DJs
Jovan “Casanova” Toussaint is a proud Boston native of Haitian descent and no stranger to the industry. He has been teaching and deejaying in the Kizomba scene for 11 years, and has worked to cultivate one of the strongest and most recognizable brands nationally.
Casanova’s ability to captivate any audience through infectious charisma, an unyielding confidence in his craft, and an immense amount of knowledge do not go unnoticed. His expertise and spirit of excellence both on and off the dance floor are what make him one of the most dynamically creative artists in the industry.
Fueled by his background in reiki and yoga, Nii infuses concepts of inner peace, communication, and healing to complement connection and musicality, letting him bring smooth flows and cosmic connections to the floor.
DJ Ceijay is one of the most well loved and followed leaders in the Urban Kiz Scene in Boston Mass. His love and passion for the dance can be heard and seen in both his amazing DJ sets and his smooth as butter lead on the dance floor. He is also an excellent instructor and really knows how to get to the root of each person's questions and/or instructional needs. If you are fortunate to be in his presence to see him dance and to hear his music mixing skills, he will leave you mesmerized and wanting the beats to never end!
Charles got his first taste of dance at the age of 8 in elementary through a program called "Believe In Me". In elementary and middle school he also played the flute, piano, and alto saxophone which gave him a keen sense of rhythm and musicality. He first learned the basic steps for salsa in his first year of college.
Charles soon found himself taking weekly classes and going out social dancing religiously. He quickly gained a strong foot in the basics and began adding his own energetic style and flavor. From here, Charles expanded his dancing to bachata, punta, samba, cha-cha, salsa on2, a bit of Cuban salsa, and now Kizomba. Charles loves how Kizomba/Urban Kiz uniquely embodies the connection between the ground, your partner, and the music.
Who is Charles today?
Charles is a danceprenuer (instructor, event organizer, DJ, mentor, & podcaster) that primarily works in the kizomba scene. Charles Ogar is well known, throughout the US and internationally, for his detailed, yet fun and quirky instruction and his super smooth, creative, and musical style on the dance floor. He is the most influential pioneer of urban kiz in North America. He loves nerding out on musicality, self-awareness, creativity, fundamentals, history, and more! He also runs an online membership site for kiz tutorials dedicated to helping kiz dancers around the world level up their kiz skills at learntokiz.com.
DJ Ceijay is one of the most well loved and followed leaders in the Urban Kiz Scene in Boston Mass. His love and passion for the dance can be heard and seen in both his amazing DJ sets and his smooth as butter lead on the dance floor. He is also an excellent instructor and really knows how to get to the root of each person's questions and/or instructional needs. If you are fortunate to be in his presence to see him dance and to hear his music mixing skills, he will leave you mesmerized and wanting the beats to never end!
Jacob S. Heiss is the founder & CEO of Just Jacob Ventures LLC, launched in 2013 as a business and entertainment solutions company helping private, nonprofit, and corporate clients surmount every obstacle and leverage every opportunity with a specialization in strategic development, enterprise transformation, customer growth, process optimization, and special event production. Corporate clients and production partners include Monster Vision Productions, Island Touch Events, Latin Street Music & Dancing, Kickstand Productions, Dance Center Chicago, The Refuge Foundation for the Arts, The Brazilian Cultural Center of Chicago, Clary Collection, Dizengoff Audio, West Monroe Partners, Purdue University, The Hispanic Alliance for Career Advancement, Latino Del Mundo, The Canadian Salsa Dance Corporation, DC Bachata Congress LLC, and many more.
From 2013 onwards, Jacob used the platform afforded by his company to support his artistic interests under the moniker, Just Jacob. As such, he is a highly sought after musical artist, producer, DJ, and dance instructor with residencies at such Chicago establishments as Sound-Bar, Subterranean, Primary, Beauty Bar, Y Bar, The Loft, Bassline, Reverie, Rio, and more plus featured performances across the nation and world at Solas (NYC), Space 550 (San Francisco), Lawrence Memorial Chapel (Appleton), Lique (Miami), Aeon Studios (LA), High Noon Saloon (Madison), Tsar (Orlando), House of Loom (Omaha), Werehouse (Milwaukee), Hard Rock Cafe (Chicago), and more. Festival performances include Chicago Salsa & Bachata Festival, Elevation Zouk Festival Denver, Dallas Bachata Fusion Festival, Toronto Zouk Marathon, Chicago SummerDance, Orlando International Kizomba Festival, NYC Zouk Marathon, The Israeli International Salsa Congress, Los Angeles Dance Fusion Festival, New York International Salsa Congress, The Montreal Salsa Convention, DCBX, and more.
From 2015 onwards, Jacob developed the subsidiary Future Zouk to accomplish his community development goals within the global Afro Latin social dancing context. In 2018, this led to the creation of Future Zouk Chicago Congress, the first and largest annual festival of Brazilian zouk music, dancing, and culture in the Midwest providing a platform for hundreds of artists to share their passion and craftsmanship with thousands of attenders from all over the world. Jacob has served as a staff instructor for such styles as Bachata, Brazilian zouk, Kizomba, and more at some of the largest social dance studios in Chicago, such as Dance Center Chicago and Latin Street Music & Dancing. To date, he has produced over 30 weekenders and festivals across the country in such markets as Chicago, Seattle, Cleveland, Nashville, Milwaukee, Iowa City, Minneapolis, and more while serving as a director of production for some of the biggest and best Afro Latin dance festivals in the world, such as Chicago Salsa & Bachata Festival by Island Touch Events, Dallas Bachata Fusion Festival by Monster Vision Productions, and more.
Steven Coronel, AKA - DJ Coronel, is a nationally recognized Salsa & Bachata DJ and Performer residing from New York City. He has been active in the East Coast dance scene since 2010 and has participated in many major dance events throughout the years. Such events include the NJ Bachata Festival, Boston Brazil Dance Fusion, Tristate Congress, NYC Bachata Bash, Myrtle Beach Congress and many others. His energy and music selection are the key ingredient to make sure any social he plays is the highlight of the night! #ItsAVibe
Shun is a DJ who loves to play feel-good rhythms that get people tapping their feet and bobbing their head without them even realizing it.
He uses music as a form of self-expression and has a wide range of musical interests that he incorporates into his sets.
Shun is committed to taking care of the dancers and reading the crowd at his gigs, and knows how to create the perfect mix of mood, groove, and hypnotizing sounds to keep people socializing and dancing.
In addition to being a DJ, Shun is also an event organizer and runs a ticketing platform for dance events called sbkzevents.com. Having experienced the dance festival world from all angles - as a listener, dancer, and DJ - Shun has a deep understanding of how to create the perfect rhythms and sounds that will keep the party going and have people coming back for more. He believes that DJs should always strive to take care of the dancers and read the crowd at their gigs, and he puts this philosophy into practice every time you hear him play.
"Mood, groove, and hypnotizing sounds are the main ingredients for me," says Shun. "Don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself dancing... I play music to be danced to." As a DJ, Shun understands the power of music to bring people together and create a sense of community. He loves nothing more than seeing people lose themselves in the music and have a great time, and he is always looking for ways to elevate the party experience for his listeners and dancers. Whether he's playing at a congress or a local social event, Shun is always striving to deliver the best possible experience for his audience.
As he says, "Don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself dancing... I play music to be danced to."
Franklin AKA DJ Condori has been an avid Latin music DJ for many years in the Boston scene. Salsa, a mix of new and old, is his sweet spot. Catch him lighting up the dance floor so hot in the Salsa room it'll have y'all melting! Bring your towels and stay hydrated when he's on the set, though that's hard to do as his mixes are always fire!
We are aware of an issue where on some mobile devices the Right Side of the ticket purchase Window is cut off. We apologize for the inconvenience and we’re working to resolve the issue. PLease be advised that if you simply turn your phone sideways, it will no longer be cut off and you’ll be able to place youR order. Thank you for your patronage, we’ll see you at the Congress! 🙂 – Jessica
Prices increase as the date draws closer, buy now save now. If not sold out passes will be available at full price at the door.
*All passes are final sale and nontransferable*
Hotel Highlights!
- Newly Renovated Hilton Property Hotel
- 100% Private Event - Rented the entire hotel.
- Food Trucks - Good Eats
- Thursday night Pre-party located at the venue!
Interested in performing, instructing, working the event, being a vendor or being a sponsor? Limited pass exchange available for working at the event, must apply by contacting F.O.L.D. Contact Jessica C. at: foldcongress@gmail.com.
