Meet the Teachers
Leo Lorenzo ( France)
Leo is a passionate and accomplished professional dancer and instructor, dedicated to the art of movement. His journey began with a love for percussion, gymnastics, and various instruments, but his true passion emerged when he discovered West Coast Swing. Under the guidance of Sebastien Cadet and Blandine Iche, Léo honed his skills and quickly rose through the ranks, earning four world championship titles and achieving All Star status within just three years.
In February 2024, he reached the prestigious Champion level in West Coast Swing. Léo’s love for dance extends beyond West Coast Swing, as he explores Brazilian Zouk, Contemporary, Salsa, and particularly Bachata, where he now serves as an instructor. Continuously refining his craft, Léo trains with top dancers like Maxime Zzaoui or Jordan Frisbee. In 2023, Léo committed to dance full-time, eager to share his passion and philosophy with others. Join him on this vibrant journey and experience.
Jesse & Ariel ( USA)
Jesse Lopez & Ariel Peck are renowned West Coast Swing (WCS) instructors, competitors, and creators of the Body Language Curriculum (BLC), a unique method translating WCS into a clear English grammar/vocabulary, focusing on communication and connection in social dancing, blending Ariel's solo dance background with Jesse's analytical approach to build confident dancers worldwide.
They teach workshops, offer private lessons, and train other teachers to spread their philosophy of making social dancing magical and intentiona
Lotte & Florian ( Germany)
Lotte Meir and Florian Hamm are united by a shared passion for movement, creativity, and connection through West Coast Swing.
Lotte began her movement journey in gymnastics and found dance at age 14, quickly moving into teaching and sharing her love for movement. Discovering West Coast Swing opened a space for emotional expression, musical play, and deep personal connection. Influenced by her background in psychology and pedagogy, her teaching focuses on healthy growth, body awareness, and supportive learning environments.
Florian started dancing West Coast Swing in 2018 in Graz, Austria, drawn to its freedom and communicative nature. He competes in the WSDC All Star Division, teaches internationally, and organizes weekly classes in Berlin. With a background in music, ongoing yoga teacher training, and ballet, his teaching style is analytical and structured, connecting techniques and concepts into a clear learning experience.
Together, they blend intuition and structure to create inspiring, creative, and connected learning spaces.
Clem & Evi ( Germany)
Clevi - Clement Turpain & Evgenia Itkina - are two passionate West Coast Swing dancers based in Berlin. With a decade of experience each, they have joined forces to teach and dance together. Clement, an All-Star Division leader and an Advanced Division follower, brings a unique sense of musicality and creativity to the dance floor with his decade of musical studies and his background in solo dances like Ballet, Hip-Hop, and Contemporary.
Evi, an All-Star Division follower with a professional contemporary dance background and experience in Ballet, Jazz, and Modern dance, adds her unique flavor to WCS.
Clem & Evi love communication and connection in WCS, which allow them to co-create and express the music both as individual dancers and as a couple.
They also love choreographies and achieved a 5th place in the Rising Star division at the Open 2023, as well as a 1st place at Global Grand Prix 2023 and French Open 2024.
Tom & Martine ( Norway)
Let’s warmly welcome this wonderful couple to Sol Swing 2026 – our very own local Oslo teachers
Tom-Elbin and Martine engaging West Coast Swing instructors known for blending technical precision with joy and playfulness. Both began their WCS journeys in 2015 and bring strong foundations in biomechanics, movement quality, and sustainable technique.
Tom-Elbin competes in the All-Star division and holds a bachelor’s degree in training and performance from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, informing his clear, structured, and reflective teaching style.
Martine has danced since the age of three, with extensive training in ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance. With a background in personal training, studies at the Norwegian College of Dance, and a degree in Osteopathy, she emphasizes clear technique, body awareness, and injury prevention.
Together, they create a supportive, well-structured learning environment that helps dancers improve efficiently while enjoying the process
Ardena ( Norway)
Welcome Ardena to the Sol Swing teaching staff!
While she is also the organizer of Sol Swing, Ardena’s true passion lies in teaching.
Her dance journey began with salsa and continued through two formative years of ballroom dancing in the USA. In 2010, she discovered West Coast Swing and immediately felt she had found her dance home. Since then, she has been dedicated to growing the West Coast Swing community in Norway, learning from top professionals worldwide and bringing that knowledge back to her local scene. She is also the organizer of Winter White, an annual WSDC event.
Beyond dance, Ardena is a qualified Ashtanga yoga instructor, certified breathwork coach, and a fitness trainer accredited by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. With a background in psychology, fitness, and yoga, she brings a holistic, body-aware approach to her teaching.
What excites her most is exploring the details of West Coast Swing—the subtle elements that help dancers become more grounded, confident, and expressive. For Ardena, teaching is about more than patterns; it’s about growth, embodiment, and deep connection to music and movement.