Instructors
MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS
Julie Brown
Julie Brown (any/all pronouns) is a Boston-based blues dance teacher, DJ, choreographer, competitor, organizer, and enthusiastic student. She has been participating in blues dance for 20 years and has taught blues dancing around the globe and won many national competitions.
As a teacher, Julie aims to help students connect with and understand blues dance’s deep roots, find their own voice, and connect to the music, themselves, & others authentically, joyfully, and respectfully. Julie has taught blues dancing in New York, Austin, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, Seoul, London, Zurich, and many places in between. They are grateful to have won or placed in many solo & partnered blues competitions, including at bluesSHOUT! invitational level, Blues Muse follower invitational, Mile High Blues, Steel City Blues, Northstar Blues in both roles, and more.
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For dance videos, pictures, and more info, check out https://www.julie-brown-blues-dance.com/.
Jamica Zion
Currently living in St. Louis, Jamica Zion takes pride in being a groovy solo dancer, a dynamic follow, and growing lead. Jamica aims for range, not just in connection and style, but across genres too! Since starting Jazz and Blues dances over 15 years ago, they've collected multiple titles from contests across top US events including Lindy Focus, Camp Jitterbug, Beantown, and Camp Hollywood. As a solo artist, Jamica has prioritized performance over contests so instead of a collection of solo wins, they have a diverse and abundant portfolio (check some out on YouTube)! When Jamica is not social dancing, teaching, or working on choreography, they are likely reading, playing games, napping, or relaxing with loved ones.
Jamica's approach towards sharing dance with others includes a critical understanding and appreciation of its history and culture, while simultaneously ushering students to build their own styles and meaningful connections to it. Jamica draws on their professional training from various social justice organizations and a long educational background which includes nearly three degrees in Sociology. This unique blend of experiences, teacher training, and knowledge allows Jamica to deliver inclusive and culturally responsible content that is creative, thought provoking, and original! In the past year Jamica has been proudly collaborating on queer centered history presentations, The Queer Walk of Fame display, community discussions, classes, and event consultations with Adam Brozowski. While this isn’t Jamica’s first time promoting queer history of Blues and Jazz, both in and outside the dance scenes, this has quickly become one of the most impactful projects they’ve collaborated on, to date!
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Katrina Rogers
Katrina Rogers is an instructor, follower, leader, organizer, DJ, performer, and choreographer based in Denver, CO, known for her rich musicality, grounded movement, and the ability to bring both technical clarity and soulful expression to the classroom. With over 17 years of teaching movement—including fitness, track and field, and more than 8 years of blues—Katrina invites students to discover how dance can be a powerful tool for self-expression, embodiment, and joy.
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While she primarily follows, Katrina is actively developing her leading to deepen her understanding of connection and partnership. She also leads and choreographs for BKB Dance Crew, now in its second season—a performance team she founded to celebrate community, growth, and expressive movement. You might also see her judging, competing, performing, or teaching at events across the country. Her current focus is on growing her business, Move With Ease: A School of Functional Movement, where she helps people reclaim their bodies through intentional, sustainable movement.
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When she’s not dancing or teaching, Katrina enjoys reading, hiking, gardening, and crocheting.
Kenneth Shipp
Kenneth Shipp hails from St. Louis, MO as an instructor who grew up dancing hip-hop and DJing breaking comps before jumping into blues. He has spent the past few years passionately studying the family of blues idioms, incorporating his nerdy personality along the way. Kenneth’s life experiences inform his dancing and teaching style so that students walk away with a better historical and contextual understanding. With every class and practice, he'll encourage you to approach social dancing with coolness, relaxation, or in other words “Chill The F$%& Out.” When he’s not dancing, you can likely find him ranting about the latest blockbuster movie, game, or nerd convention, or desperately trying to dismantle toxic institutions.
Mike Legenthal
Mike Legenthal became a full-time blues dancer in 2007. She has taught at events all over the world, from Boston to Milan, and Seoul to Sidney. A teacher's teacher, she often serves as head judge, teaches the instructor-training tracks, and pushes dancers to learn more about the roots of the dances and music we love so much. Yet while her resume may look intimidating, her classes are full of creativity, warmth, and laughter. Her classes are incredibly welcoming, and are a perfect place for those with a natural groove or with two left feet. In her dancing, she seeks to be distinctive and creative, and to alway drive towards the heart of blues aesthetic and culture. She immerses herself in the music and in playful, dynamic partnership. As an instructor, she offers both detailed technical descriptions and imaginative metaphors, to reach a wide range of minds. She is clever and respectful, and hopes to leave her students engaged in nuanced critical thought- and to get them out onto the dance floor.
Dan Legenthal
Dan Legenthal is a blues idiom, vernacular jazz, and swing dancer currently living in Atlanta, GA. He specializes in early-to-mid 1900’s era African American improvised partner dances done to Blues and Jazz-Blues music. Dan’s classes draw inspiration from his background in classical guitar, as well as from lessons and conversations with Blues historians (Elijah Wald) and legendary Blues players - Phil Wiggins, Daryl Davis, and Rich Delgrosso, just to name a few. Since 2012 Dan has taught, DJed, and performed around the world at events like The Blues Experiment (USA), Seoul Blues Dance Festival (South Korea), and Spoonful of Blues (Scotland).
If you are passionate about African-American dances and would like to give your support, please consider donating to a charitable organization such as the Ujima Foundation (https://ujimablues.org/) or the International Association of Blacks in Dance (https://www.iabdassociation.org/).
Dan Repsch
Dan is immersed in the music and the movement. As a teacher, his enthusiastic approach brings a focus on innovation, connection, and attention to your partner. As a veteran instructor and DJ, he's worked for events across 4 continents, for everything from international events to local dances. He’s also organized both locally and for international events, including a Head DJ role in BluesSHOUT! and The Balboa/Blues Experiment. In the end, Dan is most excited to work hard at improving the dance and to see people break through their boundaries.
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Andi Hansen
Hallmarks of Andi's dancing include playfulness, complex intra-body movement, and a focus on partnership. In classes she likes to highlight not only the different styles of blues dancing for you to explore, but also being comfortable in your body and dancing like yourself while you do them. Her focus on discovery, play, musicality, and creativity make classes fun and interactive- and her obsession with body mechanics and the joy of movement will hopefully help you to connect with your own body and your own dance in ways that delight you as well!
Andi dances primarily as a follow and often as a lead, competing whenever she can, as well as making solo and partnered choreography for events like Sweet Molasses and bluesSHOUT!
Based out of Grand Rapids MI, she enjoys organizing locally, loves road-tripping to events with friends, and spreading the joy of blues!
Cynthia Menos
Cynthia has been active in the dance community since 2016, balancing roles as a teacher, DJ, and organizer. Over the years, she has helped found two blues dance scenes, the most recent being in her home scene Pittsburgh, PA.
Cynthia enjoys teaching and has recently been featured at regional blues workshops and the national festival Steel City Blues. In her classes, she blends historical and modern context, helping dancers to have a deeper understanding and connection with the dance as well as the community surrounding it.
Competitively, Cynthia has finaled or titled at Montreal Bagels and Blues, Flying Home, Bean Town, and Blues Muse. Outside of Blues, you'll often find Cynthia dancing or competing in Solo Jazz, Lindy Hop, Salsa, Bachata, and Urban Kizomba.