More than 120 dancers from Montana, Colorado, Washington and California came to Kalispell on June 20 for the four-day Big Sky swing dance workshop, starting things off with a beginners basic lesson and a dance at Sassafras Ballroom in Kalispell. 

 The 2014 workshop, which drew more than double the attendance of the 2013 event, was hosted by North End Swing, the leaders and facilitators of the swing dance scene in Kalispell. Pete Milne, Joe Juneman and Levi Hoch organize the locations, schedule and as much of the housing as they could manage. 

This year had a special significance for instructor Peter Flahiff of Santa Ana, California, an instructor at the Atomic Ballroom. 

“I've been coming out to Montana to teach for about five years now. It absolutely amazes and humbles me to see how many people come to these events now,” Flahiff said. “I have love for teaching, especially in what are sometimes considered ‘smaller’ scenes. But Montana has a special place in my heart, forever.”

At the start of the final dance Flahiff climbed up to the balcony. As he watched he wore a quiet smile on his face.

“I've been coming out to teach in Montana because a friend asked me to,,” he said, “and I'm always thrilled to go anywhere that anyone will let me share with them. The fact that the enthusiasm just kept growing and growing is a wondrous thing to me and now, after these years, there is a swing scene in Western Montana that is strong in both numbers and skill. I'm incredibly proud to have been able to be the lucky one that was able to plant this seed.”

The spirit of the Big Sky workshop goes on throughout the year with North End Swing dances at the Sassafras Ballroom on Main Street the first and third Friday of each month. (There will be no dance on July 4.)

 Upcoming events for North End Swing include the third annual Smooth Sailing event, tentatively schedule for August. The group will rent out the Far West Boat Tours boat for a sunset sail and swing dance on the Flathead Lake. The event has become a favorite, bringing in dancers from around Montana.

Plans for Big Sky 2015 are already underway and several of the instructors are planning a return later this year. 

For more information check out www.northendswing.com. They can also be found on Facebook.