The Rhythm Hot Shots
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rhythm Hot Shots is a Swedish performance dance company founded in 1985 that specializes in African American dance.
The founding members of the troupe were key members of the post-1984 Lindy Hop revival. In the early 1980s, Anders Lind, Lennert Westerlund, and Henning Sörenssen travelled to Harlem, New York City, seeking surviving Lindy Hop era African American dancers. They discovered Al Minns and later Frankie Manning.
As a result of the swing revival, swing performance troupes arose throughout the United States, and 20 years later, swing remains a popular dance and performance form, particularly in the Northern California San Francisco Bay Area.
The members of the company are respected dance instructors who teach swing, jazz and blues dancing. All troupe members are also accomplished social dancers. They teach and perform the following:
- Lindy Hop
- Tap dance
- Cakewalk
- Charleston
- 1920s Charleston
- Black Bottom
The current members of the troupe are:
- Lennart Westerlund, founding member
- Catrine Ljunggren, founding member
- Eddie Jansson, founding member
- Eva Lagerqvis, founding member
- Ulrika Ericsson
- Ulrika Thulin
- Benedikt Furrer
- Hanna Zetterman
- Åsa Palm
- Mattias Lundmark
Former members of the troupe included:
- David Dalmo
- Anita Kankimåki
- Anders Lind, founding member
- Lars Lundberg
- Lena Ramberg, founding member
- Ewa 'W' Staremo
- Martin Wedby
The Harlem Hot Shots, formed in the early 2000s, is a separate but closely related swing performance troupe that includes several members of the Rhythm Hot Shots. The current members of the Harlem Hot Shots are:
- Lennart Westerlund
- Fatima Teffahi
- Mattias Lundmark
- Frida Segerdahl
- Åsa Palm
- Daniel Heedman
- Hanna Zetterman
- Jenny Deurell
- Sakarias Larsson
The Rhythm Hot Shots hosted the annual Herräng Dance Camp until 2002, a dance camp in Herräng, Sweden that attracts students and teachers from all over the world. Since 2003, Lorenz Ilg (originator of Swing City) and members of the Harlem Hot Shots organize and run the Herräng Dance Camp.
