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Za Thomaier and Larisa Tingle

@zinglewcs

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followers

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following

Professional West Coast Swing dancers 💃🕺
@zathomaierdance @larisatingle

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Where to find us in September!

- ESS Phoenix
- Boston Workshop Weekend
- Retaliation Swing in Seattle
- After Dark in LA

We’re available for lessons, video reviews, and routine coaching! Dm us for availability at any of these events or home in San Diego.

We are also offering discounted lesson packages - dm us for more information! by @zinglewcs

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a month ago

The less glamorous side of the dance life- it’s not always pretty but she’s trying 🤣🤣🤣

#westcoastswing #dance #improv #westie #partnerdancing #wcs #music #practice by @zinglewcs

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9 months ago

Side by side for our first contest as a couple, and first place was just the cherry on top 🥇🍒

Event - Floorplay 2026 @floorplayswingvacationnye
Leader - Za Thomaier @zathomaierdance
Follower - Larisa Tingle @larisatingle
Contest - Allstar Champion Strictly

#westcoastswing #dance #improv #westie #partnerdancing #wcs #dancers #music by @zinglewcs

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9 months ago

A little Louis Armstrong, a lot of spins, and my favorite dance partner. ♥️

Atlanta Swing Classic 2026 was amazing! Thank you to Alan and PJ for having us. by @zinglewcs

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a day ago

DO THIS, NOT THAT 👀

We’re starting a new series breaking down things we see on the social floor and showing you how to make them better, safer, and more connected.

👉 DO THIS:
- Toss the hands out on a downward arc and follower continues arc around and up in their arms
- Leaders allowing followers to rotate left and right, followers moving themselves
- Leaders gently initiate dip at an angle
- Followers maintain core and back tone as they do the dip

🚫 NOT THAT:
- Leaders tossing the hands straight down
- Leaders pulling follower back and forth
- Dip is a surprise and straight down
- Followers release all tone and “splat” as dead weight in the dip

✨ FOR FUN: turn the dip into a lean and shape it!

Have a move you want help with? Send it to us and we’ll help make it work better! 💃🕺

#westcoastswing #wcs #westcoastswingtips #danceconnection #dancetechnique taken in Balboa Park, San Diego, California by @zinglewcs

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3 days ago

Sometimes the best way to get through a hard practice… is to stop practicing. 😂

Late night, a few hours of routine work, and our brains were DONE.

When you’re also a couple working together, practice can get hard (and sometimes frustrating). These little reset dances are our way of letting go of the work for a minute, reconnecting, and remembering why we love dancing together. 🤍

#westcoastswing #wcs #partnerdancing #danceconnection taken in San Diego, California by @zinglewcs

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4 days ago

When your other job is in architecture, you want to dance in front of all the cool buildings 😂
Ps - brutalist architecture is amazing!!!
Song - Brutalist by Kim Petras
Location - Boston City Hall

#bostoncityhall #westcoastswing #travel taken in Boston City Hall by @zinglewcs

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6 days ago

DO THIS, NOT THAT 👀

We’re starting a new series breaking down things we see on the social floor and showing you how to make them better, safer, and more connected.

This move is all about followers energy and leaders reactions!

👉 DO THIS:
- Leader reacts to partner and waits to see what follower will do
- Leader responds with and upward arc in the hand and frame
- Follower stays in stretch and continued momentum away into the variation
- Follower initiated rotation with hip and ronde and follow through with the upper body as the leader responds

🚫 NOT THAT:
- Leader set in position before follower landed and initiated the variation.
- Leader responds with hand straight up and down
- Follower stopped momentum and sent foot then hand separately without initiating rotational energy internally
- Follower in neutral not stretch

✨ FOR FUN: Leader continues the rotation around the follower into a new exit!

Have a move you want help with? Send it to us and we’ll help make it work better! 💃🕺

#WestCoastSwing #WCS #WestCoastSwingTips #DanceConnection #DanceTechnique by @zinglewcs

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7 days ago

On @midnightmadness_wcs staff @zinglewcs

Larisa Tingle @larisatingle and Za Thomaier @zathomaierdance are Champion-level West Coast Swing professionals based in San Diego. Larisa brings a background in music, 20+ years of dance experience, and is an internationally sought-after coach, judge, and performer. Za has trained in 24+ dance styles and is a teacher, DJ, event producer, and community leader. Together, they inspire dancers worldwide through exceptional instruction, musicality, and connection.

Register now
@midnightmadness_wcs
November 13th-15th

#midnightmadness #danceconnectrepeat #globalgroove taken in Hyatt Regency DFW by @zinglewcs

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13 days ago

Story time: So my professional/life/romantic partner/Larisa Tingle and I had a what I would consider an unpleasant experience. We are both circuit and local pros, and we heard through a friend that someone was boycotting our classes. Now to be clear, that is totally fine - you don’t have to go to anyone’s classes. Learn from whoever you want! But the reasoning has me baffled.

We showed up to a local dance, we danced multiple songs with each other, then we danced with others for a few songs, came back to each other and danced a couple songs, repeated the process several times before we left. Later we were told that this behavior as a pro couple was unacceptable, and that they were going to boycott our classes in protest of our behavior. I will also add that we were not there to teach the class, we were not paid to be there to social dance or dj, and we are not involved in the dance organization in any way. We decided to come out to the local dance as normal attendees.

Now, I will admit. I do love dancing with my partner. She is my favorite person to dance with and I love every second. And I can be selfish in “hogging her”. However I also thought that as her romantic and professional partner, I have the right to feel that and to act on these feelings. And I can understand that some people would feel disappoint at not getting a chance to dance with a higher level dancer. I have felt the same thing many times.

But what is different for me seems to be the expectation. When I was a newer dancer, we understood that everyone, as well as pros, will generally dance more with their friends and partners and we would encourage but not enforce people to dance with everyone. But at no point did I ever feel that I was owed a dance by a pro or that the pro was obligated to dance with everybody.

I am really curious if the culture has switched this much. Is this now the norm? Is there an expectation that when a pro couple comes to a social dance that they should only dance with other people?

From my perspective, these statements and actions feel like I am only allowed to show up in the community as an object of service.

What are the community’s thoughts on this? by @zinglewcs

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14 days ago

We rarely stop to notice the care, the patience, the love, and the dedication that quietly hold the greatest things together. Larisa, I find myself in genuine awe of how much you pour into everything you touch.

Larisa Tingle, you are absolutely amazing. Every single day I am baffled by how lucky I am. And the more I sit with that, the more I realize that love, care, and dedication like this does something to a person. It doesn’t just feel good. It calls you forward. It makes you want to become.

The love and care you give to your work, to your students, to your friends, to our pets. The way your intellect shows up in the best ways, whether it’s buildings trivia or weird science or culture or community, The management of 10 different lives. Every day with you is a fun little adventure, and every day I feel myself becoming more of who I’m meant to be.

Like the greatest structures on earth, what endures takes planning, a solid foundation, and the right people building it together. I am so grateful to be building with you. (that’s an architecture reference!)

From the depths of my heart, I love you. Truly and completely. Thank you for letting me into your life, and for beginning a new one with me. I am looking forward to so much more.

Your Love, Za by @zinglewcs

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15 days ago

What a sick dance to start Retaliation’s invitational Jnj!
Official video coming soon so enjoy this clip of Za and Marie killing it!

Event- @retaliationswing
Invitational Jnj
Leader- @zathomaierdance
Follower- @marpascote
#westcoastswing #wcs #swingdance #partnerdancing #dancetechnique by @zinglewcs

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16 days ago