Mambo Room Instructors and DJs |
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Tracy Holland In 2001 Tracy moved to Norfolk and was bitten by the salsa bug. Once immersed in the Salsa scene and Hispanic culture, Tracy used her marketing company, Thala Graphics, to help Sandra Sanchez, best friend and Salsa instructor, to promote classes and Salsa parties that were attended by Salsa dancers from all over the east coast. Together they created a community of Salseros and opening a studio was simply the next step. Tracy says, “the Mambo Room brings everyone together from all nations and cultures. We can all share in the communication of dance and the music that finds it's way into your bones." Her favorite part of the studio has been learning how to run a successful business and empowering others to help develop the studio. |
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Dorian Gramajo Dorian Gramajo has loved music his entire life, and then he learned how to dance Salsa. Dorian says, “I use to prefer dancing over spinning, but then salseros started to call and request me, and that just made me feel good. I love it when the entire room is full of salseros, bachateros, merengueros... all of them dancing and enjoying my music.” According to Dorian, “the Mambo Room has, is, and will keep changing people’s lives. Everyone is humble like a big family, and we all support each other to become great dancers. My biggest satisfaction is when I see someone new taking the beginner's class, and then a few months later you see them dancing and doing what they've learned and having a lot of fun. Thanks to the Mambo Room, I’ve met hundreds of wonderful people. Dancing is by far one of the best things that has happened in my life.” |
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Sandra Escobosa A previous owner and one of the founders of the Mambo Room, Sandra now coordinates our Salsa Bashes and large events several times a year. Being a Salsa instructor for over 10 years, her connections in the Salsa community run deep and result in exciting events with people coming from all over the country. Sandra is responsible for bringing national and international performers and guest instructors to the Mambo Room and providing an experience for our local community that few get to enjoy. |
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Leroy Windfield Leroy has been dancing Salsa for over nine years and teaching for more than seven. He is Hampton Roads' first "home-grown" salsero. In addition to being the Mambo Room's head Salsa instructor, he is also the director of the Mambo Room Professional Dance Team. He is a member of Psyonmauricio's Mezzlocutis Professional Dance Team based in Washington DC, as well as the assistant director of the YemaShun Professional Dance Team also based in DC. He is a fun, energetic, and passionate salsa instructor who focuses on the fundamentals yet challenges his students to strive for excellence. His personal philosophy is: "if you can walk, you can dance salsa. Once you know your left foot from your right foot, you're halfway there." |
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Kim Windfield Kim has been dancing Salsa/Mambo since 2007, traveling all over the country to learn from the very best Mambo dancers in the scene. She currently trains and performs with the Mambo Room Dance Team and, two professional dance teams based in Washington D.C., Mezzlocutis and YemaShun. Kim loves how Mambo brings together a group of diverse people who can communicate through a same language...the language of dance. And that's exactly what the Mambo Room is to her... a way to bring people and cultures together through dance! |
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Scott Wilson Scott is one the most highly requested Bachata instructors in the Hampton Roads area and is known for providing fun, personable, stylish, and challenging yet beginner-friendly dance instruction at the Mambo Room. He was trained in LA-style salsa by professional instructor and performer, Josie Neglia. He’s skilled in all Latin dance styles: On2 mambo, On1 salsa, Cuban Casino (Rueda), Merengue, and Bachata. Scott is also a competitive ballroom dancer trained by professional dancer and choreographer, Suzanne Joyner. He has danced competitively in numerous showcases, and won first place at the Carolina Classic 2009 in the international standard and Latin categories of Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, Samba, Rumba, and Cha Cha, respectively. He says, “I enjoy sharing fundamental tools and techniques to improve dancer confidence and enjoyment, and what I love about the Mambo Room is there’s a great mix of dancers of all levels. It’s a beginner-friendly and family-oriented studio with a warm and receptive staff and great music and DJs.” |
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Jon Green This comedic native of Chicago makes it a point for his students to have a blast in class. Jon is a professional dancer with an extensive background in music. He has diligently studied, in various parts of the country, different forms of dance, including the American ballroom styles of waltz, tango, foxtrot and swing, although his claim to fame and favorite dance is Chicago-style steppin'. Teaching the art of dance in both group and private settings, Jon has developed a reputation for his fun, outgoing personality and ability to teach. One of his biggest accomplishments includes his appearance on MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen television show. When asked what he likes about the studio he replied, “the Mambo Room gives me money to do what I love. Isn’t that crazy? Seriously, I like the diverse mix of people. There's nothing like coming in and hearing someone speaking Spanish, German, Italian and more!” |
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Ife Milligan Graceful as a goddess and peaceful as a cloud, Ife Michelle Milligan Martinez, or "Ota Nigue," began her dance training in NYC in 1997 with master teachers Richard Gonzalez, Ricardo Colon, Xiomara, Pupy, and later studied with Oscar Rousseaux in DC. She has performed both in NYC and with Ache-Moyubba Folkloric Ensemble in the District of Columbia. Ife truly practices what she teaches. She says, “I love Afro Cuban dance because of the rich spiritual and cultural tradition that is a part of it. The folkloric dance celebrates the manifestations of nature and the role nature plays enriching our lives. I love teaching at the Mambo Room because of its recognition of Latin dance and dance in all forms. The diversity in instructors and the family atmosphere is priceless, and the students are also awesome.” |
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Cesar Sanchez Authentically Puerto Rican, Cesar Sanchez started break dancing at age five. On the island he learned Afro-Latin music and later was inspired by Michael Jackson, and he was later accepted into the School of Arts in Rochester, NY. Through the Navy, he moved to Okinawa where he met his Salsa instructor, Erik Rodriguez of Mamboki Latin Dance Company. Within six months of training, Cesar performed at the 2004 NY Salsa Congress. A year later he arrived in Virginia and started teaching Salsa. “The Mambo Room broke barriers by emphasizing NOT ONLY ballroom and exercise, but also SOCIAL dancing and creating a relaxed atmosphere for dance. People of all backgrounds can come and be themselves.” Cesar teaches everything from Mambo to Boogaloo. He dances because he “learned to express my feelings with my body and I want everyone to experience that. I want to see people dancing one day and hear that I had a part in that." |
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Sara Laurenzi Sara is originally from North Jersey, where she graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey with a BA in Psychology. There she was also the president of the dance club and the founder of the dance team. She choreographed and performed with both organizations and competed at a national level. Sara is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and hip hop. She moved to Virginia Beach in 2008, where she currently works as a behavioral counselor in an elementary school, and she continues to nourish her love for dance by studying in various dance studios and teaching hip hop to kids at the Mambo Room. Sara currently runs the dance program for under-privileged children funded by the annual Mambo Room Dance-a-thon. “I love kids and dance and to fuse both of my loves I teach hip hop kids classes. I love the Mambo Room because it is a studio that allows their students to explore new dance styles and approach their relationship with dance as a journey, not just a hobby.” |
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Will "Guerilla" Riddick Will has been poppin’ and dancing hip hop for over six years. A member of YFAMD & Universal Zulu Nation Ch 30, Funk Lordz of ATL, and R4D, he is a well-rounded teacher of all aspects of hip hop's diverse culture. Not new to the stage, he has danced with stars such as Lisa Lisa, TKA, Tito Puente Jr., Kurtis Blow, and KRS-One. Through his teaching he hopes to give people a better understanding of the culture, dispel myths, help teach the next generation, and encourage students to find the joy that he found in dance. Instructing with the motto, "each one teach one," he hopes to create a domino effect of great dancers. According to Will, “the Mambo Room is not your average studio. People there actually have so much soul and funk. It’s a very warm, diverse group of people.” |
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Michelle Hood A competitive ballroom dancer, Michelle's resume consists of training in ballet, west coast swing, hustle, club 2 step, salsa, and experience in both lead and follow roles. While living in Florida, she was an instructor assistant at Pensacola Ballroom; she then moved to Seattle, where she became an independent instructor and met her professional partner. Still passionate about what she does, Michelle says, " dance is an experience you can have with anyone, and it always makes you feel happy. You get someone brand new who thinks they can’t dance and all of a sudden--they can move. We all like music and when someone finds they can move to it, it brings out a part of them they’ve forgotten.” Humble as can be and always ready to help in some way, Michelle loves the family because “everyone is very honest. The management is great and creates an open atmosphere that makes me trust people. There’s a vibe that draws people in and they know they’re welcome.” |
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Ernest Williams Ernest Williams has been dancing the Argentine tango since 2000 and teaching since 2002. With his clear and detailed style, he has traveled nationally and internationally conducting workshops, private lessons and intensive seminars in cities such as NYC, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Buffalo, Cleveland, Nashville, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, San Francisco and Honolulu, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires. A graduate from the “Master para Maestros” (Master's for teachers) program at La Escuela Argentina del Tango in Buenos Aires (School of Argentine Tango in Buenos Aires), he says, “I'm passionate about the Argentine tango because it is definitely a lifestyle that catapults you to an international world and it gives you the opportunity to truly express who you are through the dance.” What he loves about Mambo Room is the focus on social dancing, which offers an alternative from all the other dance studios in the area. |
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Sherrie Grant Sherry was a high school cheerleader, and brings her uplifting spirit into her classes while motivating students to sweat while having fun. This ray of sunshine loves what she does and it radiates through her smile. “Teaching makes me feel good," she says. "The people that are enjoying this Zumba party are really making a difference in my life, and I can only hope that I am making a difference in their lives". With a steady following, Sherrie has been instructing Zumba at the studio since it opened. According to Sherrie, “I love the intimacy that I share at the studio.” To her the studio is a place where she can have fun, play around, but most of all a place to come to visit with friends. |
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Savannah Bailey Savannah is originally from South Carolina and first experienced zumba in Aruba and has been in love with it ever since. Savannah is a graduate athletic training student at Old Dominion University. She teaches kinesiology and biomechanics at ODU and works as a certified athletic trainer at Norfolk Christian High School. Her class is high energy and tons of fun. She's always ready to sweat it out while giving her students an hour they won't forget. Savannah likes to “make people feel good and be happy” through her classes. Whether a big class or small, the energy remains the same. Look for her on the dance floors across Hampton Roads. |
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Maddie Waddell Two years ago Madelyn Waddell fell in love with zumba. In August 2010 she attended an instructor convention and was hooked for life. As a Puerto Rican, she loves that she can mix her culture into the dance, as well as lose weight while having fun. Like all of our instructors at the studio, Maddie is passionate about what she teaches. She gets high off of the happiness which comes from teaching zumba, and she wants to share that same feeling with her students. According to Maddie, the Mambo Room is “very family oriented. Every class feels like a party!" |
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Kaylenne Holmes In 2002 Kaylenne becoming an instructor and pro judge for the Eastern Cheer and Dance Association. Her big breakthrough was the 2002 Citrus Bowl Half-time show. From there, she continued to coach and choreograph for a number of dance teams in both South Carolina and Virginia. From pom poms to camouflage, Kaylenne joined the military but never stopped dancing. “After eight years and counting in the Marine Corps, I got hooked on Zumba and have been running ever since. I love to dance and teach because it gives me peace of mind and it keeps me fit!” Since 2008, she's taught all sorts of zumba: basics, gold, zumbatomic, zumba toning, and aqua zumba. What does she love about our studio? “The Mambo Room offers a variety of dance classes, and it is affordable.” |
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Victor Celania In 2003, Victor Celania fell instantly in love with dancing and hasn't stopped since. He's been active in the dance community as a DJ, teacher and organizer since 2005 and enjoys spreading his love of the music, the dance, their histories and modern Swing dance culture. Specializing in many forms of swing dancing, including: Lindy Hop, Charleston, Balboa, Blues and East Coast, he emphasizes the mechanics, technique and musicality of dance to quickly advance his student's skills. He is delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Mambo Room, "an unconventional dance studio specializing in unique dance forms and looks forward to meeting you!" |
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Shawn Simmons - DJ Mambo Soul Originally from Long Island NY, Shawn Simmons better known as DJ Mambo Soul is a dancer turned DJ. DJ Mambo Soul is one of the most highly requested salsa DJs in VA. Within his second year as a Salsa DJ, DJ Mambo Soul performed at the 2010 International New York Salsa Congress, the Mambo Dinamico’s 8 year Anniversary in Durham, NC, VA Salsa Extravaganza in Richmond, VA, and Mr. Mambo Social in Washington D.C. DJ Mambo Soul’s favorite salsa artist includes Ismael Rivera, El Gran Combo, Bobby Valentin, Ray Barretto, Kako (Francisco Angel Basta), and Roberto y su Nuevo Montuno etc. "The reason why I enjoy DJing is because I love hearing that live band sound.... Especially at the Mambo Room. Mambo Room is a place where people can let go of all of their problems and enjoy dancing." |
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