Instructors & Staff
Instructors 2026
Andrea Gordon
Andrea Gordon stumbled into jazz dance in the late ’90s with all the enthusiasm of someone who hated jazz — until she realized it didn't have to be "all bland and weird like that." Since then, she’s become an admired Lindy Hopper, a cast member (okay, really an understudy) of the hit stage production Sw!ngOut, a sharp-tongued and crowd-loving emcee, and a voice for inclusion and equity in jazz dance spaces. Andrea’s teaching, emceeing, and ambassadorship are rooted in the African American cultural values of safety, individuality, and unity — oh, and if it’s not too much to ask... you know, when the spirit moves... swinging out on beat... puh-lease.
Laurel Ryan
I was a jazz-obsessed child who grew up to throw myself into authentic jazz movement, finding a home in the marriage between the rhythms of lindy hop and the music. My background as a classroom teacher, craft educator, and world traveler fuel my passion for learning and teaching swing dance. I strive to help preserve lindy hop’s roots as a folk dance while re-translating partner roles for continued relevance in modern culture. My goal as an instructor is to give students the tools needed to learn through observation, experimentation and play, and improvisation.
Hannah Lane
Hannah Lane is a dancer, researcher, and historian from Baltimore, Maryland. Alongside her appreciation for jazz music, and dances like Lindy Hop, snake hips, and Charleston, Hannah is passionate about her research, which centers jazz and nightlife histories of African American communities in her home state, of Maryland, and throughout the U.S. She is also passionate about uplifting the stories of Shake Dancers through her project, Queens of the Nightclub.
Currently Hannah serves on the board of Collective Voices for Change. You can learn more about her work via instagram at @hannahpilarrr and @Queensofthenightclub. Stay tuned for her upcoming Queens of the Nightclub Substack!
Tim Christopher
Timothy Christopher was first a musician! His journey with jazz starts with self taught piano from old recordings. He stumbled into dance years later while looking for a jazz jam when got back to his home town from college!
He found himself in a room full of people moving their bodies around to swing music, but there was one couple that was dancing! The next day he found himself in the couple’s house learning this lovely dance called the lindy hop!
Clearly he got obsessed with this dance and the culture surrounding the dance and now he is competing, dancing, and teaching internationally! He was in the most recent installment of the Swing out Show in New York 2023, has performed at the Lincoln center in New York and maintains good working relationships with most other instructors in the Lindy hop scene.
Edric Yu
Edric discovered swing dancing in college and hasn't looked back. He took over the club and has had a passion for teaching beginner and intermediate lessons since. He's traveled all over the country to learn, dance, and compete, and he brings the best techniques, stylings, and approaches back to the lessons and practice sessions in his home scene.
On the dance floor, Edric especially likes to emphasize dancing comfortably with many different people, having fun while dancing musically, and getting in a good dance with his wife, Imani <3.
Imani Muya
Growing up in east Africa, dancing has always been a part of Imani's life. She started swing dancing in her college swing club but fell in love with social dancing in 2022. Since then, she has caught the bug and has been traveling, competing and teaching. She's passionate about connection and groove in her dance and can’t wait to share these things at Flying Home!
Flying Home staff
Melissa Graf
Paul Graf
Dee Matthews
Elizabeth Watkins
Taylor Condron
Karina Burbank
Micki McCarthy