Birkley Wisniewski

Bio

By

nye-bannerI first started swing dancing (Lindy Hop) in the fall of 2002 when the swing dance scene had just begun. I founded Sugar Swing in 2005, and dancing became my full-time career since 2009. Sugar Swing is one of Canada’s larger swing dance schools and one of only a few companies that has a facility dedicated to swing dancing.

Birkley has a strong work ethic and relentless passion for jazz music and swing dance. He has gained years of experience in a variety of roles through swing dance; dancer, instructor, team coach, deejay, choreographer, performer, music coordinator, events organizer, and studio owner. His specialties predominantly relate to Lindy Hop and solo jazz dance, and in more current years Tap and Balboa.

A son of teacher/farmer parents, he grew up on a farm in rural Alberta with siblings Amy, Evan, and Ben before moving to Edmonton to complete a degree in Electrical Engineering. After working this career for a few years, he felt this career was not for him, and instead pursued his thriving business in Lindy Hop instead. He met his spouse Jenna in 2006 and precious cat Nova in 2020. His side projects include owning/operating a few rental suites, refinishing hardwood floors, home renos & construction, and computer things.

Career Highlights:

  • Show producer/director/choreographer, Swing Showcase, Edmonton Fringe Festival (2018, 2019)
  • Staff deejaying at Herrang Dance Camp, Sweden (2012 to 2017)
  • Workshop instructor, Winnipeg (2013), Saskatoon (2014, 2017), and St. John’s, NL (2016)
  • Competition DJ, Lindybout, Vancouver (2011 to 2013)
  • Choreographer/performer for featured numbers at the Winspear Centre for Music with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (2012-2019)
  • Lindybout champion (2015)
  • Dance and band coordination for the Royal Alberta Museum’s closing party (2015)
  • Founder and Director of two annual dance weekends: Lindy Harvest (2009-present), and Summer Solstice Swing Dance Festival (2013-present).

Above all else, Birkley is very proud of his role in building Edmonton’s thriving swing dance community. He simply wants to see rhythmic art grow and thrive in Edmonton, with more and more people getting into vernacular jazz, swing music, and dancing!

A little side story…

Truth be told, Birkley actually tried out Lindy Hop for the first time in winter 2001 for a semester at the University of Alberta and in fact attended the first Lindy Hop classes the ‘scene’ had ever run. He didn’t fall in love with it right away, and after a few months, abandoned the dance entirely for 16 months. Later, after walking past a promo booth, his old instructor Carl recognized him, called him out, and convinced Birkley to try it again — promising a fruitful extracurricular activity that involved girls. It took Birkley yet another two semesters to actually get hooked. A road trip to a major swing dance event called Camp Jitterbug in Seattle, Washington in May 2003 sealed the deal: after that, he was hooked and never looked back.

Event organizers:

A condensed version of this bio can be found on the CV page.