Our Story
From yesterday to today, a passion passed down through generations!
Sharing our passions, passing on our knowledge, creating a two-person connection on the dance floor, building bonds over time. That is our driving force, what has made Temple du Swing come alive for more than 40 years…
A happy accident… It was indeed by chance that Lionel Deuquet — one of the school’s founders — discovered Be-Bop. While looking for a tap dance class — very fashionable at the time — he stumbled upon this dance and went on to become one of its leading figures.
In the early 1980s, he and Christine Boisney founded Temple du Swing to promote Be-Bop, whose Jazz music — more subtle than rock — brought that special something, that “chabada”, that “swing” they both loved and wanted to share.
In 1996, following a performance by Les Rats de Cave on one of the most-watched TV shows of the moment, they were invited by the Caveau de La Huchette to teach classes there. This legendary venue, a temple of Jazz and the backdrop of many films — including the multi-Oscar-winning La La Land — still hosts some of our classes today.
In 1993, Lena — who began Be-Bop at the age of 7 — joined the Rats de Cave company and contributed to its evolution. The trio was complete. In 2009, she proposed developing West Coast Swing within the school. A success that has only continued to grow, much like this dance born in California.
The venues have diversified too, from La Grotte — in La Frette-sur-Seine — to Montparnasse, which opened in 2021… Balancing roots and new directions, Temple du Swing today offers a wide range of partner dances, underpinned by a teaching approach that is both solid and ever-evolving — just like dance itself, a living art with many faces.
To learn more about the evolution of Temple du Swing, listen to Lena in episodes 12 & 13 of the “Swing Stories” Podcast…