Frida Segerdahl has been dancing since her early childhood. Her very first dance interest was Swedish folk dances and Swedish Bugg and later moved on to Boogie Woogie. She also attended a three year dance dance high school focusing on modern and contemporary jazz dance and ballet. Training and competing brought her to Herräng Dance Camp where she was exposed to Lindy hop on the social dance floor for the first time and she fell head over heels in love with the music and the dance, finding a freedom of expression she had never felt before. From that point she was hooked and has never looked back. She joined the performance group The Rhythm Hot Shots, now known as The Hot Shots, a celebration of Harlem rhythms, for 15 years. 

There she got the possibility to work hard, learning and performing a broad spectrum of the African American dances she loves such as Lindy Hop, solo  jazz, charleston and tap. She feels incredibly happy and humble that she has had the opportunity to travel the world performing, teaching, competing and sharing her passion for this artform for the last 20 years.

Skye Humphries was first persuaded to dance Lindy Hop by his mother in 1996, but quickly discovered his own love of social dancing, swing music and the Lindy Hop community.  This led him to a wider interest in dance and he took classes in ballet, modern, and Jazz.  Since 1999 he has taught wherever Lindy Hop is done- from national weekends to international dance camps.  He is a founding member of some the most influential modern Lindy Hop troupes- including Minnie’s Moochers, Mad Dog, and the Silver Shadows.  Skye has also won titles at all of the major Lindy Hop competitions- including ULHS, ILHC, ALHC and the World Lindy Hop Championships.  His involvement with Lindy Hop sparked his wider interest in America’s history and cultural heritage- leading him to pursue American Studies at The George Washington University where he received his master’s degree in 2007. 

Elze Visnevskyte comes from a vibrant dance scene in Vilnius, Lithuania where she  is one of the community leaders at What a Jazz studio. Since early age she’s explored a variety of dances - from old Renaissance to traditional folk dances. She has also  spent a lot of time acting in theatre and takes a part of it to her dancing and teaching.  

Having written a thesis on African-American literature and art, she has studied the  broader social and historical context of Swing dance. The values of play,  improvisation and individuality are at the forefront of her teaching. As an educator  she is constantly working on exploring the freedom of movement and expression  while keeping the connection to the roots of the art form.  

Off the dance floor, you can find her talking - whether it’s MC’ing or recording  interviews for What a Jazz podcast. You can always recognise Elze by her contagious  energy and loud laugh.

Joris Focquaert comes from Belgium, and is currently based in Berlin, Germany.

While he has a background in physical theater (The Commedia School, Copenhagen, 2007), his road evolved towards dancing and more specifically African American Jazz dances like e.g. the Lindy Hop, and a dance we often refer to as 'Authentic' Jazz, mixed with the Charleston.

As a dance instructor, he gives his best, always seeking answers in the roots of Jazz. Learning to play the clarinet and trombone has developed his understanding of Jazz as movement.

Founder of Crazy Legs Dance School in Ghent (Belgium), the city where he honed his skills, he looks forward to seeing what’s there around the corner, curious for new projects.

“Hot Gravel Eight”, the top-class eight-piece band from Milan lead by one of the most representative “hot jazz” specialist in Italy, multi-

instrumentalist Mauro L. Porro, relives the pleasure of Classic Jazz

tradition through exhilarating live performances of a musical repertoire focused on the original “Swing” music from the 1930’s and the beginning of the 1940’s.

For this to happen, the band performs with vintage musical instruments and bandstand instrumentation, with ad-hoc orchestrations based on precise musical transcriptions from its members’ own shellac libraries, as well as an immaculate stage presence recalling the thrill of the splendid “Swing Era”.

Chiara Costa - vocals

Pasquale Gravela - cornet, vocals

Davide Vincenzi - alto sax, clarinet, vocal

Matteo Zecchi - tenor sax, clarinet, vocal

Mauro L. Porro - piano, cornet, soprano sax, vocal, arrangements & transcriptions

Yuri Biscaro - guitar, mandolin

Marco G. Rottoli - double bass

Paolo A. Vanzulli - traps, percussions

Hot Gravel Eight will play at Saturday Party!

t.b.a.

“Hi XmaSwing! This year will be the twelves time that I’ll be doing some kind of deejaying at this event, which makes me doubly excited about seeing you all on the dancefloor again. For those of you who don’t know me: I’m really looking forward to meeting you. For those of you who do know me: while 204 BPM still isn’t all that much, 128 BPM is just as great.”

Here you've got someone whose love for groovy rhythms and catchy tunes runs so deep that he cannot stop sifting through jazz discographies. Who knows, maybe there's another gem by Johnny Hodges, waiting to be discovered. Or what if Illinois Jacquet outdid his best studio solos in an obscure live performance? Or maybe someone published a new remaster of a Roy Eldridge number. And of course, a DJ's musical preferences change with time, as do those of a social dancer. In that regard, DJ Ozwaldo's goal is to stay true to himself: to play that good swing that gets him moving. Blaring big bands, subtle small groups; breakneck tempi followed by playful, slower standards; a ride through the regional and historic jazz styles that once paved the way for tonight’s dancefloor. And while he currently favors those older, more vintage recordings, he never quite shies away from sprinkling in the modern artists either.

Zazie Métro loves jazz! She rediscovers it in a wide variety of styles – from New Orleans jazz to classic big band swing and Black rhythm & blues, all the way to contemporary swing. Excursions into all kinds of neighboring genres are always possible! What matters most to her is not simply stringing together random songs, but creating an arc that keeps the urge to dance alive and bubbling. Let yourselves be surprised!

"Aaron’s sets are all about energy and groove, with the motto “make it easier for the dancers to have fun and keep them dancing!”

Based in Düsseldorf, Aaron rediscovered his passion for swing dance and music in 2019 after starting to dance Lindy Hop in 2014. An avid social dancer and DJ at top events across Europe including Herräng, The Snowball, Jazz Roots and Sofia Swing, he knows just when to amp up the energy and when to create those intimate, groovy moments.

Expect a stylistic mix of tunes that will get your feet moving and your soul happy!"