Áňa has been headed for swing retirement for a while now but letting your children fly the nest isn’t easy, so her eldest – Swing Busters – is still growing up alongside her little daughter. The Prague swing community is in her heart, as well as all of her students, whom she looks forward to seeing and who always charge her batteries. Maybe that’s why it seems she can never run out of energy. To see the joy of movement, the progress of each student, the conversation of an improvising couple, the personality of each dancer, that’s the best reward for a teacher and organiser. Áňa teaches Lindy Hop, Solo Jazz, Balboa and Shag and loves to dance everything. She studies movement from all perspectives, inside out and outside in. She analyses it at school, at work she helps people bring it back where the body can’t help itself and in classes she likes to get others to explore it in the context of music, rhythm and couple cooperation. And she does it all with her legendary enthusiasm and good spirit. After all, you’re supposed to enjoy your retirement!

He is English, but started dancing in Copenhagen. He gets a lot of joy from teaching, dancing and listening to Duke Ellington. For him Lindy Hop is a source of creative expression and he values the beautiful friendships and communities it has given him over the years. He dances because it’s the best instrument he can play, and he loves to be creative, energetic and unafraid of mistakes. And he hopes for his students to be as silly and free in their sick moves.

Music & dance has been a part of her life since she was a kid. She likes all sorts of different styles but Swing and Lindy hop spoke to her through the outstanding possibility to express freely without many strict rules and to have lots of fun.
For her, couple dancing is a perfect example of the ability to agree on things with anyone, if we are willing to do so. :)

She says she’d always been clumsy – until she discovered swing and found out that dancing was what she lacked in life. From a musical background she jumped onto the dance floor and found the boundless joy of moving, improvising and communicating with a partner. She wants to infect her surroundings with that joy. She enjoys the interplay between musicians and dancers and creating new things. She no longer believes in clumsy and enjoys helping the next generation of novice swing dancers dissolve these barriers.

When she’s not dancing or rethinking a thousand times how to better explain a triple step, she takes care of courses running smoothly and your questions being answered. At night you’ll find her on the dancefloor and during the day at info@swingbusters.cz

Adam went through a long journey of different dance styles, met ballroom dances and salsa on the way but it was swing that helped him to look at dancing with a completely new fresh eye. Swing gives him the joy of music, fun, a space to let go and especially – that magic moment of understanding between two people. And it looks like it won’t pass anytime soon. Quite the contrary, after a few years he discovered he’d also like to teach. He tries not to take himself too seriously and likes helping others have fun, express the music and “talk” through dance.

Ania or DJ Foka came to us from the Baltic sea and ever since she started dancing with us she keeps trying to spread her addiction to swing music and dance. She discovered swing 11 years ago at Swing Busters and still remembers fondly her first classes at Truhlárna in Žižkov. Since then she’s been fascinated by different swing dances and jazz music. They allowed her to fulfill her childhood dream of dancing every day of the week and although she doesn’t do that anymore dancing is still her most important passion. Her greatest dance love is balboa but she also likes teaching Lindy Hop and St. Louis Shag. Very slow or very fast music with captivating rhythm is sure to make her move.

She’s been dancing for a long time and has tried all sorts of dances. Country, clogging, hiphop, swing, afro. What she enjoys the most is that when she’s dancing she is, is on her own, is with others.
She also is a teacher. She teaches kids (and herself) in primary school and also has her own. She tries to learn how to keep wanting to learn, how to talk to each other and how to listen.
And now it’s time to bring all of that together.

Although Monika has been a fan of swing and jazz music for a long time, her meeting with swing dancing was quite a serendipity. She began her first steps in Dundee, Scotland, and life has eventually brought her back home to the Czech Republic. She currently dances mainly on Prague dancefloors – and in Swing Busters, she does event production of dance socials and other activities.
She loves the joy, freedom and focus on improvisation that swing dancing and the culture that surrounds it brings. There’s spontaneity and playfulness in her dancing; she also enjoys when partners inspire each other during the dance.
If you have any ideas for an event or activity, you can definitely share them with Monča!
In person or at produkce@swingbusters.cz

He always knew he wanted to dance, but he had to find his way through sports such as basketball and ice hokey.
Swing dance caught his eye with its fun, diversity and playfulness which has never ceased to amaze him.
His goal is to make dancers dance to the music as an inspirational element, not only as a rhythm keeper. He likes to inspire newcomers to find their love for swing as well as to keep improving the skills of dancers around him.

Keep on swingin´

Swing is not just a dance to her – it’s a passion that fills her with energy and joy. In the world of dance she explores infinite possibilities of expression and sharing emotions with others. What she enjoys most about it is the diversity, where every step, every rhythm offers more space for exploration and creativity. She loves passing her enthusiasm for swing on to her students, be it in Lindy Hop or Shag classes. She likes watching dancers grow and find their own joy in the world of swing dancing. Her greatest love is St. Louis Shag and she’s happy to see it come alive more and more on the social dancefloor.

Honza discovered swing by chance but from the first steps he knew that this was it. He likes fast tempos and improvisation, and when he found St. Louis Shag he knew which style would be his favourite. Off the dancefloor he likes playing board games, skateboarding and old cameras.

Rhythm and melodies were pumping through his body since always, however it was through swing dance that he has found a way to express his passion for music. And much more – it is the harmony of body and soul and conversation without words that he explored with this dance. He loves to “talk” through Lindy hop, Collegiate Shag or Balboa and we just wonder, which dance will be his next love?

To dance! That was her life-long dream. She dug into gymnastics, acrobatic rock’n’roll, african dance, ballroom, but none of it was the dance to fulfill the dream entirely. Browsing YouTube, she found the Lindy Hop – and that was IT, love at first sight! She was amazed by everything in it – the couple dance where it isn’t about rehearsed choreo but a dance being created NOW and HERE, at the moment, improvised, and all feeling and looking so natural. The wonderful music that she loved since childhood, the joy, the spontaneity, the energy, the playfulness being there at any moment. Her heart fell later for Balboa for its unique cosy, gentle and firm feeling. She loves to Blues dance as it gives so much space for feeling and expressing the music and for detailed movement within the dancers body.
When teaching, Šárka focuses on the technical aspects of natural lead and follow.
She’s been swinging since 2009.

As a music lover, lover of movement and art forms, dancing was a clear choice for him. He got to Lindy Hop in 2013 and a few years later to Balboa, which got him by combining subtle elegance with swing groove. In dance, he enjoys improvisation, musicality and communication with his partner and always looks for the next challenge and an opportunity to move forward.

For Jeff dance and music was a part of growing up as much as learning to walk. As a child he listened to Jazz through his dads collection of vinyls & Jazz fm radio in his home town London.

Swing dance came at a difficult time in his life, but the potential of the dance was another way to express himself and honor the memory of his dad. An opportunity to engage with the European swing dance community presented itself to him and he has not looked back since! This led him to traveling to festivals and living across Europe learning from different communities and teachers, and now we have him in Prague. He started with hip hop and can dance other styles like house. Jeff is capable at many different swing dance styles, from Lindy, Blues, Charleston, Collegiete shag and St Louis shag, and his new love Balboa. Who knows where his dance journey will take him!

As a little girl she loved the music of Glenn Miller, the good manners of the 20s and 30s. At 8 she took up South Moravian folk dances and took to the floors of museums and festivals. Later on she spent years skating, skiing and doing other outdoor sports. She devoted a lot of her time to work in marketing.
It was her husband who brought her to swing, taking her to classes with Áňa and Janek at Truhlárna in 2013. It took just one missed class to have the first son and then one thing led to another – first kid, second kid, wedding, family trips… Most of her time was now with the boys and swing made way for kick scooters.
After her family leave she wanted to work with a team of nice people and in 2020 found her place with Swing Busters. Ála is in charge of finance, PR and marketing. From time to time she shows up at Mšeno or some social and is happy to see all the names and faces from the internet in real life.
So that’s ala@swingbusters.cz

Martin got to music since childhood through piano lessons, which all his siblings went through traditionally. In high school, he was fascinated by rock’n’roll and boogie-woogie music and tried to transfer it to the piano strings. When the time came for standard dancing classes, he chose a different path and signed up for Lindy Hop courses. He was impressed by the energy, playfulness and boisterousness of swing music and dance. After some time he began to perform and teach swing in Ostrava and became interested in other swing styles, especially Collegiate Shag. When dancing, he likes to connect dance styles and experiment. For the last two years, he has been enriching his dance with street dances such as House dance and Hip-Hop.

Dance was a part of her life from childhood but in the end she found swing and stuck with it. She always wanted to have a broad range of knowledge. In swing she fulfills that, so you can dance any style with her (Lindy Hop, Charleston, Collegiate and St. Louis Shag, Balboa or all of them mixed together). Each style has a slightly different feel and that’s the kind of variety Zuzka loves about swing. As a teacher she tries to find the root of what’s not working, give individual feedback and support students in constant improvement. When she’s not teaching she builds choreos (has co-created a few of those already), practises, performs, organises the Shag Republic festival and lately mostly spends time with her family. The latter relates also to her activities in the group Prague Swing Mamas and Papas where she helps organise baby-friendly dance events.

Meet Káťa, elegant and soft swing dancer whose journey through the dance world has taken her from the lively streets of Ostrava to the pulsating scenes of London and ultimately led her to the heart of Prague. She finds joy in every tempo (especially Blues and Balboa), but it’s the energetic and free-spirited nature of Lindy Hop that truly captures her heart.
Dance is more than just movement to her; it’s about forging a genuine connection with her partner and reveling in the sheer fun of the experience.
When the music starts, she comes alive, particularly drawn to melodic tunes enriched with the enchanting sounds of the piano and punctuated by dynamic changes.
As a teacher, Káťa brings a unique blend of compassion and individual focus to her classes. She values effort and enjoyment above all, fostering a supportive and inclusive atmosphere where students feel inspired to express themselves freely on the dance floor.

Adam danced folklore as a child, but the great passion for dance stems from high school ballroom classes. Adam’s search for the best dance began at that time. He had tried Latin dance, ballroom, shuffle, flamenco, bachata when he visited a swing party one exuberant evening. Love at first sight. Since then (the second half of 2016), Adam has fallen for swing dances from Lindy to Shag to Balboa. Adam also operates in the Ostrava swing community, where he teaches and, among other things, organizes swing events. Adam’s specialty is Blues.

He fell for couple dancing and swing music 30 years ago. So when the Lindy hop found its way back to the Czech republic, he was among the first ones who jumped in.
He wants to see people listening to the music and moving to it whilst having fun in the couple. So come learn with him how to couple dance, not how to do steps only.

Nastya and Vlad are pioneers of Collegiate Shag in the Czech Republic. Vlad has over 20 years of swing dancing experience and 15 years in a couple with Nastya. Together they founded Groovy Cats Swing Dance Club where they teach Collegiate Shag, Boogie Woogie and Lindy Hop. As well as regular classes they teach workshops in Prague and all over Europe and they like to perform. For the past few years they’ve been passing on their vast experience with performing to their students in a shag choreo group. They’re five time champions of the Collegiate Shag Contest in Munich, Germany.

How does Niky approach swing? Lightly, joyfully, playfully and with care. Lately she’s been doing quite a bit of swing tourism, visiting swing scenes in  various other towns and cities. She loves how we can enrich each other by our differences and understand each other through what we have in common. At the moment she’s dancing with the kiwis in New Zealand, feet up – that’s some aerials.
She’s also an important part of the production team. Have you heard a great new band and would like it to play at one of our events? Or do you play in one? Do you have a cool tip for a guest for our next Unitaria talk? Do you have a performance you don’t want to keep to yourself but need help getting it out there? Do you have an idea that’d be a sin to keep to yourself? Do you have an event and want some swing programme for it? E-mail Niky: niky@swingbusters.cz