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Search Results for: Dance Company

Marcus’s Dance Studio

North America / USA / New Jersey’s

Marcus Nieves, owner and Instructor of the dance studio

Marcus Nieves started dancing in 1998 while out clubbing in one of New Jersey’s hot spots at the time, “Foxes”. He was intrigued by the various turn patterns and energy that the local dancers displayed on the dancer floor. That sparked his interest in Salsa and he began taking dance lessons with Kenny Lopez. In 1999 Marcus was approached by Luis Zegarra to take part in his dance company “Fuerza Latina.”

Marcus Nieves, owner and Instructor of the dance studio
Marcus Nieves, owner and Instructor of the dance studio

There he gained most of his experience as a salsero, performing in many events around the tri-state area, which provided him the exposure he needed to be recognized in the dance scene. In 2000, Marcus began dancing under Nelson Flores and his dance team “Descarga Latina” which opened the opportunity for him to take part in the off-Broadway show “Latin Madness”. 

In late 2002 Marcus worked as one of the “Copa Boys” for the world famous “Copacabana” and in 2003 he fulfilled his dancing goal of the “Eddie Torres Dance Company” for which he dance and toured around the world. He then joined several of his old dance partners from the ET dancers in a collaboration team called “Latin Soul Dancers” which he performed with all of 2007. Today he is also the dance instructor at his own MDN Latin Dance Studio in New Jersey

Diana Osorio Instructor

Diana started her life on stage at the young age of 9, as a saxophonist and vocalist, performing at local events. A graduate of the first performing art school in the nation, Art High School in New Jersey, Diana is known for her versatility in the Art.

Diana Osorio Instructora
Diana Osorio Instructora

At the age of 13 she began competing in the Emmy Awar winning show, NJN Hispanic Youth showcase, as a vocalist. Not long after her crave for competition began, a family member introduced Diana to MDN Latin Studio in 2005 at the age of 15. She began to learn Salsa On2 for the first time, and made dance one for her new talents, and made dance one of her new talents, and strengths. After 4 years of competing, in 2009, she finally gained victory in the Teen Dance category as a soloist in her last year eligible to compete.

In 2005 her vocals were put to the test, she sang with living legend, and prodigy, Paquito D’ Rivera. February of 2007, Diana was given the opportunity to show her ability to be on camera and interviewed Grammy award winner Victor Manuelle, Don Omar, Eddie Palmieri, and TV News host from elemundo, at Victor’s first concert at Madison Square Garden, El Conciero de Amor.

She was only 15 years old. At the age 16, she was asked to be the lead roll in an NJN (New Jersey) Network) documentary special, THE GOLDEN AGE OF DANCE, playing the roll of the late Mambo Queen, Mille Donay. Through this documentary she was able to give tribute to those of the past, and find her style as one of the class and elegant ladies of today.

In 2007 Diana became an advocate for against Teen Drinking and Driving, and one of the opening acts for “El Gran Combo at the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

In 2008 through 2009, Diana worked for the Newark Boys and Girls Club of America, instructing their First Salsa Dance Class for the kids, making the front page of the Star Ledger with her students.

Marcus Nieves and Diana Osorio
Marcus Nieves and Diana Osorio

In the summer of 2009, she performed at the New York International Salsa Congress, dancing on stage for the first as Marcus Nieves’s partner with the New York/ Italy dance team, Latin soul Dancers (LSD) directed by World Renowned Instructor and Former Eddie Torres Dancer, Adolfo Indacochea. In March of 2010 Marcus Nieves and Diana continued their journey together as partners at the first New Jersey International Salsa Congress.

In the summer of 2010, Marcus and Diana returned to the NYISC only to compete. With an unfortunate loss, they worked harder and won first place in November of 2010 In NYC’s Club Cache during the qualification round for the World Latin Dance Cup On2 division.

Class Schedule (Marcus’s Dance Studio)

  • Monday: Intermediate 7 pm – 8:30 pm, Advanced Beginner Level 1 8:30 pm – 10 pm.
  • Tuesday: Beginner 7 pm – 8:30 pm, Avanced Level 1 8:30 – 10 pm.
  • Wednesday: Intermediate 7 pm – 8:30 pm
  • Thursday: Advanced Beginner Level 1 7 pm – 8:30 pm, Advanced Beginner Level 2 8:30 pm – 10 pm
  • Saturday: Intermediate 12 pm – 1:30 pm, Advanced Beginner Level 2 1:30 – 3 pm, Advanced Beginner Level 1 3 pm – 4:30 pm, Beginners 4:30 pm – 6 pm.

If you want to know about the types of services and pricing visit http://www.marcusnieves.com and register

Dancing Latin Dance

North America / USA /

Building Community Through Dance: Dancing Latin Dance is available for fundraisers, school functions benefit/awareness events, charities, multicultural celebrations, and special events.

Bailando Latin Dance Company is dedicated to heightening awareness and appreciation for the art of dance through education, outreach programs, and public demonstrations. The company’s motto is ‘Building Community Through Dance.

More than just a dance company

Argentine Tango

Their will be an emphasis on Caminadas (walks) and will master the basic figure 8 step; will also cover ochos (crossing/pivoting figure), basic boleos (to throw, keeping knees together, swivel & turn), basic ganchos (hooks), and giros (a turning step), molinete (windmeel).

1- Dancing Latin Dance
1- Dancing Latin Dance

Salsa Combo Classes

Learning follow and lead technique is emphasized along with the ins and outs of the salsa turn patterns, footwork, and shines. They cover cross-body leads, the copa, and combination patterns… body isolation, cuban motion, and footwork/shines will be taught in open and closed-position.

Services

They host instruction, classes, create dance performances, offer cultural presentations, outreach programs, and event promotion. Bailando Latin Dance Company engages in events for community centers, multicultural celebrations, schools, fundraisers, benefits, and other events, and all dance- levels.

Past schools/student organizations that have contracted with BLDC for dance education include:

  • University of WI-Milwaukee
  • Marquette University
  • Concordia University
Dance Academy
Dance Academy

Services include:

Performances/Demonstrations

Book Dancers for your event

These may include: cultural celebrations and festivals, socials, galas, school organizations, work companies, private or public events, corporations, conventions, and much, much more!

  • Cultural Presentations
  • Classes/Workshops/Lessons
  • Group, Semi-Private, and Private Instruction

For booking, you can contact [email protected] and for more information visit the following link http://bailandodance.com

Steps Dance Studio Inc.

North America / Canada /  Toronto

Steps Dance Studio

Steps offers a complete curriculum of Salsa, Bachata, Hustle and Latin Dance for all skill levels. Working from a comprehensive dance syllabus designed by Jennifer Aucoin and refined by 20 years of Salsa teaching experience, their professionally trained instructors are patient, dedicated and passionate about their craft. Want you to leave your class and the dancefloor feeling great. The program is designed to allow students to begin anytime! Start any week, even absolute beginners. And come as often as your schedule allows. Steps Dance Studio has classes every night and on weekends, and most levels are offered twice a week or more.

Dancers teachers - Steps Dance Studio Inc.
Dancers teachers – Steps Dance Studio Inc.

Located just a few minutes walk from Bloor & Wellesley subway stations. 819 Yonge St. 3rd floor. Toronto, ON M4W 2G9 SE corner of Yonge St. & Davenport, north of Bloor St.

Meet Jennifer Aucoin, Founder, Executive Director and Instructor.

A full-time salsa instructor, choreographer and event organizer. She is co-artistic director for Steps Dance Company & co-founder of the Women’s Salsa Retreat. As a trained adjudicator, Jennifer has judged competitions in Puerto Rico, Ecuador, New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami, Detroit, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. She has also represented Canada on the judging panel for the World Salsa Championships televised on ESPN.

Jennifer Aucoin
Jennifer Aucoin

She is on the judging panel for the prestigious Global Salsa Championships at the World Salsa Summit. Jennifer was also the first instructor in Canada to be certified to teach Latin Hustle by the IHDA. Jennifer is the founder and organizer of the annual Canada Salsa & Bachata Congress, an international salsa festival that takes place in Toronto every October.

This 4-day extravaganza, now in its thirteenth year, is the largest salsa event in Canada and features nightly performances by over 60 dance companies from all over the world and daily salsa workshops given by worldrenowned instructors. The Canadian Salsa Championships, part of the Canada Salsa & Bachata Congress weekend, is the largest and most widely recognized Salsa & Bachata competition in Canada.

Classes offered in Steps Dance Studio

Salsa

  • Salsa Level 1: No previous dance (or salsa) experience required. Start this class at any time. Each class starts with an explanation and review of the basic Salsa step and the timing and rhythm of Salsa music, followed by a new beginner level turn.
  • Salsa Level 2: Geared to those who are comfortable with the basic Salsa step, basic right and left turns and Cross Body Lead. Build on Level 1 material and learn new turns and combinations, add footwork (i.e. Salsa shines) and reinforce your timing and partnering skills. Learn proper posture, frame, weight transfer and connection.
  • Salsa Level 3: Cross body lead patterns, traveling turns, back breaks, checks and different hand hold variations will be linked into fun turn pattern combinations. Start developing a flow of motion between the moves that will make you feel good and look good on the dancefloor.
  • Salsa Level 4: This course will focus on high intermediate level turns and turn pattern combinations, how to maintain balance and connection with your partner while incorporating directional changes & intricate moves, improving musicality, how to remember shines and turn patterns and use them in different combinations, tips on how to be a better leader and follower, adding styling to your dancing – in short, how to be a more complete dancer!
  • Salsa Level 5: This course focuses on taking your dancing to the next level. Advanced level turn patterns, technique and skill development. Execute double spins, multiple turns and variations, intricate choreography, advanced level syncopations and sexy styling. Adapt and combine your moves to suit the level of your partner.

Bachata

  • Bachata Level 1: Bachata is a seductive and flirtatious dance that originated in the Dominican Republic and is played in all Salsa nightclubs. Learn the basic Bachata footwork and how to lead and follow some fun and simple Bachata turns and turn pattern combinations.
  • Bachata Level 2: Learn new turns and turn pattern combinations while focusing on the correct connection, tension and movement of Bachata dancing. Learn body isolation exercises and drills to help make this dance look smooth and sexy.
  • Bachata Level 3: Learn more intricate and complex Bachata turn pattern combinations. Learn how to execute syncopated Dominican style footwork. Learn body isolation exercises and drills to help you to incorporate the sensuous Bachata body movement needed to make this dance look effortless.
  • Bachata Level 4: Learn more intricate and sexy Bachata turn patterns. Add syncopated Dominican style footwork into your partner dancing. Learn how to incorporate the sensuous Bachata body movement needed to make this dance look effortless. Refine your leading & following technique in order to build a connection with each dance partner. And much more… For more information about schedules, classes, lessons, workshops and contacts, visit
Flyer Hustle Foundations
Flyer Hustle Foundations

https://www.stepsdance studio.com/

Sizzling Summer Nights dancer April Connella breaks silence on Orlando Delgado and her career

A while ago, we wrote a story about Sizzling Summer Nights, which is a series of outdoor performances by long-established and emerging orchestras at the Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles. However, we never had the opportunity to talk to any of those involved in the event, but that has changed in the last few days, as we have had the joy of speaking with professional dancer, dance teacher and choreographer April Connella, who will give us details on her career and professional life. 

April at an event
April Connella at one of her dance events

How April became interested in dancing

April started to become interested in everything related to dancing from a young age, but the one who really introduced her in this world is Orlando Delgado, who was a salsa instructor and dancer in Los Angeles. It turns out that in this same city, someone close to Orlando saw April dancing in events by chance and told her to go to Orlando’s studio, meet him and take classes with him to reach her full potential. So she did and the connection between the two was instantaneous and, over time, they became friends and Orlando came to be someone very special in her life.

They became a dance couple, taught classes and did many events together until the untimely passing of Orlando in September 2023 due to a long battle with cancer

Sizzling Summer Nights

April was telling us that it was Orlando they really contacted to participate in Sizzling Summer Nights. One of his students in one of his dance classes, who turned out to be one of the organizers, suggested that both he and April attend these events, since the previous instructors had left, so he was looking for new ones.

Since then about eight years have passed and Sizzling Summer Nights has become one of the biggest salsa and Latin music events of the summer, largely due to the effort made by the talented duo.

Orlando and April in Sizzling Summer Nights
Orlando Delgado and April Connella at the Autry’s Sizzling Summer Nights some years ago

How Orlando’s death affected April

The dancer also confessed to us that Orlando’s loss has affected her personally and professionally, to the degree of saying that, together with him, she has lost a part of herself that feels that she will never be able to recover. Many have asked her why she does not get a new dance partner, but she finds it difficult to do that. She recognizes that there are many good dancers who could fill that spot, but finding someone she has the relationship and emotional connection she had with her previous partner is impossible. You do not get that anywhere else.

However, despite this painful loss, April knows she has to move forward in spite of everything and carry out her projects as hard as it is. In fact, one of those challenges is that April herself also happened to be sick with cancer and is in remission.

To this we must add that one of the things keeps her going is the great passion she feels for what she does and she believes that her profession is a part of her soul she cannot let die too. Not to mention that she has felt the support of the entire salsa community that knew Orlando in life and helped her to continue her work.

April and Chino Espinoza
Chino Espinoza from the group Chino Espinoza Y Los Dueños del Son and April Connella

April’s Feel Da Beat

The dance instructor explained that April’s Feel Da Beat is actually a new version of the previous dance company that was only called Feel Da Beat and was directed by Orlando. After the two meet, they not only become dance partners and best friends, but also business partners. 

Then, Orlando was planning to retire at some point due to age, so he wanted his project to be in the hands of someone he could trust and that was April, whom he taught everything he knew so he could delegate what he had built so far to her. When Delgado’s health was already very frail, both he and April discussed the matter of the company and concluded that the best thing to do was to transfer it to her and change its name to April’s Feel Da Beat. After that, it was up to her to handle the project alone and adjust to this new stage without Orlando by her side.

She does not have a big team working for her right now, but she does work with many artists and dancers for the various events in which she performs.

Orlando and his friendship with April
Orlando and April had a strong friendship until the day of his death

Read also: Los Boleros Latin Band Bandleader Rudy Furlan kindly talked to us

Swedish dancer Molly Hagman made it in Europe and now in New York

Undoubtedly, Latin music continues to enslave hearts around the world and the protagonist of this story is a reliable proof of it. It has been such a great honor for us to have known the story of Swedish professional dancer Molly Hagman, who has shared with us the most important facts about her career and how she has reached the point she is at today.

Dancer Molly
This is beautiful Swedish dancer Molly Hagman

How Molly became interested in dancing in her home country

Nice and jovial Molly was describing in detail everything she has done in her career, thus answering most questions we had for her. She began by telling us that her dance studies began when she was still very young. Being only 15 years old, her best friend at the time convinced her to enroll in the Malmoe Dance Academy in the Swedish city of Malmö, to learn from instructors who introduced her to genres such as jazz, hip hop, contemporary music and ballet.

Two years later, when she was sufficiently prepared, she began experimenting with salsa and auditioning for women’s dance teams, one of them being the group Bellasitas, Molly and Maddy being the first two original members. Once the team was complete, they began to perform in congresses throughout Europe such as the Berlin Salsa Festival, the Hamburg Salsa Festival, the Copenhagen Salsa Festival, the Stockholm Salsa Weekend at the Capitol Stockholm in Sweden, the Scandinavian Salsa Congress, the Love Dance Festival, among many others.

Activity outside Europe

By the year 2014, the young woman studied a year of commercial dance at the International Dance Academy in Copenhagen, Denmark. As part of her education, she was able to travel to Los Angeles to train at the Millenium Dance Complex studio, where she remained for about three months and shared with some of its choreographers such as Gustavo Vargas, Jojo Gomez, Yanis Marshall, Tricia Miranda and many more. That time was enough for her to know that her destiny was the United States and that eventually she would like to live there. And she did.

Molly at the Malmoe Dance Academy
Molly when she was studying at the Malmoe Dance Academy during her teenage years

Some time later, more specifically in 2016, Molly moved to New York to study dance at Broadway Dance Center and the possibility to meet the best salsa instructors, many of whom were in that city. It is there where she made contact with Franklin Diaz, with whom she was dancing for a few months in a number of events, until joining the Yamulee Dance Company in the Bronx. She danced for that dance company for about six years, that is, until the year 2022.

During her time with Yamulee, she was able to participate in all kinds of events all over New York, Florida, Trinidad and Tobago and other places.

It is during this time that her passion for Latin music developed even more, since practically those whom she interacted with listened to salsa, merengue, bachata and reggaeton and the great majority of Yamulee’s members were Dominicans who gave much importance to their heritage. As mentioned before, Molly had already had contact with these genres, but this constant exposure only reinforced her decision to continue along this path.

Solo career

In 2022, Molly felt ready to start her career as an independent dancer thanks to all the training previously received. Since then, she has worked with her current dance partner ”Vittico La Magia” with whom she has performed in numerous festivals such as the New York International Salsa Festival in 2023 and 2024, the BIG Salsa Festival in the same years and the New York SBKZ Congress last year. 

Molly in Harlem
Molly posing for the camera in the Graffiti Hall Of Fame, Harlem

She also told us that she was starring in the official music video for the latest song my Thalia and Los Angeles Azules – “Yo Me Lo Busque” that already has over 1.2 million views after being out for only 5 days! What was an incredible experience and dancing for such big artists. Similarly, she has participated as a dancer for several concerts by Dominican artist Yiyo Sarante in New York and New Jersey before thousands of people who enjoyed her great talent. She also danced with Grupo Niche and La India in some of their shows.

Additionally, she has been interviewed by important shows such as The Art Of Fashion TV, which was broadcast through the Manhattan Neighborhood Network and exposed to millions of viewers, giving Molly the opportunity to make herself known to a much larger and diverse audience.

Her role as a dance teacher

Molly has been teaching dance since she was in Sweden on some occasions, but where she further gained experience was in New York, which is when she has developed all her skills through the private lessons she today offers. She says that this is an area of her work that she really enjoys very much because it gives her the opportunity to teach other young people what she herself learned at the time and this satisfies her enormously. The need to create a new choreography for each class invites her to be more creative and to keep the interest of her students with new dances in each session.

Ms. Hagman has also completed with Malmoe Dance Academy’s professional dance teams on the Swedish national talent competition “TALANG”, (“This is Talent”) where she and her team won First Place. Talang is the Swedish reiteration of the Got Talent series. Talang features singers, dancers, comedians, variety acts and other performers competing against each other for audience votes and prize money. It’s a nationally recognized dance competition which was broadcasted on Swedish national television and to viewers around the world.

Molly at the fashion week
Molly modeling at the New York Fashion Week

Read also: Nicaraguan composer and pianist Donald Vega’s hard-luck story

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International Salsa Magazine (ISM) is a monthly publication about Salsa activities around the world, that has been publishing since 2007. It is a world network of volunteers coordinated by ISM Magazine. We are working to strengthen all the events by working together.