Tavi Johnson
In 2011 Tavi, (they/them) fell asleep on a couch in a college study lounge. They woke up very confused as the couch was being moved to the window to make space for the local blues dance club. Half-awake, they agreed to join the dance. They’ve never escaped blues dance since.
When not buried in work or other hobbies, Tavi enjoys DJing and teaching foundations for blues and lindy hop. If you find them with an ounce of free time, they’d love a dance – as follow, lead, or to switch – or to have an overly detailed conversation about ttrpgs and cooking.
Amelia Oleander
This is an Amelia, (they/them) an Organizer type dancer. For over ten years, they have been trying to “make dances happen”, sometimes that results in national events such as Steel City Blues and Snowbound, and other times it’s just them setting the vibe in crowded or empty rooms. Their chaotic good nature extends to most of their life, including trying to keep up with their 1 million children.* Community is core to their being, and all they want is for yinz to fall in love with Blues.**
Photo is how they will look
*3 kids who are three and under.
** and to sleep for 8 hours in a row.
Cynthia Menos
Cynthia (she/her) began her organizing adventures back in 2017 for her local swing dance scene and decided to take the deep dive in 2022 by co-founding her first lindy hop/blues dance scene. Since then she’s always been involved in her dance communities in some capacity and is excited to join Steel City Blues this year as the Instructor Wrangler Coordinator!
Josué Luna
Blues dancer since 2016, blues DJ since 2019, chronically copy + pasting the accented é onto organizer bios since 2021, & music devotee since birth; Josué (he/him) is formally joining the organizing team as the DJ & Venue coordinator this year! Josué is excited to welcome all of the out-of-town dancers to our lovely little town.
Matt Lawther
Matt Lawther (he/him) has been dancing blues since 2015, and it remains his favorite dance. With more than 20 years of experience in music, live sound, DJing, and event production, Matt seems to continually find himself behind the scenes, helping make events happen from the technical side.
For the Steel City Blues Festival, Matt oversees sound and AV production, helps find and coordinate the festival’s bands, and serves as a lead point of contact for artists throughout the planning process. His goal for this year is to sleep at some point and to dance more. Don’t be afraid to ask him to dance even if he seems busy!
Emily McNaughton
Emily (she/her) is retired from both blues dancing and blues dance organizing and yet you can still find her getting things done on and around the dance floor. She’s not very good at being retired. If you bought merch, thank Emily.
Sara Owens
Sara (she/her) wandered into a dance at the age of 19 and has been hooked ever since. Steel City Blues was her first event and she is now thrilled to be part of the planning committee. Sara’s favorite part of SCB is connecting with dancers old & new and seeing the community learn and grow together.