Bios
Nathalie Gomes
Nathalie is originally from France. She is a World Swing Dance Champion and has repeatedly won every major U.S. swing dance title. Known for her gravity-defying aerials, Nathalie has taught and performed in more than 23 countries. Her vibrant performances have earned Nathalie many stage, film, and television appearances. She performed and served as a consultant in the original Broadway production of Swing!, and has appeared at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She was a featured dancer in the 2003 Julia Roberts film Mona Lisa Smile and was a model for the dancing elves in Robert Zemeckis' 2004 animated feature The Polar Express with Tom Hanks. Her national television appearances include repeat engagements on The Today Show, as well as Entertainment Tonight, The View, Good Morning America, and on MTV.
Nathalie's other notable credits include choreography and performances for Will Smith's Willennium CD-release party, and a performance for President Bill Clinton at America's Millennium New Year's Eve Party, produced by Quincy Jones and Stephen Spielberg. Nathalie frequently teaches, choreographs and performs for corporate functions. Some of Her past clients include British Airways, Sony, Samsung, Biore, the New York Knicks, and Seagrams.
Although her performances are awe-inspiring, Nathalie's true love is teaching and coaching. In New York City, where she lived for eleven years, she founded Hop Swing & A Jump, Manhattan's primary swing dance studio and company. In New Orleans since 2005, she is now bringing you Dance Quarter, a dance studio dedicated to sharing the joy of partner dancing, primarily as a social activity but also as a competitive endeavor that breeds self-confidence, teamwork and communication, all of it in a fun environment. Many of Nathalie's students have gone on to win championships of their own and to spread the joy of dance in their own communities.
Finally, Nathalie created and coordinates a social dance program for 5th Graders at the request of Martin Marino, President of the Board of the Jefferson Parish Public School System. After four years of existence, classes are now being offered in 26 Elementary Schools. About 700 children learn how to dance weekly!.
Jayna Morgan
Jayna began dancing in the fall of 1998. She began dancing while attending the George Washington University in Washington, DC, and her passion for dancing motivated her to become the head of GWU's Jitterbugs Swing Society, which taught Lindy Hop lessons by some of the world's most renowned instructors. This organization produced the first ever Inter-Collegiate Swing Dance Competition and hosted dances with up to 400 attendees. Jayna has also competed at the Virginia State Open and the American Lindy Hop Championships. After studying with some of the world's top Lindy and Swing dance instructors, Jayna moved to New Orleans and continued dancing at the local jazz venues.
Once in New Orleans, Jayna became inspired by the hot sounds of New Orleans Dixieland jazz, and began to study 1920's Charleston. Jayna and friend, Ellen Boyer, co-founded the only local flappers troupe, The Frenchmen Street Flappers. She currently teaches East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, solo Charleston, Blues, and Balboa. You can find Jayna shopping around Magazine Street for vintage duds and giving lessons on how to style 1940's hair.
Corey Fouchi
Born and raised in Jefferson Parish, Corey is a father of two beautiful daughters Domenica and Makay. Trained in American Ballroom at Arthur Murray in the late 80s, loving to dance and teach ever since. In his classes, his enthusiasm and love for life is contagious. Corey also teaches 5th Graders in the Jefferson Parish Public School System. He is proud to be part of a program that gives the gift of dance to our young people so early in life.
Chance Bushman
Chance has taught and performed around the world and considers himself a social dancer first and foremost. Chance currently performs tap, jazz, charleston, and swing dances with two bands: The Loose Marbles in New Orleans and The Red Hot Feetwarmers in New York. His current projects include: Jazz Culture & Dance Gatherings, Studio At Colton, Taps Help Everyone, Rhythmic Arts Festival, and Fleur De Lindy.
GUEST TEACHERS:
Reuel Reis
Reuel's unique style of dancing holds its roots in the dirty streets of the Big Easy, where he was born and raised. Growing up, Reuel's mother was a late-night DJ of avant-garde jazz for the local New Orleans radio station WWOZ and raised him listening to artists such as Billie Holiday, the Rebirth Brass Band, and the Dirty Rascals. He also played in school bands under jazz greats like Walter Peyton and Edward "Kidd" Jordan. Despite their excellent instruction, he soon learned that his talents were not in playing the jazz that he loved, but in dancing to its rhythms. Since then, Reuel attempts to imbue the spirit, culture, rawness, and tradition of his hometown (where you can still hear some of the greatest live music in the world on any given night) into every dance.
Reuel currently lives in Nashville, TN, where he is a full-time Lindy Hop instructor and dance event organizer. He has an extraordinary ability to get a group of people together to accomplish a goal and makes use of this talent on a regular basis. He is also preparing to pursue his Ph.D. in economics in the fall of 2010. Reuel also dabbles in tap dance, African movement, tango, and other swing dances to improve the breadth and depth of his dancing. Teaching Experience Highlights:Lindy Focus V and VI (Ashville, NC); Private Collection 3 and 4 (Knoxville and Nashville, TN, respectively); Gulf Regional Lindy Hop Championships , Battle of the Cities (Orlando, FL); Enter the Blues, Down South Camp Meeting (Atlanta, GA), Buenos Aires Argentina, EvoBluesion and Smoothing Out the Bluffs (Memphis, TN); Tuxedo Junction Function (Birmingham, AL); Tucson Lindy Bomb (Tucson, AZ); Harvest Moon Melee, Valentines Day Uproar with Ramona Staffeld, Hip Hop Lindy Workshop; weekly classes at Vintage Rhythm Dance Studio and Music City Motion Studio (Nashville, TN).