Kofi Arthiabah

(Ottawa)

Vicky Yeung

(Toronto)

For Kofi, the world is just one big dance floor. He can be seen dancing up a storm wherever and whenever the music moves him - that's pretty much everywhere and all the time! He has been dancing all his life and ever since discovering partner jazz dancing, (thanks to Frankie Manning and Norma Miller’s interview on the Ken Burns PBS series “Jazz”) he's been hooked and has been lindy hopping his life away. He has travelled the world learning, social dancing, competing, judging, teaching and sharing the joy of jazz dance. His "Taking it back to the streets" project saw him dance Norma's Trickeration, 100 days around the world to mark Norma Miller's 100th birthday.

In 2020, the pandemic disrupted his Trans-Canada Dance project which was to start with dancing in Halifax, so he's extra excited to share the joy of dance with everyone at Seaside Shimmy.

Vicky's dance career began as a founding member of the University of Manitoba Swing Dance Club (UMswing) and was deeply involved in the Winnipeg dance scene as instructor, event organizer, coach, choreographer and performer from 2000-2012. She then relocated to Quebec City where she continued teaching, competing, and coaching at Port-O-Swing Ecole de Danse and later Edmonton where she was part of the Hit That Jive Dance Crew and taught at the Swing Out Edmonton Dance Club at the University of Alberta. Vicky is now located in Toronto and can't wait to share her love of dance with the Dal-King Community as part of Seaside Shimmy!

DANCING WITH

Priyanka Varkey

(Halifax)

One free drop in swing dance lesson in 2012 offered by the Dalking's Swing Dance Society was all it took- Priyanka was hooked. Having always loved dancing, swing dance opened up a world of creativity, fun, and connection that she had not experienced before. Since then, Priyanka has dabbled in a variety of partnered dances including Blues, Salsa, Bachata and some Tango but Lindy will always be her first and foremost love. She has been teaching Lindy Hop since 2014 and loves spreading joy through movement!