Instructors
Owner and Dance Instructor
Born in Queens, New York with Peruvian heritage and surrounded by the sounds of salsa, cumbia, merengue and folkloric music at home.
Music and dance connected Nancy to her culture. Folkloric dance classes allowed her to performance opportunities and music classes paved the way to performing in marching bands. In college, Nancy stepped into the world of Ballroom and Latin Dance where she was exposed to all sorts of partner dances such as Hustle, Tango, West Coast Swing, Foxtrot and Waltz. She found her passion in Salsa and other Latin rhythms (bachata, cha cha cha, merengue) and even competed with choreographed routines in Philadelphia, Miami, New York, and Montreal!
After years of classes, performances, and competitions, in 2009 she fell in love with sharing the concepts of dance and bringing happiness to people of all backgrounds and goals through dance instruction. She also received her 200 HR Vinyasa Yoga certification as a way to learn more about the body, how it works, and enhance her level of instruction in all areas.
Today, she continues to train with her coaches and teach others the foundations and concepts of latin dances as followers and leaders.
Nancy Bocanegra
GUEST INSTRUCTORS
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Daniel Raphael
Daniel has worked as a professional dancer and instructor for over 24 years training individuals and groups and conducting workshops in Brazil, Europe and the United States. He has performed in several different dance styles for television and stage, including Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary Dance, Flamenco, Latin Rhythms, Brazilian Dances and Tango, his specialty.
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Robert Gracia
Salsa/ Mambo dancer from Bronx, NY.
Rob joins Somos with 15 years of experience! He started dancing with Cache Dance Studio under the instruction of Juan Portella and Caridad. Since then, he’s danced with Yamuleé, Eddie Torres Sr., Eddie Torres Jr, and others!
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Andrea Ude
Originally a concert dance performer with a background in styles such as ballet, tap, jazz, modern and african, Andrea Ude holds a BFA in Dance Studies. Her partner dance career began with Ballroom in 2010, before she ventured to the social Latin dance scene of NYC teaching and performing in styles such as salsa, bachata, merengue, and cha-cha. With more than 30 years of dance experience, Andrea has used her diverse background to teach and connect with students for over a decade. She currently teaches salsa, bachata and merengue as the 2nd half of Swagchata and is a Co-Director/Choreographer of Latin fusion performance team, LFX Dancers.
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Brian " El Matatan"
Guest Instructor
Brian "El Matatan" is an NYC-based Latin dance instructor & DJ with over 10 years of experience in the scene.
He is a co-founder of the "Swagchata" brand as well as the BachaDura Social Club, helping to spread Caribbean cultural awareness & social dance etiquette.
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Claudia Sol
Guest Instructor
Claudia Sol was born in Monterrey, Mexico. She has performed and taught Latin Dance in Mexico, U.S.A, Japan, Hungary, France, Ireland, Curacao, Canada and Estonia.
She moved to the US in 2012 and has worked for different dance companies and studios since then. She won 1st place at the World Salsa Summit in 2020 with the company Iroko.
Claudia Sol is also a Spanish teacher, she completed her Montessori Pedagogy certification.
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Olenka Rallis
Olenka Rallis is a local dancer with 14 years of experience. Her specialties are Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Cha-Cha, Cumbia, Semba, and kizomba.
Olenka has won different Salsa competitions throughout the years.
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Matt Carmelo
Bellie Lando Bula, who performs as Matt Carmelo Hunter, is a local dancer with 17 years of experience. His specialties are Hip-Hop, Afro-Dance, Kizomba, and Semba. A skillful teacher, Matt is working to bring the community experience of dance battles to Portland, Maine.
Matt won the “Best of Krump” title in Angola in 2019.
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Manny Vazquez
Salsa Dancer from NYC, lives for the social dancing and music!
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Jacob Lugo
Professional salsa dancer and champion and owner of NYC Salsa Dance. Jacob continues to travel the globe teaching, performing, and spreading his love for this dance form with his dance partner.