Instructors

Hallie Kupperman
Seattle — Century Ballroom

Hallie Kuperman is a beloved Seattle dance instructor, producer, and community builder with over three decades of experience in social dance.  She founded and owned Century Ballroom from its inception in 1997 until the brick-and-mortar space closed in 2025.  Today, Century lives on through Century Ballroom Roadshow, where Hallie and her dance partner Alison continue to teach, DJ, and produce dance events throughout the community.

Since 1991, Hallie has taught nearly every form of social dance, working with dancers of all levels and backgrounds.  She currently teaches all levels of Salsa at Reverie Ballroom, and DJs and instructs for OutDancing, the monthly LGBTQ+ social dance at Reverie Ballroom.

In addition to teaching, Hallie produced, choreographed, and performed in Century Ballroom’s acclaimed cabaret shows.  Since 2010, she has co-produced Seattle Dances, a “Dancing With the Stars”-style fundraiser benefiting Plymouth Housing, combining performance, community engagement, and philanthropy.

Her teaching and choreography experience spans an impressive range of institutions, including Google, Microsoft, Team Survivor Northwest, EMP, the University of Washington, Cornish College of the Arts, Northwest School, Folklife, and countless schools, private lessons, and community programs.

At the heart of Hallie’s work is a deep passion for her students.  She is dedicated to creating inclusive, supportive, and joyful learning environments where dancers feel welcome, confident, empowered, and inspired — on and off the dance floor.

Alison Cockrill
Seattle — Century Ballroom

Alison (she/her) began formal dance training at age 4, and a professional performing career in 1987.  She has performed works by and toured internationally with modern dance choreographers Wade Madsen and Pat Graney.  She fell in love with salsa after a trip to Guatemala in the mid-nineties and has been teaching it since 1999.  One of her favorite parts of teaching is when beginning students get hooked and say what she said her first time in a salsa club, “I can’t believe this was here all this time.”

Classes:

Anya Deering
Seattle —  Rain Country / Radost Folk Ensemble

Anya Deering (she/her) is a queer, Seattle-based dancer and choreographer.  She draws inspiration from her diverse dance experience, including a professional and competitive Irish dance career, which her high-energy, playful line dancing reflects.  She is heavily involved in the multigenerational community of Balkan dance and music, which influences the musicality of her choreography and deeply informs her relationship with the queer line dance community of RCDA.  She has toured professionally with the American Company of Irish Dance and has had consistent competitive success at the world championship level.  She is also a principal dancer and dance captain, as well as President of the Board of Radost Folk Ensemble, the Northwest’s premier Balkan dance company.

Classes: CVNT (line dance)

Barb Buys
Seattle — Rain Country / Rhythm Riders

Barb’s (she/her) fell in love with the country western dance scene at the Timberline in Seattle. She has performed with Cascade cloggers, Women Who Clogg too Much and Rhythm Riders. Barb has been teaching country-western two-step, waltz, west coast swing, and line dancing for the past 15 years. Barb is known for welcoming people into the queer dance community. She has a passion for building connection and confidence through dance. Barb’s classes are fun and inspiring.

Classes: Line Dance 101, Two-Step 101

Emily Kessler
New York — Stud / UEVR Line

Emily Kessler (she/her) is a choreographer and dance-based artist living in Brooklyn, NY.  She has been obsessed with the community and freedom that queer line dancing has given her since a friend brought her to dance in a small room behind a Ukrainian restaurant in early 2023.  She regularly taught line for Stud Country and now for SCUFF, and has guest taught for UEVR Line, Buck Wild, 90mil, Honky Tonkin’ in Queens, Sundance Reno Round-Up, and the Emerald City Hoedown among others. Emily is a co-founder of New York City Round-Up, a queer country-western hoedown in beautiful Astoria, Queens.  She choreographs lines under Live Laugh Line Dance with Mackenzie Katz, and they run a class together called Barn Burner.

Classes: Buckaroo (line dance) and Starstruck (line dance)

Ever
Seattle — Rain Country / The Reverse Cowboys

Ever (they/them) is the Director of Programming for Emerald City Hoedown and is thrilled to be supporting the event again.  They hold a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and have over 15 years of professional teaching experience, working with organizations such as The Yard, Velocity Dance Center, ImpulsTanz, Dublin International Dance Festival, and New York Live Arts.  With a wide-ranging background in dance performance and instruction, Ever discovered Line Dancing and Two-Step after attending Rain Country Dance events at The Cuff in early 2019.  Ever now joyfully teaches for Rain Country Dance Association, Century Ballroom, Emerald City Hoedown, and other events in Seattle.  They also accidentally founded the performance group The Reverse Cowboys (@the_reverse_cowboys), where they organize parties, lead lessons, and choreograph original performances for the group.  Ever has cherished their journey into the wonderful world of queer country western dance and looks forward to continuing to be here for a long time!

Classes: Line Dance 101, Two-Step 101, CVNT (line dance), Mountain Time (line dance)

Flynn Bickley
Seattle — Rain Country / Rhythm Riders

Flynn Bickley (they/them): I am a proud and enthused member of Rain Country Country Dance Association since 2019.  Dance captivates me for its merging of creativity, imagination and movement.  As a lifelong athlete and visual artist it is a very happy place for me.  Teaching dance has been a huge gift in my life, the reward is seeing my LGBTQIA family discover new ways to be in their bodies while having fun.  I love studying technique and playing with styling, proud queer line dance nerd here!!

Classes: Sticks and Stones (line dance)

Forest
Seattle — Rain Country / Rhythm Riders

Forest (they/them) has been dancing for over 40 years and teaching for 20.  They began teaching with Rain Country Dance Association several years ago.  They co-facilitate Rain Country Dance Association’s performance troupe, the Rhythm Riders. Forest loves dancing and teaching all levels of dance.  They also love the community around dance and inspiring queers and gays to move together on the dance floor with curiosity and love for each other and movement.

They are co-director of Programming for Emerald City Hoedown.

Classes: “Stretching Dance Muscles and Ankle Strengthening”, “Isolations, Turns, Body Rolls, and Connections with the Floor”, and Tip Toe (line dance)

Gabe
Chicago —  Second City / Rain Country

My name is Gabe (he/him)!  I am from Chicago IL, and I dance currently with Second City Country Dance Association in Chicago and Rain Country.  I have been dancing since I was a kid, specifically Latin dances.  I have done merengue, salsas, bachata, and hip hop.  Have been line dancing for 3 years now.  One thing my friends can say about me is that there is no spin I can’t do.

Classes: 1 2 3 (line dance)

Ian Michael Enriquez
San Francisco —  Barbay Coast Cloggers

Ian Michael Enriquez (he/him) is the artistic director of the Barbary Coast Cloggers and has been teaching clogging for over 20 years, currently holding classes at the Sundance Saloon in San Francisco on Thursday nights.  He studied dance in Ohio and California, then danced with the London Marching Boys in the mid-90s.  As a clogger, he has taught up and down the west coast and Canada, rallied dancers all around the world during the pandemic, choreographed for Nancy Sinatra, and opened for Faith No More.  He has pushed the boundaries of the Barbary Coast Cloggers, by developing queer forward choreography and incorporated drag as a performer and instructor.

Classes: Intro to Clogging

Igor Laryukhin
Seattle — Rain Country

Igor started dancing International Ballroom and Latin dances in 1987.  He was always interested in technical aspect of dancing and took a lot of workshops and private lessons from the leading experts including European and World champions.  He also enjoyed sharing his knowledge by teaching children.  After moving to Seattle, Igor discovered social dancing and fell in love with West Coast Swing.  He began competing in WCS in both roles in 2023, and was ranked 1st as a leader in the Masters division in 2025.  Igor approaches WCS as a playful, collaborative conversation where both partners contribute equally and are encouraged to explore new ideas together.

Classes: Beg/Imp West Coast

Ingu Yun
San Francisco — Sundance Association

Ingu Yun (he/him) DJs and teaches at the Sundance Saloon in San Francisco, as well as at various community events locally, and has taught at LGBTQ country-western dance weekends around the country, including IAGLCWDC conventions, WWLA, Hoedown in the Dunes, the Emerald City Hoedown, and the Sundance Stompede.  He serves as the president of the Sundance Association for Country-Western Dancing, the nonprofit organization that produces Sundance Saloon and the Sundance Stompede.

Classes: Beg Two-Step (SSQQ), Beg/Imp Two-Step (SSQQ), Beg Waltz, Musicality

Janaye
San Francisco Bay Area — Bay ARea Dance Resouce (BADR)

Janaye (they/them) is a passionate line dancer and giant nerd with three years of queer country-western dance experience, bringing rhythm, energy, and community spirit to the dance floor.  They dance, volunteer, and teach at events around the SF Bay Area (Starlight Strut, Sundance Saloon, Hotline, SCUFF), sharing their love of movement while making learning line dances accessible and fun.  Janaye is part of the organizing committee for BADR (Bay Area Dance Resource), a volunteer-run online resource documenting line dances done in the Bay Area queer community.  For Janaye, line dancing is more than just steps and counts—it’s a way to foster joy, connection, and celebration within the queer community.  Grateful for the opportunity to return to Emerald City Hoedown as an instructor, they can’t wait to hit the dance floor with you!

Classes: Fix a Drink (line dance)

Jim Drew
Seattle — Rain Country / Rhythm Riders

Jim Drew has been dancing country-western for over 35 years and teaching for nearly 30 years.  He is a regular instructor and DJ for Rain Country, and he has taught workshops at the Emerald City Hoedown, Sundance Stompede, Dance Ranch, and at several IAGLCWDC annual convention hoedowns.   He has performed with and choreographed for several dance teams, including the Rhythm Riders.  He competed in line dance at the World OutGames in Montréal, Copenhagen, and Miami, winning two gold medals in Copenhagen.

He is co-director of Programming for Emerald City Hoedown and has served on the Rain Country board of directors and the Emerald City Hoedown committee since day one.   He is also Vice-Chair for the IAGLCWDC.

Classes: Int/Adv Two-Step (SSQQ), Int/Adv Waltz, Shuffle, Imp Two-Step (SSQQ)

Klint Kendrick
Arkansas

Klint Kendrick is a queer country dance instructor and social dancer based in the mid-south.  He has taught and danced in queer and mainstream country dance spaces, with a focus on creating classes that are technically clear, supportive, and fun for dancers of all identities and experience levels.  Klint’s teaching style emphasizes strong fundamentals, musicality, and connection, helping dancers build skills they can immediately use on the social floor.  He especially loves teaching East Coast Swing and San Francisco-Style Two-Step, and is passionate about making partner dancing feel accessible, inclusive, and joyful.

Classes: Beg East Coast, Int Two-Step (SSQQ)

Leo Orringer & Nora Gomperts
San Francisco Bay Area —  Starlight Strut, The Heartstompers

Nora Gomperts and Leo Orringer met each other on the dance floor at Sundance Saloon two days after Nora got to town, and later found themselves teaching line dance together at SCUFF.  They recently started their own community event in Oakland to offer more opportunities for advanced line dance learning and practice.  Nora is currently on the board of Starlight Strut, and both Nora and Leo are proud members of The Heartstompers.

Classes: Double Take (line dance)

Léo (he/they) –
Seattle — TQPiD / Reverie Ballroom / Rain Country

Léo (he/they) is a Seattle-based dance educator and performer who approaches partner dancing through clarity, connection, and curiosity.  They regularly teach at Reverie Ballroom and are the founder of Expressure Arts, where their classes focus on grounded movement, consent, and choices that feel comfortable and fun on the dance floor.

Léo participated in Seattle Dances 2026 this year and enjoys collaborative teaching environments, including co-teaching and mixed-level spaces.  They have taught for the first Queerchata Seattle series, taught with Weeklyish Fusion, and organize Pulso Práctica, a partner dance practice centered on connection and community.

A self-described jack of all trades in dance, Léo approaches teaching as a shared learning process — continuing to explore, refine, and grow alongside their students.  They previously served as Co-Program Director for Emerald City Hoedown in 2024 and 2025 and are excited to return in 2026 as an instructor.

Classes: Be/Imp Night Club, Int/Adv Night Club, Int Bachata: Hammerlocks & Hip Rolls

Lindsey
Seattle — Rain Country / 253Step / The Reverse Cowboys

Lindsey (they/them) fell in love with country dancing in 2022 through Rain Country, where they are now an instructor.  For them, dance is more than movement — it’s a powerful form of resistance, expression, and joy, especially within queer community.  They run 253Step, a queer country dance night, and organize events with their performance group, the Reverse Cowboys.  In 2024, Lindsey began to write choreography, creating dances that embrace all skill levels. Their love of dance began with partner dancing, and they delight in teaching it to others.

Classes: Beg Two-Step (SSQQ): Dance Like You Know What You’re Doing

Leo Orringer & Nora Gomperts
San Francisco Bay Area —  Starlight Strut, The Heartstompers

Nora Gomperts and Leo Orringer met each other on the dance floor at Sundance Saloon two days after Nora got to town, and later found themselves teaching line dance together at SCUFF.  They recently started their own community event in Oakland to offer more opportunities for advanced line dance learning and practice.  Nora is currently on the board of Starlight Strut, and both Nora and Leo are proud members of The Heartstompers.

Classes: Double Take (line dance)

Levi Gaytan
Portland —  Stomptown

Levi Gaytan (he/him) is a passionate two-step instructor at Stomptown in Portland, Oregon!  He has been dancing two-step with the LGBTQ+ community for over 25 years!  Levi is known for blending precision, musicality, and heart on the dancefloor.  With a deep respect for the roots of country music and dance, along with a modern, inclusive approach to teaching, Levi creates an environment where dancers of all levels feel welcome, inspired, and have lighthearted fun. 

Levi believes two-step is more than a pattern; it’s a conversation, emphasizing clarity, timing, and partnership.  His teaching style is encouraging and energetic, and detail-oriented, helping dancers build both confidence and skill. 

Above all, Levi is committed to cultivating community through dance.  On and off the floor, he fosters respect, joy, and connection, because great dancing isn’t just about the steps, it’s about the people you share them with.

Classes: Beg/Imp Two-Step (QQSS), Int/Adv Two-Step (QQSS)

Patrick & Jane
Portland —  Stomptown / Divergent Dance

Patrick and Jane have been dancing West Coast Swing for the past 3 and 2 years, respectively.  They are influential figures in the Portland Queer dance community, belonging to Stomptown Portland and Divergent Dance.  They have taught multiple west coast swing and line dance lessons in their community over the past 2 years individually and together.  With this being their first time invited to Hoedown as instructors, they are excited to continue developing the queer west coast swing community.

Classes: Beg/Imp West Coast

Rin
Albequerque —  The Outlaws

Rin (they/them) started queer country western line dance with the Outlaws in ABQ two Novembers ago and has been hosting and teaching since early last year.  Their teaches center ~gRoOve~, embodiment, and big “make-it-your-own” energy for dancers of all levels — focused on musicality, confidence, accessible movements, and trusting your body: “Dance with me, not like me!”  With an early background in classical dance, Rin brings a technical foundation to their movement, but these days can usually be found copying K-pop, P-pop, and hip-hop routines from YouTube or the Steezy platform in their living room.  Past projects include QTease, a mutual aid fund-raising event celebrating queer and trans sexuality through pole and striptease — centering all types of bodies and marginalized identities.  Most recently, they co-choreographed Lace ’Em Up to “cowBoy” by Jack Boaz in Santa Fe, and are very excited for their next hot, sexy, queer as hell, T4T dance project. :)

Classes: Lace ’Em Up (line dance)

Rob Ollander-Krane
Palm Springs — Dance Ranch

Rob (he/him) grew up hating country music until one day, he walked into a gay bar and saw a group of men doing the two-step.  Country music and two-stepping have been his obsession ever since… and he has the cowboy drag to prove it.  Rob joins us from Palm Springs where he is the Director of and teaches at Dance Ranch Palm Springs.  He also teaches at Sundance Saloon in San Francisco and has taught here at the Emerald City Hoedown for many years.

Classes: Beg/Imp Shadow, Int/Adv Shadow, Patrner Turns

Sally Robson
Seattle —  Rain Country / Rhythm Riders / DC Rawhides

Sally Robson (they/them) is an up-and-coming line dance instructor at Rain Country Dance Association.  They began line dancing and two stepping with the DC Rawhides in 2022, but have spent their life dancing a variety of styles and have a particular love for house dance.  They prioritize self expression and joy in their dance.

Classes: Squire (line dance)

Sarah Whitcomb
Chicago —   Second City Dance Association

Sarah (she/her) is a choreographer, instructor, and dancer in Chicago, Illinois.  She is the current Chair of the International Association for Gay/Lesbian Country Western Dance Clubs and President of the Second City Country Dance Association.  She has over a decade of teaching experience and believes line dancing should feel fabulous and have plenty of room for embellishments and modifications.  Sarah is particularly committed to elevating trans and lesbian instruction and community-based country dance spaces.

Sarah is the current chair of the IAGLCWDC.

Classes: TBD (line)

Spencer Pond
New York City —  New York City Round-Up

Spencer Pond (he/they) has been country dance crazy since 2019 when he first stepped boot at the Big Apple Ranch.  He has had the pleasure of teaching line dance & country partner dance styles for Stud NY, Scuff Western, & 2StepNYC as well as being the co-founder of New York City Round-up alongside Emily Kessler.  With a passion for social dance, Spencer has found a home in the Lindy Hop Scene, winning competitions on both the East & West Coast (as both a lead and follow, and the nuance that lies between), teaching for LGBTQ+ organizations such as Queer Swing Seattle and Queer Swing NYC, and performing everywhere from nightclubs to Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

Classes: Intro to Lindy Hop, Beg/Imp Lindy Hop

Sye
Oregon — Landline

Sye (he/him) began casually two-stepping at The Cuff in Seattle in 2006.  Over the past few years, Sye learned that line dances are not as mysterious as he thought and in fact wants to learn them all.  He started Landline (LinkTree) (Instagram) in 2025, teaches a weekly line dance class in Portland, and hosts queer country dance events in Vernonia.  You can find him near the dance floor waiting for the perfect song swap and trying to convince his friends that they too know the line dance.

Classes: Heard the Beat (line dance)

Wayne & Jae
San Francisco — Mussel Rock / Barbary Coast Cloggers

Wayne (they/them) and Jae (they/them) are two trans kings with a love of dance and being gay.  They began their clogging journey with Mussel Rock & Barbary Coast Cloggers in San Francisco and are excited to share an introductory lesson to this historical and special dance form with Emerald City.

Classes:

Zoe Hawkins
Asheville —  Steppin’ Out AVL / Blue Country Line Dance

Zoe, originally from Key West, FL, started out as a youngster in West African dance classes, training in ballet, tap & jazz; then developed her love of choreography through musical theater. 

The Ooh-La-La’s: B.A. in Dance from The Colorado College; Student of Comedia Dell’Arte in CA; Artistic Director of The Brazen Hussies; Touring dancer for The Dance Theatre of Oregon.  Her life-long love of dance landed her in the gooey pool of queer line dancing, leading to the full-on addiction that we all live and breathe.  Currently she’s an instructor & DJ at Steppin’ Out AVL and the Director of Blue Country Line Dance in Asheville, NC.  She’s a big hugger, has energizer-bunny level excitement about this phenomenon and can’t wait to catch eyes with you on the dance floor.

Classes: Padam for Benjy (line dance)

Alicia
Seattle — Rain Country

Bio goes here.

Ander
Seattle — Rain Country

Bio goes here.

Flynn Bickley
Seattle — Rain Country

See Flynn’s bio above, under Instructors.

Jae Cripe (aka DJ Virgo Cowboy)
Oakland/Atlanta — Stud Country / The HeartStompers

Jae Cripe (he/him), is a Bay Area-based DJ and dance enthusiast with deep roots in the south.  While he doesn’t have any formal dance training, he has always been obsessed with cowboy boots and leather.  His passion for country music and dance was sparked many years ago in Atlanta at the Three Legged Cowboy and Log Jam at Mary’s.  Jae is a resident DJ at Stud Country, and you can catch him dancing as often as possible at places like Sundance Saloon & Starlight Strut in the Bay Area, or DanceOut in Atlanta.  He is also a proud member of the HeartStompers and has recently started learning to clog with Mussel Rock and Barbary Coast Cloggers.  Jae is thrilled to share his love for historical dances & tradition and of course, having a gay old time with ECH!

Jim Drew
Seattle —   Rain Country

Jim has been DJing for Rain Country for 19 years and has a massive library of country CD’s he hasn’t even looked at yet for great dance music!  He has also DJ’ed for IAGLCWDC hoedowns and clubs in several cities across the US and Canada.

Laurie
Seattle   —   Rain Country

Laurie started dancing with RCDA and has been DJing recent OutCountry nights.  You may also find Laurie at 253step!

mr. kate
Seattle — Rain Country / OutDancing

mr. kate was talked into DJing for Rain Country over a decade ago (thanks, Dave!) and for the last three years has been co-DJing OutDancing at Century Ballroom.  They were raised on 90s country and have a soft spot for country music by independent queer artists.  When not DJing you can find them knitting, reading fantasy novels, or doing the bidding of, Lily Floofindottir, their 18lb cat.

Mickey Carfora
  

With 15 years of experience, I teach, mentor, and create spaces where dancers connect and grow.  As an organizer of Starlight Strut and Hotline SF, I am dedicated to fostering inclusive communities through movement, music, and collaboration.  If you have a question or want a dance, I’m your Cowboy on Call.

Shana

Shana has been dancing with RCDA for over 15 years and has been DJing for the Hoedown for over 5 years.  She enjoys West coast swing, two step and line dance. 

The Heartstompers

The Heartstompers are a brand new queer country western dance group from the Bay Area.  We love to dance with our friends and are thrilled to be debuting at Emerald City Hoedown 2025!  Follow us @the.heartstompers.

The Reverse Cowboys

The Reverse Cowboys are a queer country western dance  performance group that formed out of the group’s desire to be out, freaky, loud, and uninhibited in their unwavering love for  queer and trans people.

The Reverse Cowboys host parties and lessons and  envision their events not as a form of escapism from the realities of oppression, but as part of the long history of queer nightlife as a place to build resilience and power. They believe that gathering and dancing together for fun, pleasure, and joy as queer and trans people is a revolutionary act and invite their communities to move this energy towards dreaming, organizing, interruption and connection.

The Reverse Cowboys are very excited to perform at Emerald City Hoedown 2026!  You can follow them on Instagram @the_reverse_cowboys.

Rhythm Riders

The Rhythm Riders (originally the Rain City Rhythm Riders) were formed in 2001 by Jim Drew and Ruby Luke to create a performing group for Seattle’s country-western dance scene, and to help boost the level of dance ability in the local community.

The Rhythm Riders joined the IAGLCWDC in 2002, and after Timberline Spirits closed in 2005, the Rhythm Riders transitioned into Rain Country Dance Association, remaining as the club’s performing arm, with most of the RCDA board members having also been Rhythm Riders.

The current version of the Rhythm Riders is the 4th group, having performed at the Emerald City Hoedown, the last Sundance Stompede, and at the 2025 IGRA Finals Rodeo Hoedown in Reno.