Telluride Lindy Society
Welcome    

Ronni Creel & Todd Dewey ∙ Ronni has been dancing and teaching since 2001 and has weathered all the phases the lindy world has gone through, adapting to whatever the trends threw at her. After moving to Denver and joining the dance troupe 23 Skidoo!, she started studying true vintage lindy hop: Whitey's style, with energy, lots of airtime and blazing tempos. As with everything she does, Ronni jumped full-force into competing, taking home 10 national awards in one year, including sweeping 1st place in every lindy division at the Colorado State Swing Championships, 1st place in Am Jack & Jill at the National Jitterbug Championships and 1st place at the Midwest Lindyfest Showdown. She is also a two-time Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown Champion. Ronni has decided that you have to be a good solo dancer to be a good social dancer and discovered that she has a knack for teaching any white boy how to move. Since she began teaching nationally, she has become known for her love of teaching and the ability to break down the technique behind any move. Speaking of teaching, Ronni actually holds a degree in it, so don't make her send you to the principal's office.

Claiming to be "pre-Gap commercial," Todd is one of the founding members of the Denver swing scene. Although he has been performing for several years, it was only after Ronni came into his life and consented to be his partner ("no" sometimes means "yes") that he joined 23 Skidoo!, and started competing and teaching. Since then, he has taken his dancing to a new level, winning several competitions, including sweeping 1st place in all lindy divisions at the Colorado State Swing Championships, 1st place in the Jack & Jill at Cowtown Jamborama and 1st place at Midwest Lindyfest Showdown. He is also a 3 time National Jitterbug Champion. Having adapted to various trends in the lindy scene over the years, Todd finally decided that finding his own unique style and committing to it was the best thing he could have ever done for his dancing. He believes that each dancer should find what works for them and pursue it. His latest passion is teaching and he has a knack for fixing anyone's swingout. Ronni says he has become one of the most fun leads to dance with in all the world. Awww...isn't that cute? To find out more information go to http://www.stepsteptriplestep.com.

Elliott and CatrineElliott and Catrine∙ Catrine and Elliott have taught at camps and workshops in many places around the globe. Most recently, they have taught together at the Oakland Swing Dance Festival, Swingin'Spring in Sweden, The Frankie XC cruise, and the Herrang Dance Camp (where they have appeared together for the past three years). They have also been teaching in Australia and they just got back from Argentina's first international Lindy Hop Festival. Elliott met Catrine in 1998, Catrine met Elliott in 2001 (or at least that is the first time he appeared on her radar screen). Together they have become known for their enthusiasm and energetic style of dance that is directly inspired by the type of dancing seen in early clips of the Harvest Moon Ball.

Catrine Ljunggren is one of the original members of the legendary Rhythm Hot Shots, one of the groups responsible for the resurgence of Lindy Hop today.   She learned from Al Minns and Frankie Manning, both members of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in the 1930's.   Catrine is known for her energy- she likes to dance fast and fly high. In Elliott Donnelley she has found someone willing to attempt to keep up with her, and they are a joy to watch because they really have fun when they dance.

Debbie Reynolds has been teaching dance since 1972. She's trained with Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire dance studios and had her own studio - Discover Dance - in Houston, TX.  She currently teaches social dancing in telluride. She's also danced in the Sally Fields movie " A Woman of Independent Means", and has performed in Telluride in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and twice in the Argentine Tango exhibition at the Michael D. Palm Theatre.

Elliott Donnelley wears many hats. He is a member and founding director of the San Francisco based dance troupe Loose Change ( www.loosechange.ws), he is a respected and successful organizer and he has produced several cd's including the Barbara Morrison: Live at the 920 Special album. Working with Catrine, he has also become known as an enthusiastic and energetic teacher and performer of the Lindy Hop.

Calle JohanssonCalle Johansson ∙ If you haven't met Calle Johansson yet, you're in for a real treat! A Swedish Lindy Hop champ and an alumnus of Sweden's outstanding dance troupes Shout ‘n Feel It and the Harlem Hot Shots, Calle can boogie-woogie ‘til the break of day. Currently located in Seattle, he has choreographed and performed in the Civic Light Opera's production of Swing!, and has performed with Emerald City Swing, HepCat Productions, and Loose Change. He teaches lindy hop and boogie woogie around the world, and can't wait to make his first appearance in Telluride.

DJ SlamDJ Slam - Some blame it on an accidental overdose of gamma radiation. Others say it was a bite from a musically gifted spider. Or maybe it was just something in the cafeteria food. How else does one explain Chad Lawson's transformation in a few short years from Purdue computer engineering major with no musical background, to composer/performer/conductor/songwriter with two invitations to perform with a choir at Carnegie Hall under his belt?

Chad may have been a late bloomer musically, but he has more than made up for it. After convincing the music department at Drake University to take a chance on him, he quickly surpassed many of his classmates in theory and composition. He just couldn't get enough, and within two years, he was performing with Drake's top tier jazz ensemble, which got invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and going on tours of the U.S. and Europe with the choir. 

Later, he would go on to study 16th Century counterpoint technique (yes, really) at the Cleveland Institute of Music, immersing himself in classical composition for eight hours a day, producing a fugue every week. Who is this guy? 

Thanks to his programming background, Chad knows his way around a computer keyboard as well as a musical one. He's also a fan of Django Reinhardt and getting in touch with the inner Chad. With all his experience in jazz on stage, taking it off stage and into the DJ arena was natural as can be, DJ-ing as only a jazz play can.

John UngerJohn Unger of Montrose, Colorado is known for his lighthearted, effective, and "no-fault" teaching style throughout the sixteen years he has been teaching East Coast Swing.  At dance camps in Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico, he has received high marks from dancers while he also introduces bits of Lindy and traditional jazz stylings he has learned in classes with Frankie Manning, Steven Mitchell, Ryan Francois, and many others.

Chris Yee Chris Yee started Lindy Hop in 1995, and soon after helped organize and create the Lindy Hop community in Chicago. While teaching and performing in Chicago, he also traveled throughout the USA and Europe to teach workshops. He and Catrine met at Herrang Dance camp, where they found they shared a kindred spirit in dance and life. They taught several years together before Chris returned back to a career in medicine. Chris currently resides in Seattle, where he continues to teach and dance. He is famous for his grooviní style and amazing creativity on the dance floor, a social dancer through and through.



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