KIZOMBA ARTISTS
Juneline & Virgile, one of the Netherlands’ finest Urban Kiz teachers - known for their fluidity, elegant technique and precision - will help you gain awareness in your technique to elevate your skills in terms of weight shift, framehold and connection. Together they founded License2Kizz (based in Amsterdam) where they teach weekly classes.
Virgile (he/him) started dancing kizomba in 2015 until he discovered Urban Kiz in 2016. From that day on, he focused his training sessions and teaching on UrbanKiz. His style can be described as technical, playful and connected.
Juneline (she/her) has a background in belly dance, and she currently teaches Urban Kiz, Body Movement and Ladies Styling for over more than 5 years now. Her dance style is elegant, expressive and fluid.
Jurcic (he/him) has been teaching Kizomba / Urban Kiz for a few years now, and as he likes to say, dance is the expression of self through purposeful movements. Distinctive by his technique, musicality, creativity and swag, he puts a priority on creating dancers and not robots. His goal is to help dancers integrate their personality into their dance. He is also a versatile DJ - DJ JC Stripes - who will take you on a journey with his sets! As you can see, Jurcic does it all!
Tboy (he/him) discovered Kizomba/Semba in Paris around 2009-2010, honing his skills with some of the best in the scene. He taught Semba, Kizomba in one of the biggest dance school in Paris, "Salsabor". He also partnered up with Victor de Sousa named Victor Kizomba.fr who is one of the first kizomba teacher in France since 2009. By 2013, he began teaching and performing, and led “Semba na Rua”, a project promoting these dances in public spaces. He also founded Pé Leve’s to preserve the tradition of Kizomba in France. Tboy has since developed his own style and is eager to share his passion and knowledge to inspire others to dance.
Kaycee (she/her) is a lover of all things dance who found her passion in Kizomba and Urban Kiz. She has trained both as lead and follow simultaneously throughout her entire Kizomba journey. Kaycee’s number one agenda is to convert all dancers into ambi-dancers. Based in St. Louis, she teaches weekly with STLKIZ and travels globally to refine her skills. Kaycee is passionate about growing an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome, and comfortable dancing to their best ability.
With 15 years of partner dancing, Nadine (she/her) started learning Kizomba in December 2019. In 2020, post-COVID, Nadine was eager to resume training & persuaded Hovsep to “unretire” and practice together. In 2021, she discovered & fell in love with Urban Kiz at a regional weekender, which motivated to keep working and improving. Countless hours of training later, Nadinebegan co-teaching locally and regionally in early 2022, and began competing in Jack and Jill competitions. In 2023, Nadine started investing in the local dance community by organizing small events. In 2024, she became an official member of Kiz n Chill, contributing to the growth and sustainability of the Kizomba community in Chicago.
Ken (he/him) is a visual artist turned cross genre dancer with a passion for Hip Hop, Popping and Urban Kiz. Using foundational technique as a platform for creativity, he loves to draw from his inspirations to create unique and fun experiences on the social dance floor. He's known for dancing to unconventional music whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Originally from Northern California, Elena has a diverse background of many different arts and sports including ballet/jazz/modern/contemporary dance, parkour, Latin ballroom, and 13 years of competitive gymnastics. She began her Brazilian Zouk journey in 2017 with the Renata Peçanha USA school in Los Angeles and since then trained with other instructors such as Bruno Galhardo, Brenda & Anderson, and Arthur & Layssa. In addition to Brazilian Zouk, she also dances samba de gafieira, samba no pé, bachata, forró, salsa, West Coast swing, and more. She is a BZDC-certified judge.
Elena was the first person in history to graduate without petitions from Novice to All-Star level in the BZDC Jack & Jill competitions. She won the Advanced level Jack & Jill at the Brazilian Zouk World Championships in 2022, as well as a silver medal in the Originals division, and a bronze medal for the Solo Division in 2023. She was also the first female lead to compete at Brazilian Zouk World Championships in the Originals and Showtime divisions.
The nickname “Rhinestone” came from her love for sparkly accessories, and now refers the way she shines when dancing. She loves to incorporate body neutrality into her teaching so that people of all body types can learn to dance and find their shine as well!
Olu Shogo (he/him), aka DJ Olu, is a DJ/Producer from West Africa currently based in the USA. He is versatile in the Afro-Latin scene and regularly plays UrbanKiz, Kizomba, Konpa & Semba. His remixes & originals are played at festivals globally! DJ Olu is a resident DJ at a monthly Kizomba social in Dallas, TX and has been booked at multiple events across the US and Europe. He has had the opportunity to mix alongside some incredibly talented DJs like D&L Beats, DJ Casanova, DJ Afrodeshiak, DJ Chad, Dj Mojo, DJ Sink, DJ Morelasoul, and many more.
Dexter Watson (he/him), alias DJ Dex, is a Minneapolis-based DJ & dance instructor. Traveling wherever and whenever he can to train in various African dances, be it Kizomba, Semba, Urban-Kiz, Tarraxinha, Kuduro, Afrobeats, as well as Afro-Latin dances. In addition to dancing and teaching, Dexter also DJs, under the alias Dex The DJ aka DJ Dex. He loves learning, helping others, and building up and supporting his ever-expanding community, traits passed on from his family upbringing.
“Music, along with dance, is a beautiful and universal expression. No matter what language you speak, what age you are, it can affect you in a powerful way. It can turn a day round, get you smiling, moving and grooving, sometimes without realizing it. As an artist, that’s what I aim for.”
Daniel Salgado (he/him), a DJ rooted in Chicago, has been sharing his love for music and dance for over 30 years, with the past 20 focused on the vibrant Latin scene. In 2014, Daniel discovered his passion for Kizomba and started immersing himself in the dance. He began organizing weekly Kizomba events with Kizomba Chicago, becoming a dedicated Kizomba/Urbankiz DJ for the past decade. Daniel has been instrumental in fostering the Kizomba community, launching the Sunday Kizomba Practicas and an integral member of the Kizomba Chicago organization. His efforts have made Kizomba more accessible and enjoyable for everyone in the dance community.