Dan Guest

Based near London, Dan specialises in Afro American partner dances and vernacular Jazz from the 1920 to 1940s. His particular specialities are Lindy Hop, Balboa and Charleston, together with less well known dances of the era such as Laminu, Peabody and Big Apple. For a full list, see the dance styles page.

In Lindy Hop he is widely considered as one of the best in Britain. He is a former UK Champion winning the 1999 UK Open Lindy Hop Competition.

In Balboa, Dan was instrumental in the revival of the dance, having learned from many of the original "old timer" Balboa dancers. In 2002, he started Britain's first dedicated weekly Balboa night, which he is still running today. He started the London Balboa Festival in 2003 - one of only three dedicated Balboa camps in the world at that time. He is widely credited with bringing Balboa to the UK and helping to popularise swing dance both here and more widely in Europe.

Dan also has an in-depth knowledge of partnered Charleston appearing on primetime TV as part of the BBC's Strictly Dance Fever series. He acted as the program's consultant and dance coach, teaching Charleston to the contestants on the program. The Charleston element of this series proved so popular that the BBC then introduced the Charleston to their long running Strictly Come Dancing programs.

In addition to his own weekly classes, Dan is a renowned teacher having taught at many prestigious swing dance events throughout the world, including twice at the seminal Herräng Dance camp in Sweden. His teaching expertise has been honed through the hundreds of workshops that he has taught over the years across dozens of different countries.

Dan's teaching focuses on the techniques and body mechanics that make dancing feel natural and effortless at all tempos. Being a perfectionist, he emphasises lead and follow technique together with developing good basics. He has a relaxed and light-hearted teaching style with a knack for simplifying and explaining complex ideas. His teaching is based on recognised learning methodologies for the acquisition of motor skills. He explains how to put energy and life into all aspects of the dance and how to vary the dynamics to really make it swing!

If you are interested in bringing him to your area then contact him using the details here.