DanceFest – Tanzwochenende

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.

Matt has competed in Modern Jive for 18 years and is twice Open World Champion amongst his many titles. Sarah has a couple of UK Open titles to her name.

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.

Simon and Joanna, have been teaching Modern Jive together for 12 years, but have over 60 years of dance experience between them across a range of styles including Modern Jive, Ballroom/Latin, Swing and Blues. Their passion for making dance fun and creative while working with the music gives them a unique style. They love to teach classes that mix and match their favourite dance styles and backgrounds while keeping a sense of fun and playfulness.

Simon has taught, DJ’d and run dance weekends all over the UK and Europe. He has experience in Lindy and Swing as well as Blues and he brings this extra understanding of movement to his dancing and classes.

Joanna has studied a wide range of styles, focussing mostly on Ballroom and Latin where she is currently working through her IDTA teaching exams, but also Ballet, Modern, Tap, Rock ‘n’ Roll and has competed in disco formation teams.

Teaching since 2009 and now making dance his career. Matt strives to improve technique, musicality and creative movement in others, enabling dancers to become competent and confident.

Mevans is performance! Current World Modern Jive Championships triple winner and holding the Grand Masters and Open winner title in many other Championships. He is no stranger to getting the crowd going with his unique styling, relentless energy and diverse abilities.

Despite these glory stories, Matt has had a long humbling road on his path to success and appreciates that everyone has their own journey with challenges along the way. Valuing dances with simply anyone who’ll partner him, he’ll always endeavour to inspire confidence!

Over the years Matt has dipped into many styles of dance and uses different styles to choreograph. His “performance workshops” encourage groups to perform to their best and to create inspirational videos. Not just demonstrating the joys of dance – but also that anyone can do it!

Nele and Jasper first got to know Modern Jive in New Zealand and Australia where they both had lived for a while. When they came back they 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. Thanks to the support of other teachers and friends, e.g. Simon and Joanna Ridley, Jol Rose, Thierry and Emma Gauthier, Seamus Waldron or Keith Davies she was able to start teaching back in 2014 and grow her skills. This still is an ongoing process and the list now would be far too long. Thanks to all lovely supporters (e.g. Lee & Dawn *wink wink*)!

Nele and Jasper competed at the World Modern Jive Championships and Nele placed 1st with Vicky Mykytiuk in “Here come the Girls” at the International Open Modern Jive Championships 2018. She enjoys the smooth Kiwi/Australian style of Modern Jive but is also a big fan of musicality, fusing different dance styles together and anything crazy like lead swaps or steals/tag…

Nele is a very structured teacher and knows how to let everyone walk… or better… dance away with cool moves and a big smile – because she just loves entertaining you.