles of partner dancing and is a member of Kara's teacher training class. She has taught very popular beginning classes at the SLO Motion Dances!
AUSTIN KOIS
HANNAH GUTTMAN
Austin and Hannah have been dancing west coast swing for over four years, earning their first competitive points together and working their way quickly up the ranks. Their risk-taking, high-energy, and enjoyable style keep people entertained and wanting more. More than just fun to watch, the two have a distinct way of connecting that makes them favorites to dance with socially as well. Available for private lessons, please contact us at (707) 327-6519 to schedule.
CHRIS ELLWOOD
Before entering the world of West Coast Swing, Christopher had over a decade of experience performing, teaching, and competing in all Ballroom and Latin dances. In 2011, he was a Championship-level Nine-dance finalist at the USADance National DanceSport Championships. He is the founder and head coach for the award winning Cal Poly Ballroom Dance Team, and is the event director for their annual Mustang Ball DanceSport competition, an event that drew 272 competitors and over 1,200 entries this year. Christopher is a frequent teacher at Kara's SLO Motion WCS and Linda Drake's SLO Dance.
LINDA DRAKE
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LINDA DRAKE
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me and you can start adding your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you. Visit my website