LaTasha Barnes
Bessie-award winning LaTasha Barnes is an internationally awarded and celebrated dance artist, educator (Asst. Prof of Dance, ASU), decorated U.S. Army Veteran (SFC/ SATCOM Engineer) and Tradition-Bearer of Black American Social Dance.
Her love of dance and music exceeds her known life, as Barnes’ parents lovingly joke she was dancing even before she was breathing, recalling memories of LaTasha grooving in her mother’s womb while she sat next to speakers at parties LaTasha’s father DJ’d. From this early love/education her expansive artistic, competitive, and performative skills flourished and have made her a frequent collaborator to prominent artists and arts organizations around the world. She is deeply honored to be in service to her culture across social, academic and performative spaces as shared in her March TODAY Show with Hoda & Jenna and July 2022 DANCE Magazine profiles.
And while contributing to the success of the ground-breaking stage production SW!NG OUT with Caleb Teicher (BrainTrust), and championing the expansive intergenerational and intercommunal cultural arts experience ‘The Jazz Continuum’ brings her great pride, LaTasha most cherishes the guidance, support and empowerment bestowed by her family/framily, elders, mentors and ancestors. Their love gives her the strength to strive for authentic expression, excellence and fulfillment in every endeavor – for them and this work LaTasha is eternally grateful.
Visit www.latashabarnes.com to learn more about her journey, achievements and ways to support her cultural efforts.
AJ Howard
With nearly 10 years of experience, AJ takes the influences from Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Lindy Hop scenes to bring his own unique style and energy to the Swing Dancing community. He burst into the scene in 2016, winning competitions throughout the US with his partner Jennifer, showing the dance world what Sacramento really had to offer!
Competing at international events such as Camp Hollywood and the International Lindy Hop Championships, AJ became well known for his generous use of aerials paired with his energetic dancing.
AJ has also had the honor of performing on stage for the debut run of “SW!NG OUT” in addition to dance groups such as HellaBlackLindyHop and the Midtown Stompers, along with the privilege to spread his love of dance through teaching at Lindy Hop events across the US, on a Carnival Cruise ship, and overseas in countries such as Denmark and Sweden.
You can regularly find AJ teaching at Midtown Swings in New York City and follow his work on his instagram
Eric & Edina Shaw
Eric and Edina Shaw are Vancouver, CA based dancers, instructors and beloved team coaches that have been Lindy Hopping for over 20 years, sharing their passion for swing dance with energy, creativity, and a deep love for the dance’s community spirit.
They bring both technical expertise and a fun, welcoming approach to their teaching, celebrating the confluence of solid fundamentals and playful expression.
Eric & Edina 2023 Lindy Bout Barn-Burner Spotlight
Ana Lisa Sutherland
Ana Lisa Sutherland is a whole lotta energy stuffed into a little package, and she brings it all to the floor! She began dancing early in life in California. There, she competed in Ballroom and Hip Hop before (accidentally) falling in love with Lindy Hop.
Since 2008 she’s traveled the country to compete and learn swing dancing from original legends and current-day champions. She holds multiple titles from top weekend events such as Lindyfest, Lindy Bout, Camp Jitterbug, Lindy Focus, and Lindy On The Rocks. Some of her favorite performance highlights include the Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing and local cabaret shows in her current city of Seattle.
Ana Lisa believes swing dancing is a cultural experience that allows its participants to connect with the roots of this African American historical dance, contribute back to it, and shine. There is truly a place for everyone within it. Thus, she loves pulling from historical sources and the greats that have come before, as well as incorporating newer forms of dance from her continued explorations in dance.
In the classroom she strives to inspire other dancers to be authentically themselves on the floor and encourage everyone to get a lil weird. She helps her students approach each dance and class as if anything could happen and helps them to unlock the unique conversation they can have with their partner and the music.
You can follow Ana Lisa’s work on her instagram
Nika Jin
Nika is based in Eugene, OR and has been teaching and organizing with Track Town Swing since 2013.
She has been heavily inspired by old clips of chorus line dancers from the late 20s to 40s, including the group numbers from the films of Oscar Micheaux. She is so excited to be contributing to Chorus Line Track at Throwdown this year!
At the core of any dance is the music. Nika is so grateful to Lindy Hop and jazz dance for being the gateway to a powerful appreciation of jazz on and off the dance floor. Finding a great tune will always be what inspires her the most, whether improvising on the dance floor or creating choreography.