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The Chicago dance community is eternally grateful to the following past organizers for their support and dedication to keeping Monday night swing a Chicago tradition for 20 years: Evin Galang, Noah Galang, Harry Saito, Tessa Auza, Mallory Peterson, Andy Strong, Rachel Gribben, Ross Blythe, Lauren Phillips, Sierra Anderson and Jim O'Neal. |
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Brennan Bowman, Music, Venue, and Finances Manager
In Jr. high Friday night dance classes, Brennan got his first taste of 6 count lindy hop and was hooked. Throughout high school he played in jazz bands and dawdled helplessly at Chicago Summer dance, until finding a swing dance club in a small midwest college. Rising like a phoenix from the ashes, he started dancing nearly every weekend and traveling to events around the country as he improved his lindy-hop, charleston, balboa, blues, and shag. Now as a dancer, instructor, and DJ, Brennan is a proud organizer of Chicago's premiere swing dace venue, Fizz. Having served on the DJ team since 2011, Brennan is overjoyed to serve as the Head DJ and entertainment curator for Fizz selecting high quality bands within Chicago and throughout the country for the weekly event. It is his truest belief that dancing is for everyone no matter how experienced. Take more chances, dance more dances. |
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Ismene Potakis, Social Media & BtB Manager
Ismene got her first taste of Lindy Hop when a cute boy from college invited her to try out the Lindy Hop classes at the student union. Alas, when he didn't fall madly in love with her, she strayed from dancing and was reintroduced to it years later through classes at Big City Swing. She discovered how captivating social dancing can be, and has made many new friends through swing dancing. She was lucky to have traveled around the midwest competing with the now-retired CTA: Chicago Triple Step Authority performance group, and currently gets her performance itch scratched with The Galaxie Girls and Chicago Chorus Girls. Ismene currently helps manage the marketing for Fizz on Facebook. She's been lucky to call Fizz home for many years, and loves seeing all the new faces discovering the comfort of our weekly social swing dance event! |
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Alex Pikeas, Creative Manager
Inspired by her Lindy Hopping brother, Alex dipped her toes into the Chicago swing scene circa 2010. It was love at first triple step. She is eternally grateful for Big City Swing teaching her first swing outs. Since then, she’s preformed with the Chicago Triple Step Authority (CTA), the 606 Special, and the Traffic Jam Team. She’s also added Blues, Tango, Salsa, Merengue, and Kizomba to her dance arsenal, to name a few. Alex has also been known to break out some twerking. She thinks the best part about the swing scene is the high energy environment and the amazing people she gets to meet. These days, if she’s not having high spirited debates about the ranking of every Star Wars movie between dances, you can find her taking a stab at learning to lead and working on her Balboa. |
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Megan Toal, Volunteer Manager
Megan is thrilled to be the newest member of the Fizz team! She has volunteered for Fizz door shifts since 2019 and has remained a dedicated part of the community ever since. While she started swing dancing in high school with (at best) two left feet, she fell completely in love with swing dancing and kept it up until she was a passable dancer who can feel it. Megan is lucky to have lived in and been an active member of the Chicago, Seattle, Twin Cities, and Notre Dame scenes as a student, instructor, choreographer, and performer. While Lindy Hop is her first love, she also enjoys blues, balboa, Charleston, and a Latin dance or two. When she’s not dancing, talking about dancing, traveling for dancing, thinking about dancing, or recruiting friends to come dancing, Megan can be found exploring Chicago and digging through her TBR list. |
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Desiree Roffers, Instructor and Lessons Manager
Desiree has loved dancing her whole life. At the age of four, she began learning Irish Dance. Soon after, she was competing around the country and started teaching dance in early middle school. Around 2002, Desiree switched her focus to swing dancing and began studying Lindy Hop, Blues, and Balboa. In 2017, Desiree also began learning about and eventually teaching and competing in Collegiate Shag. Desiree continues to travel to swing dance events around the world to learn, teach, and compete. Desiree has three graduate degrees in education and provides training for teachers in Chicago Public Schools. She is currently working on her PhD in Instructional Technology. Desiree is dedicated to growing the swing dance scene in Chicago and across the globe. As an instructor and swing dance organizer, Desiree values inclusive practices, trauma-informed approaches, and social justice. |
