LATIN RHYTHMS ACADEMY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Instructor & Director of Latin Rhythms Spotlight
Although Blanca is our in-house yoga specialist, she comes with an extensive dance background. Blanca, who has been an instructor and performer with LR for 8 years, has studied ballet at every professional dance studio in Chicago and received her B.A. in Dance from Columbia College in Chicago. Although she has studied ballet, jazz, contemporary, flamenco, and several other styles, her passion is Latin dance. Blanca is the mom of an infectiously adorable son, and she plans to continue teaching and advancing in dance in years to come.
Classes
Bachata
Ladies Styling
Salsa
Job Titles:
- Instructor, Director of Bachata Luz & DJ
Bruce is our team jokester and a true product of Latin Rhythms. As a student with our company, he studied Salsa, Bachata, and Cumbia. His unique dance style brought him to an invitation to dance with Latin Rhythms Dance Company and later became an instructor. His desire for becoming a dancer was transpired from watching movies like "Salsa!" and "Saturday Night Fever". Who didn't want to dance like Tony and Rico after watching those movies?! Bruce primarily teaches Basic & Intermediate levels in Salsa and Bachata. His hopes of one day choreographing a piece that will grace the stage of a national salsa congress have come to light. He is now the Director of Latin Rhythms Bachata Luz dance team.
Classes
Bachata
Salsa
Job Titles:
- Freelance Graphic & Branding Designer
Jaime of JMVisualDesigns has been a freelance designer for over 15 years. His love of Chicago and music have been influences on his design. Those influences range from the urban nature of the city, with diverse cultures; to the vibrant colors of graffiti and mural work, you can find in neighborhood viaducts and along the Eisenhower Expressway. Music has brought a unique drive to his design work. The different tones and genres of music help him connect to the pieces he's creating. As a designer, he's had a hand in many different designs projects; from concept to completion. He began working alongside his wife, Marketing Director, Monique Maldonado, four years ago to assist Latin Rhythms in several designs and branding projects. Jaime also has a background in Latin dance. See Jaime's portfolio.
Jane is a Chicago born girl who's studied bilingual education both in Chicago and Madrid, Spain. She holds a Master's degree in Bilingual Elementary Education and currently teaches for CPS. Her love for dance and music is dated back to when she was 5-year-old baby Jane. Not only was she a ballerina, but she also learned to play the piano and violin. Growing up in a home where music was integral in their daily life, she was fortunate to share her love of music with her familia. Jane joined a group of friends for a performance class at Latin Rhythms in 2014 and has been here ever since. She has performed several times with Latin Rhythms both locally and internationally in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. Jane's goal in dance is to learn as much as she can to let it feed her body and soul. You can now see her friendly smile assisting you at the front desk a couple of days a week with our favorite mascot (her fur baby), Canelo.
Janeen definitely brings the heat in both her performance quality and instruction. Coming from a family full of spunk and character, as well as dancers, her love for Latin dance sparked while she was in college earning her degree in Physical Therapy. She was enchanted by the music and has a particular love for musicality and body movement. In 2009, she was invited to join Latin Rhythms Dance Company where she began to perform nationally at Salsa Congresses. Performing with Latin Rhythms has been a highlight of Janeen's dance career. She is now a part of several dance teams and plans to continue to develop as a dancer and learn more styles. She is now one of our instructors teaching everything from Body Isolations, Ladies Styling, and more.
Classes
Ladies Styling
Latin Footwork
Job Titles:
- Instructor & Director of Equipo Mambo
Jorge is our Cha-Cha loving country boy. Born and raised in the small town of Marengo, IL. His love of dance started from watching some of his closest friends dancing salsa. He knew he just had to learn. His dance journey and training began at Latin Rhythms and he was here to stay. He later became part of Latin Rhythms Dance Company. He's performed locally and out of state at several dance congresses. Performing Latin Rhythms' piece "Confrontation"in 2013 is one of his dance highlights. His love for musicality and body movement really shows in his performance quality. To Jorge, teaching is an art form in itself. He plans to continue to develop as a Latin dancer while learning new forms of dance. He is an avid believer that if you are having fun, you will continue to learn.
Classes
Bachata
Cha Cha
Latin Footwork
Salsa
Maricza ValentÃn, CEO and Artistic Director of Chicago's Latin Rhythms & Latin Rhythms Dance Companies, has been studying dance for 29 years, and teaching for 26 years. In 1998 Maricza earned her BA in Dance from Columbia College. Maricza co-founded her own Latin dance company in 1999, Latin Rhythms Dance Company (LRDC). In August of 2000, Maricza expanded the success of LRDC by co-founding a dance studio in Chicago, Latin Rhythms Academy of Dance & Performance (LRADP).
Today, ValentÃn runs a 4,500 square-foot studio in Chicago's West Loop. Over the course of 22 successful years, the studio has trained thousands of everyday students, teachers, and professional dancers, many of whom have developed into esteemed performers. They have created six performance teams in several disciplines, with students who come back in flocks year after year for the opportunity to be trained by Latin Rhythms faculty. As the Artistic Director of two of Chicago's strongest Latin dance companies, Maricza has proven herself as a connoisseur of choreography, in addition to her reputable teaching accomplishments. She is Co-Artistic Director of the Chicago International Salsa Congress. Maricza was also one of the top 24 finalist in Season One of So You Think You Can Dance.
Classes
Bachata
Cha Cha
Ladies Styling
Latin Footwork
Mambo
Salsa
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Venue Director
Monique auditioned for Latin Rhythms Dance Company in 2002 and instantly fell in love with the group. She had previous dance experience as a member of Los Jovenes Del Swing (Chicago) and a Puerto Rican Folkloric dance group, Flamboyan in her hometown of East Chicago, Indiana. After 2 years with the dance company, she was offered an instructor position. Monique taught at Latin Rhythms for 3 years. She later decided to venture into the competition world and competed in several dance competitions including the 2nd Annual World Salsa Championships in 2006. After graduating from Columbia College she decided to pursue her Masters in New Media Studies at DePaul University. After working in the Marketing field for a few years, she was offered the new Director of Marketing position at Latin Rhythms. With her genuine love for dance and close relationship to the dance studio, it was undoubtedly a perfect fit for her and her career. Monique has always loved Latin dance and is now pleased to be sharing that love with our local communities as a true advocate and marketer of Latin Rhythms.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Outreach Coordinator
Nadia is our sassy and sensual dance guru. Born in Venezuela and raised in Nicaragua she possesses all the Latin spice you need. She began taking dance lessons and learned all her salsa basics in Montreal, Canada. She was later reunited with dance in Indianapolis, IN and began taking private lessons with Latin dance professionals. Shortly after, she opened her own Latin dance studio. After 4 years she decided to come to Chicago and was then offered a position at Latin Rhythms as a dance instructor. She has performed and taught Mambo, Cha Cha and Bachata all over the U.S. including several Salsa & Bachata Congresses. Nadia loves to be sensual with her style but also loves to throw down just like the guys. She hopes to compete at a world competition before she retires from the competitive world.
Classes
Bachata
Boogaloo
Latin Footwork
Salsa
Sensual Bachata
Nancy comes to Latin Rhythms with a ballet, jazz and tap background. Growing up in Cicero, IL., her parents knew she was destined to dance and put her in ballet as soon as they could. While studying Speech Pathology in college, she joined a Latin dance team and directed it for 2 years. With her dance experience, it was no surprise when she was invited to be a part of Latin Rhythms Dance Company. Her fluid and graceful style truly shines when she performs. Nancy has graced the stages of many Salsa congresses and has particularly loved venturing out to performing some her own cha-cha choreography with Instructor, Janeen Bolden. Her experience in Education has made her a perfect fit here at Latin Rhythms. Merging her two passions into one place. She plans to become a Bilingual Speech Pathologist and a great instructor.
Classes
Bachata
Salsa
Job Titles:
- Instructor & Director of LR 's Salsa Training Team
Victor is one of our most senior instructors and performers. A native Colombian, Victor entered LR in 2000 and has performed and taught for the company nationally and internationally. He has studied multiple styles of Latin dance while being a part of Latin Rhythms and brings to us a true "Gentlemans" style of dance. He directed LR's Student Salsa Team for 13 seasons and is now directing our On2 team, Equipo Mambo. Victor hopes to continue to push his students artistically for many years to come.
He likes to focus on the fluidity of partner dancing while allowing his partners to express themselves without complicating what they are being asked to do within a dance.
Classes
Bachata
Cha Cha
Cumbia
Mambo
Salsa