Our Club Directors

Ana Madigan - President
In 2010 I retired to Idaho and it was in 2011 that I was introduced to the HDSDC' monthly dances and lessons. Music holds a special place in my heart as I grew up dancing Salsa, Cha cha and merengue. I have served in three different positions on the board and look forward to helping others enjoy dancing as much as I do by providing music they can dance to. I have 5 grandsons that also keep me busy and two daughters I love dearly.

Jennifer Babione - Vice-President
Jennifer has been couples dancing since October 2002, after stumbling upon free dance lessons at Shorty's. Soon after, she found the High Desert Swing Dance Club and became a board member in 2004, serving for the next 8 years. Jennifer began teaching swing dance in the Treasure Valley in 2005 and opened the Lessons in Dance studio in February 2006; she has been teaching swing and country dance in the valley ever since. As well as teaching locally, she has enjoyed competing, teaching, and judging on the United Country Western Dance Council circuit throughout the country. Jennifer has been the Events Director and DJ for the Idaho Country Western Dance Association since 2019, and enjoys assisting all of the local dance clubs to spread the joy of dance. Jennifer met her husband Thomas on the dance floor at the Nampa Eagles Lodge. They were married in 2006 and enjoy teaching, competing, and spreading the love of dance and friendship together.

Roger Sleger - Secretary
Swing Club history:
Board of Director member since 2006.
Records Retention and Historian since 2006.
Sound equipment manager since 2008.
Email messaging manager since 2013.
Re-established club's lost nonprofit status in 2015.
Developed new web pages in 2017.
Personal:
Married 58 years to Sarah - best friend ever!
Three children, six grandchildren and one GREAT grandchild!
Retired Research & Development Engineer.
46 years of dancing history.

Cathy Henry - Treasurer
No information as yet.

Debbie Cook - Events Director
Debbie grew up in a small western Montana town and started dancing when she was old enough to sneak into the local honky tonk bar to dance country swing with the cowboys! In the late 1990's she became a passionate student of dance, taking lessons in all couples dance styles and often social dancing seven nights a week. She has competed on the United Country Western Dance Council (UCWDC) circuit for 23 years, graduating from amateur to professional and winning 4 UCWDC World Championships. Debbie is accomplished in ballroom, country and west coast swing, and continues to share her passion for dance through teaching group and private lessons, and coaching/dancing with her UCWDC pro-am students. She is also a choreographer and UCWDC apprentice judge.

Jeanette Germain - Advisor
Jeanette is mostly retired from a career as a journalist, editor, and fundraiser for non-profit organizations. She manages our club's MeetUp website. She has three grown daughters and one grandson. She likes to swing dance, hike, camp, garden, cook and watch birds.

David Lovelace - Webmaster
David learned to dance in Reno Nevada. West Coast Swing has always been his favorite. In his own words, "West Coast Swing is the best dance, because of its balance between freedom and structure. The genius of the passive lead coupled with an anchor step allows the freedom to dance what you want while staying connected to your partner. Plus I like the music that it is danced to."
Our Club Directors

Ana Madigan
President
In 2010 I retired to Idaho and it was in 2011 that I was introduced to the HDSDC' monthly dances and lessons. Music holds a special place in my heart as I grew up dancing Salsa, Cha cha and merengue. I have served in three different positions on the board and look forward to helping others enjoy dancing as much as I do by providing music they can dance to. I have 5 grandsons that also keep me busy and two daughters I love dearly.

Jennifer Babione
Vice-President
Jennifer has been couples dancing since October 2002, after stumbling upon free dance lessons at Shorty's. Soon after, she found the High Desert Swing Dance Club and became a board member in 2004, serving for the next 8 years. Jennifer began teaching swing dance in the Treasure Valley in 2005 and opened the Lessons in Dance studio in February 2006; she has been teaching swing and country dance in the valley ever since. As well as teaching locally, she has enjoyed competing, teaching, and judging on the United Country Western Dance Council circuit throughout the country. Jennifer has been the Events Director and DJ for the Idaho Country Western Dance Association since 2019, and enjoys assisting all of the local dance clubs to spread the joy of dance. Jennifer met her husband Thomas on the dance floor at the Nampa Eagles Lodge. They were married in 2006 and enjoy teaching, competing, and spreading the love of dance and friendship together.

Roger Sleger
Secretary
Swing Club history:
Board of Director member since 2006.
Records Retention and Historian since 2006.
Sound equipment manager since 2008.
Email messaging manager since 2013.
Re-established club's lost nonprofit status in 2015.
Developed new web pages in 2017.
Personal:
Married 57 years to Sarah - best friend ever!
Three children and six grandchildren.
Retired Research & Development Engineer.
46 years of dancing history.

Cathy Henry
Treasurer
Cathy will provide information soon.

Debbie Cook
Events Director
Debbie grew up in a small western Montana town and started dancing when she was old enough to sneak into the local honky tonk bar to dance country swing with the cowboys! In the late 1990's she became a passionate student of dance, taking lessons in all couples dance styles and often social dancing seven nights a week. She has competed on the United Country Western Dance Council (UCWDC) circuit for 23 years, graduating from amateur to professional and winning 4 UCWDC World Championships. Debbie is accomplished in ballroom, country and west coast swing, and continues to share her passion for dance through teaching group and private lessons, and coaching/dancing with her UCWDC pro-am students. She is also a choreographer and UCWDC apprentice judge.

Jeanette Germain
Advisor
Jeanette is mostly retired from a career as a journalist, editor, and fundraiser for non-profit organizations. She manages our club's MeetUp website. She has three grown daughters and one grandson. She likes to swing dance, hike, camp, garden, cook and watch birds.

David Lovelace
Webmaster
David learned to dance in Reno Nevada. West Coast Swing has always been his favorite. In his own words, "West Coast Swing is the best dance, because of its balance between freedom and structure. The genius of the passive lead coupled with an anchor step allows the freedom to dance what you want while staying connected to your partner. Plus I like the music that it is danced to."