So far I have teachers in training in the UK, Germany, Greece, France, Spain and even Mexico! And hopefully this first DANZALIFESTYLE TEACHERS promotion will be qualified before the end of the year! I now live in Valencia, Spain, where I am teaching my Systems and Teacher Training to people from all over the world and very soon I will have it online. I still can’t believe I have made a career of this amazing Latin dance and that I have been able to fulfill all my dreams as a dancer in SALSA. I always say that I owe so much to the salsa world, to the students, promoters, other dancers, and to my family who have made it all possible. And to all the Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Colombians etc who have shared their culture and music with us!
Have you always wanted to be a dancing instructor?
Yes I have always wanted to help people develop as dancers and as human beings. I started teaching when I was 17 years old, 26 years ago!!! And have never got tired of it. I feel it is such and honour and a blessing to be able to help people feel better about themselves, and fulfill their dreams. So far I have taught people of all ages, nationalities and abilities and it is always a pleasure to meet new students and to keep working with the old students. Most of which have become great friends over the years. Teaching is a great responsibility and I put all my heart and soul into it. I was born to teach, and hope that every person I have touched has felt how much I care for them and how much I wish them the best always.
Which style do you teach and what made you choose that particular style?
I teach my Mambolifestyle System which is based in New York Style Salsa (even though I also teach ON 1). I chose NY Style because I love the musicality and body movement of the style. I also love the fact that it is so different from anything I had done before…from ballet, Jazz etc, It makes me move my body In a totally different way. It was a great challenge to learn to dance NY Style and I still take as many classes as possible because the more I know the more I realize I have so much to learn! However I respect and enjoy all the styles and always encourage my students to learn to dance ON 1, ON 2, Cuban, NY, LA, all the styles, because otherwise Salsa can become very elite and divided and that kills the spirit of the dance and the culture. No style is better than the other, it is just a matter of personal preference, just like someone might prefer chocolate ice cream to vanilla ice cream, the same with the Salsa Styles, the fact that I might prefer NY style does not mean is better than any other style. They are all fantastic, fun and value creating. I have been in the salsa world for over 23 years and the more I am in it, the more it grows and the more it becomes elitist and divided.  There are now even separations between people who like kizomba more than bachata etc….at the end of the day, dancing is about getting people together, enjoying the music and the moment, bringing happiness to all… and the ego trips and competition do nothing but harm our precious salsa world. So we all need to work hard at uniting the scene, working with each other, helping each other and trying to think into the future. I fell in love with salsa because there were no competition and egos like in the professional dance world, but if we allow the salsa world to become all about who is more famous or how many congresses you get invited to or how many students you have, it will kill the spirit of Latin dance. I hope that more and more people start realizing that we are all part of this huge puzzle that helps make the world a better place by helping people become happier with themselves and others. The more people realize this, the more united the scene will grow and the more people will enjoy it for longer!
Which aspect of your work do you enjoy most?
There are two very distinctive aspects of my work which I equally enjoy: Seeing my students and my dancers grow, develop, become more confident with themselves and fulfill their dreams, whether they are to be become social dancers, professional dancers, teachers or just to have fun. I love creating and developing my Teaching Systems, Teacher Training, music and Shows. I don’t have enough time in the day to do everything I like doing.
What is your favorite music for dancing? Which artist?
My favourite music is NY Style Salsa…I have many favourite artists, like Angel Canales, New Swing Sextet, Ray Barreto, Joe Pastrana, Cheeo Feliciano…the list is long..there are so many amazing artists outthere. I love mid tempo music, which allows me to move my body and interpret every instrument in the music.
What has been your nicest or most memorable dancing/teaching experience until now?
I have too many memorable memories….too many years in the salsa world lol. One very memorable and very important experience was in 2008. That same year, my father died and I lost my dance studio in London. I had over 200 students when I lost the premises to a con man. From one day to the next my husband, our son and I  were homeless, jobless, and with nowhere to teach my classes. The years that followed where incredibly hard for me and my family, and of those 200 students, 30 or so remained and followed me around to take my classes in whatever studio I could find. They showed me loyalty, compassion and trust, at a moment when a lot of people chose to talk bad about me and invent stories that were lies regarding what had happened. Some of these students offered me their home and helped me in ways that I would have never expected. I am still in touch with them and some of them have even come to visit me here in Valencia. I have a huge debt of gratitude to them, because it is easy to be next to someone when they are famous o successful, but the true value of people shows in moments of great suffering, and these students, these friends where there when everybody else was gone, so I am for ever grateful to them and have them in my heart wherever I go. Truly amazing human beings. Another one of my favourite memories was in the year 2000, I was in Argentina for the Bacardi Salsa Congress, and I was asked to teach a Ladies Styling workshop. It was my fist workshop at an international congress. My teacher Eddie Torres was there, he helped me put my workshop together, watched me teach it and when I finish he said he had loved it, that I was a very good teacher and I was going to do very well. He gave me so much confidence, it was amazing to have him by my side, to give of his time to help me. I cherish his words and I feel he is next to me in every workshop or class I teach.
What are your ambitions for the future?
I would like to carry on contributing to the SALSA World by Training Dancers and Teachers with my Danzalifestyle Systems. I developed my Systems to help teachers have a structured and complete training program to work with and my dream is to have qualified teachers teaching the Systems all over the world. I would also like to develop my other systems with guest teachers (which is in the process) : Bachatalifestyle, Kizombalifestyle, Reggaelifestyle and more. I would also like to bring my Systems to places that I have not yet been to, like Australia and Japan. And to carry on with my Dance Company doing shows and entertaining.
What would be your advice to beginning or advanced dancers?
My advice would be to first of all choose your teachers carefully, try find Teachers who are well trained and keep developing themselves as dancers and teachers. Teachers who really care about the wellbeing of the students, who encourage you and respect you. Teachers who can help you get the best out of you! And to follow your heart…enjoy dancing, enjoy learning, enjoy going out and try to never let your ego take over. We are all always learning, there is always someone better than you and someone less advanced. The only thing that matters is how much you grow and develop, so only compare yourself to yourself and don’t worry about what other people say or do. The salsa world is amazing, but can also be very stressful if you get carried away by your ego or other people’s egos. Just be yourself, respect the culture you are becoming part of, and go for your dreams. Whether you want to be a social dancer, a teacher, a performer, just go for it. And appreciate every opportunity that comes your way, because in this Salsa World we all depend on each other: teachers, students, promoters, perfomers, DJs, we are nothing without the other, so as long as we help each other ad work together, we will all succeed. And no matter what happens…never give up…victory is perseverance….in all my years teaching I have never met someone who could not learn how to dance, but I have met many people who gave up before they could find out how far they could get.
EVERYBODY CAN SALSA!