Hep Jen

Jen is a great instructor! Upbeat, patient, celebratively encouraging. We got a great start on some new steps, and we can’t wait to get out and practice. We look forward to taking more lessons when we come back to the Bay Area in the future!

My now-​husband and I decided to do a first dance lesson in lieu of a first dance at our wedding. The adorable and indefatigable Hep Jen led us and our guests in a 30-​minute beginning swing lesson that was so much fun. Bonus: it was also a great way to get people mixing, since everyone had a chance to practice dancing with many different partners around the circle.
In addition to the great dance lesson, Hep Jen also DJ’d for our reception, playing just the right blend of jazz and swing to keep things festive. She also handled all the announcements (no easy task, as we were still figuring out what to announce up until the morning of the wedding) and the open-​mike toasts all with grace and good-​naturedness. She inspired my three and a half year old nephew to clear the floor with his breakdancing, and created the soundtrack for many happy conversations.
I can’t say enough good things about her. I’ve taken several swing lessons from her over the years, either at lindy in the park, Cat’s Corner, and elsewhere. Her talent in teaching always evident and her genuine enthusiasm is super contagious.

Hep Jen is fabulous. She taught us how to swing dance, DJ’d 40s style swing music at our wedding reception, emceed the wedding, and even gave a swing lesson to all of our wedding guests. She is very talented, sweet, and super professional.

Hep Jen is the best!
Jen is an excellent teacher and all-​around great person. She consistently brings positive energy and useful tips to every group session and private lesson.
She can adjust to all levels, and she can make a difference to your skills and outlook.
Cheers,
–Dave

Hep Jen was the DJ at our wedding. She was wonderful! She and her partner taught a wonderful lesson and everyone had a fantastic time. She had a great selection of songs, and any song she didn’t have we could send to her to add to her playlist. She was very affordable and great to work with. Thanks so much, Jen!

Jen is one of the more professional and supportive teachers I know. She is passionate about her dancing and enthused about spreading it to those who seek to learn.
I met her at Lindy in the Park and then started taking lessons from her at the Verdi Club. I have also taken private lessons from her. As a teacher, she shows up on time and answers questions when you don’t understand the steps. I’ve even asked her questions after class and she was willing to explain.
I also love the outfits she wears! :)

Jen was our wedding DJ and taught a swing dance lesson at our reception, and she did a fabulous job.
— In terms of the music selection, we were hoping for classy music that would reflect our own enjoyment of swing and jazz standards, and that is just what we got.
–Jen did a wonderful job with the lesson — I have taken plenty of dance lessons myself so I can appreciate a good one! The floor was packed, and she taught in a way that allowed people to spend most of the time actually dancing rather than just listening to her explain, which I appreciated. I think everyone had fun, and several guests did break out their new swing basics afterward.
— Finally, as a wedding vendor, Jen is very professional, sweet and accommodating. I should mention that we had a different person as our MC, because we were afraid that Jen’s admittedly low-​key style would not be right for our crowd, but I appreciated that she was upfront about her style and she subsequently did a fabulous job of working together with the MC. The wedding industry is full of people who are incredibly outgoing and enthusiastic, and though Jen was relatively more reserved in her communication style throughout the process of working with her, she was just as warm and just as professional as any other vendor we worked with (and we had a wonderful team of vendors).
— Bonus: her rates are very reasonable!

My husband and I were terrified of performing our first dance (I’m Yours by Jason M’raz) at our Tahoe nuptuals. Just the idea of all of our friends and family watching our every step was nerve-​wrecking. Sure, we can get low-​low-​low-​low like the best of them to Lil’ Wayne, Fifty Cent, Kanye, etc. but when it comes to coordinated dance numbers, well, let’s just say that’s not our cup of tea. Enter Jen, stage right, and our lives drastically improved in just 3 lessons (and another one we did on our own). We managed to stay in step with each other and the song almost completely, threw in lots of twirls and even ended with a perfectly timed kiss which had the audience applauding and cheering us on.
Jen taught us basic swing steps, each time adding a little more complexity to our routine but still allowing us enough time to practice and get comfortable with her teachings. She coached us with gentleness, patience and warmth which we really appreciated. She provides constructive feedback whcih greatly helped us become more aware of our forms and thus able to improve our techniques. She is flexible, fun to work with and we’d reccomend her to anyone. Thank you Jen for helping us not look like total idiots on our wedding day :)

I was really nervous about taking Swing dancing lessons, as my fiancé and I seem to march to our own drummers. I wasn’t sure we could match in rhythm, let alone actually move in a coordinated fashion. But after just ONE lesson, we worked through several kinks and moved like a well-​oiled machine in TOTAL sync with one another. And by the second lesson, we knew the basics as well as 3 different turns. As far as I’m concerned, this woman works miracles!

I’ve taken classes with Hep Jen at various SF venues – East Coast Swing, Charleston, Lindy Hop, and currently, her musicality class at Live Art Gallery. She’s an articulate teacher, generous with her talent and skill and oh – give yourself a treat and watch that lady dance!
Highly recommended.

Hep Jen Rocks! (Or is that «swings»?)
Having had some less than positive experiences with other dance teachers in the past, it was with great trepidation that I let myself get talked in to swing lessons. My anxiety was unjustified: Hep Jen is great — thoughtful, clear, and not intimidating. She loves what she does, and it shows. She really _​wants_​you to get it and will go out of her way to help you.
Despite my pre-​lesson jitters, by the middle of the first lesson I was actually learning and having fun doing it. By the end of the first lesson, I was actually dancing. Who knew?
For all of you that have wanted to take swing lessons, wait no longer: beat a path to Hep Jen’s door. You will leave happy, smiling, and dancing.

Hep Jen is such a great teacher, and I’m always thrilled to take classes with her. She is enthusiastic, encouraging, patient and warm. Anyone wanting to take their dancing to another level should take some private lessons with her, she is the best! Thanks, Jen.

Great teacher! She is so nice, and clear on her instruction. She makes dancing fun!!! Hep Jen has made me feel so much more curious and enthusiastic about learning how to swing dance and lindy hop!

Hooray for Hep Jen!
I’d been wanting to take swing dance lessons forever, but never seemed to get around to it. When I got engaged this year, it seemed like the perfect time to learn some moves. Fortunately my now-​husband was down for it, and through the magic of Unilocal,we found Hep Jen.
Jen made learning to dance super fun, and within just of a couple of lessons we felt like, hey, we can do this! We had a great time dancing at our wedding, and now we just bust out our moves in the living room just because it’s so fun.
Now I only wish I hadn’t waited so long to start!

My husband and I wanted to swing dance for our first dance at our wedding. We searched the web and happened to find Jen who had the best prices and was very flexible. We had so much fun taking lessons from her! She is extrememly friendly, patient, and encouraging. Whenever we struggled with certain moves, she was very understanding and would help us practice it until we felt comfortable. She’s also a DJ, so she had a variety of music to choose from and was easily able to offer suggestions on songs we could use for our first dance. We would highly recommend her. Hep Jen is AWESOME =)

My wife and I had a great time taking dance lessons from Hep Jen before our wedding. We both don’t have a lot of dance experience, and Jen created a routine for us and helped us get our timing and transitions down before our first dance. We always went home after our lessons with smiles on our faces and feeling excited to practice the moves we had just learned.
For our first dance, we had chosen a Beatles song with some unusual transitions. It wasn’t the easiest song for beginnners like us, but Jen really helped us out with that. At our first lesson, we tried some swing dance moves, but that didn’t really fit the song, so Jen helped us create a different routine. By the time we went to our second lesson, Jen had broken the song down into segments, identified the transitions, and created a routine.
She brought us along at the right speed, giving us one move or transition to practice each week, until the fourth and fifth lessons, when we put the whole routine together. We felt like we made some good progress every week, and it felt great when we were finally able to put it all together. At our wedding, the dance went great. We had a lot of fun dancing it, and our guests loved it. We couldn’t have been happier.
I would definitely recommend Jen to anyone who’s looking for dance instructor. She’s patient, encouraging, and will have you looking and feeling great about dancing. Thanks Jen!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Hep Jen — my husband and I took private classes from her in an attempt to become decent dancers in time for our wedding, after having totally failed at a different dance studio. She took our two left feet and taught us to Lindy Hop so easily we were consistently amazed by our progress. She’s super warm and easy going and patient and manages to explain the steps so clearly it takes no time at all to feel like a competent dancer. After just a few weeks we were happily going out to the Verdi Club on our own — which is, by the way, SO FUN. And by the time our wedding came around (in about 6 or 8 weeks, I think), we had even learned to do an aerial.
Point being, I can’t say enough good things about her. If you want to learn to swing dance, she is unequivocally the teacher to get!

My husband and I took lessons with Jen to come up with something special for our first dance at our wedding this fall. It was really truly so much fun. Jen came up with a super cute routine, very unique, and very much «us». Neither of us are fantastic dancers, so we were maybe a little nervous but Jen whipped us into shape and our first dance was so special. We found her prices incredibly reasonable, and her teaching expertise top notch.
As much as I loved our dance, I actually think the best part might have been how much fun we had dancing with Jen at each lesson. We went to the lesson straight from work most nights, pretty tired after a long day in the office, and left each session laughing and joking, practicing our steps dancing down the street. Truly memorable.

i interviewed Jen on the phone before hiring her as my wedding dj, and she was warm and responsive from the start. she specializes in swing/​jazz music, and she’s been both dj’ing and teaching swing dance for years. she’ll teach a swing class at your wedding, if you like. she brings her own partner (Randy, also very nice).
day-​of: she arrives on time, sets up without a hitch, announces what we need her to, makes sure to be at her station to work the sound for toasts and such, is a comforting and pleasant presence throughout, and then packs up to leave as scheduled without a murmur. the music is lovely all evening. all the songs we queued were played on cue. just what we asked for, and worry-​free. what more could a girl want from a wedding dj?

Thanks to Hep Jen I can dance.
Before our wedding, my fiancée and I took a couple weeks of private Tuesday night dance lessons from Jen, and I went from a swing zero to an East Coast swing dancer. Just like that. Well, we were good and we practiced at home, but still Jen built us up from the basics, gave us pointers and tips on improving and did an excellent job of pacing the lessons to match what we wanted and were capable of. She’s a lot of fun and very enthusiastic. Highly recommended if you want to start or improve your dancing. Lindy Hop is her favorite, but we can attest to her East Coast credentials! Thanks Jen!