About - Mike Sonder

Instructor

Mike strives to create a learning environment that is fun, challenging, and inclusive. The goal is for each individual student to find their next step forward and enjoy that process of growth. Mike loves seeing students’ eyes light up when they understand a concept or feel a movement work naturally in their body for the first time.

Mike has taught dance in 21 countries and counting. He currently teaches Lindy Hop, Air Steps, Solo Jazz, and many different Blues styles.

Mike loves teaching private lessons and wants to teach YOU. Private lessons are great for individually tailored learning and physically feeling movements. If you don’t know what to work on, no problem. Mike enjoys figuring out the best way to help you get to your next level of dancing.

Book a private lesson

Dancer

Mike lives and breathes dance. He is constantly honing his skills and developing new ideas. If you run into him at a grocery store, on public transit, in a museum, or on a mountain top, you’ll probably catch him dancing.

Follow Mike on Instagram to see what he's working on right now.

Choreographer

Mike has choreographed many solos, duets, small group (~6 people) pieces, and large team (~20 people) performances.

Mike is available to choreograph-

Alone or in collaboration

For students or with peers

For performance or competition

Just for fun (e.g. students' first performance), hard core (professional dancers), or anywhere in between

Mike enjoys the interplay between improvisation and choreography. He creates choreography from improvisation and sparks improvisation from choreography. His ideal is for choreography to feel natural and spontaneous like improvisation, and for improvisation to be clear and finished like choreography.

Performer & Competitor

Mike performs and competes because he loves the opportunity and challenge of communicating life energy through the language of dance. Having a dance community cheer, yell, shout, and connect with his dancing is one of the feelings that drives Mike to keep growing and creating.

Mike has not only placed in and won respected competitions across multiple genres but also thrown down hard in unofficial late night dance-offs.

Check out the Videos page to see more.