Graceful and fiery. Feminine yet dynamic. Known for her swivels. Teni Lopez-Cardenas began dancing Lindy hop as a lucky fluke in college. Within a year, she was invited to join the Denver-based team 23 Skidoo!, which went on to win 4 National Championships over the next 2 years. Since then, Teni has become an accomplished competitor, teacher, and performer, and has had the pleasure of working with many well-known leads.

In the classroom, Teni maintains a fun and accessible attitude while focusing on the importance of connection, body awareness, and technique. Her passion for the dance shines through in her teaching, and she strives to instill a sense of playfulness while encouraging her students to develop their own personal style. To achieve these goals, she makes a lot of sound effects, draws pictures in the air, makes faces, and generally just makes a fool of herself.

Teni is happiest when dancing her heart out, and she loves to perform and compete; she has performed for events such as the Great Southwest Lindyfest and Camp Jitterbug’s Jump Session Show, as well as for various events in the Denver area. On the competition circuit, Teni is one of the few unpartnered follows to consistently place in top Lindy Hop and Balboa divisions at many prestigious events including the International Lindy Hop Championships, Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, American Classic Balboa Championships, American Lindy Hop Championships, Lindy Focus, Eastern Balboa Championships, National Jitterbug Championships, and Lindy on the Rocks.