What do other teachers or promoters say about us?

"We've been very fortunate to have had Greg and Laurie teaching at Swing Out New Hampshire for the past ten summers. Their love of dancing is contagious, and they shared that love in class with our campers. Greg and Laurie thoroughly ground their students in the joy of movement and connection, and it's been a pleasure watching their students take what they have learned out on the dance floor each night." --Mark Kapner

"Greg Avakian is someone worth getting to know. He is a kind and caring person with a long history within the Lindy Hop, Blues, and West Coast dance scenes, as well as the DJ scenes around the US. Over the years, I have had the chance to experience a little bit of his knowledge and he is definitely someone I would like to learn more from. If he were having a workshop and I was nearby, there is no way I would miss it!" --Andrew Sutton

" I loved your class. I always do. I’ve taken it three times now and every time I hear something new. You change it and tailor the class for the people that you do it to, you based the songs on that and it really makes the class accessible for the group." --Jesse Young

" I love your passion for the subject...Your knowledge and detailed presentation really opened my eyes." --Ruby Forsman

" I really liked the class. Something you did in the first two minutes made me think, “man he’s been teaching for ten years" ...your definition of rhythm was revolutionary to me." --Mihai Banulescu

" I find interacting with Greg consistently enjoyable and accessible. Whether he is teaching, DJing, or just hanging out, I find that whenever I see his name attached to an event I'm involved with, I'm even more excited about attending that event. His classes are engaging, his style is casual yet authoritative, his knowledge is vast, and his passion to share it unmatched. Any of us, regardless of our level of knowledge or years of training, stand to benefit by his inclusion as an instructor, DJ, or dancer in our worlds." --Lessa Lamb

What do our students say about us?
I really liked the examples they used for how you naturally move your body. It really helped illustrate the unnatural things that people try to do while dancing. Also, they were great about answering questions."

" Their classes were very well thought out and planned. They took an approach to dancing which looked at it from many different angles, several of which I have never been exposed to. I feel there is a lot I can continue to learn from them, and would love to learn more from them. Almost everything they taught was new to me."

" I had not taken a class from Greg and Laurie, and I really liked their style, spunk, creativity, and way of teaching that reached all students."

" I learned some new techniques and moves, which I have wanted to learn for some time. There was also some very good ways to address musicality, like the mapping the music, which were much more interesting than the 'normal' class where everyone just dances by themselves. Greg and Laurie had some very well planned and thought out classes, and I feel I learned a lot from them, and would gladly return to learn from them."

" It was great to break down the music and really understand what you're hearing. It was challenging and interested." (sic)

" ...knowledge is incredible, breaking down moves or patterns so easy and combing the technical and artists parts of moving."

"It opened me up to the idea that the dance is a lot more conversational than I thought. The follower has opportunities to create as much as the leader does, as long as they're both dancing in such a way as to present those opportunities to each other. This concept made my dancing a lot more interesting."

"Great music selection, great pattern learned. Friendly and very helpful instructors, lots of feedback."

"I learned that I didn't need to learn a ton of moves to dance better."

"I think the 'Doing More with Less' class made me a better follower, because it was all about how the follower can be creative too, and how the leader and follower should interact. I learned a lot that I can take with me to other forms of dance besides blues, too."