We’re excited to announce the WWLA 2025 instructor, DJ, and performer line-up!

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Line Dance

Darren Bailey is a 15 time World Line Dance Champion in categories such as, Classic, Showcase, Choreography, and Teams. Darren completed his dance training in Holland and toured Europe & America in theatre productions of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and “Passion and Illusion”. In 2006 Darren retired from professional competitions, but has continued judging, choreographing and conducting workshops throughout the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Asia and the USA. In 2017 Darren was inducted into the Line Dance hall of fame for his services to Line Dance Choreography and his work promoting Line Dance all over the world. Darren has trained several of the current and previous World Line Dance Champions and continues to train the world champions of tomorrow.

In 2006 Darren was partnered with Lana Williams for the BBC1 Show, Strictly Dance Fever, where they finished as runners ups from a total of 80,000 competitors. Following this Darren, has gone on to work professionally within the entertainment industry, with many choreography and T.V credits to his name.

T.V Credits Include : Britain’s Got Talent’ (backing dancer & Choreography) – ITV 1, Strictly Dance Fever’ 2006 runner up – BBC 1 (live), The National Lottery‘ with Lionel Blair -BBC 1(live), The Coal House’ (series) choreographer and guest performer – BBC 2, Strictly Come Dancing’ (series 10 – Present) choreographer – BBC 1, The Coal House’ (series) choreographer and guest performer – BBC 2, Dance House 1944’ (documentary) Featured dancer – BBC 2, The New Paul O Grady Show’ – Channel 4 (live), The Alan Titchmarsh Show’ – ITV 1

Other credits include :‘Catwalk Model’ – Gucci and Armani suits, Ambassador Of Swing Theatre Show’ – Manhattan Theatre (USA), ‘Fever’ Jive Aces – Music Video, The Devil Went Down To Georgia’ – UK Tour, Passion and Illusion’ – USA Tour, Dance and Rhythm’ with Angel a Ripon – The London Palladium, Dance Manifesto Launch’ Guest Performer – London City Hall, Frank Skinner’s Cabaret’ – (West End) The Lyric Theatre, Cuban Groove Dance Company Cabaret – Mall Of The Emirates, Dubai, Clash’ Theatre Show’- Featured Dancer – Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Picnic In The Park’ Cole Porter Tribute Show – Dubai, Mark Ramprecash Charity Dinner’ – Hilton Hotel, London, Showtime’ Cuban Groove – Birmingham NEC ,Corporate Team Building Promotional Video – HSBC, NHS Annual Awards Ceremony, choreographer (Northampton)

(She/Her)

West Coast Swing

Music and dancing have surrounded Samantha her entire life. Being the daughter of Kelly (Buckwalter) Casanova, meant that every week she was tagging along to dances and workshops, doing her homework and playing her gameboy, while her mother worked to support the both of them. Halls, studios, and conventions became her playgrounds. It wasn’t until she was 10 years old and attended her mother’s convention, Swingbreak, that she actually wanted to learn what her mother did. It was at this event that she saw Jordan Frisbee and Jessica Cox perform a Junior routine and from that point on she wanted to be a dancer.

Samantha began competing in 2001 and traveling to more events out of state with her mother. She danced her first Juniors routine at the US Open with Ben Morris in 2002 and the following year with Rickey Andrade in 2003. At the time dancing was still a hobby as her passion was focused on martial arts. She was the youngest in her dojo to receive 1st dan (Black belt level) at 16. Her teaching career began at her dojo as she taught classes there to children and adults of all ages for 6 years.

Samantha had no intention of teaching or pursuing West Coast Swing as a career until 2006 at Capital Swing. It was there that she saw Kyle Redd and Sarah Van Drake perform their “How long can a fool go wrong” routine and truly fell in love with the dance. From that point on she began mentoring under her mother, assisting her classes and shadowing her as a judge to learn everything and anything she could about the dance. Samantha worked diligently to earn her points in every division up from the Junior, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and AllStar divisions to her current position competing with the top Champion dancers around the world.

Starting in 2007, Samantha was fortunate to study under Mario Robau Jr. She assisted him in workshops and intensives both in the US and abroad which she credits to her confident teaching foundation. During 2009-2010 Samantha was presented a once in a life time opportunity by her dear friend, Mike Rosa, to re-locate to London. It was there that she taught weekly classes, workshops, and events all over the UK and Europe in an effort to help the Swing community grow. After her adventures in Europe, Samantha was convinced by her brand new friend at the time, Malia San Nicoles, to move to Southern California, which is where she now calls home. Samantha was inducted into the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame in 2012 and, most recently in 2022. She continues to travel all over the world competing, coaching, and teaching with her partner Matt Richey.

One of Samantha’s proudest moments was becoming the first woman to final in a Champion’s division as a Leader, thanks to the help of Jennifer Deluca. From her very first dance lesson, Samantha’s mother taught her to lead and follow at the same time. This skill not only benefited Samantha’s teaching ability but also allowed her to be a role model to so many dancers wishing to learn the opposite role. Samantha and her mother are proud to support the movement in the West Coast Swing community to allow anyone to learn and compete in any role they so choose.

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Line Dance

Joey Warren started dancing when he was 10 years old. He attended a line dance class every Thursday called "Boot Scootin Boogie!" However that only lasted for about a year and a half because the place was shut down. From that point, till he was 17 years old, Joey went back to being focused on school and sports. As those years went by, he had friends that kept dancing and told him that it had drastically changed. In June of 2003, he attended his first dance event, the JG2 Line Dance Marathon. He didn't know any dances but was able to take many workshops and see all the new styles of dance. That's all it took.

Today, Joey Warren has been professionally teaching and choreographing since 2004. His first dance, "In The Zone", was well received and taught at many dance events. Joey is known for dances such as, “In the Six” with Shane McKeever, “Boys” with Scott Blevins, “Main Attraction”, “Malibu Nights”, and “Watch the Tempo” with Richard, Whitehouse, McKeever, Ridyard. He's been blessed to work with some amazing choreographers!

Also, Joey has appeared in music videos including "Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love" by Trisha Yearwood and "Stomp" by Steve Richard. Along with the videos, Joey's been lucky enough to perform at live shows with Barry and Dari Anne Amato in Nashville and the surrounding areas.

Dancing wasn't the only focus for Joey as he completed his Bachelor degree, in May of 2009, in Business Administration, with specialization in sales and management. Currently he's still busy working at the family business, J.W. Steel Inc., but, also enjoying being back on the circuit and going to his favorite events.

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Lindy Hop (6 count/ECS)
Lindy Hop (8 count)
West Coast Swing

Matt Richey has been dancing Lindy Hop since the tender age of 11. His dance career started with a performance team, including dancing on cruise ships and at Disneyland. In 2004 Matt attended Camp Hollywood for the first time (he hasn’t missed a year since) and he quickly fell in love with what swing dancing can offer; not just Lindy Hop but all swing.

Since then he traveled all over the world learning from some of the world’s best dancers such as Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Jean Veloz, Sugar Sullivan and Chazz Young, and many others. Matt has also cross trained in several other dance styles including jazz, ballet, salsa and more.

In 2011 Matt started dancing West Coast Swing and knew this dance was just the added excitement he needed. Soon after, he started dancing in the showcase division and brought home trophies.

Over the years, Matt has won hundreds of titles in multiple styles of swing, including West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop and Balboa. He is becoming the most recognized crossover dancer in the circuit as well as being a familiar face on the social dance floor everywhere! In 2018 Matt was inducted to the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame. As much as Matt loves swing dancing, he loves teaching and sharing his love for dancing and music just as much! He currently teaches adults and kids in several local schools and studios in Orange County.

He is known for fun loving energy, musicality, showmanship and performance.

(She/Her)

Line Dance

Amy danced in and won her first UCWDC competition in 2006 and began choreography competitions not long thereafter. She won a few choreography competitions including being awarded the Dancer’s Choice Award for Team Choreographer in 2013. Amy has been afforded the opportunity to teach at events throughout the United States and internationally since 2011. In 2017 her co-choreography was awarded Dance of the Year and Intermediate Dance of the Year at the Crystal Boot Awards.

Local favorites include “Shake Your Cake”, “Stitches”, “Moses Roses Toeses”, “Portland Cha” with Betts, Madge, Vane, Ward, Poulsen, “Ain’t Misbehavin’” with Mundy, Thompson-Szymanski, and more!


When she isn’t dancing, Amy is a pharmacist in Washington state. While she enjoys her career, she has discovered that her true passion is dance. Amy can no longer imagine her life without line dance and loves sharing this passion with dancers all over the world. Amy finally met the love of her life dancing and in 2017 she married Darren Bailey.

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Lindy Hop (6 count/ECS)
Lindy Hop (8 count)
Line Dance
Progressive Two Step
San Francisco Two Step
West Coast Swing

Jonno’s artistic endeavors began with 17 years of competitive roller figure skating where, on top of numerous national titles, he represented the U.S.A. six times at the world level.

His introduction to dancing was in the early 2000’s at Disneyland’s Jump, Jive, Boogie Swing Party where he fell in love with Lindy Hop. After moving to San Francisco in 2012, Jonno accidentally stumbled into the world of line dancing at the Sundance Saloon. It wasn’t long before he began creating his own line dances, which have earned several choreography awards, including five UCWDC World titles.

His joy of dancing and creativity can be seen in his dances that are being taught across the globe. Some of his most popular dances include Life After Love, Get Ugly, The Wolf, She’s A Natural, All Bass No Treble (with Galit), Best Mistakes (with Takahashi), Ex’s and Oh’s (with Dominguez).

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Line Dance

Rick Dominguez has been a club and mobile DJ for 40 years running. His residency at Oil Can Harry’s in Studio City became the place he’d call home for 26 years until they closed their doors in 2020. There he formed so many special bonds and memories with so many wonderful people, so much more than just friends, to this day, we still like to call our OCH Family!

Rick currently has established residency with Borderline Presents (formerly Borderline Bar & Grill) now runs several country dance nights catering to our 18+ line dancers with locations in Agoura Hills at the Canyon Club, MB2 Entertainment in Santa Clarita, Tarantula Hill Brewery in Thousand Oaks and Backstage Bar in Santa Barbara.

Monthly DJ & instructor gigs for Buckle & Boots in Lancaster, Trademark Brewing Co in Long Beach.“Hogtied” monthly queer country night at Precinct in DTLA every last Tuesday of the month, “Neon Country Night” at Strut in Coast Mesa, and “Country Nights” at Red Engine Brewery in Filmore, and the Ranch in Anaheim as a cover DJ, Rick is also co-creator of “Follow Your Arrow” bringing our OCH dance family together on special occasions at the Mayflower Social Club in North Hollywood.

Rick’s past residencies have included the now closed Flaming Saddles in West Hollywood and MJ’s in Silverlake. Other residencies include Micky’s, Here Lounge, Rage, and The Factory Backlot in West Hollywood. 90’s popular dance clubs like Encounters in Pasadena, The Lodge in North Hollywood, and Ozz in Buena Park. With Guest spots at various clubs including Daddy Issues, Cigar Bar, flashback 80’s music video night, Y2k and classic rock nights at The Bullet in North Hollywood. Rick is very versed in many genres and known for spinning everything from funky house, future house, club anthems, 70’s disco, 80’s HiNRG and Euro electronica, hip-hop, club remixes and mashups, EDM, latin, freestyle and 90’s house to classic country, country swing, and current top 40 pop and country hits.

As a line dance instructor and UCWDC World champion choreographer, Rick is known for dances like Crossing the Border, Call Me Señorita, Bambalam w/Jonno, Sweet Tea-Southbound, Dance Like Yo Daddy, Do Si Do, Loosen Up My Buttons, Blue Jeans On, You Look Good, Cherry Bottom Boom (U Gurl) w/Jonno & Adia, Everybody Have a Good Time, Ex’s & Oh’s w/Jonno, DMMD It, Shake It Like That w/Jonno, Giddy Up (We Don’t Want To Miss the Twain) w/Jonno, Been There Done That w/Jonno & Michael, Tequila Snaps, and my latest The Door (Show Me) and Help! (I Had Some) as well as several other local favorites.

Rick also DJ’s and teaches line dances throughout the country with various clubs and organizations like IAGLCWDC with stops in Austin, Miami, Phoenix, Denver, New Yorks Fire Island, Montreal, Las Vegas, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Columbus, New Orleans, Louisville, Boise, San Diego, and Palm Springs.

Rick was very excited and proud to be invited to the first ever Disney Pride Nites last year and again this year at Disneyland’s The Golden Horseshoe, along with The LA Wranglers, where we taught line dancing and performed for the crowds all nite long. Truly a magical night we will treasure for a lifetime!

(He/Him)

Line Dance

Michael Metzger began dancing in 2005 and immediately felt like he had found his tribe. Within a couple years he began teaching, and not long after he began choreographing. He loves bringing the joy of line dancing to as many people as possible, and he enjoys creating dances of diverse styles and difficulty levels. Something for everyone. He looks forward to seeing you in class, dancing, playing, and laughing.

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Line Dance Instructor Cindi Massengale enjoys helping others through positive motivation and encouragement, and is passionate about helping beginners get started. She feels the best part of her job is to see someone that is new to dancing get “hooked” into the Country-Western dance scene. Cindi also teaches Country Western partner dancing, including Two-step, Cowboy Cha Cha and many others.

Cindi is a fun, out-going instructor, with a playful attitude and her motto is “Fake It ‘til You Make It”! “It’s all about having a fun time, enjoying time with friends or family, listening and dancing to great music, and learning to dance at your own pace!”

Cindi has been the StageCoach Music Festival liaison for Cowboy Country the past 4 years, including judging the dance competition held at Cowboy Country.

(He/Him)

- 10 time UCWDC masters showcase and classic world champion 
- UCWDC hall of fame inductee 
- US Open swing dance champion 
- International coach, choreographer, judge and emcee 
- Biggest accomplishment is I am a father of two amazing children. Nicholas age 10 and Rylie age 8. 

(She/Her)

Line Dance
Progressive Two Step

Candy is thrilled to return to WWLA 2023. Candy has been dancing since she was 9 years old, and has been fortunate enough to make a living as a performer and a teacher.  Her background in ballet, jazz and musical theatre provides a unique perspective to country dancing, allowing her to explain and break down steps in a detailed and easily understood fashion.

Country dancing, both 2-step and Line, became an integral part of Candy’s life in 1991.  Some of her Line dance choreography includes Woman Amen, If You Want It, Switch It Up and Love a Party (For Ron). She has been blessed to share her passion in the greater LA area at many venues, private events, and 10 line dance cruises, and has no plans of slowing down. She has been the lead instructor at Borderline since 1995, and prior to that taught at InCahoots Glendale and Denim and Diamonds Woodland Hills.  Candy’s line dance channel, candysherwin.com, was developed as an online reference and support to the community she loves so dearly.

She continues to teach and choreograph daily, and is ever so grateful to her wonderful husband, Joe Mika, for his constant love and support. 

See you on the Dance Floor!

Stud Country is born from the legacy of queer dance spaces and honors the rich history of LGBTQ cowboy culture. Best friends, Sean (he/him) and Bailey (she/her), teach partner dancing and classic era line dances from disco to nineties country, while mixing in new genre pop songs. They believe line dancing should be easy, fun and accessible. All bodies and all levels are welcome.

(She/Her)

Line Dance
Night Club Two Step
San Francisco Two Step
Waltz
West Coast Swing

Sheila started tap dancing as a child and has not stopped moving her feet since. Calling Sundance Saloon in San Francisco home, she found a great dance venue in which to lead and follow. She has taught both partner and line dancing at various venues including: Sundance Saloon, Texas Rose Dance, Wrangler Weekend (WWLA), Mountain Magic and Burlingame Parks & Rec. Sheila has also performed with several performance groups, most notably: The Sundance Bandits, Clogging Express, The Saddle Tramps and Golden Gate Clogging Company.

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Carlus has taught, competed, and judged partner dancing for the last 20 years, starting in ballroom and Latin, then later specializing in West Coast Swing. He also became a powerlifter and fitness coach in the last 12 years, and specializes in movement and longevity.

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Bio coming soon.

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Christopher DeMaci is a professional disc jockey who has played in the largest clubs in California. He has performed in Country, Dance, Pop, Latin, Swing, and much more. Christopher enjoys generating pure joy for those dancing and listening to his music selections and brings energy to any genre and event.

As a dance instructor, Christopher has taught worldwide and now has students teaching in 5 continents. His teaching was a major contributor to the early globalization of West Coast Swing that modern professionals enjoy today. Beginning in country two step and line dance, Christopher was one of the first choreographers to address both phrasing and musical interpretation in his early line dances. In West Coast Swing, his unique style, Slotted Something, laid the foundation for what later became Modern West Coast Swing and Fusion of today.

As a performer, Christopher placed 1st and 3rd at the US Open Swing Dance Championships, has performed extensively in Film and Television, choreographed and danced in the largest venues in the world, and has worked with champion dancers and A-list celebrities.

Above all, Christopher values fun, energy, passion, and has a unique gift of inspiring others to join the party!

Find out more at: DJDeMaci.com