Teachers
Trisha Sewell
Trisha Sewell has over 30 years of experience in the Swing and Blues dance community, known as an instructor, facilitator, and cultural storyteller. Deeply connected to the Black British Blues scene, she brings authenticity and a personal perspective to her teaching.
Her work focuses on connecting historical context with lived experience, particularly exploring the African diaspora’s relationship with Blues music in Europe. As a Black British dancer, she highlights the evolution of British Blues alongside its African American roots.
She also studies improvisation, drawing on her Caribbean and African heritage. Trained by legends like Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, she directed a Lindy Hop school for over 20 years and organized major Swing events. She is also a pioneer of workshops focused on the role of “following.”
Today, she shares Blues with energy and cultural depth, fostering connection, history, and expression through dance.
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Dexter Santos
When Dexter Santos discovered Blues dancing in 2005, he was immediately captivated by its emotional depth, storytelling, and powerful rhythms. With a background in Ballroom and Lindy Hop, he immersed himself in the art form, studying and collaborating with leading Blues dancers and teachers, becoming one of the most sought-after instructors on the national and international scene.
As a teacher, Dexter inspires dancers of all levels while honoring the roots, identity, and cultural richness of Blues. He travels across the U.S. and worldwide sharing his passion through engaging, dynamic, and challenging classes. His signature solo choreography, the “Hound Dog” routine, has been taught and performed by dancers across four continents.
An accomplished competitor, Dexter has won numerous Blues titles since 2007, including three Ballroomin’ Blues championships at bluesSHOUT. In 2010, he achieved the unprecedented feat of winning all four partnered divisions at bluesSHOUT in Austin, solidifying his reputation as one of the leading figures in Blues dance.
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Gas & Maria
Maria is a blues dancer and teacher based in Vilnius, Lithuania. With an early background in ballroom and Latin dances, she discovered jazz and blues in 2013 and has since developed her career internationally, teaching across Europe.
She is known for her structured teaching approach, as well as her captivating performances and choreographies. In her classes, she values history, technique, and musicality, encouraging students to find their own voice. Since 2020, she has also worked as a mediator, supporting dancers with communication and conflict management.
Gas is a passionate Swing and Blues dancer who discovered Lindy Hop in 2001 in Buenos Aires. Since then, he has built an international career, teaching since 2008 and traveling to cities such as New York, London, Berlin, and Melbourne.
With a background in gymnastics, his style stands out for its energy and dynamic aerials, while his training in tango brings depth and sensitivity to slower dances. He is dedicated to sharing his passion and knowledge, inspiring others through dance.
Annette Kühnle
Annette lives in Heidelberg, Germany, and is one of Europe's most prominent champions for blues dance.
As a teacher, dancer, DJ and organizer, she has been spreading her love for early Black American dances in general and blues dancing in particular for almost two decades, and is renowned Internationally for her expertise, dedication, energy, and kindliness.
Her infectious appreciation and passion for blues music, dancing and history shines in every step she takes and every lesson she teaches.
Bibi
Bibi has been dancing for 30 years (and teaching for 20!), but it is only when she discovered the blues that she found her true “perfect match”.
The overwhelming passion for blues music and dance quickly became a one-way ticket to the world. In fact, she is a well known face on the international scene, she travels all around Europe, USA and Asia to deepen her knowledge, teach, share and spread all of her love and appreciation for the blues. She has given birth also to several communities of blues dancers in Italy, teaching weekly courses and workshops.
Bibi holds a strong sense of respect for the values of African American culture, and for the importance of researching and respecting the cultural roots and history of blues. What she loves about blues are the breadth of blues music as well as the creativity, the freedom of expression and the deep connection and communication with the music and the partner in the dance.
Bibi is also a known Dj, and for her, music is a great, continuous source of emotions, the true engine of everything she does! She has been spinning the decks since 2014, inspiring tons of dancers all around the globe and keeping the party jumping everywhere she went! She can Dj with different supports, including Vinyls!
Aside from dancing, she is a nerd of body mechanics, in fact she is also a certified yoga instructor and she holds a degree in Kinesiology and Movement Sciences.
Luísa Barros
Luisa is passionate about dancing since she was a child, when she took 2 years of Classical Ballet classes. But she paused her dancing studies until adulthood, for her other passion – Music (classical piano).
Her adventure in the world of American dances started with Tap dancing in 2006 and soon after with Lindy Hop, in 2007.
She has moved through different dance styles, partner and solo, since body movement is really her passion: Lindy Hop, Solo Jazz, Tap dancing, Modern Jazz, Blues, Balboa, Shag, Boogie Woogie, Contemporary Dance, Forró, and really, if there is music playing, you can find her
dancing to any style.
Since 2014, she found Blues and fell in love with this dance language. She has since attended several international Blues festivals, and she started teaching in 2017, as a way to share her passion and make the local Blues community grow.
What she values the most about dancing is a strong connection with the Music, with the
partner (in partner dancing), and with herself, and using owns body as a musical instrument
and as a way of expressing ourselves fully.
Edmilson Botelho
Lays de Sousa
Born and raised on the islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, Edmilson Botelho has always been immersed in music, drawing inspiration from the vibrant rhythms of African traditional dances such as Usôa, Puíta, Funaná, Cadence, Kizomba, Semba, Kuduro, and many other African styles, as well as POP dance.
His dance journey began at the age of 17 when he moved to Porto, Portugal, and discovered his passion for Lindy Hop and Blues Dance.
His dedication to the art of dance eventually led him to become one of the partners at Hop Dance Studio in Porto, where he shares his love for movement and rhythm with others.
As a passionate dancer and teacher, Edmilson embodies the spirit of dance, finding joy in every step and rhythm. With his captivating energy and charismatic personality, he creates an atmosphere of fun and humility wherever he goes, inspiring others to feel the rhythm and express themselves through movement.
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