Our Community

Terry has taught thousands of students the basics of East Coast swing in Vermont since 1983. Students appreciate his detailed break-down of moves and fun style of teaching. While he dabbles with other dance styles, including various ballroom dances and Argentine Tango, swing is his mainstay. In addition to his passion for social dancing and local politics, Terry spends a great deal of time as a house husband, and along with his wife and dance partner, Cate, raising their two children.

Cate met her husband, Terry Bouricius, while a student in his Latin ballroom dance class in 1988. Shortly thereafter, Terry taught Cate East Swing and they have been swing dancing together ever since.  They began Lindy in 1993 on their honeymoon in Seattle, WA. Cate works as a middle school teacher, co-teaches many of our dance lessons with Terry, and is Vermont Swings band coordinator and co-treasurer.

Jessie has been joyously dancing through her life since elementary school. She has explored many forms of dance including tap, jazz, salsa, and stepping. She began taking dance classes again as an adult in 2016. She loves all forms of dance, but especially loves the joyous and playful expression of lindy hop and the warm and welcoming community of Vermont Swings. In addition to her experience dancing, she is a licensed Vermont educator and has been the director of an independent middle school since 2017. She started teaching with Vermont Swings in January of 2023 and loves to encourage new students and help them find joy in learning. Jessie joined the Vermont Swings board in May of 2023 and is excited to help foster the growth of this wonderful multigenerational community.

Eric took his first dance lesson when he was 10, when his mother needed a partner to practice two step dancing around the local community center. He began taking regular dance lessons in salsa and other related styles of latin dance in his early 20s. He took his first swing dance lesson at Humboldt State in 2014, before moving to Vermont in 2015. He first began teaching swing dance with Vermont Swings in 2016, and has continued to teach with them regularly since then in various styles, including Lindy Hop, Collegiate Shag, Charleston, and Balboa. Eric greatly enjoys teaching swing to both brand new and experienced dancers alike, and particularly enjoys sharing his love of Collegiate Shag. When traveling, he is sure to visit the local swing dance scene and treasures the memories he’s made connecting with people around the world through swing dancing. 

A swing dancer since 2002, John has taken classes with top instructors from around the world and travels to many events, returning with new moves and excitement for whatever event is next. Known for his easygoing classes, he enthusiastically helps others learn, in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere. John has been serving as DJ for several years and always has an ear open for new music. You can find him at virtually every Vermont Swings practice session, event, and class.

A swing dancer since 2002, John has taken classes with top instructors from around the world and travels to many events, returning with new moves and excitement for whatever event is next. Known for his easygoing classes, he enthusiastically helps others learn, in a friendly and comfortable atmosphere. John has been serving as DJ for several years and always has an ear open for new music. You can find him at virtually every Vermont Swings practice session, event, and class.

A SoCal native, Luc learned to dance at Atomic Ballroom in Irvine, California. Since then, he’s danced, performed, and competed all over the US and Canada. Luc has been teaching classes and private lessons in Vermont since Spring 2021 and enjoys sharing his passion for Lindy Hop with anyone eager to learn.

Lisa spent many of her early years dancing informally whenever she had the chance. She was always inspired by watching other dancers in movies and on stage, especially high energy swing dancing and wanted very much to get thrown in to the air! Upon moving to Vermont, Lisa began taking lessons at Vermont Swings in 2016, and soon began performing with Just for Kicks, adding choreography for the dance troupe to her repertoire. Her favorite dances are Lindy Hop, Charleston and Collegiate Shag, and if there were more hours in the day, there would be more dances to enjoy.  When she’s not dancing, she’s raising her 2 daughters and works as a nurse. Lisa hopes to inspire others that admire dance to come join this wonderful community. It’s well worth the time and effort to do something healthy for mind and body and make some fabulous friends!

Ever since she was young, dancing has been in Sherri’s soul. It doesn’t matter where, she is always dancing in the kitchen, at the grocery store, and most places that she goes. Over the years she has taken dance lessons in a variety of genre including ballroom dance, Argentine Tango, 2 Step, Belly dance, hip hop, and most recently with VT Swings. Having moved to VT in 2022, Sherri immediately began taking lessons with VT Swings – and has loved every minute of it. With the wonderful opportunities for dance and instruction, she has been enjoying both 6 count East Coast Swing, 8 count Lindy and Charleston, Solo Jazz, and so much more! When traveling, she enjoys finding local Lindy clubs and has enjoyed both Swing Camp and Dance Festivals. Too many fun places to dance, too little time and money! While she has not performed on stage as a swing dancer, she has performed on stage as part of a Belly Dance group in a previous life. Sherri is known for making many of her dance outfits. She has been a board member since 2025.

Rae joined the world of East Coast Swing in 2023, taking her first official dance lesson at VT Swings, and later joining their admin team in 2025. Rae has always loved and appreciated the art of music, dance and theater, thinking one day she’d be a ballerina until some friends triple-stepped a new passion into her life. Tapping into some other avenues of dance in her downtime such as Country Swing, Tango and Contemporary, Rae finds the most joy in just keeping her feet and groove moving. She works as a Dental Billing Specialist in the day, and studies her college Accounting at night, except for Tuesday evenings where she’s either helping introduce budding dancers to some basics in social dances, or learning new moves herself. “VT Swings feels like home to me and not a day goes by where I don’t wish to get back out on the dance floor! I’ve met the loveliest people here and simply couldn’t imagine my life without knowing VT Swings. “- Rae.