TEACHERS and selected DJs at SWING BREAK 2026 – Summer Finale
Every year Swing Break presents super teachers! This year we are happy to welcome:
- KATJA ZAVRŠNIK (SI)
- BLAŽ ZAVRŠNIK (SI)
- JENNA APPLEGARTH (USA/AT)
- TOBIAS KOELBL (AT)
- ŠPELA PREMELČ (SI)
- JURE RUS (SI)
KATJA ZAVRŠNIK (Ljubljana – SI)
Professional Dancer, Swing Dance Instructor, Choreographer.
Katja Završnik is a renowned professional dancer, swing dance instructor, and choreographer. With a passion for dance ignited at the age of five, Katja has dedicated her life to the art of movement. In 2010, she transitioned from a career in video and film editing to pursue dance full-time, a decision that has seen her travel the world teaching, performing, and inspiring others.
Katja’s dance education spans various disciplines learned throughout her childhood in multiple dance schools. She has honed her skills by attending international workshops specialising in swing dances. Her extensive training includes acrobatic rock and roll, ballet, modern jazz, gymnastics, modern dance, and ballroom dances. Since 2005, she has focused primarily on partner and solo dances from the jazz age and swing era, mastering styles such as Lindy Hop, Balboa, Charleston, St. Louis Shag, authentic (vernacular) jazz dance, and ragtime dances.
Known for her versatility and expertise, Katja is celebrated as one of the top followers in the swing dance scene. Her deep understanding of reactivity and connection sets her apart, making her a sought-after instructor and performer. Since 2010, she has been a fixture at swing dance festivals and special events worldwide, sharing her knowledge and passion with a global audience.
In addition to her dance career, Katja is a certified pregnancy and postpartum exercise specialist, and Organizer of Wellness services (a graduate of Wellness program studies, through which she gained a basic understanding of psychology, mental health, nutrition, movement and physical activity).
Her life is a testament to her love for dance and her dedication.
BLAŽ ZAVRŠNIK (Ljubljana – SI)
Blaž Završnik is a dancer with over 20 years of experience, beginning with modern and contemporary dance. He transitioned into swing dancing more than a decade ago and is now one of the key figures in the Slovenian dance scene. As a dedicated teacher at the Vintage Swing Dance School and a musician with the jump blues band The Jackpots, Blaž blends his deep love for music and dance, inspiring countless students with his passion and expertise in the art of swing.
Welcoming back Jenna at Swing Break 2026!
She has attended, coordinated, and taught various workshops and exchanges all across the globe. Above all else she believes that learning to dance should be fun, and rooted in the music and history. With over 20 years of teaching/coaching/training experience, she loves finding new ways to connect with other dancers on the floor and in the classroom and to create challenging yet applicable lessons in the classroom.
Tobias has been in the Lindy Hop Scene for over 10 years, traveling to festivals around
the world to continuously learn and educate himself about the dance, the music and the
culture. Playfulness, a dialogue between the dance partners and input from both parties
are key to his dancing and will always be discussed/topics in his classes.
ŠPELA PREMELČ (Ljubljana – SI)
Špela is an active dancer and teacher of various dance genres. She is also Level 1 instructor of Franklin method.
In her childhood she attended dance classes in standard and Latin American dances, trained gymnastics and passed a small music school of guitar. At the age of 15 she was introduced to jazz ballet and contemporary dance at the Terpsihora Dance Company, where her teaching career as a contemporary dance teacher began. Since the age of 18 she has been teaching contemporary dance and “jazz” ballet to children, students and adults. She has always received additional training at dance workshops around Slovenia. Since 2021 she collaborates with choreographer, dancer Ajda Tomazin in the performance Giants-Plastic Landscapes, production Open Drawers.
Since 2013 she has been actively dancing and teaching swing dances (lindy hop, solo jazz, balboa). In 2015 she started teaching locally, and has been developing and deepening her knowledge and love of the many dance styles of swing at various festivals and dance workshops in Europe.
As a dancer and swing instructor, Špela focuses on quality body movement as the fundamental basis of all dance styles, both rhythmically and musically, and deeply values her relationship with her students as a co-creative two-way flow: moving from teacher to student as well as from student to teacher.
Her specificity is her dance versatility and her pedagogical and andragogical background, which allow her to teach different age groups and genres.
Jure’s been swing dancing since 2011 and sharing his moves as a teacher since 2016 in Slovenia. He’s a regular at international festivals across Europe. He also explores new dance horizons with contemporary dance and jazz ballet. Jure loves mixing up different styles in his teaching, and he’s a firm believer that practice makes perfect. Alongside Lindy Hop and Balboa, he’s got a soft spot for solo jazz, tap, and blues.
And let’s not forget about the amazing selection of this year’s DJs:
- KRISZTINA MESZAROS (HU)
- DJ ALRIGHT (AT)
- ROK (SI)
- MILAN
- AUBI (SI)
- MR. PREZZ (SI)
KRISZTINA MESZAROS (HU)
Krisztina’s love affair with swing dance and swing music started in 2014. She was a residential DJ in Budapest, and now in Vienna, and appeared at a couple of international festivals too. In the last decade she was traveling around Europe and got influenced by the teachers and DJs all over her journey. What made her turn to be a DJ? She has always been fond of music… the rhythm, the vibes and the very message it carries. It was always crucial to her to spread the love of the music and musicality. She has started early to dig into the different eras of jazz. Beside fizzy big band songs and classics she likes to play records from the modern jazz era as well as tunes of original records of the jazz masters. She always loves to bring something surprising and new. For Krisztina the danceroom is a playground, the music is the toy to play with and the DJ is the gamemaster. Krisztina’s greatest joy is to see the dancers get enchanted by the music she plays.
DJ ALRIGHT (AT)
Dj Alright plays everything that makes you wanna dance, starting with classics from the early jazz era the musical journey touches a lot of swingable styles, such as Hot Jazz, Big Band, Jump Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Soul or Doo Wap up to Contemporary Jazz Music. Being interested in Jazz since his father listened to vinyl records when he was a kid (thx dad!), Dj Alright is always on the mission to provide you with the hottest tunes in town.
