Ivy has been dancing since 1997 and event planning since 1998. She has trained in standard and latin ballroom, lindy hop, hip-hop, West African, Iranian, and South Indian dance. Ivy draws from all of these influences in her dancing. Never one to be confined or traditional, she was a "Westie-Hopper" from day one. She is enjoyed for her musicality and playfulness in dance yet she is more typically known for her attention to detail and sense of responsibility in business. Ivy founded the Fusion Exchange in Houston in 2008. She was named to the board for Portland Blues & Jazz Dance Society in 2008 and Portland Lindy Society in 2009. When she should be sleeping or dancing, Ivy is a bankruptcy and tax attorney.

As an organizer, Andrew's goal with each Fusion Exchange is for you to go away saying that the Fusion Exchange was an exceptional, unique, and playful event that inspired you in ways you didn't realize were possible. To achieve this, Andrew travels 11 months each year, living the dance culture, exploring dance events, and learning how different organizers create events with similar qualities. Just like Fusion dancing, the organization behind Fusion allows for "imagination in motion" and Creating rather than copying, so although inspired by others, Andrew will definitely be sharing many of his own creations with you. Examples of these creations include Contact Dancing, the Fusion Medley, and you can probably bet that there will be something new up his sleeve for the next Fusion Exchange! Come and join us to see what will happen!

Andrew Sutton and Anna Whitmire at HFX

Megan's first foray into the world of dance occurred in early 2008, a fact which constantly boggles her, considering the transition which has occurred since then. Dancing changed her life, it's as simple as that - the activity transformed her from a shy, self-conscious girl to a self-assured, happy woman. Now, she is thrilled to help others enjoy the pastime which has benefited her so much. When she's not dancing or helping to organize a dance event, she is programming computers and being an all-around math nerd.

Clint loves long walks on the beach...sorry, wrong bio.

With a long and varied history, Clint has traveled...and is finding that it's getting harder and harder to avoid the police. He has been dancing swing weekly (and sometimes weakly) since 1999 and discovered the joys of blues dancing in 2005. In addition to all of the past Fusion Exchanges, Clint has been webmaster for over a dozen dance websites, most of which he has treated as his own personal empires, but prefers to think of as "benevolent dictatorships." Clint is former President of the Blues Association of Austin and one of the founders of the Austin Blues Party.

His favorite song is "Stormy Monday Blues."

Music first brought Cameron to the dance floor in seventh grade at the height of the 90's swing revival. Before leaving for college at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, he took classic ballroom lessons: waltz, American tango, foxtrot, and salsa. In the winter of 2005 he first stumbled into blues dancing and was immediately hooked. After attending the Houston Fusion Exchange in January '08, his dancing, teaching, and style all focused on the idea of fusion; of letting the music dictate precisely what you should do, and making the various styles of dance the tools to express the music.

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Emily starting participating in organizing events in 2008 with on of the nations best blues events: Emerald City Blues Festival. She loves being able to apply all of the things she's learned by traveling, and bring them to the events she's organizing. With a 5-year DJ experience, she is excited to be organizing this year's BFX DJ schedule, and have an opportunity to work with all of the great DJs we have lined up for this year!

Greg Avakian is a popular DJ. He has played for dancers at exchanges, competitions, and other Swing and Blues events across the USA, in Canada and Europe. He has been the DJ coordinator at various events including the American Lindy Hop Championships. Greg's DJ style mixes classic swing with very groovy blues and other sweet & funky stuff. A fan of both struttin' vintage music a la New Orleans and sizzling south Chicago sexiness, Greg looks to the dancers -and what they like- in his quest to drive the floor into playful frenzy. Greg and his partner, Laurie Zimmerman have been teaching and dancing together for over 10 years. They specialize in Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, and Blues Dancing. They also teach the 35-person Lindy troupe "The West Philly swingers" who won first place in the 2009 Collegiate Team Division of ALHC.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, AJ first learned to dance... Well, it wasn't that long ago and it wasn't in a galaxy far away, more like her parent's kitchen in Oregon growing up. And while dancing around in her socks was fun, it wasn't until she moved to Colorado in 2006 that she discovered both swing and blues. Don't know what you had until you leave, right? But she didn't let that stop her. Enjoying traveling for dancing right from the start, she began to attend different workshops along the West Coast, while also beginning DJing and teaching dance locally. In 2007, she also started DanceTramp Artwork, a company bringing her love of dancing and art together. She now regularly admits, while loving all dancing, to being a blues dancer masquarading as a lindy hopper whenever she goes out dancing, showing her true colors. When she is not dancing you can find her doing a mirad of other things, including substitute teaching, hanging out with her friends, reading and doing anything and everything that can get her into the wonderful foothills and mountains around Fort Collins (rock climbing, bouldering, hiking, camping, snow shoeing and riding horses).She also volunteers her time with the Larimer County Dive Rescue Team. But most notably, she spends her days loving those who are around her and serving her King.

Susan grew up in the home of Gilley's (Pasadena, TX), and learned how to 2-step in high school. After moving to Austin for college, she dabbled in ballroom dance before leaving it all behind to be a stage manager at a local theater. Six years later, she rediscovered ballroom dancing and never looked back. Since 2003, she's been an avid American Style ballroom dancer, picked up Lindy in 2004, and then Blues in 2005. She is still kicking herself for missing the Portland Fusion Exchange after having such a great time at the Houston and San Diego Fusion Exchanges. She's served on the boards of Austin Ballroom Dancers, Austin Swing Syndicate, and the Blues Association of Austin. She's been involved in the organization of the Austin Blues Party since its inception, and is looking forward to pitching in for the Boston Fusion Exchange.

In the real world, she is the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Texas.

David got sucked into Blues last September, and is now a hyperactive Portland dancer, out 4+ nights a week, running a campus blues club,and using his elite geek skills to help the scene however he can. He's a silly, funky lead, a rapidly developing follow, and has an insatiable hunger for dancing of all sorts. David graduates Lewis & Clark college in May, and will be moving down to the Bay Area to work with Teach for America. When he's not dancing, he splits his time between snowboarding and part-time work as a copywriter and translator.

Carly Slater is relatively new at blues, after being introduced to it by her big brother, David Keogh, after which she was "all over that like a fat kid on cake!". With a background in events management and marketing that runs the gamut of concert tours (Prince, Joss Stone), VIP sporting events (Super Bowl), and large consumer conventions, Carly's love of events and the people who come to them is a long standing passion. Carly has a daughter, Lolo (age 4) who's known throughout the Seattle dance community and is well on her way to being the next world-class dancer herself.