JENNIFER LEE (she/her), USA

Jenn Lee is a renowned swing dance instructor with a passion for fostering an inclusive and collaborative learning environment. She emphasizes the importance of follow voice, ensuring equal attention to both leads and follows.

As a professional follow without a dedicated partner, Jenn’s versatile dance style adapts to various partners and teaching collaborations, enhancing her abilities as an instructor. Her strong music background allows her to seamlessly integrate rhythmic concepts and musicality into her classes, helping students express themselves on the dance floor.

Jenn is deeply aware that jazz, including swing dance, is a Black cultural art form, and she strives to honor its roots by teaching with respect for its history and the community that created it.

Jenn's love for social dancing and the swing community is evident in her warm approach and adaptable style, making her a valuable addition to any dance event she participates in.

We loved her so much in 2025, we wanted her back for our last hurrah in 2027. Jenn is thrilled to be coming back and cannot wait to dance with you again!

Gio (he/him), SWEden via italy

Gio has been dancing since he was 10 years old, was born and raised in Sardinia, Italy, and (unsurprisingly considering how stylish he is) always travels with a portable iron. He now lives in Stockholm but his sense of style clearly is Italian through and through.

You can expect his classes and teaching style to be a lot of fun, there will be some serious deep dives into details, ridiculous poses, laughs, but also a lot of encouragement to develop your dance personality and OWN IT!

This is Gio’s first trip to Australia, and he is excited to share his ideas with you, helping to empower your dancing through playfulness and strong technique. Gio is an ambi dancer who has mastered both leading and following, giving him unique insights into partner dancing.

Gio will be teaching with Jenn Lee and we'll leave it up to you to imagine what they will bring to the party (the answer is: the party! )

jennifer barnett (she/her), usa

She was here in March, and her infectious smile and positive energy truly resonated with us. Her ability to make everyone feel seen and supported in class is unparalleled. Her classes were incredibly popular with y'all, and we heard so many good things, we couldn't pass on the opportunity to bring her back to our shore.

Known for bringing a little math and science into the ballroom (👩‍🔬+🧪=🦕🦖), Jen began tap dancing in pre-school and continued learning and later teaching tap through high school. After putting aside dance to focus on chemistry in college, Jen was happy to return to dancing after graduation, this time to the partnered swing dance of Balboa.

Jen has taught in North America, Asia, and Europe and regularly competes in Balboa, having won lots of Mix & Match competitions. In fact, she once even placed first and second when she was drawn twice. Absolute life goals 🌟

We also love that she's a big fan of slow balboa (watch out for another special Slow Bal class — or two — next year).

Peter Flahiff (he/him), USA

One of Australia’s favourite instructors is back!

Peter has been living the joy of social dancing for over 30 years. This passionate focus has led him to a career with an emphasis on casual and comfortable style and keeps him busy sharing and developing his skills as a master teacher. Equally at home giving lessons to a hundred students at a festival weekend, one student at a time in a private lesson, or a handful of devoted folks keen to focus on the subtleties of the craft, Peter Flahiff simply loves to share his love and knowledge of swing dancing and music with absolutely everyone.

In addition to his skills as a teacher, Peter is also one of the world’s most sought-after swing DJs, with more hours of experience in this area than literally anyone on Earth! He also is a delightful emcee, having been the face and voice for some of the most incredible events around the world. After all this time, Peter Flahiff is more in love with the world of social swing dancing than ever!