Dance Instructors

Rick Dominguez (Los Angeles) has been a country-western DJ for nearly 20 years. He has taught and choreographed line dances for the past 16 years in the Los Angeles area, merging pop and country styles into a unique style of dance. Rick is also the founder and lead choreographer for the award-winning line dance troupe, The LA Wranglers, now in its eighth year.

Jim Drew (Seattle) has been dancing country-western since 1990, teaching since 1994, and competing since 2005. He is a board member, DJ, and instructor for the Rain Country Dance Association. He has performed with the San Jose Spurs, the San Francisco Saddletramps, and currently with the Rain City Rhythm Riders. He medalled in Line Dance at the Copenhagen OutGames in 2009. Please come to Seattle for the 2011 Emerald City Hoedown, April 29-May 1!

Matt Ellinger (San Francisco) performed with the award-winning Barbary Coast Cloggers for twenty years and served as the Artistic Director from 1999-2009. He finds great joy in clogging, and now teaches the dance form throughout the U.S. Matt Ellinger is a researcher by day and is often seen zooming around San Francisco on his bicycle.

Christa Erwin (Seattle) has been dancing for several years, and she is one of the original members of Seattle's Rain City Rhythm Riders. In the last few years, she has become a devoted line dancer, traveling to numerous out-of-state line dance events. She is a regular featured instructor at the Emerald City Hoedown in Seattle and the Sundance Stompede.

John Festa (New York) learned the Lindy Hop at an early age. After pursuing a career in ballet, John rediscovered Lindy Hop in a burgeoning swing scene in NYC in the mid-80’s. John was introduced to West Coast Swing at his first swing weekend. John quickly became a pivotal figure in both the national and local West Coast Swing worlds, where he not only competes, judges and teaches, but is also one of the top DJs.

Lee Fox (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), IAGLCWDC Dance Competition Director, has been teaching country-western dance for 20 years. He was a finalist in ballroom at the 1998 and 2002 Gay Games and IAGLCWDC's first champion in 1998. He is a member of Southern Country South Florida and has served as choreographer for the Southern Country South Florida Dream Team and the SunDancers, and is a founding member of the 2005 IAGLCWDC champion team, Crossfire.

Dave Hayes (San Francisco) came out to country music in 1993 in Orlando Florida. He started teaching line dances in 1994. Dave jumped right into Sundance when he moved to SF in 2002. Not only is Dave one of Sundance Saloon's regular line dance instructors, Dave is also the IAGLCWDC Webmaster, on the board of directors of the Sundance Association, and chair of the Sundance Stompede.

Troy Inman (San Diego) has performed with Banevolks International, Dance Force, and DanceFx, and he is the co-founder and Artistic Director for Contact Dance Theatre - UNstrictly Ballroom.  Troy is a trapeze aerialist and also performs in the Theatre Arts/Cabaret style of dance.  When not dancing, Troy manages a national healthcare training group.

Scott Ladell (Houston) Scott Ladell has been dancing since 1991, teaching since 2003 and competing in pro-am as a profession since 2005. He won first in Houston’s Texas Classic, New Orleans Mardi Gras, Nashville’s Music City Country Dance Challenge and many more. Scott has competed in Intermediate Pro-am and won second place in Texas Classic and first place at the Dallas Dance Festival.

John Lindo (New York) began dancing in 1992 with country-western and line dancing. He quickly moved into West Coast Swing and garnered more than his share of awards and championships. Some of his First Place awards include the US Open, Grand Nationals, Phoenix Champions of Champions, and the North Atlantic All Star Division. He received the Entertainer of the Year award at the USA Grand Nationals in 2001.

Michael Metzger (Boston) has been country western dancing for five years now and still isn't sated. His love for dancing is rivaled only by his love for sharing the fun with others through teaching. He has been a featured instructor at Sundance Saloon (San Francisco), Gays For Patsy (Boston), and Dirty Water Saloon (Boston).

Stina Rogal (Chicago) started country-western dancing at Charlie's in Chicago 15 years ago and has been teaching "Virgins" to dance for the last ten years. She loves the energy from people learning and loving to dance. She is a longtime member of US Figure Skating and has taught competitive figure skating for 34 years. She is very honored to be returning to teach at the Stompede.

Susanna Stein (New York) traces her country-western dancing roots to San Francisco's Rawhide Bar in the mid-1980s. After moving to New York City, she began competing in and teaching dance, and co-founded the Manhattan Prairie Dogs. In 1997, Susanna co-founded the Big Apple Ranch, New York City's only weekly country-western dance club, which she still runs with Jon Lee.

Rosa Turi (Long Beach) has been a country music DJ and line dance instructor for over 12 years. She teaches and choreographs line dances to all music types. She's known for her hip-hopish dance style. Rosa currently DJs and teaches line dances every Sunday at Cowboy Country in Long Beach and Thursdays at The Executive Suite in Long Beach. This will be her fourth year teaching at the Sundance Stompede.

Patrick Turnbull (Los Angeles) caught the country-western dance craze at Los Angeles Gay Rodeo in 1990. When the opportunity arose, he started teaching 2-step, waltz and swing at the Rawhide (now Cobra) dance club, Los Angeles area gay pride festivals and rodeos, and privately. With his partner Collie, he brings his direct and easy-to-understand style of teaching to each workshop, reflecting his love of dance and desire to share.

Collie Valadez (Los Angeles) has been devoted to country-western dancing since 1990. Along with his humor, he brings his formal training in ballet, jazz and musical comedy to the dance floor, making novices quickly feel comfortable. He has taught in the Los Angeles dance scene since 1997 with Patrick Turnbull, his lover and dance partner of 41 years. His skill has inspired people young and old to move together on the dance floor. 

Anita Williams (Houston) Anita Williams has been dancing, teaching and competing in the UCWDC circuit since 1998. She has won numerous UCWDC local and national competitions, most recently the 2010 World's UCWDC Female Diamond Showcase Line Dance. When she is not dancing, she works with the Central Texas Dachshund Rescue group to rehabilitate and re-home doxies in need of a second chance at life.