THE DANCERS

Nils & Bianca

Lindy Hop lessons

Bianca Locatelli and Nils Andrén are dancers, choreographers, teachers and performers of Lindy Hop and Boogie Woogie, two vibrant dance styles deeply rooted in African-American culture. They have spent the last decade teaching, performing and choreographing.

Helena Kanini Kiiru

Solo Jazz Lessons

Helena Kanini Kiiru is a young dancer and teacher from Zagreb, Croatia. Her passion for music and dance goes back to her childhood, when she began playing the piano at the age of 7. With Kenyan family roots, Helena grew up with music, which stimulated her sensitivity to rhythm.

Marie N'diaye

Solo Jazz Lessons

Marie N’diaye is a choreographer, performer, jazz dance educator and dance researcher. She specializes in jazz dance (African American Jazz), including the partnered form (Lindy Hop), focusing on the heritage of the Harlem dancers of the Savoy Ballroom as well as the tradition of chorus lines in nightclubs and theaters (such as the Apollo Theater, the Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn…)…

lindy hop class

Lindy Hop lessons

Marie N’diaye is a choreographer, performer, jazz dance educator and dance researcher. She specializes in jazz dance (African American Jazz), including the partnered form (Lindy Hop), focusing on the heritage of the Harlem dancers of the Savoy Ballroom as well as the tradition of chorus lines in nightclubs and theaters (such as the Apollo Theater, the Cotton Club, Connie’s Inn…)…

Felix Berghäll is a Swedish, African, American and vernacular Lindy Hop dancer, performer, choreographer and teacher as well as a DJ and music researcher…

lindy hop class

Lindy Hop lessons

It was at the Université du Québec à Montréal thatAlice Bourgasser‘s interest in swing dances, particularly Solo jazz and Lindy Hop, grew into a full-time job at Studio 88 Swing, teaching and performing these dances.

A swing dancer since 2014, Michel Campeau quickly rose through the ranks of Montreal’s Swinging Air Force and devoured the Lindy Hop several times a week. Since 2018, he has been teaching, coaching and performing vernacular jazz dances full-time, with a focus on Solo jazz and Lindy Hop.

Felix Berghall

Solo Jazz Lessons

Felix Berghäll is a Swedish, African, American and vernacular Lindy Hop dancer, performer, choreographer and teacher as well as a DJ and music researcher…

THE MUSICIANS

Swing Up Orchestra

The “Swing Up Orchestra” is made up of jazz musicians from Lyon, and takes you back to the golden age of swing in the 40s. The band revives the music of jazz legends such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Artie Shaw and many others…

With a strong rhythm section and feverish solos, the Swing Up Orchestra recreates the energy and excitement of the Swing era to get you dancing!

 

Live, Friday July 19, 2024 at 8pm (festival opening) and Saturday July 20, 2024 on the Promenade du Peyrou

Carolina Reapers Swing

The Carolina Reapers Swing was born from the meeting of young, crazy musicians of the ’30s and ’40s and the “swing” dance. This synergy produced a group that is interested in jazz standards and in the rare pieces that bring together music and “swing” dancing since the early days of “lindy hop”.

By its energy, their style is alive in spite of their chiseled arrangements. That is to say that they combine classicism and a new approach of the “ole’ trad jazz songs” of the “swing” era… and their name is already synonymous with “ça va chauffer !

 

Live, on Sunday, July 21, 2023 at 8 p.m., at the end of the festival, on the Promenade du Peyrou.

BUM BETTY jump swing 50' à

Bett Betty leads the show on vocals and double bass, accompanied by her sidekicks Johnny Mustang on guitar and Scott “Hi Hat” Jenkins on drums!
BUM BETTY arrives with its festive, vintage, rock’n’roll energy!

 

Live, Sunday July 21, 2023 at 1pm, at the Guingette d’Oc, on the Promenade du Peyrou.

jungle cats

Jungle Cats takes us back to the jazz clubs of New Orleans, revealing all their madness. More than a concert, the sextet takes you on a journey to the origins of jazz, with a frenzied swing that transports you into a frenetic, unforgettable atmosphere. Between interpretations of jazz standards and original compositions, the musicians take you into unexplored territories where improvisation reigns supreme.

 

Live, on Friday July 19, 2024 at 2pm, at the Polygone shopping center in Montpellier, as part of the festival warm-up.

THE ILLUSTRATORS

Laura Gassin, illustrator for the swinging montpellier festival
Hannah Emmett, illustrator of the swinging montpellier festival