New Teachers!

We are excited to introduce the newest members of our team, Gabe Takacs and Andrea Wolf!
See you on the dance floor!     — Andrea O, Andrea W, Audrey, Gabe, Gilles, Laura, Megan & Trevor

Please check the Lessons page for details on upcoming class at our new location at Starlite Dance Club in Sunnyvale.

Andrea Owens has been in the fitness industry for many years teaching classes such as Cardio Funk, Step, Body Sculpt, Yoga/stretch, Body Pump, High and Low impact, Stability ball, Circuit, and Jump rope. She has also competed in the National Aerobics Championships with an appearance on ESPN in 1999! In 2000, she received her Master's in Kinesiology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and is currently managing a corporate fitness center.

Andrea's addiction to swing dancing began in 1998. Since then, she has not stopped dancing. She was a long time member of The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. She can frequently be seen dancing at the Bay area's various swing dance venues, and teaching at Wednesday Night Hop at Starlite Dance Club in Sunnyvale.


Gabriel Takacs and Andrea Wolf have been enthusiastic members of the dance scene since 2000 when they began Lindy Hopping together in Tucson, Arizona. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2001, they continued learning Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, Jazz, and Blues from renowned instructors, including Ben and Sheri Yau, Debbie Gitt, Patrick Fredrickson, and Doug Silton. In 2005, Gabe started graduate school at Stanford University where he began teaching weekly lessons. Meanwhile, Andrea taught Lindy Hop and Blues classes in Los Angeles until moving to the Bay Area in 2006.

Expanding their love of social dancing to choreography and performance, Gabe and Andrea joined the dance troupe Double or Nothing in 2005 and 2006, respectively. In addition to weekly classes at Stanford, Gabe and Andrea have been seen teaching at Bay Area venues, including Swing Central, Steppin' Out and now Wednesday Night Hop. They enjoy using technique intensive concepts to continually reach new levels in their dancing and teaching. Since 2007 they have been traveling nationally to Lindy exchanges and events in order to continually expand their dance perspectives.


Audrey Kanemoto has been tap dancing for 23 years with a smattering of jazz, ballet, tango, waltz, and lindy hop along the way. She enjoys executing big ideas, so when she first started swing dancing in 2001, she produced a music video with a 40-person cast and crew that included all of her new friends and instructors. She continued work on her technique, style, and stage quality with lindy hop performance groups SF Bounce, The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue, and the 3-Minute Maniacs.

In the last two years, Audrey has been traveling and competing at lindy hop events and camps earning a name for herself as an exuberant and passionate solo charleston dancer. Her most recent lindy hop success was a clean sweep of the three first place trophies at Inspiration Weekend 2007 in Orange County. When she is not dancing Audrey is an architect specializing in green custom residential additions and remodels.


Gilles Bouvier was raised on cheese and creme fraiche in Paris, France. He came to the United States in 1997 to work as a chip design engineer in the Silicon Valley. Just as he was starting to discover the Lindy Hop, he was exiled (okay, not really) to Britain for 6 months. But the Swing madness had already got to him and he started taking classes with Graeme & Ann in Bristol, England. Back in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1998, he continued to learn under Rob & Diane.

When not practicing Jazz steps, he is either rock-climbing, hiking a mountain, playing a little guitar, spending too much time on his Mac, or thinking about French food. Since 2002, Gilles has been dancing and performing with The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. Gilles teaches Wednesday Night Hop at Starlite Dance Club in Sunnyvale.


Laura Robeck is a Bay Area original; born and raised in the south bay. A graduate of the University of Southern California and Stanford, she has always had a passion for dancing. By day she is a mild mannered science teacher at Carlmont High School, at night she likes to let loose on the dance floor. She has always danced, tap, jazz and ballet, even before she was born.

Laura fell in love with swing while studying in Los Angeles. She has a passion for performing so come see her sparkle while she gets down with her bad self. Laura previous performed around the Bay Area with The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue and taught at Wednesday Night Hop, but she is taking some time off to have a baby.


Megan Hornbecker is a talented dancer, instructor, performer and choreographer. She started Lindy Hopping in Santa Barbara in 1996. After moving to the Bay Area in 1997 she jumped into the swing revival in San Francisco, social dancing at least 5 nights a week and attending as many workshops, camps and classes as possible.

In 2000, she was a member of Paul and Sharon's 20 couple Grease Monkeys performance at Swing Camp Catalina, in addition to performing with Rob and Diane van Haaren's performance troupe The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. Megan has traveled the country and globe dancing, teaching and performing and has organized numerous lindy exchanges and events to promote Lindy Hop, indcluding SFLX 2001 and 2003. She combines her love of lindy, blues, shag and tango with her unique styling and sense of humor to create fun and inspiring classes.

From 2000 - 2006 Megan performed around the Bay Area with her dance troupe The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue. Prior to having a baby in January 2007, Megan taught at the 9:20 Special and at Steppin' Out that she founded with Trevor in 2005. In 2008 she is now back teaching at Wednesday Night Hop at Starlite Dance Club in Sunnyvale.


Trevor Gattis began Ballroom and Salsa dancing in 1995 and took up Lindy Hop in 1998, learning from internationally renowned and loved Lindy Hop instructors Rob & Diane Van Haaren. In 2001, he joined Rob & Diane's performance troupe, The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue.

In 2001 he began teaching for Rob & Diane at Swing Central and in 2003 he took over the operations of the venue, which hosts more than 100 dancers every Tuesday night. Trevor currently choreographs new routines and performs around the Bay Area with his dance troupe, The Swing Cats Rhythm Revue.

Trevor deejays once a month at Starlite Dance Club on Wednesday nights and at various Lindy camps, events and local swing dance venues. In addition, he teaches Lindy Hop Lessons at Wednesday Night Hop at Starlite Dance Club in Sunnyvale.


Guest Teachers

Richard Powers is one of the world's foremost experts in American social dance. He has been researching and teaching contemporary and historic social dances for 32 years and is currently a full-time instructor at Stanford University. Richard has also taught workshops in Paris, Rome, Prague, London, Venice, Geneva, St. Petersburg and Tokyo as well as across the U.S. and Canada.

Selected by the Centennial Issue of Stanford Magazine as one of Stanford University's most notable graduates of its first century. Awarded the Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for distinctive and exceptional contributions to education at Stanford University. Teaches American social dance forms and historic social dance. Joined the Dance Faculty in 1992.


Shirley Yap has been dancing Argentine tango since 1999 and has taught it in both Philadelphia and Buenos Aires. More recently, she has also become well versed in West Coast Swing, Salsa, and Lindy Hop and regularly dances at many different dance venues around the Bay Area. She's excited to show you cool ways to combine two of her favorite dances: Argentine Tango and Lindy Hop.