DJs

DJ Coordinator: Travis Whetman

Seattle, WA

Travis fell in love with swing music early in his dancing life and has been collecting it ever since. A regular Seattle DJ since 2003, Travis focuses on swing music from the 1930s and 1940s and is comfortable playing songs for many styles of dance. Travis has held Head DJ roles at Camp Jitterbug, Balast Off, Rocky Mountain Balboa Blowout, All Balboa Weekend, The California Balboa Classic, and now Great Lakes Balboa Escape!!

DJ Michael Quisao

District of Columbia

Michael Quisao grew up in Dallas, traveled the world with the U.S. Navy, and has been proud to call DC home since 2014. Michael loves DJing because he gets to dance with the entire room. He fell deeply in love with swing music in high school after discovering the swing era and hot jazz recordings that his mom’s smooth jazz radio station played late at night, then eventually took his first Lindy Hop workshop in 2006. Since then, his love of swing music and social dancing has taken him around the world to DJ and dance. He loves well-written liner notes and thinks there are few things better than helping to inspire creative, fulfilling dances through songs that compel you to move. 

Michael serves as Head DJ & Music Director at New Columbia Swing in Washington, DC and as Head DJ for Lindy Focus ‘24 and New York Bal Week. He has been a featured DJ and competition DJ at events such as Lindy Focus, DCLX, California Balboa Classic, Camp Hollywood, Great Lakes Balboa Exchange, I Heart Balboa, Swing Out New Hampshire, All Balboa Weekend, Bal-Ast Off, and Barcelona Balboa Weekend.

DJ Ann Sychterz

Champaign, IL

Ann began swing dancing in 2008 in Waterloo, Canada (not far from Toronto) and now lives in the US. Since getting her first songs, she has DJed in her home scenes including the one she founded in Switzerland called Swingtime Lausanne. She has had the fortune of playing swing jazz including head and competition DJ for events around the world. Digging through old stuff and new (soft spot for the original stuff), small group to big band to Newport, North American and European, she aims to create an atmosphere worthy of creativity and playing around with the dance.

DJ Sam Zorich

Chicago, IL

Sam is thrilled to be part of the DJ team at her hometown event! She began dancing in college, but fell in love with swing era and later jazz music in middle school when she started playing saxophone. Since then, she has DJd at home in Chicago and at regional balboa and lindy hop events around the Midwest. While she’s not much of a musician anymore, she loves to highlight the saxophone while playing music that makes people get on the floor and stay there!

DJ Brennan Bowman

Chicago, IL

Brennan believes in the journey, treating each dance floor he encounters like an expedition he is about to take with the dancers on the floor. No matter the method, speed, or destination of the voyage, Brennan strives to find new (and old) music that inspires and challenges dancers to create art in all dance forms. Having honed his DJ skills with local and regional events beginning in 2009 and serving as the DJ/Band Manager for Chicago’s premier weekly event, Fizz Swing Dance, Brennan is very excited to return as a DJ for one of his favorite events, Great Lakes Balboa Escape!