Staff & Volunteers
Silke Maietta-Hatch & Bandi Khalsa
Silke & Bandi have been dancing Blues, Soul, Lindy Hop, & Balboa all over the United States and Europe since 1999. They have been teaching locally and regionally for 15 years. Silke & Bandi are the lead organizers of Monday Night Swing in Santa Fe, NM. They are passionate about musicality and spinning.
Emma Thunderkill
With a background in performing arts and various movement practices, Emma draws on her experience in tap dance, figure skating, gymnastics, yoga, music performance and ethnomusicology to inform her swing dancing and teaching.
After studying vocal performance with a heavy focus on jazz for most of her adolescence and young adulthood, she fell in love with Balboa for its capacity to express precise rhythmic patterns through footwork and embody nuanced musicality concepts with partners.
Emma teaches regularly, loves to learn and practice new dance styles, and feels that most days are incomplete without at least a little dancing! She organizes weekly classes and seasonal dance workshops here in Santa Fe, frequently attends swing dance festivals out-of-state, and has recently placed in national Pro-Am, Mix & Match, and Fast Foot Balboa competitions. As a teacher, her goal is to help students find joy, confidence, creative expression, and connection to community through movement.
Josh Pritts
Josh started swing dancing as a 2019 new year’s resolution, initially focusing on Lindy Hop and West Coast. He has been passionate about Balboa since 2021. Josh has studied Balboa all over the world, e.g., Japan, United States, Germany. In teaching, he likes finding simple ways to share seemingly complicated concepts.
Josh regularly travels for Lindy Hop and Balboa intensive weekends, and he began competing and making finals in 2024. He won first place in the 2026 Balorado amateur mix & match competition and second place at Summer Swing Fest--2025 open strictly & 2026 open mix & match.
Josh is a founding member of the Santa Fe Balboa Club, Santa Fe Swing Dance Society, and Breaking Bal swing festival. He teaches often in Santa Fe, New Mexico. By day, he is an embedded support contractor for NASA Johnson Space Center. He is actively involved in the management of the community run dance hall, Santa Fe Lodge #2, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mike Garcia
Mike started partner dancing in a ballroom studio in Santa Fe in 1997, teaching all ballroom styles before focusing on swing dance. His dedication to teaching and growing the swing scene in Santa Fe is remarkable. Mike realized early on that swing dancing was his calling. He is also passionate about Argentine Tango.
As a member of the local dance company High Altitude Swing, Mike taught and performed all over New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. He’s also worked with other local groups including the Santa Fe Social Club and Tango U.S.A., and has been a member of the Moving People dance company since 2000.
An evangelist of swing, Mike has taught swing dance at St. John’s College, the College of Santa Fe, the World College in Las Vegas, N.M., and for a year was a mentor at the Monte Del Sol middle school. Mike’s quest to learn from the best teachers and dancers in the world has taken him as far as Sweden. Among his coaches was Frankie Manning, the “Ambassador of Lindy Hop.”
Elli Hindmarch
Elli enjoys sharing her love of swing dance, music and performance with everyone! Elli Hindmarch began partner dancing in 1998 at the teen center Warehouse 21 in Santa Fe, NM and fell in love with this art form! Initially learning then teaching swing dancing, she later also dove into Argentine Tango. She has since taught, danced, performed, and competed in these styles and in places as far flung as Los Angeles, New York, Argentina & Sweden.