Comments

''I really enjoyed the workshop in Toronto. The teaching was inspired and energetic and the attention to individuals really helped the whole group to improve steadily. The performance on Saturday night was fantastic, with the Bal team giving a new perspective. Good luck in the upcoming championships.''

- Moira Seed, Toronto

''(TRINITY WORKSHOP, Mar 30) "Je voudrais remercier la SAF pour l'enseignement durant cette fin de semaine qui m'a permis d'atteindre de nouveaux sommet dans la maîtrise du Balboa!!!! Je voudrais aussi leur dire: Wow pour la nouvelle chorégraphie...c'était génial!!!! Super cool d'avoir une performance d'une partie du Bal-Team et de pouvoir danser avec nos amis de Mtl qui se sont déplacer pour lacause! La fin de semaine est passé trop rapidement!!!!!! "
''

- Dominique Morin, Québec

''All I have to say is that it was great! The students that stayed to the end of the lesson loved it and even those that left prior had fun. Your dynamic attitude and professionalism was greatly appreciated. The same for your abilty to mix French and English. I will keep your team in mind for next year's Summer Language Adventure program. I am also keeping in mind your opening on the 28th, if I 'm in town I will check it out. ''

- Michèle Bisson, SLA Coordinator, Language Studies Canada

''J'ai été très satisfaite de votre travail, c'est exactement ce que je voulais!''

- Marie-Eve Bourque (Sears St-Jerome)

''I met the Swinging Air Force for the first time at the Frankie Manning homecoming in Syracuse NY, and you guys ROCK. I took some of the best workshops I had taken, ever! Like the high that we had from SONH.. It made me want to go up to Montreal and dance all the time. Was also at ALHC and congrats to all winners; wonderful dancing!''

- Lisa Hickey, Belmont, Massachussetts

''I am very proud of (and fond of ) the Quebec dancers. They are not only some of the very finest >dancers in the EC but also some of the very nicest people.... That counts for a lot in my book! I was also very impressed the last time I saw the SAF... you have accomplished so much! Best of luck to you.''

- Bill Borgida, Ithaca, international swing dance instructor

''You gauged the level of the groups and proceeded so as not to leave anyone behind, and gave lots of information so that higher level dancers could improve upon their technique. That is good teaching. It was especially helpful to get individual pointers during the lessons and to have the opportunity to do some social dancing with dancers of a higher caliber as well.''

- Diane White, VT

''Greetings from Ann Arbor, MI. Remember me from your SAF weekend in Waterloo, Jan 23-25th, 2004. I learnt so much from you guys that I am still practicing to try to master everything. I really liked how you had many intructor helpers to give individualized attention. You are delightfully fun group to learn from, and I would attend more of your workshops if chance and time permit.''

- Alex Ma, Ann Arbor, MI

''Avec un peu de retard mais autant d'excitations... je tiens à féliciter la SAF pour leur soirée ainsi que leur spectacle présenté samedi passé!! Je veux souligner leur travail puisqu'il est évident qu'on peut être fière de les avoir au prochain championat américain pour représenter le Qc.. Félicitation à tous les membres.. j'ai passé une très agréable soirée et la route en valait la peine!!! Bonne chance pour la suite!''

- Géraldine, www.Swinglabacaisse.com, Québec

''To the Swinging Air Force Group, we just want to thank you all for helping to make our wedding the success is was.

You are all very talented, upbeat,and high energy.Everyone, at all ages really enjoyed the show you preformed and especially loved dancing with you after. I am still getting calls and comments about what a great idea and how everyone just loved it.

It was a treat working with Didier and we really liked your red suit!!!

Thanks a million for everything, and the word is out about your dance troup. Looking forward to the next time !!! ''

- Joanie Reichson, Montreal

''Je prends deux minutes de votre temps pour vous féliciter pour les prix que vous avez remportés pendans la fin de semaine. Je ne vous ai pas vu après les awards, mais je trouvais important de vous le dire. Franchement la choré ''Bouille'' de Zack & Maryse et le numéro de charleston sont à couper le souffle! C'est l'fun de voir que le Canada est bien représenté!
''

- Vicky Saint-Laurent, Québec

''I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your workshops! I really appreciated your enthusiasm and your funny, and effective, explanations.You are great instructors!''

- Donna Louie, Toronto

''I'm glad they did the same routine to slow as well as fast music. It showed you don't have to dance differently just because the music is fast.''

- Ron Sanders, NY

''Je reviens du spectacle de la troupe SAF, je voudrais juste dire BRAVO a tout le monde qui ont participé à ce FABULEUX spectacle, merci pour la belle soiree. Un show à ne pas manquer, s'il passe dans votre coin.''

- Shirley Pommerleau & Yves Routhier, FootLoose Dist., Montreal

''Je suis allée voir votre spectacle au pavillon Canada-Monde ce soir, et c'était vraiment excellent!!! J'étais étonnée de voir que vous en aviez un si grand répertoire, et que vous aviez assez d'énergie pour danser aussi longtemps! Votre spectacle était très professionnel, et je suis certaine que vous aurez encouragé plusieurs personnes à danser le swing!. Félicitations à toute la troupe et aux étudiants qui ont participé, ainsi qu'à votre superbe maître de cérémonies bilingue ;-) Bravo, et à la prochaine!''

- Sara Tasset

''Bravo pour le reportage sur le swing de CTV! J'ai réussi de terminer le travail juste à temps pour pouvoir vous applaudir devant ma télé hier soir. Bravo ! Quel beau reportage plein d'enthousiasme pour la danse de swing ! Votre charleston ultra pétillant, un plancher rempli de danseurs vibrants, l' atmosphère "hot" de la place et plus a certes dû donner le goût à plusieurs de découvrir le swing, cette merveilleuse danse exaltante et amusante comme l'a souligné Mira.''

- Maria

''Que dire de vos deux danseurs qui nous ont donné une performance exceptionnelle. Ils ont été disponibles, cordiaux, gentils et je dois dire que l'assistance a hautement apprécié le spectacle. C'était très professionnel et soyez assurrés que si jamais nous avons encore besoin de vos services, nous vous contacterons. Un gros merci car vous êtes certainement une entreprise sur laquelle nous pouvons comptés. Bravo à Claudie et son compagnon.''

- Germaine Fréchette, Présidente Comité Féminin, Club de golf St-Hyacinthe

''Les professeurs étaient dynamiques et n'hésitaient pas à démystifier tous les mouvements de plusieurs facons. Excellents, excellents, excellents professeurs!!! Bravo!!!''

- Chantal Duchesne

''Nous avons reçu un nombre record de festivaliers cette année, soit 360 000 visiteurs répartis sur 9 jours. De ce nombre, 54 329 sont venus le vendredi 20 août 2004 jour de votre prestation. Merci de votre participation, votre présence fût partie intégrante de notre succès ! Effectivement, j'ai moi-même pu assiter à quelques minutes du spectacles de soirée et c'était très bien! Bravo! Je connaissais déjà la prouesses de votre troupe et vous avez été à la hauteur de nos attentes.''

- Marie-Pier Bédard (Animation coordinator, Festival des Montgolifères de St-Jean-Sur-Le-Richelieu)

''Dee, thanks again for a great 'aerials/dips & tricks' course! It was a dream come true for me to learn these things. Being actually able to socially lead these and hit breaks correctly or otherwise interpret music with them is a real thrill. Evelina is also delighted. Best of luck to you and the SAF with your future studio.''

- Robin Gagnon, MTL

''Aidan et Annie, Vous êtes mes meilleurs profs: super énergiques et drôles et en même temps toujours professionnels.

Merci pour le cours''

- Marie-Claude Henry - Élève Swing V

''The Swingin' Air Force rocks! We just had four of the team members
(Byron Alley, Natacha Beausoleil, Eric Bertrand, and Caroline Rossi)
in Vermont last weekend to teach four workshops. Our people loved
them! The workshops were great! Some very creative thinking went
into their preparations for how they would teach.



Yes, they do have an amazingly diverse set of skills, not just as
dancers but as teachers too - and that's where it really counts when
you want to learn something.''

- John Tomeny -Director Upper Valley Swing Dance Network- Norwich Vermont

''Votre groupe a fait une présentation époustouflante pour le party de Noel 2004!!! Ce spectacle a été grandement apprécié de tous! Bravo! et Merci!''

- Josée Bordeleau, Laval (Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd.)

''Aerials are great and an important part of the heritage of this dance that I hope never gets lost. Its just a matter of finding a teacher who teaches what you want to learn and a way that is tailored to you. Check out the Swinging Air Force, they do lots of well executed aerials, grab your partner and see if you can get a private with them.''

- Damon Stone (Lindy Hop instructor Boston/California)

''The main question for me to answer right now I think, is 'Will we hire SAF again.' The answer to that is a pretty clear 'YES'.''

- Lynn Miller, Syracuse, NY

''As a dancer (both of Modern and Ballet) I love to learn new dances and new steps. I am very critical though as I've been dancing for over 15 years now! But I started my first class with the SAF this summer ('02) which was the East Coast Swing I and had an absolute blast. This group is energetic, professional, passionate and well just a great bunch of people. They have amazing teachers who are very patient with their students and are always looking not only to help out new dancers but also to improve their own technique which is always important. I had a great time and am really looking forward to starting my next class (East Coast Swing II). In fact I can't wait!!! Thank Goodness We have such a great team right here in Montreal! Too bad I didn't start swing dancing earlier!!! ;) Thanks to all on the SAF team.''

- Geneviève Chalifour (Baie d'Urfé)

''(ADVANCED BALBOA WORKSHOP, Nov 27) "Ce fut un excellent workshop, comme je les aime ... profs compétents et professionnels, ambiance décontractée mais sérieuse, horaire respecté, très bonne gang, cool new moves, super sympa !" ''

- Pierre Carignan, Montréal

''I just took the first Blues and Groove class last night! And I must say that it was amazing! I haven't taken a session class in a long time and it was refreshing to see that musicality was an intergral part of the lesson! Looking forward to the next 5 weeks with Zack and Vero.''

- Nathalie Doré, Montréal

''Je tenais juste à vous remercier pour le super week-end et workshop que vous nous avez donné. Ca a été une fin de semaine pleine de mémoires et d’apprentissages inoubliables. La variété et la passion que vous mettez dans votre enseignement sont vraiment extraordinaires. (...) Je dois donc dire que sans votre organisation je n’aurais pas pu être aussi mordu de swing. Donc, un grand MERCI !

''

- Philippe Phan (Ottawa)

''Thanks to you and the Swinging Air Force for a great 'crash introduction' to Lindy last Saturday -- What fun! I'd love to see Dee and the troupe come back to the area.''

- Pamela Strickler from West Hurley

''You were amazing both on stage with the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and afterwards at the dance party - people can't stop talking about your talent and your energy level. We really enjoyed having you guys and it was a pleasure to work with you. Hope we can do it again someday!''

- Emmanuel Kalles, president, ORT Montreal

''Je vous écris pour vous dire que Montréal est la meilleure place pour apprendre le swing et la gang vous êtes super! J'ai à peine le goût de prendre des cours ailleurs. La musique, l'ambiance et votre façon de danser ... En tout cas, Didier, tu me manques comme DJ.''

- Étienne Marra-Hurtubise (great traveller!)

''If you have a beginning community of dancers - call the Swinging Air Force!! I wish I had had the opportunity to learn my Lindy from the Swinging Air Force. You get people up and Lindy-hopping quickly and you get them dancing correctly.''

- Matt Oonk, NY

''Saturday night was a blast! A big thank you to Zootin' Zack and the Mooks, as well as to the Swinging Air Force for providing such a great time for everyone! The Montreal swing community needs more such events -- after all, we are after the hearts, minds and souls of newbies, right? (insert maniacal laughter here) Ooooooowweeeee! Did I ever dance my ass off! A big thank you also for those who danced with me -- I had fun! Best of luck to the SAF at the competition... You guys rock.''

- Robin Gagnon, Montreal

''Un rythme entraînant, des danseurs hors-pair, des gens dynamiques qui entraînent vos invités dans la danse et dans leur passion pour le swing! Un must!''

- Rudy Magnan, director, Concept

''I think every beginner dancer's first workshop should be with the SAF because they present the information in such a clear manner that is also fun and inspirational. They are the best for teaching folks at this level, above any other teachers''

- Tamara Steinert, VT

''J'ai passé une super belle soirée avec la Swinging Air Force samedi soir. La troupe est exceptionnelle, et vous faites du très beau travail! Continuez!''

- Julie Plamondon, Ottawa

''My lindy is back on track and I thank the SAF team for that. ''

- Richard Moss

''I noticed some the little things you do to develop a group of people into a community of Lindy-Hoppers:

- SOLID FUNDAMENTALS - The group does a good job of giving beginner lindy-hoppers the tools to become solid dancers who can enjoy the dance. Give them solid fundamentals, a few fun moves and then they try to instill an understanding of musicality, frame, connection and attitude. This allows you to become a good social dancer and have fun. This focus on fundamentals also allows every experience level to benefit from SAF classes.

- FOCUS ON SOCIAL DANCING - All the members of the SAF enjoy social dancing and emphasize that aspect. They don't teach things that are difficult to lead with anyone if you do it right. They also get everyone dancing together which leads me to:

- ENTHUSIASM - This is the strength of the SAF! The SAF enjoy teaching, and people really enjoy their classes, they socially dance with everyone (no matter how new they are) and they get everyone understanding why we dance in the first place do this - to have fun!''

- Matt Oonk, NY

''The teaching was phenomenally good, truly excellent, as well as their physical modeling of technique. Such a nice and fun bunch they are! ''

- Barb Whan, NY