Carolina Swing Dance

04/02/2026

03/31/2026

Chandrae (Chanzie) Gomez

Chandrae began her early career as a gymnast, after which she was introduced to contemporary dance at Dance Vision, in Portland Oregon. She received a scholarship to The Edge Performing Arts Center in Hollywood, where she graduated from their professional program in 2006. Specializing in Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern, Contemporary and Theater Dance Styles, her early training and success as a graduate from The Edge has allowed Ms. Gomez to work with some of LA’s top choreographers in film, television, music and stage. Often she serves in dual roles of dancer/performer and choreographer.

Some of her recent credits have been and are, traveling orchestra show, “Swing is the Thing”, and “Let’s Dance” with Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik. The more recent released movie, “Babylon” and music videos of Adele, “Oh My God” and Jason Mraz , “I Feel Like Dancing”.

She has performed for such artists as Aretha Franklin and Katy Perry. She has worked with Disney channel, Dancing with the stars live tv, Princess Cruises, Flash mobs, Gangster Squad, Good Morning America and much more. She loves to perform but her greatest passion is teaching and carrying on the beauty of vintage street dances. She is caring, intuitive and has a precise way of teaching body mechanics and partnering.
Chanzie, alongside her dance partner Stephen Sayer, have been teaching, performing, competing and holding titles on an international scale in Lindy Hop and Collegiate S**g for over a decade.

She has recently moved to Greenville, SC and is very much looking forward to sharing her love of dance with the South.

Will found dancing in college and now basically only does the bare minimum amount to survive so he can continue dancing. He has always had an interest in the swing dancing history of the Carolinas and spends his free time searching for more information on the region. Ask him about it!

03/31/2026

Trinket Trading! If you want to participate with trinket trading this Saturday, then bring a little bag of trinkets to trade! If you don't know what trinket trading is, its an activity that has become more popular at Ren Fairs where people bring a collection of small trinkets to trade with other attendees or vendors like
• Enamel pins
• Keychains and charms
• Blind box figures
• Small artisan crafts
• Etc.

03/27/2026

April 4, 2026
8:00-11:00
Landmark Hall
156 Landmark Dr, Taylors, SC 29687

Nerd Night with Mary Kay and the MoonTrekkers!

You know Mary Kay’s band, you dance to her always danceable, always fun, and sometimes surprising Swing repertoire. Now get ready for her 2nd Annual Nerd Night Swing Extravaganza! She will play our favorite sci-fi themes (with cheesy lyrics that she wrote!) plus a fine selection of dorky songs that will take you on a nostalgic trip–in swinging style! Mary Kay Williams on lead vocals, Bex Silvia sings harmony and backup, Derrick Gardner on Keys, Jonathan Price on Bass, and Andy Applegate on drums. Lower Decks style character design art by Lar DeSouza!

03/24/2026

Samuel Maycock currently runs Carolina Swing Dance. He has been teaching social dancing for 14 years, balboa for 7 years, and was a wee lad when he took his first steps in ballroom dancing and found swing. Since then he has fallen in love with Lindy Hop and Balboa, and enjoys sharing that love with anyone who asks. His teaching style is unfettered passion and organized chaos.

Kati is a piano teacher and classical musician who has expanded her repertoire to include jazz on soprano saxophone. With a lifelong passion for dance that began with Finnish folk dances at the age of 3, she discovered swing dancing shortly after relocating to Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2007.

In Herräng, she took lessons from Frankie Manning, who was the lead choreographer for Whitey's Lindy Hoppers as well as participated workshops in England, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, France, USA, Iceland and Spain. In 2011 Kati began teaching and performing in a range of styles, including Lindy Hop, Balboa, 1920s Charleston, and Vernacular Jazz. Kati taught at Swing Shoes and well as Ministry of Balboa associations in Denmark before she moved to Atlanta 6,5 years ago. She has taught internationally workshops and taster classes in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and Finland.

Kati's approach to teaching dance centers on musicality at all levels, recognizing that the best dances occur when movements are closely tied to the music.

03/18/2026

TLDR; Balboa workshop 2pm-5pm, Dance Saturday night with Mary Kay and the MoonTrekkers 7-11pm.
(Costumes encouraged but not necessary!)

Come dance with us Saturday April 4th at Landmark Hall! We dance swing, which is an umbrella term for a number of swing dances that we dance to swing music. You don't need to bring a partner since it's a social dance and we all dance with each other! Never danced before? No problem! There are beginner classes before each dance to help you feel more comfortable getting out onto the dance floor.

Saturday Afternoon (2pm-5pm)
Balboa Workshop: 3 hour intermediate and 3 hour Beginner+ Balboa will be taught by Kati Arikoski-Johnson and Samuel Maycock, and by Will Brown and Chanzie Gomez. Half way through the workshop, the instructors will swap classes, so everyone gets to learn from both pairs.($30)

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Saturday Evening
7:00pm-8:00pm Beginner Lindy and Beginner Balboa Lessons (Included with main dance)
8:00-11:00pm Main Dance with Mary Kay and the MoonTrekkers ($15)

02/24/2026

TLDR; 2 hour Smooth Lindy workshop taught by Chanzie 3-5pm. ($20)

Beginner and Beginner+ pre dance lessons at 7pm and dance 8-11pm. ($10)

Come dance with us Saturday! We dance swing, which is an umbrella term for a number of swing dances that we dance to swing music. You don't need to bring a partner since it's a social dance and we all dance with each other! Never danced before? No problem! There are beginner classes before each dance to help you feel more comfortable getting out onto the dance floor.

Saturday Afternoon

3:00pm: 2 hr Smooth Lindy Workshop: Mixing smooth style lindy into your dancing. Taught by Chanzie. ($20)

Chandrae (Chanzie) Gomez
Is a Swing dancing instructor from L.A she has recently moved to the Greenville area and is excited to be teaching an introduction to Smooth Lindy Saturday March 7th from 3-5 pm

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Saturday Evening

7:00pm-8:00pm Lindy Lesson (Included with main dance)

8:00-11:00pm Main Dance ($10)

01/18/2026

TLDR; 2 hour Smooth Lindy workshop taught by Chanzie 3-5pm. ($20)

Beginner and Beginner+ pre dance lessons at 7pm and dance 8-11pm. ($10)

Come dance with us Saturday! We dance swing, which is an umbrella term for a number of swing dances that we dance to swing music. You don't need to bring a partner since it's a social dance and we all dance with each other! Never danced before? No problem! There are beginner classes before each dance to help you feel more comfortable getting out onto the dance floor.

Saturday Afternoon

3:00pm: 2 hr Smooth Lindy Workshop taught by Chanzie. ($20)

Chandrae (Chanzie) Gomez
Is a Swing dancing instructor from L.A she has recently moved to the Greenville area and is excited to be teaching an introduction to Smooth Lindy Saturday February 7th from 3-5 pm

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Saturday Evening

7:00pm-8:00pm Lindy Lesson (Included with main dance)

8:00-11:00pm Main Dance ($10)

01/01/2026

What to expect for the guided/open practice from 3-5 this Saturday:
Hopefully over the course of this last year you have gone to workshops, taken classes, or maybe taken private lessons. While workshops are great, its also important to practice what we have learned. What exactly we work on will largely depend on who shows up, but my goal is to divide up into several groups based on what people are interested in working on. It could be Balboa, it could be working on partner communication in Lindy hop, etc. If you don't know what you want to work on, thats ok you can join a group that seems interesting to you. If you know what you want to work on, you can be a driving force in whatever group you end up in.
Overall the goal is to help you figure out how to dig deeper into your learning outside of just classes.

Cost is free or optional $5 to help cover the venue cost.
Hope to see yall there on January 3rd!

12/27/2025

The afternoon time slot this month will be guided/open practice. What this looks like will depend on who all shows up, but my goal is to break off onto groups based on topic/interest/dance.

12/05/2025

Location: Landmark Hall
Cost: Included with the dance ($20)

11/21/2025

Instructor info below! 👇
Dec 6th 2:00-5:00pm
Landmark Hall in Taylors, SC

3 hour Intermediate Balboa will be taught by Kadie and Joe Pangburn ($40).
Pre-reqs include being comfortable with purebal basics, out and ins, tossouts, come arounds, and lollies.

Kadie & Joe are known for their cuddly, partner-centric dancing. With a strong passion for connection and communication, they strive to make every dance a two-way conversation that promotes both individuality and collaboration between each other and the music.

For the past 15 years, the two have been passionately studying, preserving and sharing their love of Balboa, both as local teachers/mentors and as regional instructors. They are the creators and organizers of Balast Off! and also operate a bi-weekly balboa practice group out of their home.

Regular finalists and competition judges at national and international Balboa competitions, Joe and Kadie have received multiple 1st, 2nd & 3rd place placements for their dancing (as well as a 4th place one they’re pretty proud of) and were honored in 2017 as Honorary Fellows of The Balboa Experiment where they have served as guest mentors every year since 2018.

As instructors they are known for their ability to break down complex concepts into easily understood ideas. They enjoy sharing their love for balboa by bringing fun, laughter and the occasional spontaneous song into the classroom.