I started my West Coast Swing journey 16 years ago, when I fell in love with the dance while working as a janitor at my local dance studio. I would watch the West Coast Swing classes while I was cleaning, and eventually gave it a try! Since then, West Coast Swing has given me opportunities to pursue my passion for learning, teaching, and cultivating community spaces. I'm lucky to have watched this dance evolve over the years as a competitor, choreographer, coach, and teacher. I'm so excited to be able to share my passion for West Coast Swing with you all!

I founded Do Your Own Swing in 2016 with the goal of creating the sort of welcoming environment I would want to be a part of. The DYOS space quickly fulfilled and exceeded my vision. I've learned so much about how warm and intentional a community can be from the people who attend, much than I ever could have imagined when I first started hosting the space. Fast forward to today, the class, social, and sense of community are still going strong, and DYOS continues to stand as a pillar of West Coast Swing in the Bay Area.

In addition to running Do Your Own Swing and teaching the classes, I also run the Explore Community Space in Oakland on Mondays. On the weekends that I go to West Coast Swing conventions, I continue to compete in the improvised and routine divisions, teach workshops, and give private lessons. In addition to all of that, you'll often also see me running the Swing Reports and Restorations program, another passion project of mine. I started and designed the program to increase safety at West Coast Swing events by providing policy consultation and development, along with incident response plans when something occurs that could impact a person's sense of safety and belonging.

West Coast Swing is a huge part of my life, and I love to be able to teach and grow dancers, and more importantly, foster a community where everyone feels included and safe. I hope to see you next Thursday!

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