Perry Louis

JazzCotech

Perry Louis (pronounced ‘Lewis’) is one of the UK’s top old-school jazz dancers and DJs. He is probably best known as founder of the JazzCotech Dancers, but is also a talented teacher, choreographer, and promoter.

Through a career spanning more than forty years, Perry has amassed a lot of vinyl (not to mention vintage clothes and shoes). He can now boast a collection of more than 20,000 records.

Musical roots

Perry Louis grew up in the 1960s listening to ska, rhythm & blues, soul, and jazz played by his father and uncle, who ran the Victory Sounds sound system. Later, Perry visited local clubs that played soul, jazz, jazz-funk, and rare groove.

By the late 1970s, Perry was frequenting club nights like Crackers, Spats and Royalty. It was at Jaffa’s, however, that his jazz dance education really began.

Shiftless Shuffle

Perry Louis has DJ’d all over the UK and beyond, including Ireland, Denmark and Japan. He is resident DJ and promoter of London’s immensely popular dancefloor jazz session Shiftless Shuffle, which he launched in the early 2000s.

Perry was also a resident DJ for many years at the Messin’ Around club night – at both the Jazz Cafe and the 100 Club.