Allen Strickland
(Greenville, SC)
Allen is the DJ coordinator for Greenville Blues and Fusion in Greenville, SC. With a background in music, his DJing style pulls from a wide range of genres such as jazz, rock, blues, pop, and Latin music in pursuit of those perfect tracks that can bring people together through dance. He's on the hunt for songs that are the perfect combination of rhythmic magic and close embrace vibes.
Cherish Collins
(Atlanta, GA)
Cherish's dance addiction began with ballroom in 2016, but now she primarily dances Fusion, Kizomba, and Blues, which she started dancing in 2018. As a DJ, Cherish likes to pull music from different genres and dance styles, so you can expect to hear a bit of Kizomba, Tango, or Waltz in her sets. She loves playing with fun and unexpected sounds in her sets and sharing music from different genres. Her favorite part of DJing is seeing how dancers from different backgrounds interpret the songs she plays. She also loves experimenting with music, so if you like a song she plays, feel free to let her know.
Dr. J
(State College, PA)
Dr. J has delivered more than 500 sets over nearly 20 years of DJing. Driven to find bangers in every genre, he’s only met his match in smooth jazz and heavy metal.
He recently woke from a years-long fever dream where he hallucinated Virtual CSD, organizing zoom dance parties, and finishing his PhD. As the fog cleared, he realized he had a massive dataset and models providing deep new insights into what motivates us to dance.
Preferential attachment theory draws you like a moth to a familiar flame, setting you up to tackle the challenge of new sounds and rhythms. Set flair – featured songs such as steal dances or called switches – challenge and delight by creating new shared experiences on the dance floor.
Join Dr. J for a feverish new fusion experience!
Jae[sic]
(Rochester, NY)
When it comes to music, Jaesic has had a lifetime of creating and performing as a vocalist and instrumentalist, on which has been a strong foundation for them to build their DJ career.
They started DJing in early 2018, but since participating in an exploratory DJ cohort with Dr. J (State College) and others during the pandemic, Jaesic has had so much fun combining deliciously diverse beats, rhythms, and voices into sonic landscapes that elicit playful spirit and soulful movement. Gooey, sweet, salty, crunchy, bubbly, dark and mysterious, there's no telling what Jaesic's vibe will be, but you can bet it will be tasty!
Jaesic has been quickly making their way around the country—from NY, PA and OH, to MI, CO, TX, and soon to be CA—and they are so excited to add GA to the mix!
Kira McEntire (Charlotte, NC)
Kira has been social dancing (many styles) for 10 years and started DJing fusion in 2016. She has DJed at both monthly and regional dance events from SC to TX. Her favorite thing about DJing is sharing music that leads to fun and emotional connections on the dance floor.
Patrick Gonet (Pittsburgh, PA)
Macon*, Sacramento, San Francisco*, Oakland*, Seattle*, St. Louis, Denver, Portland, New York, Charleston*, Washington DC*, Las Vegas, Bellingham*, Portland (the other one), Columbus (the nearby one), Austin*, Indianapolis*, Orlando, Philadelphia, Vancouver*, Boston*, Paris, Pittsburgh. Patrick has danced (and DJed*) in a lot of places over the past 22 years. But Atlanta will always be the place where his colorful love affair with Fusion first began. As to the music? He’ll make no promises, aside from this one: It’s going to get weird.
Ruby Red (Chicago, IL)
From her days on stage in punk clubs to late night European dance parties, Ruby has been a music enthusiast of all varieties. She doesn’t limit her tastes to any one genre, but seeks out the best tracks from vintage as well as living artists. She keeps up a regular habit of scouring music blogs for new tracks and keeps an informal music blog of her favorite tunes in the realm of pop, soul, new-wave, electro, folk, and rock. The most danceable tracks make it to her DJ playlists where she enjoys pushing the boundaries of what dancers can move to on the dance floor.
Teresa Schubert (New York, NY)
Teresa has been a dancer since preschool and it was love at first sight when she discovered fusion in 2018. Over the years she's dabbled in modern and jazz solo dance, lindy, salsa, blues, and zouk. She founded Boston's Eclipse Fusion in 2019. Now based in NYC, Teresa DJs songs from a range of genres and languages to always give you something new to play with. Keep your ear out for sneaky covers, old fusion classics come back to life, and plenty of gooey goodness.
⚡DJ Volter⚡
(Orlando, FL)
An energetic, silly, music-obsessed dancer; DJ Kyle / DJ Volter / DJ Infrared discovered dancing at the end of 2012 in Orlando, Florida.
Discovering Lindy, then Blues, then deciding to learn as many partner dance styles as possible (now at 30+!) and starting to DJ for Lindy, Blues, and Fusion, Kyle went on to start and co-found the Fusion scene in Orlando, and serves as organizer and Lead DJ for Fusion Orlando!
Kyle tackles fusion with a relentless electric energy, and seeks to further connection in the world through dance and music. Kyle is also known for his The Heat of Fusion project, which involves capturing dance in unique ways such as with infrared thermal cameras and High Speed Cameras.
Pierce Collins (Atlanta, GA)
Pierce has been a regular DJ for Menagerie Fusion's monthly dance since its inception in 2015, and has traveled to play for monthly fusion dances in Tampa, Greenville, and Spartanburg. If you want to hear him before Menagerie: Uncaged, he will also be DJing for the alt room at Orlando Blues and Soul on the first weekend of October!
Pierce strives to bring a wide variety of sounds to dancers. He loves flowing through different energy levels and instrumentations, exploring genres from Glitch to Flamenco to RnB, and nothing makes him happier than people dancing to music they've never heard before and saying “That was awesome! What was that song?”
Elizabeth Coke
(Atlanta, GA)
Dancer, instructor, organizer, photographer, DJ; Elizabeth has filled many roles since she discovered Blues and Fusion back in 2007, but few things make her heart happier than sharing music with a floor full of enthusiastic and experimental dancers. She founded Menagerie Fusion in Atlanta in the spring of 2015 to share her love of Fusion with her home state, and she’s immensely proud of the community that’s coalesced around connection, creativity, collaboration, and consent in dance.
As a DJ, Elizabeth loves to find that song you’ve never heard before but already know you adore. She has played music for Fusion dancers from coast to coast, from places as far away as Seattle Fusion Festival to events closer to home: Holy City Blues and Classic City Swing have both featured her in their alternative rooms. Most recently, she was honored to DJ for the inaugural Dallas Fusion Reaction earlier in 2018. Her sets range from playful to gritty, sensual to raunchy, and invite dancers to experiment and play with new sounds and rhythms. Elizabeth is thrilled to share her take on Fusion at Menagerie: Uncaged, and invites you to dance with her (she leads, follows, and switches!)