Our Teachers

Since 1997, Big City Swing has been Chicago’s destination for Swing and Lindy Hop instruction and performance. Our staff members study extensively with their peers and highly revered national and international instructors. In addition to completing the Big City Swing Teacher Training Program, Julee screens each staff member for patience, mastery of the material, and of course, a wicked sense of humor. We hope you get to meet each of our fabulous teachers.

Presenting in alphabetical order…

	Adeoye Mabogunje Adeoye began teaching Swing and Lindy at the University of Chicago. After completing the BCS performance and teacher training course at the top of his class, we quickly put him into the schedule. Adeoye uses a great combination of technique and pacing, ensuring each lesson with him is a fun and educational experience.
	Andrew Twiss – Senior instructor Andrew has been teaching and performing with Big City Swing since it was founded in 1997. Andrew’s keen sense of connection and incredible creativity has awarded him an international reputation as a fantastic dancer. Andrew is also a performance team coach.
	Audra Cline Audra Cline started as a student at BCS in early 2007. She quickly immersed herself in Swing, Lindy, and Balboa and excelled in the Teacher Training Course and well, simply can’t get enough dancing. She’s a fabulous addition to our teaching staffing, specializing in the Swing and Wedding Curriculums. Prior to her work at BCS, Audra has worked locally and nationally as a technician at theaters including the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Goodman Theater, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater.
	Bridget “Roxy” Aubin Roxy began swing dancing in Chicago in 1998. Over the years she has taught for Dance New Orleans and at schools including Tulane University, Loyola New Orleans, University of Chicago and DePaul University. In just a year, she and her husband Chris have developed quite a following. You’ll love their Swing, Lindy, Charleston and Wedding lessons.
	Christopher Aubin Chris is a true product of the Chicago Swing scene. Chris has studied extensively with the top dancers in Chicago since 1999 and has taught at DePaul University, The University of Chicago, Summerdance, and the Willowbrook Ballroom. As a teacher Chris brings an educated historical perspective to his classes and most importantly, he’s funny.
	Dave Rentauskas – Senior instructor Dave has been performing with Big City Swing since 1999 and is now one of the performance coaches. Together, he and Julee developed the wedding dance curriculum and they are the featured dance instructors on Lifetime Televisions’s wedding show, “Get Married”. Dave is also a gifted Lindy Hop instructor and one of the best DJ’s in Chicago.
	Jackie George Jackie took her first lindy class back in 2000 at Northwestern University and was immediately hooked. Since then, she has studied several different dances, from ballroom to “Britney”, but Lindy will always be her first love. Jackie is known for her patience and enthusiasm in class, and those performance faces.
	James Pustejovsky After some early misadventures with ballroom dancing, James learned his first swing steps in 1999 and was soon hooked for life. He has been teaching and performing with Big City Swing since 2007, including choreographing and teaching full performance routines for the last two years. He also DJs at Big City Swing, Fizz, and most anywhere else that people don’t mind dancing to music that their grandparents thought was hip.
	Jenna Stworzyjanek – Programming & Special Events Director Jenna began her teaching at the University of Chicago and joined Big City Swing’s team in 2005. She specializes in Swing, Lindy, Balboa and Wedding Dance. Her teaching is concise and powerful and her supportive nature instills confidence in all of her students.
	John Joven John has been swing dancing since 1998 and started performing for Big City Swing in 2003. He has learned from top teachers in Chicago and has traveled to study with nationally known instructors. John is an avid social dancer. You can also find him deejaying at Java Jive, Fizz, Bluetopia, & the Windy City Lindy Exchange.
	John Holmstrom John began dancing in 2005 in Chicagoland and joined the Swing Society at the University of Illinois in 2006, where he grew as a dancer, organizer, DJ, and instructor. In 2009, he began traveling nationally to further his dancing through classes and competition, both individually and as a member of the Hoosier Hot Shots. Now that he is returning to Chicago, he is excited to share what a happy dance Lindy Hop is with all of you!
	Joy Sheaffer Joy first started swing dancing at Memories Swing Studio in Whittier, California in 2006. Upon returning to Chicago in early 2009, Joy continued to pursue her love for Lindy Hop by dancing and competing at local events and joining the Tacky Annies, all-girls performance troupe. Joy has now joined our office staff and looks forward to greeting you with one of her notoriously big smiles every time you come dance with us.
	Kara Stude – Office Manager From student to office manager, she has lived the dream! We first met Kara when she and her fiancee were taking lessons to prepare for their wedding. In search of a career change and in love with BCS, Kara joined the team as our office manager. She takes amazing care of the studio, staff and the students.
	Louis Parks – Swing I Guru and CTO Everyone who begins dancing with Big City Swing gets to meet Lou. Lou is the incredible Swing I instructor for our downtown location. He has a wonderful rapport with the students and a great ability to break the movements down into understandable and doable chunks of information. And he dances with all the ladies on graduation night.
	Mary Pustejovsky Mary has been swing dancing since 1998 and has traveled all over the U.S. and other parts of the world to learn and social dance. As a dance teacher, her career includes workshops at Jumptown (Madison, WI) and the Swing Society at UIUC and classes at Brown University, MIT, RISD, and of course Big City Swing. She is known for her contagious enthusiasm and love of a good swingout.
	Max Keirn-Whiting Max began dancing in the Chicagoland area in February of 2006. His love for the dance and its historical background grew into a search for instructors who specialize in historically accurate forms of dance. He has traveled nationally and internationally to learn more about his own technique and the techniques of original dancers. And we’re so excited he’s sharing that knowledge with us.
	Nora McMahon Nora started swing dancing in 1997 in Philly, where she soon started teaching Lindy Hop. She moved to San Francisco’s eclectic dance scene in 1999, where she trained and performed for 7 years with Loose Change Dance Company, under the direction of the world renowned Eric Fenn. Nora looks forward to bringing her teaching experience to BCS.
	Sara Cherny Sara has taught blues dance throughout the Midwest since 2004, and here in Sweet Home Chicago since 2008. She is a well-regarded figure in the national blues community, most notably for her organizational contribution to the nation’s premiere blues event, bluesSHOUT! Sara’s first love is the blues, but she is also an avid lindyhopper. She uses her diverse experience and creativity to help students establish their own connection with the dance.