New feature: music recently played at SSDS dances.

In this page we try to list all swing lessons in the Syracuse area which are open to public. These lessons are not organized or sponsored by SSDS. Lesson schedules are updated when we get information from the instructors. Please contact instructors directly if you need more current information.

Bios of Instructors

It pays to take a dance lesson, in more ways than one. If you paid for a dance lesson in the Syracuse area, you get in that Thursday's dance for $3 rather than $5; our way of supporting people who invest in their dancing.

Instructor(s)	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	S	Sun
Steve Ryan				Beg WCS All levels WCS	Beg/cont WCS
Maria Cirino		Beg WCS		Beg c/w 2-step 2 Int/adv WCS Hustle level 3
Dance Lovers					Int/adv Hustle Foxtrot 4 Beg WCS 1 Samba 2
Lynn Miller		Swing Novice Swing Adv Beg Lindy Hop

Steve Ryan's Thursday Lessons

West Coast Swing Lessons - Two Levels

Four Weeks: April 17, 24, May 1 & 8th.

Location: Knights of Columbus (5976 Taft Road)

For Information call 434-9503 and press 1

No Partner Needed. Private lessons are available.

Class 1: 6:20 – 7:35 PM (1 hr & 15 minute). Beginner West Coast Swing from Scratch. You'll learn the six basics of WCS: push break, underarm pass, left side pass, Tuck & turn, basket, and whip. I’ll cover appropriate music and beats per minute. Most importantly, I’ll cover technique, posture, and timing.

Pre-registration: $36.00, On-site 44.00, and per class $12.00

Class 2: 7:35 – 8:30 PM. West Coast Swing (Moves & Syncopations everyone should know) This level is for beginner through intermediate dancers. WCS is like building blocks that need to be built from the ground up. I've taught a lot of cool and difficult moves in the past and I think it’s time to get back to easier, but essential moves and syncopation that will help you building a vocabulary for more advanced dancing.

Pre-registration: $28.00, On-site $32.00, and per class $10.00

Registration Form: Classes will be held April 17 – May 8th, 2008

Class 1 Pre-registration: $36.00, On-site 44.00, and per class $12.00

Class 2 Pre-registration: $28.00, On-site $32.00, and per class $10.00

Circle class: Class 1 (Beginners) Class 2 (Moves for everyone)

Name _____________________________________________

Email _____________________________________________

Phone________________________

Make check payable to Steve Ryan and sent to 117 Hillsdale Ave, Syracuse NY 13206

Steve Ryan's Friday WCS Lessons

Fridays in February 8, 5, 22 & 29, 2008 (Four weeks)

Cost is $10.00 per person/ per class ($8 with student ID)

Location: Celebrations Dance Center at 458 S. Main Street, N. Syracuse .

For more information call 434-9503 and press 1 and leave a message. Or call 569-2816 , or email danceloverscny@yahoo.com No partner needed!

Beginning Continued level 4 ( 6:30 – 7:30 PM): This class will continue to work on stretching the connection, turns inside and out, syncopations, rolling triples, and center placement.

Beginning West Coast Swing (7:30 – 8:30 PM): This class is from scratch. There are six basic patterns to learn: underarm turn, left side pass, tuck and turn, push break, basket, and whip. I'll cover appropriate music and beats per minutes. Most importantly…I cover technique, connection, and posture, as well as basic timing and musical selection. I believe and focus on strong technique with a lot of body repetition.

Steve Ryan is a professional dancer who has been dancing for more than 25 years, and has won numerous dance competitions throughout that time in jazz, theatre arts, hustle &, west coast swing. He also won a full scholarship to the studios of Alvin Ailey in NYC. He is an advanced level dancer on the national swing circuit. Recently he has won first places in advanced WCS at The Big Apple Country Dance Festival & the World Hustle Dance Championship both in 2005. He also danced a feature roll in the Sleeping Beauty Ballet in February 2005. He has choreographed many swing dance routines that were performed by class members at local dances and at the Syracuse Symphony. He spent 7 months in 2003 training in Los Angeles with national champions. He’s a firm believer in strong technique. He also just finished a teaching tour in New Zealand and Australia in 2006.

Maria Cirino's Thursday Lessons

New mini-lessons start next next Thursday, April 3rd, at the Knights
 of Columbus on Taft Rd. in North Syracuse.

6:30-7:00pm - Beginner Country 2-Step level II
7:00-7:30pm - West Coast Swing Styling Class
              (intermediate/advanced WCS dancers)
7:30-8:00pm - Hustle level III

Price:  $5 per class ($4 with valid student ID)

Here's your opportunity to take a quick 1/2 hour class to try something
new or pick up a move or two!

Stay after class and attend the weekly SSDS swing dance at the same
location.  It's only $3 to dance all night if you take a dance class
within that week.

Class descriptions:

Country/Western 2-Step – Level II (beginner - no experience necessary)
Thursdays 6:30-7:00pm
What we’ll cover:
- Fun, easy patterns
- Turn techique
- Adding style to your 2-Step

The Styling Class for both Leaders & Followers (Intermediate/Advanced WCS)
a.k.a. How to Make Your West Coast Swing Look Exceptionally Good!
Thursdays 7:00-7:30pm
What we’ll cover:
- Shaping to compliment your partner
- Turning triples, slides, and fancy footwork
- More awesome patterns!

Hustle – Level III (prerequisite: level II)
Thursdays 7:30-8:00pm
What we’ll cover:
- How to give more style to your Hustle
- Diva Walks!
- Patterns to show off the leader

This coming Thursday, March 27th will be the last class for C/W 2-Step level I,
WCS Styling, & Hustle level II.

Where: Knights of Columbus Hall
5976 East Taft Road, North Syracuse , NY 13212
For more info:  Call (315) 461-0119 or e-mail:  mcirino@twcny.rr.com

Maria Cirino's Tuesday Lessons

Tuesday nights starting April 29th in Camillus!

6:15-7:15pm Line Dancing - Beginner/Intermediate
7:30-8:30pm Beginner West Coast Swing

A minimum number of people are required for the school district
to hold the class, so please don't delay in mailing in your registration!

Beginner West Coast Swing
Tuesdays 7:30pm-8:30pm; Apr 29, May 6, 13, 20, 27, and June 3

You must pre-register for this course by Fri., April 18th!

A minimum number of people are needed in order for the Adult Ed program
to have the course.

Fee:  $35/person or $55/couple
Location:  Stonehedge Elementary School Cafeteria (Camillus)

To register:
Send a check made out to “West Genesee Central School District” and mail to
West Genesee Adult Education, 300 Sanderson Drive, Camillus, NY  13031

Something for Everyone - beginner & intermediate dance lessons sponsored by Dance Lovers of Central New York

Friday Night Dance Lessons
Organized by Dance Lovers of Central New York
An all volunteer, not-for-profit dance organization

Location & Directions: Celebrations Dance Center, Inc., 458 South Main Street, North Syracuse, NY 13212 (located behind the Fish Cove)

Please carry your shoes in to wear them in the studio on their beautiful wood floors. No outside shoes please.

From the North/South: Travel I-81, exit at Taft Rd. (exit #28), head towards North Syracuse on Taft Rd. (north/west), turn right at the third light onto Rt. 11, Celebrations is approximately 0.4 miles north of Sweetheart Corners (corner of Taft. Rd. & Rt. 11), on the left-hand side, located in grey building behind the Fish Cove.

From East/West: Travel I-90 towards Syracuse, exit at I-81 interchange (exit #36), take I-81 North towards “Watertown” and follow directions above for “From North/South”.

Singles are welcome! Even though this is a partner dance, you don’t need one to take the lesson. We will be rotating partners to enhance learning ability for all students.

Contact Information for Dance Lovers of Central New York
Phone: (315) 569-2816
email: danceloverscny@yahoo.com
Meetup Group: http://dance.meetup.com/396 (website)

To see Lynn Miller's lesson descriptions please visit his site http://www.swinginsyracuse.com/

Cynthia Harkness's contact for dance lessons: (315) 516-1556, letsdance@twcny.rr.com

Syracuse area swing instructors: if you'd like to be added to the list below, please send your short dance bio and contact info to the webslave.

Steve Ryan: email stevenryan@aol.com, 315-434-9503

Steve Ryan is a professional dancer who has been dancing for more than 25 years, and has won numerous dance competitions throughout that time in jazz, theatre arts, hustle &, west coast swing. He also won a full scholarship to the studios of Alvin Ailey in NYC. He is the only advanced male swing dancer in area. Recently he has won first places in advanced WCS at The Big Apple Country Dance Festival & the World Hustle Dance Championship both in 2005. He also danced a feature roll in the Sleeping Beauty Ballet in February 2005. He has choreographed many swing dance routines that were performed by class members at local dances and at the Syracuse Symphony. He spent 7 months in 2003 training in Los Angeles with national champions. He’s a firm believer in strong technique. He is also the founder of The Syracuse Swing Dance Society. He has been teaching swing for 15 years and stays current by attending and competing at National Events.

Maria Cirino: email mariacirino@hotmail.com, ph. 315-461-0119, http://www.syracusewestcoastswing.com/

Maria's been teaching dance in the Syracuse area since March 1991. She has taught line dancing, C/W couples dancing, East Coast Swing and West Coast Swing. While competing on the UCWDC circuit, she studied under some of the biggest names in west coast swing - Mario Robau Jr., Phil Adams, Robert Cordoba, Robert Royston, among others. Recently, she has been competing on the swing circuit in Jack & Jill competitions. Some of her placements are: Swingin' New England 2001 - first place intermediate west coast swing jack & jill; New Years Dance Extravaganza 2002 - second place intermediate west coast swing jack & jill; CASH BASH 2001 - second place advanced hustle jack & jill. Maria, along with Mary Ellen Dunlap and Tracie Cardillo, are the founders of the Three D's WCS Monday Night Dance Series.

Lynn Miller: email lemiller@twcny.rr.com, ph. (315) 471-1289

Lynn Miller is a teacher of movement and dance. He has been a student and teacher of both, for well over 30 years. During that time he has developed a wide range of successful educational, recreational and sport related programs for children, adults and families. He utilizes a developmental approach which focuses on dancing well at a beginner/advanced-beginner level.

Over the past five years he has studied with some of the best teachers in the world including: Frankie Manning; Steven Mitchell; Bill Borgida; Debbie Ramsey and Wesley Boz; Paul Overton and Sharon Ashe; and Michael & Mari Kiehm among others. He specializes in basic level Swing Dance and Savoy Style Lindy Hop.

Alysia Bonvino: email dancingdds@msn.com, ph. (315) 527-4166

Alysia has been dancing & performing since age 8 & is trained in ballet, tap, African, Flamenco, jazz, & modern. She has trained at the Munson-Williams Proctor Institute, Ithaca College-theater department, Center For Ballet & Arts, & Syracuse School of Dance. She was introduced to hustle & WCS in 2002 & travels & competes successfully around the country. Some of her achievements are: in hustle- 1st Adv J & J Hustle-Madjam, 1st Adv Jack & Jill- Big Apple, 3rd Adv J & J- World Hustle, 1st Adv Strictly Hustle with Otis Jennings- Big Apple; in WCS- 2nd Int/Adv Strictly Swing- Madjam, 1st Int J&J- Swing Niagara, 3rd Int J & J- Swingin' NE, 3rd Int J & J-America's Classic, 3rd Nov J & J- Cash Bash, 2nd Nov J & J-World Hustle, 1st Nov J&J- Swing Niagara. Alysia is also a member of the La Familia de la Salsa's performance team. She is available for private lessons- (315) 527-4166; dancingdds@msn.com.