Cape Fear Swing Dance Society
We are thrilled to announce our teachers for Sea Jam 2026!
Want more instruction? Many of our instructors are available for private lessons. Email us and we can connect you.
Dee Mathews (They / Them)
Dee Mathews is a balboa and lindy hop instructor based in Greensboro, NC. They learned balboa in 2010 both as a lead and a follow working with Randy Maestretti and Kara Britt, who taught them a love of pure balboa and the original dancers.
Since then they have danced, taught, and competed all over the world. They have won balboa contests at California Balboa Classic, All Balboa Weekend, and the International Lindy Hop Championships, as well as been a mentor at The Balboa Experiment.
Dee is invested in balboa as a dance of connection, playfulness, and dynamism. They are excited to explore the fundamental mechanics of the dance and help students find new ways to be musical, listen to their partner, and find new ways to enjoy balboa.
Sara Sofia-Rentas (She/Her)
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Photo Credit: Steve Wong
Sara Sofia-Rentas first discovered swing dancing in 2015 and has been dedicated to the art ever since. While spending her college years learning Lindy Hop and Balboa in Orlando, FL and at events across the country, she would become an organizer, performer, and instructor for the community through Swing Knights at UCF and Orlando Swing Dance. With limited resources for learning Balboa early in her dance journey, she adopted social dancing as her classroom, and never looked back.
On the dance floor she would experiment with mechanics, musicality, and the relationship between leader and follower with each opportunity to travel. This developed her skills of visually analyzing movement and asking questions that would help guide her independent and partnered training throughout the years. This learning process has also shaped her approach to teaching. In her classes you’ll find a unique blend of excitement for efficient technique and playful improvisation that honors the greatness of swing music and each student’s personal expression.
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Will Brown (he / him)
and
Gabby Brown (she / her)
Will and Gabby live in Charleston, SC where they host dances every week locally. They both started dancing about a decade ago in college and have helped teach and organize in their dance scenes virtually since they started.
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For fun Gabby enjoys reading and dressing up her skeletons for each holiday while Will piddles in his garden or on a never ending list of house renovations.
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Will also says he’ll give a $2 bill to anyone who tells him they read this bio Friday night at Sea Jam (until he runs out).
Kiffer Dengler (he/him)
and
Camille Hartley (she/her)
Kiffer and Camille discovered Lindy Hop in the early 2010s. They met dancing at Kat’s Korner in Mesa, Arizona, where Kiffer quickly realized he was in way over his head dancing with this unbelievably talented follow. They began competing together in the late 2010s, winning both regional and national titles.
Camille is an accomplished jazz musician, dancer, and educator, with a deep knowledge of jazz culture and history. She brings unique insight to the connection between music and movement, and never fails to count a class in on a phrase. Good conversation starters include “tell me about your favorite jazz Christmas Album,” and “what’s your favorite local coffee shop?”
Kiffer is an academic at heart, and will get as nerdy as he possibly can manage on most every aspect of dancing, from movement quality to formal aesthetics. He specializes in “LA-style” Lindy and is particularly interested in the mechanics of both partnered and solo movement.
Together, they offer a unique perspective of jazz movement and expression. Be ready for new ideas, hot takes, and a challenge or two!
Annabel Quisao (she / her)
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Annabel has been teaching Lindy Hop and Balboa around the world for more than a decade. She is addicted to the communication and spontaneity of social dancing and is known far and wide for her huge grins and prodigious laughter on the dance floor. She has taken home top prizes in such events as the International Lindy Hop Championships, All Balboa Weekend, the California Balboa Classic, and Camp Hollywood, to name a few. In the classroom, Annabel is passionate about fostering a fun and inspiring environment that honors the history and legacy of the various swing dances while spurring her students to explore their potential and embrace their individuality. Currently, she resides in Washington, DC and is a founding board member and Director of Education at New Columbia Swing, DC’s premier swing dance organization.
Bobby White (he / him)
Bobby teaches traditional swing dances around the world, and holds championship titles and placements in Balboa, Lindy Hop, and Solo Jazz. With each, Bobby strives to innovate and create a new voice, while still capturing the spirit of the original dancers. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. He is the co-director of the Lindy Hop performance group the Harvest Moon Hoppers, which specialize in dancing in the performance style of Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. He is the author of the popular swing dance blog Swungover*, and the book "Practice Swing." As a dancer, he is widely recognized for his floppy hair, and as a teacher, by his sound effects.