(Emily) Jo Blogberg

I don’t know why this came as such as surprise to me, but it did: I love Jo Hoffberg’s blog. There, I said it.

That’s Jo. She’s trying to reach something on the other side of the couch, apparently. Photo is from the Killer Dillers Flickr photostream.

If you’d like a realistic look into the life of a lindy hop rockstar, her blog is the place to go. You don’t just get posts about travel to exotic locales for workshops and festivals, but insights into her personal interests and work ethic. It’s also interesting to get her impressions of the events she works on. I especially enjoy reading the “fun facts” she posts after events reviews.

She puts a lot of work into her blog and website. It shows.

I’ll tell you what, this gal works hard! (Take a look at her schedule for the past two weeks). You get to see a little bit of what is like to travel the world to instruct and also be a part of a world-class troupe of dancers. i.e. The Killer Dillers.

She’s also funny. In that same post about her travels, she recommends taking advantage of full dress rehearsals because “you’d want to know if your who-ha was going to be showing before you got on stage.” Good advice!

I’m trying to figure out what it is I had against her. I think it's because a friend of mine (cough*CS*cough) prejudiced me against her.

Did I mistake her confidence for smugness? She is a bit of a ham, but I think that’s an intentional part she’s playing as a performer. You can watch this video and judge for yourself.



She and Peter Strom are both hams, which I think made this pairing especially entertaining. They play off each other so well, which is only possible through great connection.

Either way, it’s easy to see that she’s a fantastic dancer. She’s also a great instructor. I took several of her and Kevin’s workshops at Lindy Focus last year (including a really solid one on spins/turns) and walked (or should I say danced) away very impressed. The classes were informative, entertaining and well paced for the level. I have an acquaintance that swears by their private lessons.

Jo also contributes to Swing Fashionista, a swing/vintage fashion lookbook.