About Us
Yossef Mendelssohn and Beth Hartzel love fun above anything else, which is precisely why they love dancing so much. If that doesn't seem like an obvious connection, Yossef and Beth are more than happy to point out just how much fun dancing can be. (Especially [or is it even?] when it comes down to competition.)
They're the cool kids who still sit at the back of the bus, but they're not too cool to talk to you.
Yossef
Yossef moved to Nashville for work in August of '06 and was lucky enough to be right by the premier swing dance studio of the day, Vintage Rhythm. He finally got around to starting lessons in January, and since he knew hardly anyone and had nearly nothing to do, he kept on taking all the lessons he could for several months. At some point, Aba and Reuel got sick of seeing Yossef all the time and closed the studio down.
After about half a year of taking constant lessons and not doing much outside of class, Yossef realized he should start dancing socially. Then came travel to other dance scenes, workshop weekends, exchanges, and camps. After a stressful first stab at competition as part of the short-lived Whitey's Cindy Loppers, he started entering competitions regularly, winning his first-ever Jack and Jill and placing in some other beginners' competitions before being shoved into the cruel world of intermediate and advanced.
Since his humble beginnings, Yossef has aspired to add more titles to his name than just "dancer". "Competitor" came fairly quickly, then "DJ", and in October of '08, "teacher". "Organizer" came in early '09, and he's searching for a place to go from there
Yossef not only enjoys the usual suspects of swing dancing (Lindy Hop, Charleston, and Balboa), but also the precursors, the pre-swing (or "silly") dances like Peabody and Collegiate Shag. He's also generally excited about most non–Jitterbug-Stroll choreographed routines and line dances.
And talking about himself in the third person.
Beth
Beth took her first Lindy Hop lesson in a mall in Nashville in early February 2007. She immediately fell in love with the athleticism and energy of the dance, and hasn't stopped swinging out since. Charleston, balboa, blues and shag all followed Lindy in quick succession.
Beth has consistently been complimented on "not cheating patterns", her ability to improvise within the structure of the dance without disrupting her lead, and her general ridiculosity.
In teaching, Beth offers clear, concise explanations of dance concepts, and enjoys nothing better than seeing students brain-bulbs light up when something clicks.