 Jesus & Nicole Obregon
Jesus Obregon was introduced to salsa dancing about 8 years ago and took his very first salsa class in a downtown Baltimore venue. At that time, his friend Charles pushed him to take salsa classes because he said, "There is no way a latino guy can't dance salsa... ". That was just the spark that Jesus needed to get interested in learning. A few years later, Jesus met Nicole Lazzaro (now, Nicole Obregon) dancing salsa at Club One in Baltimore. That first encounter sparked a connection which led to an energetic and passionate journey into the salsa world.
Since then, Jesus and Nicole have taken salsa lessons, footwork and styling workshops, private lessons and training from professional instructors from around the world for the past 4 years. In addition to that, Jesus and Nicole started attending Salsa Congresses, Salsa Festivals and Dance Socials in and out of the area. Their passion for salsa dancing and music grew even more when they were introduced to
a new salsa style... Salsa On2, which made them even more interested in learning and being able to add more flavor to their dance. Both Jesus and Nicole enjoy teaching and dancing in Baltimore as part of their commitment to the salsa community. Our class schedule can be found at www.marylandsalsajam.com
 809
Created in 2003 by musical director and lead saxophonist Anthony Carr, Latin orchestra 809 has intended from it's beginnings to re-vindicate the native music of Dominican Republic: Merengue. Experiencing dismal times, this music has been, to a considerable extent, overshadowed by popular genres such as bachata and reggaeton.
Under the direction of Mr. Anthony Carr, 14 musicians from diverse musical backgrounds, now seek to continue the legacy of emblematic figures such as Johnny Ventura
and Wilfrido Vargas.
809 has made a reputable name in places including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Baltimore and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, where they have performed music from their upcoming CD. Determined to succeed, 809 is ready to entertain audiences from all over the world.  Dominque Patrick Noel
Patrick is a native of Paris, France. He began playing the bongos with the different bands in which his father performed in while in Junior High school in the mid 1980s. In 1993, he joined the local band Telvis y su Grupo Fuego, then left in 1998 to become co-founder and musical Director of Pablo Antonio y La Firma. He has also played with a number of other DC-area Latin bands, such as Sin Miedo Band, Verny Varela y su Orquesta, The Latin Sound Band and Orquesta La Leyenda. During his years with Sin Miedo Band, Dominique accompanied Septime Weber, Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet with his choreography “Juanita y Alicia” on a tour of many U.S. cities. Also, during his tenure with Pablo Antonio y La Firma, he has backed up Legendary Salsa Singer Lalo Rodriguez and the well known Merengue
band Caña Brava. Nowadays, Dominique does a lot of freelancing work with 809, Orquesta Timbason, Orquesta Tropikiimba.
 Denison Cabral
Denison Cabral, one of the most popular players in the history of professional indoor soccer in Baltimore, Denison is entering his 11th year as President and director of coaching of the Denison Cabral Soccer Academy and the Denison Cabral Futsal Academy partnered with Mr. Jamie Martin for the past 6 years. Both academies involve working with players from all ages and levels in VA, MD and some of the 10 different countries visited playing and coaching
soccer.
Native from Florianopolis, Brazil Denison is a current professional Indoor player playing for the Baltimore Blast (MISL). Cabral, a five-time League All Star, is the all-time leading point scorer in Baltimore's franchise history with more than 840 points in 2007/08 season... He ranks 25th all time in the MISL in points. In 2002-03 Season he won his first Championship and was named MVP of the 2003 Finals after leading the Blast with 14 points in the playoffs... Cabral earned six All-Star honors and three Championships defending the Baltimore Blast franchise wearing the number 5 jersey.
Also served as the head coach of the St. Mary's High School varsity boys soccer team...Cabral began playing professional soccer in Brazil and moved from home at the age of 15 and ventured to the United States in 1994... He became a U.S. citizen on May 11, 2007 and is now a member of the U.S. Futsal team representing the US team in Spain and Brazil (in the 2007 Pan American games).
In addition to his excitement on the professional field, Denison shares his love of soccer with kids through the Denison Cabral Soccer/Futsal Academy camps and clinics in the Washington Metro area.
www.denisonsoccer.com  Deejay Iguana Simply put my name is Juan Hurtado, also known as Deejay Iguana. I'm originally from Bolivia and have been living here in the states for about 2 years now. I've been a Dj for the last 8 years, 6 of which were in Italy. I'm very proud to represent my beautiful country of Bolivia here in the area.
|  Adrian Atoro & Auntie Ox (Zoukalma Washington D.C.)
Adrian Atoro, Amy Rocores, and Lottena ‘Auntie Ox’ make up Zoukalma – a group dedicated to spreading Brazilian Zouk in the nation’s capital. All three are notable dancers in their own right who fell in love with Zouk and decided to dedicate themselves to it entirely, pushing the limits and restrictions of American social dance. Already a certified ballroom instructor and accomplished Latin dancer, Adrian spent several years studying Zouk both in and out of the
US before he began working intensely with his two partners, both of whom have now traveled extensively to further their skills. In addition to her years of experience as a Latin performer and instructor, Amy also brings her first-hand knowledge of Latin & Brazilian culture, dance, and language. Lottena’s background in non-partnering dance-forms such as DnB and House, combined with her years of Latin dance and now single-minded dedication to Zouk make her dancing unforgettable. Adrian and Lottena regularly perform through the DC-area while he and Amy teach weekly classes at Clavekazi Studios. www.zoukalma.com
 Erick Sanchez & Luciann Bracero
Erick and Luciann, salseros de corazón from Puerto Rico. Erick Sanchez was born in San German, Puerto Rico. He has been dancing since 2003, after a retreat and training in Los
Angeles, California. He has for Dancing with Grace, where he participated in many shows including the celebration of “Hispanics in the United States Postal Service”,at Oriole Park and many others. He has taught salsa clases at La Palapas for several years. He currently is participating in Dancing in Time with Barbara Bernstein. Luciann Bracero was born in Cabo
Rojo, Puerto Rico and has being dancing since 2005 when she met Erick. She has participated in several shows as part of the Hispanic Celebrations series during her tenure at Dancing
with Grace, also, at the Baltimore Aquarium and Candem Yards Orioles Park. She currently participates in various shows as part of Dancing in Time group. www.danceintime.com
 Zezeh Brasil Productions
Zezeh Zax is a Washington, DC based dancer, teacher, and
professional performer of Brazilian samba and founder of the ZEZEH BRAZIL Dance Troupe.
Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Zezeh Zax is a former Carnival Queen of the Unidos do Peruche samba school. She has danced professionally for over 15 years in a number of countries, appearing on Brazilian television shows and performing in a variety of venues in the United States.
ZEZEH BRAZIL is a dance troupe dedicated to bringing the great beauty, diversity and vibrancy of Brazilian culture to the United States. Performing a number of styles of Brazilian dance - from traditional samba de roda movements of Bahia to the afro-influenced pulsing samba reggae rhythms of Pelorinho to the intoxicating carnival batucada styles of Rio de Janeiro -- with its performances ZEZEH BRAZIL takes you on a whirlwind tour of the magnificant country that is Brazil. www.zezehbrazil.com
 Master Apolo & Alan Sanidad of Apolo's Martial Arts Guro Apolo began his career as a student of Korean Karate in the Philippines, where he earned the designation of "Master".
During the 1980's, he became the top-ranked Eastern Regional Champion.
He then entered the national and international sport karate circuits and
quickly became a world-class champion by winning more than 100
first-place trophies and Grand Championship Titles.
Master Apolo has
been recognized as Instructor of the Year for four consecutive years
(1985-1988) by the premier U.S. Martial Arts Organization - Master of
Tae Kwon Do Hall of Fame, Pocono, PA.
And, in 1991, Master Apolo was asked to join a select delegation of
American martial artists in the first Russian World Championship Martial
Arts Tournament. He returned to the states with both a gold and silver
medal. Also during 1991, Master Apolo was selected to be a member of the
National Tae Kwon Do Team set to represent the Philippines in the 1992 Olympics. In
1997 and 1999 Master Apolo was inducted into the World Martial Arts
Hall of Fame. And, in 2004, he became the Executive Vice President of
the Kali World Council, USA, Inc.
Master
Apolo is presently a fifth-degree black belt and professional karate
instructor teaching a straight-forward, state of the art, progressive
curriculum at Apolo's Karate, in Pasadena MD. It allows his 1,900 students to learn self-defense techniques, while building character and self-discipline. Together, with his brother, Guro Bobby Ladra, the MABAGSIK -Maryland Pekiti-Tirsia Kali Bulls bring the word MABAGSIK to life, with real practices under the institutionalized teachings of Kali.
Alan Sanidad
have been running the Md location and Master Apolo leading the Florida location. I
have studied Tae Kwon do and Filipino Martial arts under Master Apolo
for the 8 years. In the past 7 years I have competed in countless
tournaments from Tae kwon do, Filipino stick fighting, kickboxing, as
well as BJJ.I have also been trained in mix martial arts and brazilian
jiujitsu for the last 5 years and currently training in MMA with the
DMV's elite trainers.   Claudia Barraza aka Kaya
Kaya, a native of Barranquilla, Colombia, is an Instructor at Towson Dance Studio and Promenade Dance Facility in Baltimore, Maryland. She likes to push the boundaries of the dance world with an innovative style of freestyle salsa. As a child, she performed in different dance groups, folklore being her favorite. As an adult, she studied dance at the Colombian School of Arts and Rosario University. She became a professional dance instructor in 1996. Two years later, she moved to the United States and quickly secured her reputation in Ohio and then Virginia. Her experience led her to work with the Colombian Tayrona Dance group for over 2 years while attending the Virginia Academy of Fine Arts and participating
in various dance programs. In 2001, she traveled to Japan and started teaching at salsa venues and created the group “Sugoi Salsa” which performed in several events. Most recently, she trained under the direction of John Patillo from Towson Dance Studio, and Josie Neglia (The Princess of Salsa). In addition, she has
taken numerous workshops with Shaka Brown (Clavekazi), Cultural Explosion (NY), Son y Pasos (CA), and others.
 Gudalupe Fuentes Originally from Goascorancito, Honduras Lupe has played with several of the areas hottest bands including Telvis y su Grupo Fuego, Pablo Antonio y La Firma, and the JCJ Band. Lupe now plays with various groups. |
