Meet This Year’s Instructors!
Zoe Shepard
& Sean Vitale
Meet Zoe:
Zoe Shepard is a jazz violinist, teacher, and performer currently pursuing her master’s degree in jazz studies at Indiana University (IU) after training as a classical violinist since the age of 11. With no prior dance experience, she instantly fell in love with Lindy Hop in 2022 after her very first class at IU. Zoe’s dedication to the dance has led to her success competing at events such as LindyFest, BeanTown Dance Camp, St. Louis Getdown, and more. Concepts of movement quality, groove follow technique, dancing as if an honorary member of the band, and the fullness of joy that is jazz music and dance are injected into her teaching style. You’ll never fail to see a wide smile on her face whenever there’s dancing involved!
Meet Sean:
Sean Vitale is a dynamic dancer with a love for jazz music and movement. Sean has been lindy hopping since 2018 and is grateful to be a part of the cast of the acclaimed Lindy stage show, Sw!ng Out. Sean is a prominent member of the NYC-based dance troupe, The Harvest Moon Hoppers. Sean is also a past member of Frankie Manning’s legacy troupe, The Big Apple Lindy Hoppers. As a partnered dance specialist, Sean excels at improvisation and has won many partnered improvisation (luck of the draw) competitions throughout the U.S. and Europe. Beyond his work as a dancer and educator, Sean is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, board-certified in the treatment of people affected by neurologic conditions such as, Parkinson’s disease, MS, stroke, and spinal cord injury.
Desiree Roffers
& Dylan Devotta
Meet Desiree:
Desiree has loved dancing her whole life. At the age of four, she began learning Irish Dance. Soon after, she was competing around the country and started teaching dance in early middle school. Around 2002, Desiree switched her focus to swing dancing and began studying Lindy Hop, Blues, and Balboa. In 2018, Desiree also began exploring collegiate shag. Desiree has received awards from many events, including the California Balboa Classic, Hot Rhythm Holiday, Whistlestop, CincyHop, Rocky Mountain Balboa Classic, Dayton Swing Smackdown, Eastern Balboa Championship, Toronto Toss Out, All Balboa Weekend, Balorado, Montreal Bal Jam, and more. Desiree has three graduate degrees in education and provides training for teachers in Chicago public schools. She is currently working on her PhD in Instructional Technology. In 2011, Desiree started Chicago Balboa Underground, and she remains dedicated to growing the swing dance scene in Chicago and across the globe. She has taught workshops across the United States and internationally. She currently runs both Great Lakes Balboa Escape and Great Lakes Shag Escape. She is also on the board of Fizz Swing Dance in Chicago. As an instructor and swing dance organizer, Desiree values inclusive practices, trauma-informed approaches, and social justice.
Meet Dylan:
Dylan’s dance journey started with hip hop in school and college. His swing dance journey began in 2017 right after moving to Minnesota. He has a classical music and martial arts background and loves encouraging creativity and taking risks.
Dylan has received awards from various swing dance events including Hot Rhythm Holiday, Camp Hollywood, Second City Swing, Northwest Balboa Festival, Balorado, Dance MO Bal and Great Lakes Balboa Escape.
Dylan is an active organizer and teacher for “Twin Cities Balboa Connection” based out of Minneapolis, MN. He is also an active DJ in the local Lindy hop scene and enjoys supporting local artists.
As a scene builder, Dylan focuses on building a supportive encouraging environment for the community to further the artform and keep people motivated to move forward.
As a teacher, Dylan enjoys focusing on musicality, connection and comfort along with building individuality.
Meet Ronne:
Ronne Stone brings more than 31 years of professional dance experience, beginning her African dance training at the Orlando School of Cultural Dance in 1993. She has performed with the Kuumba Dance Company in Tampa and the Adefua Dance Company in Seattle, studying extensively with master teachers of West African dance traditions. Dedicated to cultural preservation and community connection, Ronne founded a thriving community-based African dance class that has continued for over 26 years. She has taught workshops at Indiana University and served as a lead instructor for the African American Dance Conference. Her choreographic work includes The Water Carriers at Butler University and Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea at the Phoenix Theatre. Ronne holds a BFA from Indiana University and has spent decades working in arts education, including 27 years with Iibada Dance Company. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at Butler University and teaches art in Indianapolis-area schools, continuing her commitment to using dance as a tool for education and community building.
Ronne Stone
Meet Shelby:
Shelby is a dance instructor, DJ and lecturer based in Columbus, Ohio. He’s been in the scene since 2011, but he grew up dancing to hip hop, R&B, Funk, Electronic, and, due to the local Latin scene, Salsa. Growing up, he also experienced a wide array of Jazz music ranging from Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, George Benson, and David Benoit. So when he started dancing Lindy Hop in Orlando, Florida, he already had a knack for solo movement, musicality, and, fairly quickly, partnering. Shelby has also leaned on his 6 years of Sports coaching education after attaining a Bachelors of Arts and Science in Athletic Coaching Education and later a Masters of Arts in Sports Leadership and Coaching. He has put this knowledge to work with 6 years of Athletics coaching experience ranging from All State high school athletes, Collegiate All Americans and an Olympic medalist. After graduation he turned his focus to general fitness as a personal trainer where he’s been training clients since 2012. Over the years, Shelby has developed a wealth of knowledge not just of lindy hop and jazz dance steps, but connected the dots between the cultural customs and traditions of these and other dances to those of current Black dances and spaces.Shelby isn’t just a keeper of classic steps and choreographies, but also of stories of how these jazz dances came to be and how they evolved over time, along with the music and events that shaped them. From 2021-2023 Shelby became a board member for Collective Voices for Change, an international organization founded to address the issues of racial inequalities and cultural appropriation in the Jazz dance community in Europe and around the world.