The Killer Dillers

As dance instructors, The Killer Dillers’ expertise is sought after by both amateur and professional dancers world-wide. The members of the Killer Dillers have travelled across Europe, Asia, Australia, North America and South America, as master instructors. Classes are available in Lindy Hop, Charleston, Acrobatics, Vernacular Jazz and a variety of other vintage jazz dances, both partnered and solo. The Killer Dillers teach as individuals, as couples with their respective dance partners, and also in a variety of combinations when together. Contact us to find out rates, availability and booking information.

Here are some of the festivals and events around the world which have featured the Killer Dillers as dance instructors:

Herrang Dance Camp, Sweden
Rock That Swing Festival, Germany
Summer Jamboree Festival, Italy
Camp Jitterbug, Seattle USA
Swing Out New Hampshire, USA
Boston Tea Party, Boston USA
Camp Swing It, Seoul Korea
Great Southwest Lindy Fest, Houston USA
Barswingona, Barcelona Spain
Waterkant Jam, Hamburg Germany
Grenoble Swing Dance Festival, Grenoble France
Wicked Lindy Weekend, Boston USA
Camp Hollywood, Los Angeles USA
Beantown Camp, Beverly USA
Swinglandia, Kiev Ukraine
American Lindy Hop Championships, Stamford USA
Swing Crash, Como Italy
Swing Brother Swing, Genoa Italy
Swingin’ in the Rain, Liege Belgium
Goodnight Sweetheart, Hertfordshire UK
Montpellier Swing Dance Festival, Montpellier France
Inspiration Weekend, Orange County USA
Boogie By The Bay, San Francisco USA
Lindy on the Rocks, Denver USA
Sving du Nord, Minneapolis USA
Virginia State Open, Richmond USA
Hullabaloo, Perth Australia
Lismore Dance Camp, Australia
Harlem Dance Camp, Vilnius Lithuania
Prague Spring Swing Festival, Prague Czech Republic
Swingin’ Spring, Gotenborg Sweden
Swing Spring, Turku Finland
Crep’ Swing Festival, Rene France
Hop The Castle, Herefordshire England
Tononto Open Swing Dance Championships, Toronto Canada
Sugar Swing, Alberta Canada
Studio Hop Summer Camp, Eauze France
Melbourne Swing Festival, Melbourne Australia
Lindy Hop Argentina International Festival, Buenos Aires Argentina
New Year’s Dancin’ Eve, Boston USA
La Santa Swing, Lanzarote Canary Islands
Grenoble Lindy Exchange, Grenoble France
Boogie Swing Toulouse, Toulouse France
Les Fou de Swing, Paris France
Swing Blast, Perth Australia
Reno Dance Sensation, Reno USA
Rockin’ in Rhythm, Dublin Ireland
Rocktoberfest, Columbus USA
Jumptown Jam, Canberra Australia
Margaret River Summer Camp, Margaret River Australia
Lindy 500, Baltimore USA
Vienna Hot Swing Jam, Vienna Austria
Halloween Swing Camp, Stockholm Sweden
Be-Lindy Zena Camp, Genova Italy
Lindy Focus, Asheville USA
Southern Belle Swing Bash, Atlanta USA
Stompology, Rochester USA
Provence Swing Festival, Provence France
Lindy and Blues Weekend, Philadelphia USA
Northwest Girl Jam, Seattle USA
Followlogie, Quebec Canada
Swing Camp Oz, Adelaide Australia

The term “swing dancing” is an umbrella term for any dance done to swinging jazz music, from the 1920s, 30s and 40s. The most popular (and spectacular) of these dances was the Lindy Hop.

Lindy Hop is a partnered swing dance, that evolved out of the Charleston in the late 1920s, in the ballrooms and on the streets of the African-American district of Harlem in New York City. The dance evolved alongside swing music itself, emerging in the late 1920s when hot jazz (born in New Orleans) was transforming into swinging jazz, and died out (as we know it) in the late 1940s as the swing era gave way to bebop and rock ‘n roll. Throughout the 1930s and 40s, as swing music spread across the USA and the world, Lindy Hop spread with it.

Legend has it that Lindy Hop earned its name in 1927 when one of its original dancers, George “Shorty” Snowden, was asked its name by a reporter, and dubbed it Lindy Hop after aviator Charles Lindbergh and his famous solo flight across the Atlantic that year (newspaper headlines read “Lindy Hops The Atlantic”). It is sometimes simply called The Lindy, and some parts of the world knew it as The Jitterbug.

While the acrobatic aspect of Lindy Hop is perhaps most familiar to many people, Lindy Hop has many characters. Though it can indeed be danced wild and fast, with spectacular airsteps, it can also be slow and smooth, elegant or sexy.

Lindy Hop is the mother of a variety of other dances, that evolved out of Lindy from the 1950s onwards, including Rock ‘n Roll, Boogie Woogie, Jive, Ceroc and West Coast Swing. Lindy Hop is the original swing dance!