Members

​Ashley Lundgren

Ashley Lundgren has been dancing swing since 2015 and has been in love with every rock-step ever since. An active board member and teacher for the Denton Swing Dance Organization, she has been involved in choreography development and performance for several local dance events. Her favorite part of dancing is going to out of town events and meeting other dancers as well as throwing in bad puns when she teaches a beginner swing dancing class. When she isn't dancing, Ashley can normally be seen petting dogs.​
Bryan Katchinska
Bryan found swing dancing in college in Texas. Since then, he has traveled the U.S. finding ways to build his dance style from a variety of scenes, instructors, and competitions. As a teacher, he specializes in Lindy Hop, Charleston, and vernacular Jazz. He has been a part of the award-winning ACME Swing Team for more than four years, placed in various contests throughout the U.S, and taught in the DFW area for the past three years. He hopes that when you leave his class, you will not only have improved your swing dancing, but will have improved your all-around dancing skill as well.

Carolyn Sturge

Carolyn started swing dancing in 2008 as an undergrad at Texas A&M University. She continued dancing because of the fun, freedom of expression, and the beauty of combining physical and technical movements with the creative aspect of dance. Carolyn considers herself a swing dancing enthusiast and occasionally teaches beginner and intermediate classes in Charleston. Her current dancing habits include working on choreography and aerials with her partner Bryan. Outside of dancing, Carolyn is a scientist, gamer, and all-around nerd who believes in the oxford comma.

​Jacob Cortez

​​Jacob Cortez began swing dancing in the summer of 2014 at a local San Antonio Swing Dance Society social. When he moved back to Denton for University, he was reeled in by his love of jazz and the fact that he found a way to make music without singing or playing an instrument. He has danced with the ACME Swing Dance Company, and is an active board member of the Denton Swing Dance Organization. He can be seen dancing, teaching, and DJing in Denton, at Dallas Swing Dance Society, and at the Ft. Worth Swing Dance Syndicate. When he is not dancing, Jacob is a highly sought after violinist and music teacher in the DFW Metroplex, and enjoys performing a variety of musical genres across the U.S. and in Europe

Meagan Smith

​Meagan fell in love with swing dancing as a freshman in college and hasn't stopped loving it since. Being in a college scene gave Meagan the opportunity to get involved with all facets of a swing scene, from event-planning, to performing, to choreographing, to teaching - and she loves every bit of it! She particularly enjoys the way that Lindy Hop allows her to communicate with a partner, and to interact creatively with the music. Nothing gives her more joy than knowing that, through her dancing, she can create happiness in others. When she's not dancing, Meagan is probably at the gym, doing yoga, or writing.

Raimy Forseth

Raimy started dancing in the small college town of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois in 2010. After taking her first lesson, she was hooked. She fell in love with the music, the dance, and how they could put a smile on everyone's faces, especially hers. Since that day, she dances every single week and works on pushing herself to continue to grow and improve to create amazing dances with anyone and everyone. Raimy loves to share her joy and love of the dance through teaching, performing, practicing, competing, and even just talking about the dance, the music, ideas, concepts, and the community.

Russell Hart

Russell has always been a math student since it provided an absolute structure to think within. Dance gave him a path with enough structure to have a correct answer, and enough freedom to play. After learning some of the basic structure, he started playing with feeling different connections. He especially enjoys switch dancing, alternating lead and follow roles mid dance, since there are large changes in connection through the dance. Besides Lindy Hop,he also enjoys Balboa because his mom never hugged him as a child.

Stephanie Jones

Stephanie started dancing seriously in the summer of 2017 after a friend convinced her to take a beginner class at Sons of Herman Hall one Wednesday night. She wasn’t sure if she would be good at it since she is known for her clumsiness but after one class she was hooked. Being a Master of Music Education and orchestra teacher, Stephanie has a deep love for music and enjoys expressing that passion in any way she can. Since her grandmother's passing last December, she wants to learn as much as she can and carry on her legacy as a swing dancer. Stephanie can’t wait to see where this journey takes her. 

Thaddeus Komorowski

Growing up in west Texas, Thaddeus only knew country two step. However, when he went to a WWII interest meeting as a junior in college, he ended up becoming  a charter member of a swing dance group at a conservative college that didn’t allow dancing. It's been a long journey, but now Thaddeus has taken his dancing to the big city. He loves dancing in all forms, but ultimately dedicates himself to understanding, preserving, and teaching the only true American dance style: Lindy Hop! Thaddeus even loves listening to and djing swing music whenever he's not dancing. You can find Thaddeus attending and competing at events around the mid-west. In his off time, Thaddeus teaches graphic design, loves playing sports and being outdoors.

Tina Malone

According to her parents, Tina has been dancing her whole life. They are glad that she is now dancing on the swing dance floor, and not choreographing Billy Joel songs in their living room with all their valuable breakables. High school show choir was Tina's introduction to the performance dance world, and since then she has dabbled in many dance styles, including jazz, modern, tap, ballet, liturgical, and West African. In the summer of 2005, Tina worked with the Bi-Okoto School of West African Dance and Drum in Cincinnati and the Rhythm & Motion Dance Center in San Francisco. After moving to Texas, Tina joined the social dance scene with progressive double two, and then discovered Blues and East Coast Swing at Sons of Hermann Hall. This is where she married her husband, fellow swing dancer Zach Malone, two years later, and she has continued expanding her dance repertoire into Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, and Collegiate Shag.

Zach Malone

A DFW native, Zach found Swing dancing in 2006 when a friend brought him out (Just like everyone else, right?). At first it didn't really click, but after giving it another shot in 2008, he stuck it out for the long haul. Zach enjoys watching people create and play with the dance. This fascination  serves as a the foundation for his own dancing as he and his partner play with the song/rhythms, create different ways of moving, and connect with each other. Outside of dancing, computers, rock climbing, and generally being a goofball hold the highest interests.