JATS is a Brighton based swing dance organisation run by Sam Holt (UK) and Gabija Zakarauskaite (Lithuania). Gabi has been dancing Lindy Hop since she was 15 years old and initially learnt in her home town of Vilnius, Lithuania. She was then encouraged by her teachers in Lithuania to travel to Sweden to attend Herring Dance Camp and from that moment Lindy Hop has been a very large, important part
of her life. Sam has been dancing Lindy Hop since 2012 and initially started going to classes in the south of England. When he ventured up to the big city, London, he was inspired by the younger generation of swing dancers he had not previously known about and overnight, became utterly addicted to Lindy Hop and Swing culture! Lindy Hop is one of the great art forms to come out of Harlem, New York. This African American dance was created in the late 1920s and was at its peak in the 30s and 40s! Although most definitely a black dance, people of all races and genders dance Lindy Hop and it should be considered a safe space for everyone to enjoy, as it has been since it’s inception almost 100 years ago! Sam and Gabi travel around the world in search of Lindy Hop, learning, teaching and trying to put their own, unique, spin on it ;)
