Meet Shannon and Bill

Shannon Butler is a third-generation swing dancer whose passion for movement was ignited in early childhood. At just four years old, she began learning social dances from her mother and received formal training from her great-aunt, a dance school owner. Her grandparents—avid Collegiate Shag and Lindy Hop dancers—filled family gatherings with big-band music and dancing, sparking a lifelong love of social dance at the vibrant intersection of music and community.

In the early 1990s, Shannon discovered a small local live music and dance scene which soon led to teaching, performing, and competing. By 1997, she joined dance historian Lance Benishek’s Vernacular Dance Ensemble, where she studied and performed social dances spanning the early 1900s through 1970. Their collaboration as educators continued until his passing in 2020.

Shannon had the rare privilege of learning directly from original-era legends including Betty (Henderson) Wood, Frankie Manning, and Chester Whitmore. She danced in stage productions with icons including Norma Miller and The Nicholas Brothers. Her career includes national and international teaching engagements, appearances in two films, television performances featuring Lindy Hop and Collegiate Shag, two national TV commercials, music videos, and dancing for a live audience of nearly 65,000.

Her formative experience of learning dance in nurturing, inclusive, and patient environment shapes her approach to teaching and community building. Shannon strives to keep dance accessible to all. By day she offers engagement opportunities to learners of a wide variety of ages and ability including chair dancing options for people with low mobility. In the evenings she organizes events and hosts weekly live music dance nights that bring people together. For her, the dance floor is a place of joy, expression, and connection—and she hopes to inspire her students to discover that same spark of happiness through music and movement.

Shannon and Bill met through social dancing. After marrying, they became teaching, performing and competition partners. Together they have taught across the US and overseas. In 2004 they founded Swing Dance Wednesday Night Twin Cites – the Twin Cities longest-running weekly swing dance featuring live music, and later Miss Shannon’s Sock Hop the name of their popular monthly live music dance night, which shares the name of their interactive historic dance performances. They hope you’ll join us on the dance floor soon.