Lindsey Wilson (Seattle) fell in love with country dancing in 2022 through Rain Country Dance, where they are now an instructor. For them, dance is more than movement — it's a powerful form of resistance, expression, and joy, especially within queer community. They run 253Step, a queer country dance night, and organize events with their performance group, the Reverse Cowboys. In 2024, Lindsey began to write choreography, creating dances that embrace all skill levels.

Sara Willbrich (Washington, DC) was coerced onto the CW floor at Faces, Sacramento in 1994 and never looked back. Moving to DC a decade later, she converted to progressive 2-step and dove into the wild world of mainstream WCS. She competed as a leader and follower in WCS and in IAGLCWDC CW couples for several years. She founded DC Roleplay and helps produce DC Out.

Sheba Thone (Rhode Island) is a 40-year-old (This year!) line dancer who feels (and thinks she looks?) much younger on the dance floor. She *maybe* only loves the Lord, her husband, her dog, and the Emerald City (shout out Rain Country!) more than line dancing. She started line dancing in 2011 and was hooked from the first 8-count. She can frequently be found line dancing in public whenever she “hears” a dance she knows. She line dances as often as she can, and when she’s not line dancing, she’s wishing she was line dancing.

Susanna Stein (New York) traces her country-western dancing roots to San Francisco’s Rawhide Bar in the mid-1980s. After moving to New York City, she began competing in and teaching dance, and co-founded the Manhattan Prairie Dogs. In 1997, Susanna co-founded the Big Apple Ranch, New York City’s only weekly country-western dance club, which she still runs with Jon Lee.

Meredith Stead (New York), with husband John Knapp, ran a dance studio for years, and won titles in Lindy Hop, Cabaret, Team, and Country-Western. She has choreographed and consulted for Broadway shows, television and film, and has judged, taught, and MC'd at mainstream and LGBT competitions and dance weekends. She and partner Daphna Locker took silver in Standard Ballroom in their age category at the 2014 Gay Games and were the 2015 U.S. Same-Sex Champions in Women's Standard.

Michael Sims (Washington, DC) has been providing dance lessons, choreography for special occasions, and artistic performances independently since 2006, specializing in a variety of dance styles including American Style Ballroom, Rhythm, Swing, Salsa, and Country-Western. He currently competes and provides lessons at various locations serving the Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. website

Scott Schrank (Atlanta) has been line dancing since 1998. He has won top awards at numerous competitions in both IAGLCWDC and in the “Mainstream” dance world. Scott was the choreographer of Southern Line Atlanta since 2000. He has written over 60 line dances to date, including Georgia Winder, Somewhere WIth You, and Working It.

Sheila Schlicht (San Francisco) started tap dancing as a child and has not stopped moving her feet since. Calling Sundance Saloon in San Francisco home, she found a great dance venue in which to lead and follow. She has taught both partner and line dancing at various venues including: Texas Rose Dance, Wrangler Weekend (WWLA) and Starlight Strut. Sheila has also performed with several performance groups, most notably: The Sundance Bandits, Clogging Express, The Saddle Tramps and Golden Gate Clogging Company.

Rob Ollander-Krane (Palm Springs, CA) grew up thinking he hated country music until one day he walked into a gay bar and saw men two-stepping. Country music and two-stepping have been his obsession ever since … and he has the cowboy drag to prove it. After 34 years in San Francisco, Rob now lives in Palm Springs where he is one of the founders of (and teaches at) the new club Dance Ranch. He has also taught at the Emerald City Hoedown and continues to teach regularly at Sundance Saloon.

Michael Metzger (San Francisco) began dancing in 2005 and immediately felt like he had found his tribe. Within a couple years he began teaching, and not long after he began choreographing. He loves bringing the joy of line dancing to as many people as possible, and he enjoys creating dances of diverse styles and difficulty levels. He looks forward to seeing you in class, dancing, playing, and laughing.

John Lindo (Houston) is an invaluable presence at West Coast Swing Dance events - from international conventions to regional workshops. John teaches, judges, coaches, choreographs, and is one of the most sought-after DJs on the circuit. But all of that pales in comparison to the way John consistently wows crowds with his exciting and entertaining competitive dancing. website

Jonno Liberman (Anaheim, CA), a former Olympic roller skater, stumbled into the world of line dancing at the Sundance Saloon in 2012. He soon began creating his own line dances which have earned several awards, including two UCWDC World titles. Some of his most popular line dances include "The Wolf" and "She's A Natural." Today, he is part of the choreography team for the L.A. Wranglers.

Jon Lee (New York) is the director/choreographer for the award-winning Manhattan Prairie Dogs! If you’ve seen them, you love them, if you haven’t … well get on the stick!! When he is not flicking his heels and twirling his skirt in a Prairie Dog routine he can be found in New York City flicking his heels and twirling his skirt at the Big Apple Ranch. Jon is one of the producers of the Big Apple Ranch, along with Susanna Stein.

Michelle Kinkaid (San Francisco) is a 4-time US Open Swing Dance Champion. Numerous other titles and awards include both the World Swing Dance Council National Hall of Fame and the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame. In addition to running her own studio, Michelle has a line of instructional videos, and is the organizer of the Mountain Magic Swing Dance Convention in Lake Tahoe, NV and Sea Magic Dance Cruises. website

Ron Jenkins (San Francisco) Ron first started dancing in Chicago in 1993. He has enjoyed teaching at Sundance Saloon for many years. He performed with the Barbary Coast Cloggers from 2001 to 2007 and then began same-sex ballroom dancing in 2007. He and his dance partner, Photis Pishiaras, won many titles in California, the US and North America, and medaled at the 2010, 2014 2018, and 2023 Gay Games. Ron is also a founding member of Vima Vice Squad.

Phoenix Grey (Portland, OR) discovered West Coast Swing in 2010. He then began exploring every style he could get his hands on, but Swing remains his first and greatest love. Phoenix’s advocacy for role-based dancing helped change competition rules in mainstream West Coast Swing to allow nontraditional dancers. Phoenix was among the first in the world to achieve a dual “All-Star” competitive ranking both as a lead and as a follow. website

Chad Graber (Dallas, TX) started dancing while in college at the University of Texas. He began teaching at the Fred Astaire Franchised Studio in Fort Worth in the 1990s. While volunteering at the Dallas Dance Festival he found his home. He has been involved in the Country Western dance community ever since; teaching, judging, and helping whenever possible. He holds 3 UCWDC World Championships as well as numerous National and Regional titles and is currently the Associate Membership Director for the UCWDC.

Lee Fox (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), IAGLCWDC Dance Competition Director, has been teaching ballroom, latin, and swing dancing for over 45 years and CW dancing for over 30 years. He was a ballroom finalist at the 1998 and 2002 Gay Games and IAGLCWDC champion in 1998. He has judged numerous competitions nationally and internationally. He was choreographer for numerous dance troupes including the Southern Country South Florida Dream Team, the SunDancers, Heels On Fire, and more.

ohn Festa (New York) learned Lindy Hop at an young age, trained in ballet, and introduced to West Coast Swing in the late 1980s. Since then, John has become a pivotal figure in the national West Coast Swing community, wearing many hats as a teacher, judge, and DJ. He has received numerous awards and honors, including DJ of the Year, induction into the Kenny Wetzel DJ Hall of Fame, and the World Swing Dance Council Hall of Fame. He is also recognized as a Living Legend of Dance.

Rick Dominguez (Los Angeles) has been a DJ for 40 years. Following the closure of Oil Can Harry's, Rick started a new club night "Follow Your Arrow" in North Hollywood, with co-founder Jonno Liberman, and is resident DJ at several local clubs. Rick is also a line dance instructor and well-known choreographer. He is the founder of the award-winning CW dance troupe, The LA Wranglers, now in its 22nd year, and the creator of Wrangler Weekend Los Angeles.

Kevin Cornett (Dallas) has been dancing since he took dance as his PE credit in college. Within two years he joined a competition dance team and competed in the Fun Country and UCWDC dance circuits. With his regular dance partner he placed 4th at the UCWDC World Dance Competition and 4th in Regional Dance with Night Club Two-step. Kevin has worked with some of the top names in country and swing. Kevin is currently the Director of Dance of the IAGLCWDC.