Bio Marcus & Bärbl

Marcus and Bärbl are one of the longest running instructor and dance couples in the world of swing. They have been dancing together since 1991 (32 years). Their teaching, performances, instructional videos, the Killer Boogie routine, and their famous Rock That Swing event have contributed enormously to the Swing dance community and have influenced many dancers worldwide.

Their journey began with Boogie Woogie. Nowadays they are one of the few couples that teach and inspire through all the major Swing dances, from Boogie Woogie to Hollywood and Savoy Style Lindy Hop, Collegiate Shag, Balboa, Charleston, Vernacular Jazz, and the Big Apple.

Marcus and Bärbl were pioneers at a time when Swing and Boogie Woogie were hardly known. It all started when they discovered that some of the original dancers were still alive. In order to get to the source of their passion, they two moved to the USA for four years. There they had the fortune to meet and work with many of the original Swing dancers such as Frankie Manning, Norma Miller, Jean Veloz, Ray Hirsch, Gil Bradey, Ann and John Mills, Freda Angela, Willie Desatoff, Hal Takier, Bart Bartolo, Irene Thomas, Betty Wood, and many more.

Over the years they have tirelessly passed on their passion and knowledge. They not only established these dances in Germany, but also carried them to many other countries around the world — either personally or through their world-famous World of Swing dance instruction videos.

During their competition career they achieved numerous World, US, and national titles in Boogie Woogie, Lindy Hop, Balboa, and Shag. Their hard work has been rewarded with the coveted Feather Award in the USA in 1996 and 1997 and the International Dance Teacher Award in Germany in 2002. In 2017 they received the coveted Frankie Manning Award.

Even this sounds impressive, most important to them are not their titles but to spread the joy, passion, and knowledge of those dances.

They have been running their Vintage Club studio in the heart of Munich since December 2011. Since 2005, Bärbl and Marcus have been organizing the Munich Balboa and Shag Weekend and the world-famous Rock That Swing Festival, which, with over 3,500 participants from 35 nations, has become one of the world’s largest gatherings for dances from the 20s to 50s.