THE mega Modern Jive dance weekend of the year! At Berlin DanceFest, there are not only the “usual” theme parties, workshops, show dances, sightseeing and joint dinners — but also our very own German Modern Jive Championships! The championships are part of the weekend and are included in the price. However, there is no obligation to participate. Dance addicts have the advantage of being able to participate in as many categories as they want/may. We recommend a minimum of 8 months of Modern Jive. There are many international dancers coming and we are flying in world-class teachers from the UK for you.
Content
- Modern Jive workshops on Saturday and Sun afternoons
- international dance teachers
- Language of instruction: English
- 3 theme parties:
- Fr — Flamingo 🦩
- Sat — Elegant
- So — Gr…
- Show dances
- optional joint dinner (cost basis)
- Unofficial kick-off: Thursday, November 12th (guest teacher Seamus Waldron, UK) - Championships Saturday morning/noon
Impression
Thanks Jay for the great video! Please scroll down for a longer version.
categories
Here is the short version of the categories. Detailed information is available on Championships.
- Dance with a Stranger
- First Timers
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- “Meisterhaft” (random mix of Intermediate, Advanced and Open - judged individually)
- Open (by invitation)
- Swapsies (alternating “Lead & Follow”)
- Wompom (challenge)
- Showcase (couples and groups)
Venues
Main venue
Kranoldstr. 16, 12051 Berlin Neukölln (S+U Hermannstraße)
Attention: NOT on Saturday evening!
Venue Saturday evening
Karl-Marx-Strasse 201-203, 12055 Berlin Neukölln (S+U Neukölln)
Attention: Saturday evening ONLY
Schedule (2025!!)
price
Normal Bear
- 175 euros
- including MJ course & freestyle at Thursday, November 12th
- Full weekend (including championships)
Party Bear
- 18 euros per party
Viewers
- 5 euros
- Spectator at German Modern Jive Championships
- Owners of a weekend ticket can watch at no extra charge
% DEALS%
- Leroc Federation: 5% discount - please contact us and tell us your membership number
- Open level competition dancers: Please contact us
- Teddy Bear: 20% discount for Berlin Crew - contact Nele
Dance teachers
Lee & Dawn, Style Dance School
Matt & Sarah, Simply Modern Jive
Matt, Mevans Dance & Nele, Jive.Berlin
Lee and Dawn — Information
Known for their fun, friendly and entertaining teaching style, Lee and Dawn have a wonderful ability to make everyone feel welcome and inspired. Their strong Ballroom and Latin background shines through in the way they teach, with a real focus on technique — breaking down even the most challenging moves into simple, easy-to-understand steps.
Lee and Dawn have been teaching and competing together since 2009, enjoying a hugely successful competitive career along the way. They have won numerous competitions and became particularly renowned for their spectacular showcases — beautifully musical, emotional performances featuring impressive lifts and breathtaking choreography.
Having retired from competitive dancing last year, they now bring their wealth of experience to the judging panel, regularly judging competitions throughout the UK and internationally.
Today, Lee and Dawn are in huge demand, teaching dancers around the world and inspiring people of all ages and abilities. They absolutely love teaching in Berlin, and honoured to be judging once again at the German Championships.
Get ready to learn, laugh, dance and, who knows… perhaps earn yourself a Lee & Dawn sticker!
Sarah and Matt — Information
Matt and Sarah ‚Simply Modern Jive‘ have over 50 years of dance experience between them. They’ve been qualified Modern Jive teachers since 2009 and are known for a teaching style which encompasses strong technique whilst making moves accessible.
They teach at events across the UK and internationally. Both have UK open titles to their name and Matt is twice World Champion. They are on the judging panel for the World MJ Champs and the German Modern Jive Champs.
Both were part of the ground-breaking 2 Hot Rhythm competition team, and went on to choreograph and coach BUST (the Bristol University Student Team) who continued their success on the dance floor. They both have a real passion for teaching and love being part of the Modern Jive community.
Matt Evans — Information
As a boy, Matt struggled in dance classes; flat-footed and unable to understand new concepts, his confidence was low. However when the music played he couldn’t help but groove, and that passion has strength.
After devoting years to learning and competing in Modern Jive dancing, Matt was rechristened “Mevans” and went on to becoming a dance professional, winning multiple, top-level competitions for years running, and holds over 120 trophies to his name.
Humbled by the way of working his way up, the now “Mevans” knows everyone has potential, and endeavours to bring out confidence in dancers while developing their technical skills and movement repertoire.
Nele — Information
Nele is owner of Jive.Berlin with weekly dance classes and monthly parties. She hosts 2 dance weekenders a year – with one of them including the German Modern Jive Championships! She loves the versatility and the smooth style of Modern Jive and is big fan of musicality, expression, dance „conversation“ and general creativity on the dance floor. In her classes, she infects people with her love for technical details and her enthusiasm.
Nele also brought trophies back to Berlin over the last few years: from 1st place in „Here come the Girls“ 2018 – at the first competition she ever entered (two more 2nd places in this category) and 2025 reaching 1st place in „ProAm“, 3rd in „Dance with a Star“ culminating in 3rd place „Open Smooth“, 3rd place „W.T.F. Open“ and 1st place in „Dance Battle Open“.
Nele first got to know Modern Jive in New Zealand and Australia where she had lived for a while. When she came back she missed it so much that Nele decided to bring it here and become a teacher herself. She put in a lot of work to build a local MJ dance community from scratch but her belief in this beautiful and social dance keeps her going through highs and lows. With the help of a great international network of other teachers/friends she was able to start teaching back in 2014 and grow her skills. She has been a qualified Modern Jive teacher with the Leroc Federation (under the UKA) since 2018.
Accommodation
You can use this custom (Google) map to find a suitable option:
Motel Plus Neukölln, Silbersteinstraße 30-34, 12051 Berlin (3 minutes away)
motelplus-berlin.de
Rooms are limited, book quickly
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single rooms from 57 euros per night
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double rooms from 66 euros per night
Breakfast buffet for 9.50 euros per person if required
More hotels
If Motel Plus is fully booked, you can still try here. They’re a 10-minute walk or 2-3 subway stops away. Order roughly sorted by distance.
Amaya Motel Berlin, Silbersteinstraße 5-7, 12051 Berlin Neukölln (shared bathroom)
5 minutes on foot
https://amaya-motel.de/zimmer/
Click on the green button on the website and you will be redirected to booking.com
Bellmann Hotel, Karl-Marx-Strasse 283, 12057 Berlin
10 minutes on foot
https://bellman-hotel.com
Hôtel Bohemia, Karl-Marx-Str. 262, 12057 Berlin Neukölln
10 minutes on foot
https://www.booking.com/hotel/de/britzer-tor.de.html
2A Hostel Berlin, Saalestrasse 76, 12055 Berlin Neukölln
10 minutes on foot
https://2ahostel.atberlinhotels.com/en
Motel Home, Holzmannstraße 12, 12099 Berlin Neukölln
15 minutes on foot
or 3 stops by bus, Oberlandgarten bus 246 OR night bus N77 from Bergholzstr. to Hermannstr. /Mariendorfer Weg
https://www.motelhome.berlin/
Mercure Hotel Berlin Tempelhof, Rollbergstraße 214—216, 12049 Berlin Neukölln
2 subway (U8) stops away: Boddinstr.
https://all.accor.com/hotel/1894/index.en.shtml
Grand Hostel Berlin URBAN, Sonnenalle 6, 12047 Berlin
3 subway (U8) stops away: Herrmannplatz
https://grandhostel-berlin.de/urban
Hôtel Ludwig van Beethoven, Hasenheide 14—15, 10967 Berlin Neukölln
3 subway (U8) stops away: Herrmannplatz
https://www.hotel-ludwig-van-beethoven.de/home-en/
→ The U8 departs approximately every 5-10 minutes
If you’re not lucky here, get in touch — we’ll find accommodation for you! We can also arrange hotels further afield or help out with Airbnb or a couch
Longer impression of DanceFest
Our AGB apply. No refunds after purchase. If you have any problems, please contact us — we’ll see what we can do.