Heartland SwingOut! Instructors

Even Ben (he/him) is surprised how Ben got here, but he’s loving every minute of it! He picked up Lindy Hop in 2013 after moving from Thailand to Texas for college. He had finally found a place where he could be is everything-everywhere-all-at-once self. His dance evolution has been about channeling his explosive energy into refined and musical movement. Since college, he’s moved to Kansas City where he found a job, a home, a wife, and a lovely Lindy Hop community. He currently serves as the Executive Director for KC Swingout, eager to share this passion with the rest of the city. If you don’t see him dancing, he may be behind the camera, designing event posters, repairing his solar array (again), or playing Hades II (also again). See him in the wild? Ask him to dance or about his fish-keeping hobby! You’ll have his attention for sure!

While they have no traditional dance background, Ariel (they/them) has always practiced movement - whether figure skating and synchonized swimming early in life or later through trail running, pilates, and weight lifting. They were introduced to Lindy Hop in 2018 while working in Santa Fe, NM and haven't stopped since. Recently, Ariel has become deeply enthralled with solo vernacular jazz, Blues, and KC2step - exploring into regional and smooth styles and always focusing on bring their authentic voice to every dance. They have a deep passion for equity, diversity and anti-racism work and use that to serve the Kansas City lindy hop community as Director of Safety & Community Engagement. Ask them for a solo jam, about their dogs, or what book they read last and you’ll have a fast friend!

Cara Held began swing dancing in Des Moines. She continued to learn and grow as a dancer in Iowa City, IA with the University of Iowa swing dance club, and eventually began teaching lessons in lindy hop. Cara self-identifies as a lindy hopper, although she has experience with other dances under the swing umbrella and has also explored other social dance styles over the years. In 2014, Cara moved to Denver, CO where she continued to social dance and joined the performance team with Swingin' Denver, allowing her to further develop her dance technique, pedagogy, and knowledge around vernacular jazz dancing, music, and history. Social dancing has always presented an open door into new communities throughout her travels and she has had the privilege of connecting with people on the dance floor.

Matt Tough first learned to dance in middle school through his physical education courses. He didn’t dance through high school, but he got involved in swing dancing at Iowa State University (ISU). He became more serious in his dancing as the continued his education at Grandview University. After college, he continued swing dancing with Step into Swing in Des Moines, IA and Rhythm in Swing in Minneapolis, MN. After a few years in these scenes, he moved to Colorado where he further refined his swing dance skills. Moving back to Des Moines, IA in 2019, he re-joined the Step into Swing group. After the Step into Swing closure, he helped create Heartland Swing as a social member and head instructor.

Raven Wells was introduced to Lindy Hop in 2013 and instantly fell in love. She loves all things Lindy, Solo Jazz, Blues and various other styles of dance. Her goal is to always bring passion, creativity and musicality to her dancing and wants to encourage all dancers to do the same! She’s a follow and an aspiring lead so ask her to dance!