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INSTRUCTORS
Brian Contratto
Copperhead Meg
Emily Singer
Emily Kessler + Mackenzie Katz of Live Laugh Line Dance
Janaye Pohl
Meredith Stead
Nate Golden of The Rowdy Cowboys
Rafal Pustelny
Sean Monaghan of Stud Country
Spencer Pond + Séba Ahumada
Susanna Stein
Sugarfoot of Buck Wild
Instructor Bios
Brian Contratto
Brian was introduced to country dancing through the International Gay Rodeo and took his first two-step lessons with Stud Country. After he relocated to Austin Texas, where he lives now, he immersed himself in the regionally specific form of two-step that Austin locals dance 7 days a week at their honky tonks. Known colloquially as "Honky Tonk two-step", he thinks this style has a lot to offer for crowded urban venues, as it takes advantage of swing moves adapted to smaller spaces, rather than following a circular or "progressive" line of dance. Brian has been happy to teach the conventions of this style through lessons and demonstration at Stud Country in Los Angeles and throughout the gay rodeo circuit.
Emily Singer
Emily Singer (she/they) fell fast and deep into obsession with country dancing after accidentally signing up for a two-step workshop in 2023 and later witnessing Four On The Floor. Drawn to the challenge of Holy Moly, she began learning Catalan-style line dances in 2024. They now host monthly-ish workshops under Twister Kicks, teaching Catalan-style line dance technique and history through dances that aren't commonly danced in the US. Emily has taught at the New York City Round-Up, Buck Wild, Do Si Don'tcha, and various basement corners at line dance conventions.
Janaye Pohl
Janaye (they/them) is a passionate line dancer and giant nerd with three years of queer country-western dance experience, bringing rhythm, energy, and community spirit to the dance floor. They dance, volunteer, and teach at events around the San Francisco Bay Area (Starlight Strut, Sundance Saloon, Hotline, Scuff), sharing their love of movement while making learning line dances accessible and fun. Janaye is part of the organizing group for BADR (Bay Area Dance Resource), a volunteer-run online resource documenting line dances done in the Bay Area queer community. For Janaye, line dancing is more than just steps and counts — it’s a way to foster joy, connection, and celebration within the queer community. They can't wait to hit the dance floor with you!
Meredith Stead
Meredith Stead, with husband John Knapp, ran a dance studio for years, and won titles in Lindy Hop, Cabaret, Team, and Country-Western. She has a BFA in modern dance from CalArts. She has choreography and consulting credits for Broadway shows, television and film and has judged, taught, and emceed at mainstream and LGBT competitions and dance weekends. She has competed on the same-sex dance circuit with partners Simone Assboeck, Sara Wilbrich, Suzanne Lewis-Mosley, and Daphna Locker, and in reverse-role with partner Ernesto Palma. She and Daphna took silver in Standard Ballroom in their age category at the 2014 Gay Games and were the 2015 United States Same-Sex Champions in Women's Standard. She is a proud member of the Manhattan Prairie Dogs.
Sean Monaghan
Raised on country music and a lifelong dancer, he found home in the queer country dance scene at Oil Can Harry’s in 2017. As the leader of Stud Country, his calling is to spread the divine power of gay country dance everywhere he goes. His choreography includes Cowgirls and So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings, and he’s sharing a brand new dance especially for New York City Round Up.
Spencer Pond
Spencer Pond has been country dance crazy since 2019 when he first stepped boot at the Big Apple Ranch. He has had the pleasure of teaching line dance & country partner dance styles for Stud NY, Scuff Western, Emerald City Hoedown & 2StepNYC. With a passion for social dance, Spencer has found a home in the Lindy Hop Scene, winning competitions on both the East & West Coast (as both a lead and follow, and the nuance that lies between), teaching for LGBTQ+ organizations such as Queer Swing Seattle and Queer Swing NYC, and performing everywhere from nightclubs to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Spencer is a cofounder of NYC Round-Up.
Susanna Stein
Susanna Stein traces her country-western dancing roots to San Francisco’s Rawhide Bar in the mid-1980s. After moving to New York City, she began competing in and teaching dance, and co-founded the Manhattan Prairie Dogs. In 1997, Susanna co-founded the Big Apple Ranch, New York City’s only weekly country-western dance club, which she still runs with Jon Lee.
Rafal Pustelny
Rafal Pustelny is a vibrant dancer who is passionate about traditional dances from all around the world! Rafal moved to NYC in 2010 and there studied American Jazz dance forms, including Lindy Hop, Charleston, and Balboa. He quickly established himself as one of the top dancers in NYC.
Rafal continues his own dance education by studying Tap, Clogging, Hungarian folk dances, and Polish folk dances. As a performer, he works with several regional groups, including “Lindy Air”, “Gatsby Entertainment,” “The Vanaver Caravan,” “Project Connect”, “Polish American Folk Dance Company” and “Harvest Moon Hoppers”, as well as community events and corporate parties. A Frankie Manning Foundation Ambassador, he teaches and performs locally with “You Should Be Dancing” studios. You can also find him at international events where he works with dance.
Copperhead Meg
After a gut wrenching rejection asking the hot lesbian to dance at Heretic in Atlanta, Copperhead Meg moved to NYC in 2016 and started learning two-step from the queer elders at Big Apple Ranch. They later fell in love with Country Swing and began hosting a monthly Queer Country Swing event in Brooklyn in 2023. In November 2023 they made it to Finals at the Southern Soul Cancun Cantina Country Swing Competition. In 2025, she won the UCWDC World Championship buckle for her division. Copperhead lives in Hudson Valley and teaches regularly at @DancehallNY and the Unicorn Bar. Their greatest joy is social dancing, seeing people express themselves through dance, and repeating their favorite coach’s feedback: MORE JUICE.
Emily Kessler
Emily Kessler (she/her) is a choreographer and dance-based artist living in Brooklyn, NY. She has been obsessed with the community and freedom that queer line dancing has given her since a friend brought her to dance behind the Ukrainian East Village Restaurant in 2023. She regularly taught line for Stud Country and now for SCUFF, and has guest taught for places such as UEVR Line, Buck Wild, 90mil, Honky Tonkin’ in Queens, Sundance Reno Round-Up, and the Emerald City Hoedown among others. She choreographs under Live Laugh Line Dance with Mackenzie Katz, and she is a founder of the NYC Round-Up along with Spencer Pond.
Mackenzie Katz
I showed up to Tenaya's class in 2023 curious about line dancing. Turns out it became my lifeline when everything else was falling apart. Now I'm completely obsessed and thankful to be able to choreograph with Emily Kessler under Live Laugh Line Dance, and run our class Barn Burner. What drives me is helping people find that same joy I discovered when I desperately needed it. It’s a pleasure to boot scoot with y'all sexy angels.
Nate Golden
Nate Golden is a Philadelphia‑based line dance instructor and choreographer, and the founder of The Rowdy Cowboys (yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like). Raised in West Virginia on a backseat soundtrack of ’90s country, Nate traded winding back roads for Broad Street without ever losing his connection to music. If he’s singing along all night, it kind of comes with the territory. With a background in musical theatre, tap, and choreography (yas, queen), Nate brings an extra layer of showmanship to the dance floor. He loves to read a room, lift the energy, and make people feel welcome fast. His original choreography, including “Beautiful as U,” reflects that same spirit: fun, approachable, and built for real people who want to feel the way we all do on the dance floor — free. Through The Rowdy Cowboys, Nate has built a loyal following across the region, teaching and hosting at venues like Dock St. Brewery, Secondhand Ranch, and Prospectors. Through Rowdy for Good, the Cowboys volunteer their time, showing up for community efforts like food sorting and other local service projects. In Nate’s classes, line dance is about connection, not perfection. Come ready to move, get a little loud, and have a good time. The rest takes care of itself.
Séba Ahumada
Sebastián, originally from Santiago, Chile, has been dancing for more than 10 years, his passion for Lindy Hop took him on a trip to different parts of America: Argentina, Brazil and the US having the honor to meet different perspectives of the dance both for teaching and performing.
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot is a french-filipinx line dance instructor, choreographer, and founder of Buck Wild -- a twice-weekly queer line dance event co-run with her counterpart Spitfire at Desert 5 Spot in Brooklyn. Her original choreography has gained laurels at Wrangler Weekend, The Edge and Sunshine N' Line, winning 3rd place for her dances When Did You Get Hot? and DIME, and 2nd place for her dance Babygirl. After performing at Stagecoach and Austin City Limits last year, she opened for Shaboozey at Terminal 5 where Buck Wild performed and debuted original choreography Travel On in collaboration with country DJs MC4D. Her latest choreography includes Skin to Skin, Devil Don't Dance and Purple Hat, which she recently taught at Dancing In The Valley in Ojai, CA. She continues to host and guest teach workshops with fellow queer events and choreographers, but is mostly found dancing locally, gaily enveloped by her community, her Little Manila line family, and her unhinged cats that hate watching her choreograph at home.
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