Get To Know Your Winter Workshop Instructor
Before the Winter Workshop & Party on February 8th, Let’s learn a little more about our guest instructor. We are thrilled to be hosting Ana Lisa Sutherland to teach a day of workshops for our community. Keep reading to learn more about them.
Ana Lisa Sutherland is a whole lotta energy stuffed into a little package, and she brings it all to the floor! She began dancing early in life in California. There, she competed in Ballroom and Hip Hop before (accidentally) falling in love with Lindy Hop.
Since 2008 she’s traveled the country to compete and learn swing dancing from original legends and current-day champions. She holds multiple titles from top weekend events such as Lindyfest, Lindy Bout, Camp Jitterbug, Lindy Focus, and Lindy On The Rocks. Some of her favorite performance highlights include the Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing and local cabaret shows in her current city of Seattle.
Ana Lisa believes swing dancing is a cultural experience that allows its participants to connect with the roots of this African American historical dance, contribute back to it, and shine. There is truly a place for everyone within it. Thus, she loves pulling from historical sources and the greats that have come before, as well as incorporating newer forms of dance from her continued explorations in dance.
In the classroom she strives to inspire other dancers to be authentically themselves on the floor and encourage everyone to get a lil weird. She helps her students approach each dance and class as if anything could happen and helps them to unlock the unique conversation they can have with their partner and the music.
THINGS OF NOTE:
– varied dance career spanning many genres (Latin Ballroom, West Coast Swing etc)
– HellaBlack Dance Team Member
– Sister Kate Chorus Girl
– Frankie Manning Ambassador
– Currently studying Waacking and Voguing, much like lindy these connect her to her cultural
roots and expand her voice as a solo dancer