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Teachers at the Latin Dance Academy

 

Susana Montero

Susana Montero is established as one of the premier teacher/dancer and choreographers in the UK. WHY? Simply because of her vast knowledge of Dance and Salsa, her sheer dancing skills, and her excellent teaching abilities, which has men, women and teachers coming back class after class. All this wrapped up in one of the most likeable personalities around.

This has all helped to make Susana one of the most sought after Salsa teacher/dancers in the UK.

Susana was born and raised in Madrid, Spain and started dancing at the age of five, where she found a passion for Ballet (and Flamenco, which also was part of her Ballet training.) She excelled in Ballet, winning competitions and creating a name for herself along the way. She taught ballet at school from the age of fourteen, whilst performing for the Silvia Yague Ballet Dance Company in Madrid.

Around the age of sixteen, Susana turned her hand to Contemporary, Jazz and Afro Cuban dance, and studied these until she was twenty-four. Along with her dance career, Susana has a Ph.D in Psychology (which took 6 years)

Susana first came to London in 1995, with the intention of only staying for a year. It was during Christmas 1997, whilst meeting up with a friend from her English class, that Susana was introduced to Salsa for the first time. Magnetized by the challenge and passion of a new dance, Susana took to Salsa, like a duck to water.

Six months later, Susana won a South London salsa competition, held at the Brixton Recreation Centre, London, and then in the same year, went on to win the first British Salsa Championship competition, with her then dance partner, Chandy.

In 1999, she debuted in the Princess Diana Memorial Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, in a group directed by one of the UK's leading choreographers, Richard Marcel. It was during this performance, that she met her current dance partner, Leon Rose.

In 2000, she won the second British Salsa Championship title, at the Bacardi Championships with Leon Rose, and that's when her career took off! The first prize was the chance to perform to one of the most prestigious audiences in the Salsa world, at the Puerto Rico Salsa congress, where Susana and Leon received one of the loudest and longest standing ovations of the entire week, after their debut performance.

Susana now spends most of her time (when she isn't practicing) at her classes, holding workshops and teaching and/or performing all over the world.

She has also done numerous TV and radio appearances and interviews for major newspapers and magazines.

When you watch Susana teach, dance or perform, you do not see someone who just happened to be this good by chance. She is the product of being a dancer, who has danced and trained hard for over twenty years, (including ballet, which is one of the hardest forms of dance), many of these years as a professional. Added to this, is a wealth of knowledge in several other forms of dance, (none of them done in half measures) which gives her a great understanding of body mechanics, which is an essential requirement for all teachers and dancers.

Her past has also trained her to have great concentration and focus in any project she pursues, which is one of the reasons she is so meticulous when she teaches at her lessons/workshops or practices for one of her performances.

But the main reason for her ability to dance and teach so well, besides her abilities, is the fact that to dance and perform, is food for her spirit, it is her driving force, it is her vocation, but above all, it is her Passion!!

In Autumn 2007 Richard Marcel invited Susana Montero to assist in the last televised season of Strictly come Dancing (BBC 2007). Together they devised most of the Salsa routines and shows for UK celebrities Letitia Dean, John Barnes, Matt Di Angelo (SCD runner up 2007) and Alisha Dixon (SCD Winner 2007). With these choreographies not only did the contestants manage to achieve some of the highest scores throughout the entire competition but would also help catapult them into the finals.

Susana has recently helped once again in the preparation of SCD presenter Bruce Forsyth's 80th birthday dance choreography celebration and for its rehearsals.

The Latin Dance Academy is very proud to have one of its founders to be part of this remarkable show, which is watched by millions of viewers.

Susana would like to thank Richard Marcel, for this wonderful opportunity.

Honours/Awards

• 2005 - Award for the Best International Dance Act, presented at the UK International Salsa Congress 2005.
• 2004 - Award for the Best UK Dance Act, presented at the UK International Salsa Congress 2004.
• 2004 - Award nomination for her contribution to the world salsa scene (Los Angeles).
• 2004 - Honoured with a sought after award in Torino Salsa Congress (Italy).
• 2002 - Award for her contribution to Salsa presented by Seriously Salsa, received at the the 2002 British Salsa Congress
• 2000 - U.K. Bacardi Salsa Champion
• 1999 - Award for her contribution to Salsa presented by Salsa y Mambo
• 1999 - Voted Best Female Teacher by Salsa y Mambo
• 1998 - U.K. Salsa Champion
• 1998 - Winner of South London Salsa competition at Brixton Recreation Centre, London

Past Performances, TV and Radio Appearances

• 2005 - Interview for Psychology of Dance programme for Radio 4
• 2005 - Salsa tuition for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, programme for Channel 4 TV
• 2005 - Interview for SalsaFrance.com
• 2005 - Interview for Frankfurt radio station
• 2005 - Interview for Stockholm Latin Radio
• 2004 - Performed along side Eddie Palmieri in London.
• 2003 - Performed along side Oscar De Leon in Los Angeles.
• 2001 - Appearance on Bombay TV (India)
• 2001 - Appearance on Sky TV
• 2000 - Cosmopolitan Show, Earls Court Exhbition Centre, London
• 2000 - Interview on "Esther" programme on Channel 4, hosted by Esther Rantzen
• 2000 - Interview for Miami TV (Miami)
• 2000 - Interview for C9 TV station (Spain)
• 1999 - Interview for GMTV "Good Morning" programme
• 1999 - Appearance on BBC2 Learning Zone
• 1999 - Performance at Princess Diana Memorial concert, Royal Albert Hall, London
• 1998 - Appearance on Channel 5 Club Culture programme

Super Mario

For many years now, ‘Super Mario’ has been a household name on the international Salsa scene, recognised and respected by students and fellow professionals for his amazing lead, unlimited database of fantastic moves/combinations and his teaching ability. His classes and workshops have always been extremely popular both in the UK and in countries as far as Australia, Japan and the USA, specialising on technique but always maintaining an element of fun.

Mario was born in India but moved to the UK as a teenager. He settled in London, where he continued his education, taking a degree in mathematics and also qualifying as an accountant. In 1998, a friend took him to a salsa club where the teacher immediately saw his potential. Mario was hooked straight away and has never looked back since. Still based in London and travelling to teach nearly every weekend of the year, Mario specialises in cross body style, dancing on the ‘1’ or the ‘2’ and focusing mainly on moves and combinations, with special emphasis on leading techniques.

Despite no previous dancing or teaching background, he was able to observe the unnecessary power used to lead turn patterns, and began focusing on breaking down routines to understand the techniques and signals that are essential to good leading. His natural talent for both producing and executing so many imaginative moves led to an invitation to teach at the first congress that he ever attended. His big break came soon after, when asked to give workshops at the biggest salsa congress in the world in Toronto, Canada.

Mario has earned himself the title; ‘Million Moves Man’ through his ability to create any number of unique combinations, that are lead with expertise and are always comfortable to follow. His dancing style is smooth but fast, giving him and his dance partner extra freedom to improvise. His amazing presence on the dance floor sets him apart as a social dancer and his outgoing, energetic personality has also been instrumental in getting him known in the Salsa World.

British Salsa Congress Award, 2003: Contribution to promoting Salsa in the UK.

LA Congress Award, 2004: Contribution to Salsa music as a dancer and instructor.

Israeli Congress Award, 2004: Contribution to promoting Salsa in Israel.

UK Congress Award: International Students voted Mario as ‘Best UK Teacher’ for 3 years in a row, for 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Super Mario has taught in more than 50 countries

Australia	Greece	Latvia	Russia
Brazil	Hawaii	Lithuania	Singapore
Canada	Hong Kong	Luxembourg	Slovenia
China	India	Mexico	Switzerland
Croatia	Indonesia	Monaco	Taiwan
Cyprus	Ireland	New Zealand	U.A.E.
Czech Republic	Israel	Norway	USA
Egypt	Italy	Poland
Estonia	Japan	Portugal
Finland	Kuwait	Romania

 

TV Appearances

The Vanessa Show
Wired
The Nickelodeon Club
Eastenders
The Kmicco Show, Japan

Competitions

3rd place - The UK Salsa Competition 2000
1st place - The Honduras Charity Event 2000, UK
3rd place - The UK Salsa Competition 2001

INTERVIEWS

* Salsa Vancouver
* Salsa in the Ciy
* Edie the Salsa Freak
* La Voz Del Mambo
* Salsa Spot

Shaan

Shaan is an established and respected dancer / teacher in London, the U.K. and internationally. Affectionately known as “London’s best kept secret”, he has been dancing salsa for 10 years, teaching 4 of those years with Super Mario and Susana Montero, acquiring a vast knowledge and experience of salsa dancing/teaching. Along with his friendly personality, this has made Shaan one of the most well-liked dancers/teachers today. Adding to his many abilities, Shaan is also a very popular and in-demand salsa DJ, regularly playing sets in London (Bar Salsa), nationally and overseas.

Bruny

Bruny is fast developing a reputation as one of the most enthusiastic, dedicated and inspiring salsa teachers in London.

Bruny, who comes from Italy, began dancing salsa in the UK in 2000, initially as a fun social activity. By 2002 she was competing in the Tropicana World Championship reaching the finals in the professional category and in 2003 she was competing in the finals at the British Salsa Championship. She was asked to join London-based all-girl troupe Seraphim in 2004 and performed in the group’s debut ‘Big Spender’ choreography at a range of London clubs.

Bruny has taught at various venues throughout London and the south-east, including, Fiesta Havana in Fulham, Aviv Dance Studio, Teddington Club and Harlow Salsa. In 2005 she co-founded Salsa Revolution in Watford. She has also taught at Bar Salsa for over 3 years along with Super Mario and Susana Montero. In 2006 she was the first teacher asked by the LDA to join the school. She is a very versatile teacher, with a vast knowledge in musicality, partner-work combinations, following and leading techniques, footwork and ladies styling.

Her friendliness and charisma, coupled with her genuine desire to help students to learn salsa in a structured but fun way has made her a popular teacher, with recent students from LDA describing her style as “fun”, “dedicated”, “excellent”, “enthusiastic” and “friendly”.

Nicky Britton

Nicky has been dancing for over 10 years, first as a latin and ballroom dancer before finding her way into salsa in 2000. Her methodical nature and amazing ability to pick up new skills has seen her progress rapidly. After just one year, she was performing at many of Londons top salsa clubs.

Nicky has worked with Iris de Brito, Laith Sami and Candice Leong, Duende and more recently joined the Leon Rose Project.

In 2003, she entered the British Salsa competition with then partner Mauro Casali and came a close second to Laith and Candice. In 2004 she qualified to teach salsa with the United Kingdom Alliance.

Nicky continues to develop her skills and learning new dance styles as she believes that within dance you never stop learning be it from your students or other teachers. After completing a contemporary dance cert in 2005 she stresses the importance of teaching to dance from your core and with your whole body, not just what you should do with your feet and arms.

Nicky succeeds in being a very friendly, patient and skilled teacher and has made it her aim to teach correct technique but keep the element of fun within her classes and her dancing.

Nicky also returns to teach for us this year by popular demand and again we are delighted to have her back!

 

Lee Wright

I started dancing salsa in 2001 and have performed with Diablo Dance Company, the Leon Project as well with my dance partner Shelly, and together we’ve won
• Murderous Instincts National Talent Spotting Competition.
• We won gold 2x Professional South East Salsa Champions 2006/2007
• Silver medal European Salsa Masters 2006.

In addition to performing and teaching in Salsa Congresses, in the UK, Britfest, Mambocity 5 Star Congress, I’ve also taught and performed in Europe, Vienna, Marseilles, Cannes, Majorca and Barcelona.

My main expertise are in leading and following technique and I’ve spent lot of time doing both can do both. As I feel this create a better all round Salsa dancer with a full knowledge of both roles, spinning techniques and dancing On1 or On2.

I feel that with dancing, there’s always more to learn and currently I'm increasing my dancing knowledge learning by taking classes in Jazz, and Modern Ballet.

Jana Ruckayova

Born in Slovakia, Jana has been dancing for over 20 years! Before salsa, she trained as a gymnast and later she joined a folk dance group with which she performed all over the world! She first started salsa in 2000 when she came to London. Since starting salsa, she worked closely with and taught classes for Iris de Brito and also for Leon Rose & Tamambo in the S.O.S Club and other London venues!

She was a performing member of Leon Rose Project Troupe, as well as all the girl group performing group The Latin Soul Sisters!! She has performed in numerous venues all over the U.K. and London and various Salsa Congresses around the world, including the world famous U.K. Salsa Congress several times!

Jana's knowledge and demonstration of ladies' timing, following technique and spinning make her joy to dance with as well as to watch!

Inaki Fernandez

Inaki was born in the North of Spain but grew up in Madrid. He moved to London in 2004, bringing with him several talents, including experience in Argentinean tango, Salsa and of course Bachata.

As choreographer, teacher and performer, Inaki worked with the Tenerife Salsa Company and The Tenerife Tango Company and also backstage at several Spanish Congresses.

Soon after arriving in London, Inaki performed with the 'Diablo Dance Co.' in energetic routines combining Hip Hop, Jazz and Salsa. From here he moved towards dancing 'on 2'.

Since joining the 'Leon Rose Project' in 2005, Inaki has been performing with the group at congresses worldwide, including Holland, France, Spain, Ireland, Brussels, Sweden, Latvia, UK, Texas, Switzerland, Geneva, Surinam, Germany, Miami, Italy and many more.

Inaki teaches Salsa, Bachata and Kisomba at a number of venues including the 'Latin Dance Academy'. The LDA founded by world renowned teachers, Susana Montero and Super Mario, focuses predominantly on technique.

Although Inaki has extensive experience of teaching Salsa and Tango, he is widely known for his popular Bachata workshops and has even teamed up to perform and teach with Susana Montero. His unique style of footwork and body movement combined with energy and intensity have earned him the title, 'King of Bachata'! His enthusiasm for Bachata has encouraged and developed a strong community of Bachata fans on the London salsa scene.

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