Artists
The Morning Call
We are more than excited about the The Morning Call Jazz Band joining us for our second edition! The members of the beloved swing band are young musicians with overflowing energy who willingly share their passion for swing inspired by composers and musicians such as Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Sidney Bechet, Count Basie etc. Talented instrumentalists, they also feast their voices when they sing - in chorus or solos - in the style of Barber Shop (Mills Brothers). Fully charged with an explosive and accurate sense of rhythm and melodies, they possess an outstanding ability of enhancing the vibe of the dancers on the floor. They will enchant you with their music every night of the event!
Irene Ragusini
Irene is a visual artist and a dancer. Originally trained in ballet, jazz dance attracted her because of the space for personal expression and freedom of movement. Besides the dance itself she is interested in its rich history, its connection to contemporary world and its aesthetics - researching on visual artists, videographers and photographers of the jazz era. She also loves to explore the multilayered nature of jazz music (such as african, latin, bebop elements etc. ) and its relation to jazz dance.
She gets inspired by reading and watching clips of the original dancers and besides solo jazz and lindy hop she loves to complicate her life with tap dance training, with an ever learning attitude. She has a lot of experience teaching at international festivals around Europe as well as competing, with many placements. After having experienced two quite vibrant scenes for a while (Ghent & Stockholm), Irene is currently based in Athens, where she is coaching and training with the lindyhop and solo jazz teams of her project Athens Authentic Jazz Dance.
DJ Jon
Jon has been DJing for dancers almost as long as he’s been dancing. He has as much fun geeking out about the music and its history as dancing to it. Jon plays regularly for dancers in his hometown of Oxford but can also be heard playing at events across the UK.
Jon likes to play music that everyone can find something to enjoy in – from new lindy hoppers to the most experienced dancers. In his sets, expect to hear music recorded during the swing era: big band, small group and anything with a driving beautiful .
One tune you’ll hear in most of his sets at the moment: Back Beat Boogie by Harry James
DJ Max
Max lives in Bucharest but started djing a long time ago in London. He loves going down a fair few rabbit holes with different recordings of the same tunes and artists.
He loves getting the floor packed and springing a few surprises on everyone trying to capture some part of the continuum.
DJ Miha
Mihaela has loved music and dancing for as long as she can remember. With a huge curiosity for all genres, she explored moving freestyle or imitating what she saw in video clips and never sat down at a party.
She randomly discovered Lindy Hop in 2015 and instantly decided it was something she wants to stick to for the rest of her life. Drawn in by the fun energy and the sense of freedom it gave her, she dedicated herself to regular practice and participated in the Bucharest community building, passing forward what she knew about the dance and participating in organizing events.
Joining the Jazz Roots Bucharest Dance Troupe & organization came with a new sense of belonging for her, which allowed the unlocking of new perspectives to her approach to the dance.
Right now, she is keen on learning about music in the context of culture, particularly interested in connections, correlations, evolution, co-creation, influences and diversity.
