Meet our staff

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 Moriah is an All-Star West Coast Swing dancer who has been active in the  community since 2017. She has a background in hula, with a smattering of ballet, ballroom, and other partner dances.  A social dancer at heart, she believes that a dance community should be an inclusive and welcoming environment where we try new things, smile a lot, and foster connection with others through the joy of movement.  In her spare time, you can find her hanging out with her cat or taking a very leisurely nap. Moriah recently moved to Syracuse from the Boston area, and is excited to share her knowledge with our local community.  The Upstate NY JT Swing Team is very happy to have Moriah on board as a Coach starting Season 11. 

 Mangesh (who often goes by Mango) was introduced to West Coast Swing when he moved to Syracuse in 2015 for grad school. He has since attended many National West Coast Swing events and competes in the Advanced division. He derives a lot of inspiration from other dance styles like Hip-Hop, Pop-n-lock, and Waving; and as an avid closer of the ballroom (breakfast club member), he finds immense joy in dancing the night away in a state of flow and bliss. When he isn’t on the dance floor, he can be found DJing at our local CNY dances to bring those late-night event vibes to our social dancers. By day, Mango is a Mechanical Engineer, and enjoys a wide variety of hobbies and interests (that you should TOTALLY ask him about)!

Jeff and Maria have been teaching together since 2012, when they started hosting Westie Night, on Thursday nights in Solvay.  Thier goals and passion continues to be focused on building the local dance community.  They are GPDIA Certified instructors and board members of Dance Lovers of Central New York since 2010.  They work hard to provide a warm and welcoming environment to students of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.   Separate from Westie Night, Jeff and Maria teach at other local dances all around CNY.  They look forward to meeting you!

Kirsten (keers-tin, she/her) has been professionally teaching movement arts for over 20 years and dancing for almost 40. She has been an instructor of circus arts, fire spinning, West Coast Swing, and is a certified instructor of the American Ballroom dances. Kirsten competes at the All-Star Level and is a multiple-time rising star routine first place winner. She has just relocated to CNY from Austin, Texas and is looking forward to becoming a part of a our dance community! She is known for being a technical and concise instructor who is clear, adaptable, and focused on solid fundamentals, ergonomics, and logic while keeping sessions engaging and fun (and a bit geeky)! 

Allison's love of Dance started at the age of five.  She has trained in several dance styles over the years and in 2018, she was introduced to West Coast Swing.  Allison (Alli to most) taught our beginner West Coast Swing Crash Course for two and half years before moving to the Philadelphia Area.  Her vision for Syracuse Social grew from watching our local Syracuse Dance Community struggle with finding and retaining new beginner dancers.  Allison has designed Syracuse Social to encourage people with no experience to branch out and try something new.  By combining an inclusive, nonjudgmental atmosphere with a fun, stress-free lesson, we believe we have found the perfect recipe for Social Dance Success!