About Nathan
Nathan specializes in Lindy Hop, the high-energy swing dance from the 1930s and 40s. Nathan also loves to dance Charleston and jazz dance, and has dabbled in tap. He started swing dancing in 1997 and lindy hopping in 2000. A regular dancer in San Francisco since 2001, Nathan enjoys the , creativity and personal connection of social dancing as well as the challenge and satisfaction on working on and improving his dance.
Teaching
Nathan teaches regular group swing dance and lindy hop classes in San Francisco. Nathan’s teaching draws on many years of dance lessons, workshops and social dancing as well as his experience as a performer and competitor. Above all else, Nathan believes that dancing is about joy and having fun and he does his utmost to convey this whenever he teaches. Nathan also teaches private lessons for individuals, couples and groups.
Performance
Nathan’s earliest experience performing lindy hop was in 2002 when he was called back to be a swing dance extra for Swing the Movie, filmed in San Francisco. He received some prime screen time and you can even see him dancing in the movie trailer!
Soon after, he was snatched up by the local lindy hop troupe SF Bounce and performed with, choreographed and led rehearsals for that group until 2005. During this time, he gained plenty of experience performing at local dance venues, dance shows, and corporate events and parties. He competed with SF Bounce at the US Open Swing Dance Championship, and danced as part of the Kimball’s East Speakeasy Show.
Nathan was also an original member of the 3 Minute Maniacs, the premier San Francisco lindy hop troupe originally headed by international lindy hop sensations Kevin & Carla. Nathan performed with this group all over San Francisco, aboard the USS Hornet, and was part of the team that took 2nd place at the 2005 Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown.
Most recently, Nathan — partnering with Audrey Kanemoto — has performed with the Ray-Tones (formerly the Baby Blue Blues Band), an action-packed children’s live entertainment show that includes a music by a 4-piece rocking swing band, Ray the Rhino, and 30-minutes of high-flying swing and jazz dancing that is fun for the whole family.
DJing
Nathan started DJing at lindy hop dances in San Francisco. He has been a featured DJ at Cat’s Corner, Swing Central, the Rhythm Lounge and Lindy in the Park, as well as major events that include the San Francisco Lindy Exchange, Boogie By the Bay, Move to the Groove and Mad Hatter’s Tea Party Dance. His music collection specializes around the artists of the early swing era — from the 1920s through 40s — and also includes a wide variety of latin, soul, funk, R&B, banghra, blues and dance party music to keep any party going all night long!
Event Production & Community Building
Nathan has a long history of involvement in the San Francisco swing dance community. He started out volunteering with the Northen Californial Lindy Society to organize and run the annual Frankie Manning Dance Workshop Weekend & Shiny Stocking Ball, and also helped put on the 2005 San Francisco Lindy Exchange and 2008 San Francisco Lindy Exchange. He provided logistics and operations support for the Savoy Ballroom 80th Anniversary Celebration in New York City. Venturing into the arena of putting on his own events, he put on a successful day-long advanced dance workshop at City College, and organized a public swing dance event at Union Square that featured live music, a dance performance, and free swing dance lesson. Nathan runs Cat’s Corner, the Wednesday night swing dance party at Savanna Jazz Club along with Catrine Ljunggren, and also holds friendly, neighborhood classes on Monday nights at the Amura Dance Studio in the SF Outer Sunset.
Nathan has had a variety of organizing experiences, including volunteer coordination, budgeting, working with talent, operations, publicity, and marketing. His many years of experience dancing in San Francisco also mean that he has a wide network of contacts including bands, DJ, performers, and other organizers.
Alter Ego
Outside of the dance world, Nathan is a Computer Engineer with a B.S. degree from Columbia University and has experience in hardware and software design. Upon graduation, Nathan settled in the Silicon Valley and worked on a microprocessor design team at Broadcom Corporation. While working at Broadcom, he moonlighted in web design and designed the www.sflindyhop.com swing dance calendar. Nathan left Broadcom in June 2005 in order to adjust his career path so that he could better balance his tech aptitude with his dance passion.