SwingShoes Entertainment

SwingShoes Entertainment LLC was formed in December of 2006 by Erik Novoa. It is a business entity to (a) teach people how to dance, (b) provide a fun environment in which to dance, (c) host guest instructors and DJs, and (d) introduce people to partner dance performances both as participants and as spectators.

The web site

Erik informally started this business in 2002 with his web site www.SwingShoes.net, where he began highlighting the accolades professional West Coast Swing and Hustle career. In this initial web site, Erik featured dance classes he taught in New York City, private lessons and dance events at which he was hired.

Going full time dance

It was not until 2005 that Erik left his daytime real estate job in New York City and moved to Connecticut where he gave his former moonlighting dance hobby 90 days to either make it or fail. Erik's first dance in Connecticut was held at Al's Place in Fairfield, a small dive bar in a great location. Fortunately, Erik's dance ability was already known in the Connecticut marketplace and numerous people attended that first dance that he held.

In addition to Erik's good reputation as a dancer, he was also a hard worker. He networked with other dancers in the Connecticut, made house calls to teach private lessons in CT and traveled to a 4 other states (NY, NJ, PA, MA) to teach private lessons each month.

Perfect timing

His timing could not have been more apropos either. In the end of 2006, the Terrace Club closed. The Terrace Club, located in Stamford, CT, had been the home for ballroom dancing and many forms of weekly partner dancing. When it closed, it created a dearth in the dance community. Erik filled the void by creating weekly Monday West Coast Swing nights at Al's Place.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Erik Novoa and SwingShoes Entertainment has taken the southern Connecticut region by storm. In mid-2006, SwingShoes Entertainment won Moffly Publication's Best of the Gold Coast award for the Best Way to Get in Step. Since then, Erik has gone on to teach hundreds of people how to dance Hustle and West Coast Swing. He has built a dance community of people who not only dance together but have forged friendships off the dance floor.

The direct influence of SwingShoes Entertainment can be seen in people throughout Connecticut, in New York City (where Erik still hosts a monthly party), and throughout the Northeast region as one of the guest instructors for numerous dance events.