Rayned Wiles - Baltimore, MD
Rayned Wiles has been dancing for over 10 years and is a
nationally-known DJ with extensive experience national competitions,
dance camps, exchanges, swing and blues clubs and special events. "I
think the point of DJing is to keep everyone in the room dancing and
having a great time through music," Rayned says. "My music of choice
is swing jazz blues. I like Fats Waller's view that swing is
'two-thirds rhythm and one-third soul' and Carmen McRae's reminder
that 'blues is to jazz what yeast is to bread--without it, it's flat.'"
Rayned DJs regularly in the Baltimore/Washington DC area.
Shermalyn Greene - Raleigh, NC
Shermalyn started DJing over 10 years ago in her local dance scene in
the Raleigh Durham, NC area. Not only has she been a regular DJ in her
local scene, but she has DJ'ed sets for Trix (Triangle Lindy
Exchange), EBC (Eastern Balboa Championship), SoFlex (South Florida
Lindy Exchange), Charlotte's Cheap Thrills, and Swing Out New
Hampshire. Shermalyn grew up listening to her parents' dance music and
watched her family dance. She plays a mix of all musics including
Blues, Old School R&B, and Soul music.
Nathan Malone - Austin, TX
Nathan Malone has been a DJ since 2001 and had DJed at a number of
national events, including Frankie Manning's 89th Birthday cruise, as
well as multiple editions of the San Francisco Lindy Exchange, South
Florida Lindy Exchange, Lindy Gras, Lindy Groove, and Great Southwest
Lindyfest, and ALX. He is also has been an Yehoodi Radio Guest DJ on
two separate occasions. In terms of music style, he believes in
variety and playing to the dancers in the room. DJing from a music
collection thousands of CDs thick (via laptop), he can adapt to
whatever sound and feel is needed.
Loreto Agdinaoay - Cleveland, OH
"Lo". Cleveland. DJ. Pittsburgh. Brassy. Dallas. Groovy. Columbus.
Rhythm & Bluesy. 12 years. Cincy. 3-time DJ-battle champ. Orlando.
All-natural. Ann Arbor. Funny. Chicago. Fine. DC. Black. Toronto. Tan.
Atlanta. Well-traveled. Ottawa, CN. Well-dressed. Connecticut. Funk.
Soul. Brother. Detroit. Schmmove. Waterloo, CN. Dark. Japan. Lovely.
Indonesia. Fresh. Ft. Lauderdale. Word.
Brooke Groberg - Toronto, ON
For the past five years, Brooke's dj travels have had her
criss-crossing North America with the occasional European hop,
sprinkling a little Canadia wherever she goes, but her heart belongs
to Toronto, the place she calls home! Brooke's done it all - late nite
house parties, exchanges, swing clubs and competitions... and she's
always ready for a new dj adventure! Be it swing standards, blues,
funk or soul, Brooke loves full-bodied, "scrumpditiliumptious" music,
the kind that you can really sink your teeth into. She'll play that
stuff that makes you have to keep dancing all night long!
Patrick Warren - Traveling Dancer / DJ
Patrick began dancing in 2002 after being dragged kicking and
screaming to a Swing class. He was instantly hooked. Introduced to
Blues dancing in 2004, Patrick began attending several Blues weekends.
After taking Blues musicality through a Jerry & Kathy class at Cheap
Thrills, he became hooked on music. He began collecting a wide variety
of music that he felt was ideal for Swing and Blues dancing. The next
logical step was for Patrick to begin sharing his music with others.
Patrick has DJed Blues and Lindy at several national events including
Blues Rising, Enter the Blues, Austin Blues Party, Austin Lindy
Exchange, San Francisco Lindy Exchange, CBUS, From Montreal with Love,
SoFLex and many others.
Wesley Cook - Traveling Dancer / DJ
What can be said about Wesley that hasn't been said about Captain
America and Sponge Bob Square Pants? We're not sure, but we'll give it
a shot. A musician, dancer, writer, chef and dj, Wesley hitchhikes
around the country djing different dances around the US. He also
throws the House Party Weekends known as Blues It Or Lose It. He loves
mixing traditional blues with more modern alternative songs. Variety,
variety, variety cries the Wesley.
Jason Cartelli - Atlanta, GA
Rising DJ from Atlanta with the soul of South Florida. Enjoys playing
for the crowd and letting them guess what he will play next. Styles
include Pop, Hip Hop, Neo-swing, Big Band, Blues and Rockabilly. He
will keep you wanting more.
DJ Natch - Orlando, FL
Natch has been a staple DJ in the Central Florida scene for over a
decade. Regularly appearing at dance events, weddings, and parties
throughout Florida, Natch has a reputation for keeping the dance floor
packed with solid tunes. He is the host of "Musical Diversity", a
weekly radio show airing on 99.1 WIKD-LP FM in Daytona Beach, and he
is currently the house DJ for "Hideout" in Orlando. Natch believes
that organization and familiarization with music, along with being
able to work the crowd, make a DJ great. Always searching for new
music, DJ Natch loves to introduce dancers to songs they've never
heard before while keeping the old favorites mixed in as well. Like
any professional DJ he's versatile, musically well-rounded, armed with
backups for everything, and able to perform well in almost any genre
or style. His attention to detail, willingness to spend days preparing
for each performance, and ability to adapt and respond to any
contingency make him a highly coveted DJ.
Steve Stone - Orlando, FL
Steve Stone was brought up listening to a wide variety of music as a
child. He joined the band in junior high where he played the trumpet,
french horn and baritone all the way through High School. He has a
passion for not just swing or blues music, but music that is Amazing,
on and off the dance floor. Steve has been Dj'ing and running his own
events since 2004. He is the creator of the "Blues n Soul" exchange in
Orlando, and is apart of the "ORLX" committee. You can hear him Dj
regularly in Orlando at the late night blues dance remix. Little known
fact about Steve, He's totally Awesome.
Justin Wiseman - Orlando, FL
Justin loved playing swing music in the jazz band through middle and
high school. Love of the music naturally evolved into a love of the
dance as well. He began swing dancing six years ago at UCF and has
been completely hooked ever since. About two years ago he started to
DJ the Orlando Blues dance every once in a while and it wasn't long
until he became one of the regular DJs at the UCF swing dance. He has
also been a DJ at the last two ORLX events and, most recently, the
Gainesville Lindy Exchange. Justin's favorite music tends to be a
little on the slower side with a strong, soulful spirit that evokes a
lot of musicality in the dance. Some of his favorite artists include
Gene Harris, Ernestine Anderson, Gordon Webster, Kid Ory, and Ella
Fitzgerald, just to name a few.
Tim Korkuc - Orlando, FL
In the past two and a half years, Tim has traveled to over 20 events,
and is no stranger to exchanges. While traveling he has studied a wide
variety of swing dancing music. He loves fast dixieland, and classic
hard hitting lindy hop hits, but mainly whatever songs are right to
get people out of their chairs and on the floor. Always eager to
debate which songs are the most Swingin', he hopes to keep the dance
floor packed, and keep a smile on your face. DJ Korky looks forward to
inspiring you, the dancer, to do what you do best!
Amy Davenport - Orlando, FL
Amy Davenport has been actively involved in the Florida lindy hop
scene for over a decade. Along with working local dances in the
Orlando area, she has played a major role in the organization of many
events, such as Lindy at Lake Eola, ORLX, an after-show party for
"Swing!" cast members, as well as hosting after-hours breakfasts,
karaoke parties and jam sessions in her own home. A regular DJ in
Orlando for years, as well as occasionally spinning at events
throughout the Southeast, Amy D's sets include a diverse collection of
big band, standards, classic swing, jump blues and jazz, and swingable
tunes ranging from the 30's and 40's to the present day. She keeps
dancers engaged with a variety of tempos, rhythms and styles, always
focusing on dynamic and well-recorded music that inspires swing and
jazz dancing rather than simply accommodating it. Amy D champions the
playfulness and pure joy of swing music and dancing, and is always
excited to share it with others.
Mario - Tampa, FL
Powers: Blues, alternative, pop, synthpop, rock. His abilities first
manifested with 80s music, but he has successfully summoned the powers
of other decades too. Uniform: Mostly black. He is known to always wear
a vest and tie. Without them, he is unrecognizable! Bio: Many years ago,
there was a need for an 80s DJ in south Florida. They had someone in
mind, but he was inexperienced. What he lacked in experience, he more
than made up for with his knowledge of the genre. A chance was given,
and south Florida was saved! Since then, he has made several appearances
in South Florida - including SoFlex. Years later, he fell in love with
Blues. While in Tampa, he found another city in peril and another chance
was given, thus began his blues experiment. Now he regularly plays the
blues for the Tampa scene.
Brendan Smith - Tampa, FL
Brendan Smith has been swing dancing for 13 years. His years of
training combined with a degree in music give him the skill set needed
to excel as a DJ. Brendan loves playing fun expressive music that
teaches people to become better swing dancers in the process.
Sergio Loreto - South Florida
Izzy Shniadoski - South Florida
Heather Dill - South Florida
Tamar Rachel - South Florida
Hailing from South Florida (for now), Tamar Rachel loves to teach
dance more than anything, but in the few moments between, you'll find
her singing, dancing and DJ-ing. Surrounding herself with the music
she loves is one of the things that keeps her smiling. DJ-ing for
events like SoFLeX and Blues and Soul as well as local events in South
Florida, Tampa and the DC area have been wonderful opportunities to
share the interesting music Tamar loves to find in her constant search
for new (and old) hits. Recently, she had a blast DJ-ing at PenBex,
and can't wait to catch a dance with you at SoFLeX 2012!
Tim Murphy - South Florida
Tim Murphy was born and raised in Hialeah, FL, the last place anybody
would hear swing music. While attending high school in his junior
year, he discovered big band and early rock and roll, giving him
something else to listen to besides The Doors and Danzig-era Misfits.
In Fall 2006 Tim started swing dancing and a year later he got really
good at it. He's currently getting a degree in film/video production,
looking for another TV station hiring, and trying not to let himself
go as he's getting older. While he's not doing that, Tim's wooing
women left and right with his lindy skills, watching the skies for any
unidentified flying objects, and making dancers dance with his
abundant collection of really good music.
Lori Schiesl - South Florida
Lori Schiesl is an undergraduate student at Florida Atlantic
University. She is currently working on her BA in History as well as
two minors in German and in Theatre. She has been Swing dancing since
fall 2009 and DJ-ing since summer 2011. She has tried other dances,
such as ballroom and hip hop, but finds her passion is for swing and
blues. She also thinks SoFLeX is awsome and that everyone should come!
