About
The evening kicks off with a 45-minute Lindy Hop dance lesson led by Aleks and Dina from Swing Toronto. Originating in Harlem in the late 1920s, Lindy Hop is a joyful and iconic style of swing dance deeply rooted in African American culture and known for its energetic footwork, playful rhythms and dynamic partner connection.
After the lesson, travel back in time to the golden age of swing as you dance the night away to the electrifying sounds of the Toronto All-Star Big Band. Renowned for capturing the spirit, style and sound of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s, this band will have you moving and grooving all night long. No experience? No problem! Beginners are welcome, and no partner is needed. Feel free to wear your swankiest vintage attire and get ready to cut a rug — it’s going to be a night to remember.
7–7:45pm: Dance Class*
8–9:45pm: Live Band
*Sign up below for your Free Ticket to attend the Dance Class portion of the evening.
This event is rain or shine!
About Aleksandr Valuiskikh and Dina Waluyo
Aleksandr Valuiskikh and Dina Waluyo (Aleks and Dina) are social swing dancers, competitors and hobby musicians. Aleks started dancing the Lindy Hop in 2013 in his hometown of Smolensk in Russia, and Dina picked it up in 2016 in Toronto. Separated by an ocean and offset by three years, the joyful, improvised and musical nature of the dance deeply resonated with both. Aleks and Dina quickly fell in love with the dance, started attending various workshops and classes, learned from local and international instructors and began teaching about two years after they began dancing. Aleks and Dina came across each other at a workshop in Toronto in 2018, a few months after Aleks’ big move to Canada. They have been dancing, teaching, traveling, choreographing and competing together since. Their collective background in music combined with Aleks’ technicality and Dina’s expressiveness create chemistry on the dance floor. As teachers, they strive to deliver lessons that are challenging yet engaging and fun. They have placed at and won multiple local and international Lindy Hop competitions.
About Toronto All-Star Big Band
Armed with brilliant programming, choreography and engaging cultural nostalgia, this vibrant cast of awesome young talent has earned its position at the top of the list of presenters throughout Ontario and in the United States. Recent gigs have included the Glenn Miller festival in Clarinda Iowa, the Villages and the Snowbird Extravaganza in Florida, the Muskoka Lakes Music Festival, Beaches International Jazz Festival, Art Park in Lewiston N.Y. and Toronto’s famed Palais Royale, Casa Loma and the Old Mill.
At the heart of the musical matter, the TABB provides one of the most intense and stimulating youth music programs in Canada. Behind their extraordinary entertainment, they engage cream of the crop young musicians from across the GTA in a rigorous regime of rehearsals, workshops and fantastic skill-building performance experiences with such international stars as Clark Terry, Doc Severinsen, Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, Eddie Daniels and Larry Elgart. The band has also worked with wonderfully talented Canadians, like Peter Appleyard, Oliver Jones, Ranee Lee, Tommy Ambrose, Phil Nimmons and the great Jackie Richardson. In June 2009, TABB had the great pleasure of performing with Legend Benny Golson. The band has enjoyed workshops with band leader Howard Cable, trombonist Al Kay, saxophonists Alex Dean, John Dankworth and Benny Golson, trumpeters Clark Terry and John McLeod.
