If there is one thing Marlboro’s own Chester and Linda Freeman know is that anyone can do anything they set their mind to. That belief has carried them through 20 successful years teaching swing dance to students here and around the world. It has also proven evident in the hundreds of students who have shown up in Got2Lindy dance classes eager to learn, many of whom end up staying and becoming an integral part of our area’s swing dance community.
Linda’s former colleagues didn’t understand the power of intention. “In 2004 no one could believe I was giving up a highly successful corporate career to teach swing dance with my husband. Our hobby had escalated into a passion, and we wanted to devote all our time to it. I was the executive director of global communications, employee recognition and training for a career consulting and outplacement firm, so my colleagues knew a thing or two about careers. But they didn’t know a thing about me.”
The Freemans are hitting two milestones this year: 20 years in business and 25 years in marriage. The secret of their success as an extraordinary teaching team and co-owners of Got2Lindy Dance Studios is that they work together with a sense of joy and the ability to contribute each of their skills and talents. Linda brings her extensive business and marketing background while Chester brings his talent as a musician and choreographer. “We genuinely love teaching together,” says Linda. “What makes us so good at it is I was the slow learner and Chester is quick, so we understand both learning styles. We also learned as adults, so we understand the fear of learning something new. We get it. We’ve been there. Neither of us knew how to dance until we learned how, and we don’t expect anyone to have anything but a collection of left feet.”
At Got2Lindy, no one needs to attend with a partner or have any experience to start. “We believe that dance is the best thing you can do for yourself: physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. Our mission is to turn non-dancers into dancers and strangers into friends,” says Linda. “From the beginning we wanted to make learning to dance fun, unintimidating and welcoming for all. What I didn’t realize was that it could also be life changing. Many of our students are adults in a life transition. Perhaps they are new to the area, or getting married, or divorced, or are widowed. For many, their kids are out of the house and they finally can focus on themselves and what they have always wanted to do.”
Devoting their time, energy and substantial skills to doing what they love best, brought the Freemans teaching gigs all over the world, but their home base has always been the Hudson Valley, where they specialize in Lindy Hop, the authentic form of swing dance, and working one-on-one with wedding couples in the style appropriate to their song. They were named the best wedding dance studio on the Knot, a prestigious wedding website, in 2022, 2023, and 2024, based on stellar customer reviews.
They teach private lessons, run classes and workshops, and hold big monthly dances with live bands in Kingston. Known for their fun and engaging style, they also headline dance events for many organizations such as Bard’s annual Spiegeltent Summertime Swing and teach in arts in education programs, including five years at Violet Avenue Elementary School in Poughkeepsie, where their work was filmed by the Children’s Media Project and used for a national TV campaign. Linda and Chester were also the hosts of “The Swing Shift Radio Show” on WHVW 950 AM for three years and hosted a 7-part TV series of the same name held on PANDA TV out of Red Hook and were dance consultants for a German film being shot in the Hudson Valley.
“Teaching about the dance and its history is woven into how we teach. Lindy Hop is a dance born in Harlem, in the Savoy Ballroom, the only integrated ballroom in NYC during its too short but powerful life,” says Linda. “We honor the Black dancers whose footsteps we try to emulate and the Black musicians whose music we dance to.”
The Freemans studied all forms of ballroom dance before choosing to specialize in Lindy Hop and start Got2Lindy Dance Studios. One of their primary teachers was the world-renowned Frankie Manning, known as the Ambassador of Lindy Hop and winner of the Tony award for Choreography for the Broadway show Black and Blue. Chester was a member and assistant director of the Big Apple Lindy Hoppers performance troupe in New York City from 2002 until the pandemic and winner of a silver medal at the Canadian Lindy Hop Championships. Linda edited the original manuscript for Frankie Manning’s autobiography, “The Ambassador of Lindy Hop,” and co-taught with Frankie when the Freemans brought him to Kingston in 2006.
The Freemans will be celebrating their students and their 20-year anniversary at their Big Monthly Swing Dance on Saturday, October 5, with the Swing Shift Orchestra and special guest, Judy Pritchett, the long-time partner of Frankie Manning. Everyone is welcome and the dance kicks off with a beginner lesson included in the $25 admission.
“Many of our students leave their non-dancing partner at home,” adds Linda. “It’s a safe space to do that. Our classes and events are like that old TV show Cheers, only without the booze and with a lot more laughs. We give people someplace to go where everyone knows their name.”
For more information about Got2Lindy Dance Studios and dance classes, or to bring Linda and Chester to your school, organization or community, visit got2lindy.com or call 845-236-3939.