Instructor Bios

Daniel Newsome (Contest Wins)

Daniel Newsome has been a professional dancer, dj and historian for the last 10 years. In addition to teaching tens of thousands of students at Denver`s Mercury Cafe Daniel has also travelled to learn, teach, compete and has won at major national competitions such as the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, Midwest Lindy Fest, Reno Dance Sensation, National Jitterbug Championships and the Rhythmic Arts Festival. He also co-founded, choreographed and coached 23 Skidoo, Denver`s nationally recognized swing team, and also has a new team in Seattle that won at ULHS in its first year. Daniel has dozens of first place wins, but his lifelong pursuit is touching as many lives as possible with the beauty and artisty of Lindy Hop, Shag, Balboa, Solo Jazz Dance and Tap. His goal is to bring music and dance to people in a way that inspires them and develops talent in anyone, regardless of background, age or ability.

Gabriella Cook

Hailing from the sunny city of Seattle, Gaby is a dancer, choreographer and teacher in all things vintage jazz. She has competed and taught all over the country and holds national titles in Balboa and Lindy Hop. She is a principal choreographer for the prolific group, Sister Kate, and shares her vision of swing through their many performances at Camp Jitterbug`s Jump Session show. Find out more about her dance troupe at sisterkategirls.com. See her dance at freeswingdancelessons.com

Angel Jenkins

Angel Jenkins` lifelong love of music and dance led her to dance clubs and camps in southern California where she is known for her strength, humor, and improvisation skills. Teaching aerials is her specialty and she has performed with industry professionals such as the Jonas Brothers, Katy Perry, and Stevie Wonder.

Kelly Porter

Kelly is a decade-long student of American vernacular dance and she is passionate about bringing the rich social history of this tradition to life. As a performer, she graces stages the world over to acclaim. As a teacher and choreographer she is known as much for her sense of humor as for her ability to push the envelope and her students into more nuanced forms of dance. Her classes stress the joy of improvisation, dancing with sincerity, and the lasting humanity of a long and soulful jazz tradition. She is also an accomplished burlesque performer, and her vintage burlesque fan dances both solo and with the Barbary Coast Babies have won great professional praise for innovative choreography and bold stage presence. She is the founder of The Voices of the Jazz Era Ballroom Project: a national web-based oral history initiative meant to draw families and communities together in passing down the personal stories of dance and music during the jazz years (you can participate in this project by visiting www.jazzeravoices.org). Kelly is also an avid collector of early jazz and blues, and is generally recognized as an exceptional DJ, playing for the most demanding dance audiences throughout the world-- from the House of Blues in New Orleans, to the International Lindy Hop Championships in DC, to the chilly reaches of Stockholm and the dance halls of Seattle, Kelly is always spinning the good stuff. When she`s not hard at work as a museology grad student, Kelly can often be found plunking out a ditty on her 1924 Bacon banjo, infusing spirits for custom cocktails or slowly amassing her already-egregious collection of vintage shoes.

Giselle Anguizola

Giselle is a professional vintage jazz dancer that has studied the cakewalk, black bottom, charleston, breakaway, lindy hop, balboa, shag, and tap. Learning her basics from Josie Say and Catrine Ljunggren in 1998, she has dedicated herself to the preservation of vintage dances as a researcher and instructor. Her passion for history has allowed her to meet and study from influential jazz dancers from various generations including: Dr. Jeni Legon, Norma Miller, Dr. Bunny Briggs, Harold Cromer, Chester Whitmore, Lisa Conway, Lisa Ferguson, Alicia Milo, Peter Loggins, and Claudia Gomez Vorce. She is an internationally known performer, teacher, judge, competitor, social dancer, and DJ. She has been an active organizer of several organizations including the San Diego Lindy Hop Society, Los Angeles Lindy Exchange, SoCal Sugar Babies, and Olio The Show, a modern day jazz production. She is co-founder of the line-dances Hot Pockets/Honey Pot, and founder of the first all american Girl Jam; a dance workshop dedicated to women in art. Girl Jams began in CA are now seen all over the world (www.girljam.us). She currently works in San Diego and New Orleans with Bal-Swing Boogie Productions, Rugcutters Dance Academy, Firehouse Swing School, Groove On Tap, Olio Productions, and NOLA Jitterbugs. Under her own business, G-Zanky productions, Giselle hopes to spread vintage dances within urban street cultures, expose others to the world of jazz, search for their own expression, and add to the endless creation of this beautiful american art form.