Today we’d like to introduce you to Alesandra Bull.
Hi Alesandra, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
In 2013, I was first introduced to the Houston Swing Dance Society, a non-profit with a long history in Houston that provided accessible and affordable swing dancing to all people. There was always a big focus on community and enjoying the rich history of jazz music and swing dancing, particularly the music and dancing that came from Harlem, New York, in the 1920s-1940s.
I immediately fell in love with the community, the music, and the history. By 2015, I joined the board of directors, and in 2016, I was leading all local activities for the organization. In 2020, I took over our annual festival, which has been held in Houston since 1997, and after several years, I brought the festival back in 2023. In mid-2025, as costs were rising around the city and our community was struggling to grow, for the first time in our organization’s history, I took the initiative and found a space in the east end of downtown that we could rent full-time and build our very own dance home.
With my husband and a team of incredible local community members, we spent two months building our very own wood dance floor, we painted walls, found second-hand furniture, and raised funds to transform a warehouse space into a vibrant dance space. This has been a huge step for us to provide security for our dance organization and to help other dance organizations in Houston to find an accessible and affordable space to host their own community classes and social dances.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We, as an organization, have been completely volunteer-run since 1997. We often spent our own time and money to train teachers, rent space, invest in music, and host social dances. Volunteer burnout is a huge struggle, but thankfully, we have had a long history of incredible directors who have poured so much time and effort into keeping our organization going. I’m honored to have led this local organization for quite a few years now and to have helped build such a strong community around me that has brought our annual festival back and helped physically build out our new home.
One of our biggest challenges with building our own space was that we had never built a sprung wood floor before! As we researched plans and decided on the layout, dozens of community members came every weekend last summer to help us with the physical labor. Now that our space has been open for 6 months, so many dancers have come to attend our weekly classes, our social dances, and volunteered with the small things like cleaning up after a dance, sweeping the floor, or watering our plants.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
While I have been the community leader for the Houston Swing Dance Society for many years, I began my journey as a brand-new social dancer in 2013. I took classes, traveled to take workshops, and spent time practicing and learning alongside my community. I’m not an expert who teaches all the classes- even now, I’m lucky to have so many other teachers who teach alongside me in Houston, so I can focus on organizing, spreadsheets, and registration software. I’m also a mom and wife. I met my husband at the Houston Swing Dance Society, and our 5-year old comes with us to all of our classes. It’s helped us find balance in creating a social dance space that’s open to all people. We find a lot of new people want to join us who have just moved to Houston and are looking for community or activities outside of the bar scene. Families join us and immediately find the kids’ corner that we keep stocked with activities. People of all ages find our classes welcoming, as we don’t use gendered language, and our social dances are focused on the community within and finding a comfortable way to dance and enjoy this culturally rich dance form. We have teachers, volunteers, and DJs of all gender representations, all ages, and all walks of life. I have always wanted to see a community that highlights the rich diversity of our city and prioritizes elevating people from within. I’m grateful that I’ve been present in the dance community for so long that I can make time and space to listen to the needs of our people as changes arise.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Definitely a lot of good luck in my life, and how I came to find a leadership role with HSDS. I originally came out to classes so I could hang out with my sister, and right away, I met my husband. When I attended my first Lindy hop festival in Houston, I had no idea that I would one day be taking over that festival as the artistic director, but I remember thinking that I would love to have a strong role in organizing such an incredible weekend experience. The transition during the pandemic was hard on all arts organizations, but we suddenly needed to cancel the event in Houston that was set to take place in March 2020, and I was part of the decision-making team since I was here in Houston and part of getting the word out. After the cancellation, the previous organizers decided they needed to focus on several other national and international festivals they were producing and moving virtual. I was incredibly honored that they felt the work I was doing locally meant I could take over this Houston dance festival. I’m not sure if that was bad luck turned lucky, or right place, right time, but I’m so grateful for the opportunity. I’ve now successfully hosted 3 years of the festival, and in a few short weeks, I will host my 4th year!
Pricing:
- social dance every Sunday at Everton Hall for $15 includes a beginner drop in class at 7 PM!
- Beginner workshop at Lindyfest $99
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hsds.org www.lindyfest.org
- Instagram: @houstonswingdancesociety @lindyfest
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HoustonSwingDanceSociety https://www.facebook.com/Lindyfest/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@HSDSLindyfest
Image Credits
Photos of Houston Swing Dance Society by Jerry Foote. Photos at Lindyfest by Jerry Almonte
