David El shatran
David el Shatran is a specialist in both privacy and recommendation systems applied in the scope of social networks. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in artificial intelligence At university, David was a student representative and a leader in student politics. He was also active in the Jewish community, serving as president of different Jewish associations for young people in Boulogne, his suburb in Paris. David then decided to create an innovative association, JewSalsa, which combines his two passions: innovations based on Latin and klezmer fusion and Jewish social events. Today, David is a musician and salsa and Latin dance teacher, which enables him to share his passion for dance with several dance schools in Paris. JewSalsa has performed for conferences in France, such as Limoud and Taglit, as well as in Europe and Israel. They have also performed for French associations that raise money for tzedakah, such as AUJF and POURIMLAND. David’s first original world music CD, la Descarga Klezmer, was recorded in May 2013. He is the pianist and arranger of a klezmer/salsa fusion orchestra.
Outside JewSalsa, David’s main project is the huge annual party organized for Sukkot, which draws up to 2,000 young people. His most interesting projects on campus were a demonstration on behalf of students’ rights and the one week memorial visit to Poland with 40 students, half of whom were not Jewish. JewSalsa’s most popular project is the video series created for Rosh Hashannah, Hanukkah and Passover (which received 35,000 hits on YouTube). JewSalsa performed for various French Jewish gatherings, such as Summer U, Winter U and Junction. Their performance at the annual Festival Dance Contes raised 5,000 Euros for tzedakah. Today, David is looking for help, money and ideas to reinforce JewSalsa and for making his music and his videos known in North America and beyond. JewSalsa is considered one of the most innovative concepts within the French Jewish community. Its slogan is, “JewSalsa: another way to feel Jewish.” JewSalsa is a cultural and artistic concept that helps in the dialogue between Jews and non-Jews, brings Jews together and spreads the warmth of Jewish and Latin cultures.