Kiz Artists
Dance became a core passion of Nii's about 27 years ago when he found himself mesmerized by the dance moves in MJ's Smooth Criminal; he went on to learn and eventually teach salsa, bachata and merengue - his first partner dances.
In New York, he teaches a range of kizomba genres, organizes events, and Dj’s under the name DJ Sfumato. 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.
Eugene “Tin Man” Cleveland (Rochester) has been dancing for 22 years and is the founder of the new clothing line, “Tin Feet Tall Wear” and videography company “Tin Feet Tall Productions”. He is knowledgeable in multiple styles of dance, but most notoriously known for hiphop/breakdancing. His present passion is Urban Kiz of which he has been dancing for 7 years.
Since beginning Urban Kiz, Tin Man has taught and performed all across North America including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Mexico, New York, Indianapolis, Boston and Texas, among many more. Specializing in Urban and Lyrical Kiz, Tin Man offers a unique teaching experience focusing on technique, connection, subtle details and musicality.
From the Lone Star State of Texas and in the land of Dallas, she is known as Brianna Williams aka Bri. She has lived dance for over 20 years and counting, Bri has training in several dance styles with background in ballet, jazz, and most commercialized dances of current dance art. Bri is now a known dancer and dance instructor in Salsa, Bachata, Latin and Afro dances in Kizomba, Afro Beats/Afro House with other dance styles in Zouk and Ballroom dances. Bri has been featured in several performing arts, theatrical arts, and inspirational arts. Today, Bri features in several dance events as a dance teacher, choreographer, dance trainer, and dancer.
Bri has trained with several dance institutions and most recently with Rhythm & Beatz Dance Company. She transcends her knowledge in the art of dance into therapy, she lives and embodies the Dance is Therapy movement.
Her inspiring art and exuberant spirit precedes her and she travels the world while continuing to learn the sights and sounds of art. Be informed and be on the lookout for Brianna Williams featuring at the next dance event near you.
Ceijay has been dancing since the age of 12 and dancing Kizomba since his young adult years. He started teaching Kizomba in 2009 and opened his own studio in 2011.
Bruna has been passionately dancing latin since 2010 and discovered Kizomba in 2015.
Since working together Ceijay & Bruna have become the heart and soul of the Urban Kiz scene in Boston and surrounding areas. They are an extremely talented and powerful dancing couple, both of them being able to switch from both lead to follow and to throughly explain the foundation, technique and art of each move in this dance is incredible. When they dance together it is mesmerizing to behold!
This power couple is strongly grounded in the history, types of Kizomba, musicality and connection of this dance. They are two of the best of the best in this field in the greater Boston area.
They have weekly lessons for all levels, monthly socials, teach private lessons, train Kizomba teams and host yearly the Boston Kizomba Festival (BKF) in the beginning of September uniting worldwide talent.
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.
Jahaira and Ross are Urban Kiz Instructors from Phoenix, Arizona. Drawing from their experience in a multitude of styles as members of Que Candela Dance Company, Jahaira and Ross bring an element of flair and high energy to their performances, dancing and teaching.
Currently, they teach locally in Phoenix with other instructors as a collaborative group called Desert Kiz and have brought their shows and instruction on the road to other festivals and events across the country.
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.
I am looking very forward to traveling to America again. It is so much fun and so interesting how different and the same the dance scenes are. I teach locally my Stuttgart dancers always starting them right learning all the fundamentals, basics, necessities, and my personal favorite; technique. I love the raw style and spin I can create within Urban Kiz with Tarraxo being my niche. I specialize in teaching how to lead and follow with proper signaling and understanding. A big thank you for booking me, so let's go America! Let's get roy....I mean let's...........BE ROYAL.
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*
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.
