THE DANCERS

Bianca & Nils

Bianca Locatelli and Nils Andrén are Lindy Hop and Boogie Woogie dancers, choreographers, teachers and performers with a passion for advancing the art form. They have spent the last decade teaching, performing and choreographing. Their true passion lies in Lindy Hop and Boogie Woogie, two vibrant dance styles deeply rooted in African-American culture.

They discovered their love of dance at an early age, exploring various styles such as ballet, Latin dance, hip-hop and ballroom. But it was swing dancing that won their hearts. Their paths crossed when Bianca moved to Sweden and they began performing and competing together.

Soon after, they embarked on a career as performers, competitors and teachers, sharing their passion and vision with audiences and students around the world.

Today, they travel all over the world to teach at festivals, perform on stage and take part in competitions. Over the past 10 years, they have won numerous competitions around the world. Bianca and Nils have won several Swedish competitions, including the Swedish championships. Even abroad, they hold titles at the International Lindy Hop Championship (ILHC), Camp Hollywood, the European Swing Dance Championship and several international Boogie Woogie competitions.

Bianca and Nils’ aim as educators is to create a positive learning environment while learning and understanding the values of the dances. Bianca and Nils are committed to delivering exceptional performances and inspiring others through dance. They have performed on many stages and theaters around the world, showcasing their creativity and musicality.

Pamela & Tadas

Pamela Gaizutyte (Lithuania) and Tadas Vasiliauskas (Lithuania) are world-renowned swing dancers and teachers. Their unique style and well-structured teaching method make them an inspiration to the swing community. Originally from Lithuania, they are known for their dynamic style, exceptional musicality and ability to convey the energy and joy of swing in their performances and classes.

With a high level of technique, flawless musicality and years of experience on the world’s biggest stages such as Herräng and ILHC, they continue to influence dancers through their workshops and performances.

Pamela and Tadas are committed to transmitting an authentic style, true to the roots of Lindy Hop and Authentic Jazz. Their balanced approach invites us to dance with mastery while exploring personal expression. They dance to express, feel and inspire!

Moe & Vincenzo

Moe Sakan (Japan) dances like few others can. She is passionate about music from the 1920s to modern times. Her dedication to culture is also reflected in her attitude to dance, as she constantly strives to recreate an authentic style, and her passion certainly reflects the spirit of dance as it was then.

Vincenzo Fesi (Italy) is a world-renowned dancer, teacher and choreographer. A true globetrotter, he teaches and performs all over the world. Vincenzo is the Italian star who shines on the lively international swing scene.

He has a specific teaching method that he has developed throughout his years of experience in the fields.

Vincenzo is not just a dancer. He choreographs, sings and produces events. He is also a skilled storyteller on the history of jazz dance. In 2014, he wrote the foreword to the Italian edition of the book “Frankie Manning: ambasciatore dello swing”.

Leti & César

For Leticia Martin (Spain), Leti, jazz dance is inseparable from its cultural context. As a teacher and performer, she strives to be part of a lineage, that of the dancers who have carried (and are still carrying) this tradition. We are dwarfs sitting on the shoulders of giants.
In her constant search for groove and swing, Leti explores the ways in which the
body resonates with music, as well as the development of improvisation and self-expression.
Lindy hopper since 2011, her dance draws on the diversity of vernacular jazz styles
as well as the narratives and life stories that surround them. Sharing and exchange are at the heart of her approach.
Today, Leti teaches Lindy Hop and Jazz vernaculaire full-time in Montpellier, at the Montpeul’ Swing school. A passionate pedagogue, Leti encourages her students to surpass themselves and find their own voice, while remaining bearers of the tradition of this dance.
Leti also has an academic career, and currently dedicates her research to
exploring and understanding how jazz dances are perceived in France, and their place
within cultural policies.

César Cano (Spain) is originally from Majorca, but is currently based in Montpellier (France). His first contact with swing dance was in his early twenties. In 2016, he fell in love with Lindy Hop, when he discovered that it was a language in its own right through which one could communicate with others.
From then on, he developed a passion for swing culture and dance (notably Lindy Hop, Solo Jazz and Tap dancing). He continually travels nationally and internationally to improve his dancing and teaching skills.
His dancing is based on freedom, improvisation and rhythm. César’s dancing is relaxed and gentle, yet expansive and frenetic. Often complementing it with tap-inspired rhythms.

Rémy Kouakou Kouame

Rémy fell into the pot of Swing dances at a very young age. A distinguished competitor, he holds a number of prestigious titles, including Champion de France and Champion du Monde de Boogie Woogie.
For several years now, he has also distinguished himself as a teacher, travelling to the biggest international festivals to share and pass on his passion and knowledge. What he likes to share most of all is the joy that dance gives us. He fights against the intellectualization of dance and militates for fun and feeling. For him dancing is… living… expressing himself!
Since 2023, Rémy has been Artistic Director of the Swinging Montpellier Festival.

More Line Up coming soon; stay tuned

THE MUSICIANS

HOT SWING SEXTET

Nils & Bianca

photo Fred Encuentra_BarbotStudio

Live, Thursday July 17 and Friday July 18, 2025 at 8pm on the Promenade du Peyrou.

The HOT SWING SEXTET invites you to step back in time for a trip to the frenetic atmosphere of the jazz clubs of the 30s. Between Paris and Harlem, between Django Reinhardt and Duke Ellington, via Louis Armstrong, the Hot Swing Sextet has organized a “tailor-made” trip for you, in the direction of “le Swing”.

Embark with these six musicians brimming with energy. “Swaying” and good humor are on the program of this great crossing of “middle-jazz”.

Carolina Reapers Swing

Live, Saturday July 19 and Sunday July 20, 2025 at 8pm on the Promenade du Peyrou.

When Carolina Reapers Swing take the stage, you know what to expect: irresistible swing, boundless energy, a good dose of madness, but also a unique repertoire, a touch of finesse, irrepeatable moments – and the certainty of wanting to dance to their music to the very last note.

The septet, formed in 2016, is now a favorite among European swing dancers, and is on the bill of festivals in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Athens, Sofia, Vilnius, Geneva, Warsaw, Valencia, Rome, Turin, Bern, Krakow, Stuttgart, etc., as well as all over France.

Their repertoire combines arrangements from the Swing Era with improvisation on the era’s favorite standards.

A team of gifted, creative soloists, backed by a pure swing rhythm section: trumpeter Guillaume Gardey de Soos, trombonist Sami Khalfoune, saxophonist Mickaël Pernet, pianist Joseph Vu Van, guitarist and singer Charles Huck, drummer Arthur Defrain, and Fernando Morrison, double bassist and band leader.

Surprising performances, full of spontaneity, where sparkling personalities, inventive solos, hypnotic riffs and charming vocals make each Carolina Reapers Swing show unique and full of life.

Jungle Cats

Live, Friday July 18, 2025 at 2pm at the Polygone shopping center in Montpellier, as part of the festival warm-up.

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.

Jungle Cats’ all-consuming energy is rooted in their history of brass band experience and street performances, and in the joy of sharing a moment with their audience. Their original repertoire will delight Jazz Festivals as much as swing and Lindy Hop dance lovers, as long as the fun is there. No tricks, just raw energy and a touch of madness: you won’t come away from a Jungle Cats concert unscathed!

Little Guinguette

Live, Saturday July 19, 2025 at 1pm on the Promenade du Peyrou.

Little Guinguette takes us back to the days when Swing was all the rage in the smoky bars of Harlem and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. From Billie Holiday to Sidney Bechet via Joséphine Baker, the trio from Montpellier brilliantly interprets the great Jazz standards as well as the little forgotten treasures of the 1930s and 1940s. The velvety sound of the clarinet, mingled with the sweetness of the voice, the finesse of the cornet and the sensuality of the saxophone, all transported by the swing of a gypsy guitar and the percussion of a pair of clappers. This alchemy of timbres revives the blues, ballads and charlestons of yesteryear.

Audrey Leclair, a well-known singer on the Montpellier swing scene, her deliciously old-fashioned vocal timbre is sure to charm the audience. Some will recognize the vocal inflections of Billie Holiday and other blues singers. But that’s not all: she’s equally adept at improvising with her voice and her piston cornet, and, wearing a pair of tap shoes, she’s sure to demonstrate her rhythmic skills. Her qualities as a multi-instrumentalist make her a remarkable musician.

Virtuoso clarinettist David Tavani is sure to thrill listeners with his lyricism and melodic flights of fancy. And because one talent can hide another (or several!), he will also seduce you with the suave sound of his tenor saxophone and the ardor of his soprano saxophone as he reinterprets the finest works of Sidney Bechet.

Abel Pamies, straight from Catalonia and a graduate of the Conservatoire de Jazz de Paris, recreates the typical swing of the Roaring Twenties with a solid, energetic rhythm section.

There’s no doubting the musical and human complicity of these three musicians. Their music exudes good humor and their pleasure in playing it is contagious: the audience, always conquered, leaves the hall with joy in their hearts and a hint of nostalgia.

Petit Vince trio

Live, Sunday July 20, 2025 at 1pm on the Promenade du Peyrou.

This group of young people from Montpellier share a passion for American music of the 50s. With country, blues and rock’n’roll standards… This period reflects a pivotal evolution in the history of popular music. It’s exactly this era that the trio wants to bring back to life, with covers of well-known tunes by Chuck Berry and Elvis, as well as a more traditional repertoire of country and rhythm’n’blues.

The project was born around Vincent Bassou, the guitarist and singer. From an early age, he’s been a passionate fan of American music, from swing to rock’n’roll. A member of the “Gry Grys” 70s rock band, as well as the swing band “Crooner Discount” and leader of the rhythm’n’blues project the Big Marteen’s, he brings tradition, composition and freshness to the Montpellier music scene.

He is accompanied by Gildas Le Garrec, a swing and blues double bass player who has been playing in regional bands for over 10 years. And Simon Laurent, a drummer who plays traditional jazz, swing and rhythm’n’blues, and is the driving force behind a number of bands including Orchestre Syncopatique and Crooner Discount…

To relive the birth of 50s rock’n’roll with Petit Vince Trio, this orchestra brings out the great known and lesser-known standards of this post-war American music, between blues, boogie, rockabilly and the swing of Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran… But also original compositions will make you quiver with the desire to dance and move.

THE ILLUSTRATORS

Laura Gassin

Laura Gassin is the illustrator who has designed the festival poster for the 2nd year running.

Laura is an artistic director in a Montpellier company during the day and an artist-illustrator in love with the region where she grew up the rest of the time!

It was while trying to decorate a room that she wanted in the image of the city that the desire came to her to make illustrations of Montpellier. Quickly, various escutcheon shops noticed them and placed orders with him. The story is on!

From the coast to the hinterland via the small streets of Montpellier, the emblematic places are sketched, chosen according to its walks and peregrinations. These modern posters, with a fresh and luminous style, please; they speak to people from Montpellier and are lovely souvenirs for tourists.

Laura illustrates the Swinging Montpellier Festival for the 2nd time. For the 1st collaboration, the poster featured dancers on the Place Royale du Peyrou in Montpellier. For this new edition, the beautiful setting of Place de la Comédie takes center stage.

Laura’s wish is that her posters are emblematic of Montpellier and its region, so that through her work she can contribute to people discovering and loving these places.

Some of Laura’s achievements…

hannah emmett

Hannah Emmett is an illustrator in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

After studying Arts at the Academy of San Francisco, where she obtained her diploma, Hannah very early developed cultural activities in private art galleries.

Back on her native East Coast as a freelance illustrator, she works with traditional mediums, especially graphite, and digital creations that she skilfully combines into mixed-media works.

His work is strongly influenced by the music industry, as evidenced by his many illustrations of artist portraits.

Hannah Emmett collaborates for the first year with the Festival Swinging Montpellier. Hannah creates the illustration of Louis Armstrong announcing the tribute evening that we are dedicating to the artist on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death. Be curious to discover Hannah’s work.

Some of Hannah’s achievements…