St. Louis's LGBTQ+ Swing Dance Community

Beginner Instructor

Madeline Webster-Perry (she/her)

Madeline grew up dancing in a studio and on a team, following in her grandmother’s footsteps. She minored in dance in college before dropping the hobby for more adult ventures. Eventually, in preparation for her wedding to dance partner Richelle, the couple started attending Lindy Hop classes and quickly fell in love with the art form.

Madeline has 8 years of dance teaching experience, but is new to teaching Lindy Hop. Recently Madeline organized and taught an introductory Lindy Hop lesson in coordination with St. Louis Arc, an organization whose mission is to empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

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She hopes the PRIDE - Swing Dance workshop will open the doors for more queer people and same sex couples to join the community.

Crash Course Instructor

Jony Navarro (he/they)

Hablo Español
 

Jony fell in love with jazz in early 2011 and has since never been the same. He has a constant drive to make art completely his own, which is fueled by a desire for learning. His fascination began with dancing, moved onto jazz music, then continued to Black history and culture and beyond.

From the very beginning, Jony has always had very unique ideas when it comes to making art. He excels at inspiring others to think about dance in a different way than they’re used to, often expanding on familiar topics. While conceptual learning drives a lot of his classes, movement and technique play a large part in the learning environment he creates.
 

Solo movement of every kind has been a staple in Jony’s dancing since they began. Their first love was Charleston, then grew into more of the solo jazz dances. Their love for movement did not stop at jazz, They also cross-trained in tap, ballet, modern, salsa, bachata, and hip-hop, mostly in college courses. Jony encourages everyone to come get weird with him as we explore all the possibilities jazz has to offer.

photo by Samantha Kunz

Safe Space Coordinator

Richelle Webster-Perry (she/her)

Richelle has been a dancer since childhood and started dancing Lindy Hop and Balboa in early 2023 with her wife Madeline. She quickly fell in love with the great music, dance, and community found in the swing dance scenes in St. Louis and beyond and has been hooked ever since.

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As a woman who dances as a lead, Richelle is especially passionate about building dance communities that encourage free and authentic expression for dancers of all genders and identities. She is also interested in the history and culture shared between tap dance, which she has studied since childhood, and jazz and swing dances.

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She recently organized a Tap for Lindy Hoppers workshop to support cross-pollination between the swing and tap dance communities in St. Louis.

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Richelle is excited to support the PRIDE Swing Dance workshop's efforts to celebrate and welcome LGBT dancers through her role as Safe Space Coordinator.