Artists
Go to (instructors): Juan Matos | Melissa Rosado | Montuno Aye | Fibe | SALSAme
Go to (performers): Project Salsa | Zouk Libre | Drama Queens | Mas Que Tres | DIM | Jantra & Diamond | Kasia & Oskar
Go to (DJs): DJ The Joker is Wild | DJ Mala Suerte | DJ Viejoteca Chango | DJ PinchaDiscos Dos Plantas
Instructors
Juan Matos (USA / Italy)
Juan "Pachanga" Matos was born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He moved to the United States in April of 1996. Little did he know that within three years he would become one of New York's top male dancers.
Not of legal age yet, Juan started visiting clubs to watch his parents, who were at the time Santo Domingo's top hustle dancers. They were his prime influence and main inspiration in dancing, which slowly became Juan's dream. He was never quite sure which dance form he wanted to pursue until 1997, when he saw mambo. He visited Victor "La Magica" Pacheco's class and was instantly hooked. However, after just 2 months of mambo classes, Juan was forced to take a break due to a back injury. After being noticed at a club when social dancing, with only street knowledge and little technique, Juan was able to learn and perform a whole mambo routine in less than seven days. A lot of hard work and dedication helped Juan to progress to the next level; becoming a performer in a group called, "Magic Combination Dancers."
At the beginning of 2000, Juan was invited to join a dance group directed by Osmar Perrones (Yamulee Dance Company). A couple of months later, Juan was also invited to train with, "Santo Rico Dance Company" (founded by Wilton Beltre and directed by Thomas Guerrero). After a year of training with Santo Rico Dance Company, Juan developed what is now called "Pachanga style." This unique style is why all eyes are fixed on him in New York's mambo scene. Whether it is during a social dance or a dance performance, Juan is considered to be one of the best, hottest and most influential dancers of his generation. He has been a huge inspiration for the majority of the "on2" professionals in the salsa world. Natural talent, pure, smooth, classic, and fast feet best describes this talented young man. Juan has created a name for himself on the International platform as a teacher as well as a performer.
Melissa-Rosado (USA)
Melissa Rosado, AKA "The Mambo Princess", is one of the top international instructors and performers of NY Style Mambo "On 2." She is an energetic and explosive dancer who is known all around the world for her unique, sexy styling and body movement on and off the dance floor, powerful stage presence, and passionate love for teaching. In addition, her humble attitude and welcoming personality is what makes her popular amongst the mambo community today. She has an ability to effortlessly follow any lead and is known to be one of the best examples and instructors of the Eddie Torres technique.
The Bronx born native Melissa has trained in a variety of dance styles consisting of Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip-hop, African, Afro-Cuban, and Flamenco since the tender age of 5. It was not until the age of 9 that she discovered her passion for mambo when she began taking classes with Eddie and Maria Torres at the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx. After years of training under Eddie and Maria and being a part of the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club Senior Dance Company, she was later invited by Eddie and Maria to become one of the first members of the Eddie Torres Junior Company, which made its debut at Madison Square Garden in 1995. She continued to study and train in the Eddie Torres technique and later became part of the Eddie Torres Senior Dance Company and teaching staff, one of the top in the nation, while attaining her Master’s Degree in Forensic Psychology at John Jay College in NYC. During this period, she had the amazing opportunity to work as Eddie Torres’ partner until 2006. Shortly after leaving the Eddie Torres team, she partnered with Eddie Torres principal dancer Adolfo Indacochea for almost two years, performing and teaching as one of mambo’s international leading couples. Shortly after, she teamed with up the Mambo King Eddie Torres once again until 2011. In addition to partnering with Eddie Torres, she also established herself as a respected and sought out solo artist worldwide, which she continues to do present day.
Montuno Aye (Warsaw, Poland)
Montuno Ayé is a Warsaw-based salsa school founded by Ola Leszczewicz and Kasia Lorkowska, uniting a number of Polish salsa instructors. It is also the only professional Kizomba dance school in Poland. It is known for the unique style, feeling, professional teaching and love towards everything Nuyorican and Angolan. They specialise in Salsa New York Style and its 'relatives' like pachanga, cha cha cha, boogaloo and, of course, in Kizomba, which they introduced to Polish dancefloors.
Fibe - Fota Step (Koszalin, Poland)
Krzysztof Himkowski, aka Fibe, is a rapper, dancer and choreographer. As a rapper, he performs both solo and with the Zmychsłów band. Presently he is focused on the promotion of his new album, "Fibe w Rapie". Fibe's dancing credits include his 2010 performance alongside Zosia Karbowiak during the Polish national selection to the Eurovision Song Contest. He also choreographed and appeared in Zosia's video for To Co Czuję. His most recent choreography work was Pippi Longstocking, a spectacle directed by Wojtek Rogowski and staged in Bałtycki Teatr Dramatyczny in Koszalin in 2011. As a dancer and dance instructor, Fibe has given workshops throughout Poland, including such major events as Warsaw Salsa Festival, Salsa Spring Break and Crystal Salsa Party. He is particularly appreciated for his fantastic cha-cha-chá, bachata and salsa footwork sequences.
Fibe is a certified dance instructor. He completed his training in Warsaw, on a two-year quialifying course encorsed by the Polish Ministry of Culture. Several times Polish champion and World Championships finalist, he currently servers as adjudicator for Polish Freestle Dance Union. He has organized numerous dance events in Koszalin, his greatest brainchild being the Taniec Kontra Taniec festival. Read more about Fibe on his facebook fanpage, www.facebook.com/fibeart
SALSAme (Lublin, Poland)
Aleksandra Świerszcz-Porębiak and Rafał Porębiak, the owners of SALSAme Dance Studio in Lublin became enthralled with dancing at a very early age. Both took their first dancing steps in a Ballroom class. Aleksandra went all the ways up to the highest levels of competitive dancing, succesfully reaching gold standard. Then they decided to bring their talent and experience to Salsa dancing. They began with Casino but it was Los Angeles Style Salsa that captured their hearts. Leaning from the co-founders of LA Style, the one and only Luis Vazques, and his amazing partner Melissa Fernandez, allowed them to develop a deep passion for the dance and to reach a high level of dance skills, which they have exhibited in numerous competitions.They are three-times winner of the prestigious Primavera Salsa Open contest in Wrocław in the LA Style category and twice runners-up in Poland Salsa Championships. Additionally, their Rueda de Casino team has been crowned Polish champions and, in 2010, Aleksandra achieved the title of Polish Salsa Solo champion. They are most proud, however, of their guest performance alongside Luis Vazques and Melissa Fernandez during 4th Wrocław Salsa Festival in 2011. They keep broadening their skills at international salsa congress, always trying to learn from the best. They have extensive teaching experience, which allows them to share their passion for their favourite style with everyone.
Performers
Project Salsa (Łódź, Poland)
Project Salsa it the first studio promoting Latin dances in Łódź. Initially the studio offered salsa classes only but their offer has expanded to include a wide array of dance techniques, from Jazz and Contemporary Dance to Argentine Tango.
Marta Rolnik, the leader and founder of the studio is a qualified psychologist and a soft skills trainer. She is also a graduate from Łódź Academy of Music, specialising in Choreography and Dance Techniques. Her knowledge, experience and the ability to build a professional team of dancers and teachers made Project Salsa a recognisable brand on the Polish dance scene, known for high quality classes and shows, as well as innovative teaching methods.
Project Salsa team has established regular cooperation with theatres in Łódź (Music Theatre, V6 Theatre). They have also produced their own dance spectacles, staged at V6 Theatre and Nowy Theatre.
Zouk Libre - Salsa Libre (Warsaw, Poland)
Drama Queens - Salsa Libre (Warsaw, Poland)
Student team led by Agnieszka Wójcikowska.
Mas Que Tres - Salsa Libre (Warsaw, Poland)
Agnieszka Wójcikowska, Paulina Roos, Magda Pałyska & Hanna Darmas.
DIM - Salsa Libre (Warsaw, Poland)
Choreography by Agnieszka Wójcikowska and Paulina Roos
Jantra & Diamond (Australia/China)
Jantra & Diamond are dancers John Hawkins and Dai Meng, from Australia and China respectively. They have been dancing together for almost four years since they met on the dance floor in Brisbane, Australia. They are a passionate and energetic couple with a common interest in two dance styles in particular: modern New York style mambo and Brazilian zouk. They both believe that dancing makes the world a better place, as it has enriched their lives and given them a family of friends from all around the world.
Together they have performed with the award winning Latin Steps team from Brisbane Australia, and the La Mambita dancers out of Berlin. John has also performed with the Smooth Latin Groove team out of Brisbane and the Salsa Sandana team out of Dresden. They are now dancing solo choregraphies in their chosen styles and traveling Europe, learning what they can from the world's best dancers.
Kasia & Oskar (Warsaw, Poland)
Kasia and Oskar are the leading exponents of the NY Style salsa in Poland. Their achievements include winning the Primavera Salsa Open contest twice, and performing in the first Polish salsa musical. Kasia is a certified dance instructor, a graduate of Broadway Dance Center in NYC, an Active Isolated Flexibility technician, an Eddie Torres student, a choreographer and the co-founder of Montuno Ayé dance school. Oskar, currently a teacher and choreographer at Montuno Ayé, spent his formative years playing percussion but then changed the drum sticks for dancing shoes. As a duo, they are an explosive mix of energy, passion, love for salsa, flawless technique and a dose of humour.
DJs
DJ The Joker is Wild (Latvia)
DJ The Joker is Wild from Latvia has been DJing weekly in Riga since 2006. He has also appeared as guest DJ at salsa events in Lithuania (Vilnius, Kaunas) and Estonia (Tallinn). He produces salsa events in Riga with international guest dancers and DJs. His experience includes DJing at Riga Salsa Festival 2010, 2011, Tallinn Salsa Festival 2011, Salsa Spring Break (Warsaw) 2011. He has DJed with international Djs inlcuding Mauri, Lubi, Steve Mambo Criminal (Brussels), Dj-Latinmaster Holland, Weedska (Lithuania), Rain (Estonia), Guy Raphael (US/Estonia).
DJ Mala Suerte
Sławek Leszczyński was introduced to salsa in late 2002 and that's when he started to collect songs that he felt were the most enjoyable for salsa dancers. Over the years his collection grew but he only used it for personal purposes. It all changed in 2006 when he was asked to DJ at a new salsa party and reluctantly agreed. From that moment he started to spend more and more time searching for new music and sifting through his collection for the best songs. This time-consuming task was partially eased by his exceptional memory for catchy tunes and for the names of salsa artists.
At the beginning of his career as a DJ, Sławek spinned in small clubs with poor DJ equipment and bad audio systems. Undaunted by his initial difficulties, he adopted the humorous nickname Mala Suerte (Spanish for "bad luck").
Guided by his musical taste as a dancer, he tries to deliver tunes that are highly danceable but not too familiar. He specialises in heavy Puerto Rican and New York salsa, especially from the golden age of salsa music in the 1960s and 1970s, but he doesn't ignore salsa bands that have emerged over the last couple of years.
His taste in salsa music, as well as his knowledge, have evolved over time. Initially collecting albums of well-known salsa artists such as Ray Barretto, Willie Rosario, Tito Puente, Ismael Rivera, Bobby Valentin, Cheo Feliciano, he then broadened his horizons to less-known artists, such as Impacto Crea, Johnny Zamot, Chivirico Davila, Federico and Alfredo Linares. Today, Slawek own albums of hundreds of bands known only to a handful of salsa vieja collectors in the world.
You will definitely enjoy the nostalgic guajiras, rhythmic guaguancos and fast-paced, energetic, percussion heavy descargas he carefully selected.
DJ Viejoteca Chango
Viejoteca Chango is a lover of afro-caribbean music. He was one of the first people in Poland who started to play classic salsa (salsa vieja). He's the first and the only Polish collector invited to the biggest salsa event in the world – Feria de Cali in 2008 and in 2010 in Colombia. He was also invited to the XVII and XVIX meeting of collectors and music lovers (XVII and XVIX Encuentro de Melomanos y Coleccionistas) during Feria de Cali. He is now a DJ in one of the best radio stations on the Internet - www.golpeybembe.com transmitting from Bogota - Colombia.
He cooperated with the program Fusion Latina – Salsa Magistral, held by his friend Mauricio Diaz in Colombian radio Javeriana Estereo that transmits from Cali – Colombia. He runs www.viejoteca.net (in Spanish), where you can find lots of interesting information about salsa dura, as well as listen to the radio Golpe & Bembe. Every Thursday from 10:00 pm to 12:00 p.m. you can listen to his show BorinCuba Jazz at www.golpeybembe.com and www.viejoteca.net
DJ PinchaDiscos Dos Plantas
Piotr Romanow, aka DJ PinchaDiscos Dos Plantas, aka Mayer, began his DJing career plaing at the legendary GALERIA UFF parties, which he had also originated. His DJ credits include gigs at major Polish salsa events such as BACHATURO or SALSA SPRING BREAK, weekly sets at FIESTA EN LA PLAYA, a regular outdoor summer salsa party in Warsaw, and residency at MAMBOMANIA, a series of weekly parties dedicated to NY Style salsa. Currently, he is the resident DJ at parties organised by the Latin Groove salsa school.
Piotr is also one of the most experienced teachers in Poland, who began dancing salsa as early as 2001. Since 2003, he has performed regularly at various congresses in Poland and abroad, including Berlin, Munich, Hannover, Praque, Tallinn and Oslo. Before founding his own school, AY! MAMBO, in 2010, he spent 6 years teaching at Salsa Libre Dance Studio. Currently he collaborates with some of the best Polish salsa schools, such as Montuno Ayé in Warsaw and Urban Dance Zone in Łódź. The quality of his work is reflected in the fact that several of his former students are now established salsa teachers themselves.
Piotr actively promotes the development of the Polish salsa scene. He was one of the founders of Warsaw Salsa Festival, one of the largest salsa events in Central Europe.
Piotr is also well aquainted with the culture of Latin American countries having studied it at Univeristy of Warsaw's Center for Latin-American Studies. He is now a student at the Institute of Latin American and Iberian Studies at Univerity of Warsaw. This gives him the unique opportunity to disseminate the history and culture of the countries where Salsa was born, thus giving his students a broader perspective on salsa dance and music.