Instructors
About Our Instructors
All of our instructors are competitive level west coast swing dancers. They have taken teaching workshops from professional level wcs dancer and instructor Stephanie Batista. They also regularly attend weekend long dance conventions all over the United States to learn the newest techniques and trends in wcs dancing and instruction, and to compete against other dancers world-wide. All of our instructors are available for private lessons, group classes, and workshops. Please contact them individually for prices and arrangements.
Brad & Sarah Wheeler
Wheeler.Brad@gmail.com
(412) 526-0399
Brad and Sarah are both competitive WCS dancers and instructors who have placed in competition at the
national level. They met in a dance class and quickly became dance partners, which eventually led to
them becoming life-long partners as well. They now teach and dance together several times a week (and
work together on the finer philosophies of each). Brad and Sarah are available for instruction and
privates as individuals or as a couple.
Aaron Batista
Aaron.Batista@gmail.com
(412) 979-7890
Aaron has been dancing West Coast Swing for eight years, and teaching for three years. He competes on the
national circuit in the Advanced division. West Coast Swing is a dance that evolves constantly, and Aaron
enjoys staying on top of those changes, and bringing them back home to our classes in Pittsburgh.
Katie Rivard
katie@rivard.org
(412) 965-2956
Katie has been social dancing since 1997, starting with Western Square Dance and East Coast Swing, moving
through Lindy Hop, Salsa, Argentine Tango, Middle Eastern dance/bellydance, and any number of 1-off basic
lessons in everything from Rhumba to Zydeco. West Coast Swing piqued Katie's interest back in 2004 after a
2-week intro lesson at the local social dance club in Boston, MA. A summer with the Boston scene, a few
conventions, and she was hooked! Katie both leads and follows, with strengths in footwork, musicality, a
light connection, and a propensity to totally geek out about dance dynamics.
Stephanie Batista
PghWCS@gmail.com
More info to come