House Talley

DJing

Aliceann

Aliceann has been playing music and partner dancing for most of her life, and is always inspired in new ways by the music. Believing the music is what drives these dances, she continues to dive into the history of vintage jazz and blues to collect new music that inspires dancers to move.

She keeps two things in mind while DJing - there should be enough variation that everyone will want to dance throughout the night, and everyone should have enough time to finish hugging before the next song starts.

Kemper

Kemper favors music that has authentic, historic roots in the Swing Era. He loves to play music from swing's early days to modern recreations, but heavily favors
the small combos and big bands of the 1930s and 40s. Outside of DJing, he enjoys leading the his classic swing small combo, the Jump Shop Sextet, as well as teaching local and regional dancers more about this thing we call swing.

Teaching

Aliceann

Aliceann is as passionate about her students as she is about her dancing, and is constantly working on new ways to help them learn - whether through teaching weekly lessons, hosting house practices, or coaching/choreographing for her performance team. She believes learning to dance should be fun, and that you don't need to master a particular set of moves in order to become a swing dancer.

Aliceann started dancing in 2001 before eventually falling in love with swing dancing, Carolina shag, and other vernacular dances. She strives to grow swing dancing on and off the dance floor through her classes, organizing lessons in Knoxville, and her event, Hard Knox.

Kemper

Kemper has been studying and dancing Lindy Hop since the summer of 2011. He is as passionate about the music and history of the swing era as he is about the dance, and his passion for teaching comes from his lifelong obsession with learning and growing. Kemper believes dancing is a form of personal expression, and hopes to help others better express themselves by empowering them with technical skills and providing an environment of exploration.

Outside of teaching, you can find Kemper behind the DJ booth, organizing events, or leading his swing band, the Jump Shop Sextet.

Aliceann & Kemper

Kemper and Aliceann consider themselves life long students and are continuously studying and training their dancing while also spreading their passion to their students both in and outside of Knoxville. The Talleys met and connected through their love of dance (and science) and have been cultivating swing dancing together in Knoxville since 2012.

Passionate about the music, history, and dance, Kemper and Aliceann enable their students to express themselves, improve, grow, and have fun. Together they push the growth of swing dancing in the Southeast and Midwest regions through teaching, coaching, competing, DJing, and organizing Hard Knox.

Band

Jump Shop Sextet

With a band specifically designed for dancers that swings hard, Kemper focuses on creating music music that has authentic, historic roots in the Swing Era. Always looking to add more tunes to get dancers out on the floor, the band features songs including old charts from the Benny Goodman Sextet, new charts from current bands like the Candy Jacket Jazz Band and Michael Gamble's Rhythm Serenaders, and a whole lot of swing from some of my favorite local musicians!

Contact Kemper directly if you're interested in bringing this group to your event.