Swing Dance Resources
Sarah is one of the owners of Swing Era Steps, a swing dance school in Indianapolis, Indiana. If you're in the area and are interested in taking classes, check out our website below to find the most recent schedule!
Swing Era Steps
Photo by Hannah Joy Captures
Workshop Participant, Feb 2023
I also would like to express my opinion that guest instructor Sarah Siertle was absolutely top shelf. I really appreciated her overall professionalism, sincerity, and enthusiasm. It was plainly obvious that Sarah not only has genuine passion and expertise for lindy hop, but also does the hard and humble work of preparing herself and her classes with the best interests of her students and our community in mind. Sarah gifted us with a lovely afternoon session that enriched everyone present and will have ripple effects that enrich many others on top of that.
Sarah's personality and perspective are exceptional, creating a supportive environment where her students can experiment and learn through both success and failure. As a long time instructor, I hope at least a little of that rubbed off and sticks on me!
Simon, owner of epic home decor
“If you need custom art done, you have to go to Waverly. She knocks it out of the park each and every time.”
Simon, owner of epic home decor
“If you need custom art done, you have to go to Waverly. She knocks it out of the park each and every time.”
With zero prior dance experience, Sarah stumbled into a lindy hop class in college and never looked back! She dances everywhere she goes, and has danced in cities around the US, New Zealand, and Europe. After beginning to teach in 2012, she has worked towards providing the best classes possible for her students, leading to her becoming the head instructor of Boulder Swing Dance in Colorado and pursuing a teacher training intensive in Luleå, Sweden.
Now based in Indianapolis, Sarah specializes in teaching beginner dancers and continues to teach her students to connect their dancing with the music while learning about the roots of the dance. She loves the improvisational nature of lindy hop and encourages the dancers in her classes to be playful and exploratory in their dancing. She plans and teaches progressive lesson series, specialty workshops, event classes, private lessons, and has coached a performance team, the Indy Hoppers.
In Indiana, Sarah has taught swing dance classes (all levels of lindy hop, balboa, Charleston, shag, and solo jazz) at Purdue University’s Night Train, Rose-Hulman, Naptown Stomp, and Indiana University. She is now one of the owners of Swing Era Steps and works to provide high-quality lessons for people in Indianapolis.
Sarah also enjoys DJing for dancers and is passionate about jazz music. She regularly DJs dances in her home scene and has DJed for multiple large events, most recently CincyHop in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Swing Dance Bio
Photo by Andrew Vuong
The History Spotlight project is my humble attempt to make the history of lindy hop more accessible. It’s important to acknowledge and honor that lindy hop is a Black American dance and to learn about the historical and current context of lindy hop and its related dances.
The History Spotlight Project
- Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop by Frankie Manning
- Swingin’ at the Savoy by Norma Miller
- Swungover, a blog by Bobby White
- Panel discussion about Al Minns from May 2019
- SavoyStyle.com
- Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance by Marshall and Jean Stearns
- Ballroom, Boogie, Shimmy Sham, Shake edited by Julie Malnig
- Authentic Jazz Dance: A Retrospective by Pepsi Bethel
If you would like to print and distribute these in your home scene, please make a donation to the Black Lindy Hoppers Fund and forward me the receipt at sarah@siertle.com. I will send you the folder with all the print-quality PDFs.