Teachers

Intermediate & Advanced levels

Laura Halttunen & Sami Naarminen

Photos by Alessadro Ituarte (Laura) and Ciocirlan Ioana Alexandra, RWH 2019 (Sami)

Laura is a performing dance teacher, choreographer/director and event organiser, and runs her own dance school the Jazz Factory and its performance groups the Midnight Follies & Swingin’ Bootleggers. Laura has more than 12 years of experience in the field, specializing in Jazz roots, Lindy hop & Blues, training dancers, performers, competitors and dance teachers alike. Laura is an energetic and lively teacher who carresses you with humour and whips you with technique.

As one of the leading teachers in Helsinki, Laura has received thanks especially for the clarity of her teaching and her ability to break down the material into bits easily digested, and for her skills in deepening one’s awaress, control and expression of the body. Laura is not only a top teacher and dancer but also has an unparalleled ability as choreographer to conjure up stunning performances that make the audience mesmerised, their knees soft and laughter muscles sore.

Sami started dancing lindy hop regularly in 2008 and has loved it ever since. During the years he has honed his skills by attending several lindy hop camps and has also attended competitions. Sami is teaching lindy hop in Swing Team and is an active member of performing dance group Foxtail Stompers. He has danced other rock’n’swing dances and the most common traditional Finnish dances (lavatanssit) alongside lindy hop.

Sami thinks that the most important things of teaching are cultivating the joy of dance and giving a good basic technique which is aiding in the lightness and pleasantness of dancing. Having a good understanding of the basic technique makes the dance look effortless and gives a good foundation for learning more advanced and impressive dance moves later on. One of the most important areas of basic technique is keeping the rhythm through the dance. The joy of dance can be expressed for example by interpreting the music and doing funny dance moves, whichever suits your dance style the best.

April Karkulahti & Vicent Boned

April is a sunny and positive teacher who focuses on the joy of dance in her teaching. During the classes she tries to maintain a relaxed atmosphere where you feel comfortable to challenge yourself and let go. One of her longtime hobbies is yoga and that can sometimes be seen in her classes as well. She started dancing with Finnish social dances but eventually lindy hop found a place in her heart. Partly because of the love for swing music. She has been a member of Jazz Factory Dancers since 2020. On the side of dancing she is a biology teacher.

Vicent started Lindy Hop in 2014 in Barcelona, after many years of salsa dancing, and got immediately hooked to the energy of the dance and the vibing and welcoming scene. Between 2017-2020 he travelled around Europe attending many international workshops and participating in competitions before taking a (corona) break and moving to Finland. He is an energetic dancer who trains regularly with different music and dance styles, having a holistic approach to moving and dancing. In 2023 he started to get involved with the local community in Helsinki teaching, training and organising workshops with international teachers.

Beginners’ level and Saturday's taster lesson

Emma Åman & Sauli Anetjärvi

Emma and Sauli have danced lindy hop since 2017. Sauli is also an avid blues dancer and Emma's repertoire includes collegiate shag and both also dance balboa. They have been developing their skills in many international dance camps.

The core methods of Emma's and Sauli's teaching include the joy of dance, playfulness and finding a good connection with your partner. Every dance is unique like the dancer. Besides basic moves and technique the classes are focused on musicality and developing your own expression.

Friday's taster lesson

Leea Kuronen

Leea started dancing when she was just 6 years old. She had been begging her parents to enroll her to ballet classes, and finally they gave in. After a few years of ballet training Leea wanted to explore other dance styles, so she picked up hip hop, and later, street dance, show dance (theatrical jazz dance), and later returned to adult ballet. In 2013 Leea signed up for Lindy hop classes and immediately fell in love with the dance form. She soon dived deeper into vernacular jazz and started learning blues, balboa, and solo jazz. Leea has been teaching and DJing since 2015. She's currently teaching as well as choreographing and performing vernacular jazz dances in the Denver metro area.