Adrian Valdivia, Co-founder and co-director of DC Casineros, Adrian has been dancing and performing Son, Casino, and other popular Cuban dances for 10 years. He has also been teaching classes infused with Afro-Cuban dance for the past four years. He won first place in the couple’s competition in Miami Rueda congress of 2009. Adrian has traveled nationally and internationally to participate and to teach in the major Rueda de Casino and Afro-Cuban dance conferences. Along with DC Casineros, he has performed and taught locally, nationally, and internationally at prestigious and popular venues, conferences, and congresses including: the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian, DC Salsa Congress, San Francisco, New York, Miami and Atlanta Rueda Congresses, and the Nicaragua Salsa Congress.

MTV 3 Latino recently featured Adrian and his partner and Director Amanda Gill to talk about Casino as a Cuban Popular dance in the DC area.

Adrian and DC Casineros also brought the critically acclaimed All Stars Dance Company from Santiago de Cuba, and collaborated on a 1 and a half hour production in DC.

Born in Venezuela, Adrian grew up in a family of dancers and musicians, which heavily influenced his love for the arts. Adrian currently trains under the guidance of Afro-Cuban dance Masters Duane Wrenn, Kati Hernandez, Yudisleidy Valdes, Jorge Luna Roque, Yoel Marrero, Oscar Rousseaux and Aramis Pazos. He teaches Son, Casino and Rueda de Casino, rumba at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. His casino style emphasizes the power and intricacies of Son, Rumba, and at times Orisha dances.

ROBERTO BORRELL Musician - Dancer - Teacher

Thirty-five years of performing and instructing Afro-Cuban Folkloric Dance and Cuban Popular Dance has enabled Roberto Borrell to develop a unique and entertaining style of teaching.

At a time when elegance and style counted for everything Roberto Borrell turned the nights on fire dancing to the intricate rhythms of great Cuban performers such as Chappottin, Orquesta Aragon and Neno Gonzalez. He learned to dance during the heyday of the legendary Havana Social Clubs. Perfecting what is known as Cuban Popular Dance, Roberto became a master of Danzon, Son, Son-Montuno, Guaracha and the Cha-Cha-Cha.

When Roberto was 18 he was noticed by Cuba's Conjunto Folklorico Nacional and asked to join the celebrated performance group. In a trial by-fire situation he was schooled in the traditional Orisha songs, dances and rhythms by the most renowned Afro-Cuban folkloric dancers and percussionists of the time. His innate talent and facility for learning allowed him to start performing with the group immediately.

As Roberto continued to develop his performance skills he began to cultivate his abilities as a choreographer and musical director. Starting as the orchestra leader for his own group in Cuba , Union Cienfueguera, through to his highly successful San Francisco based orchestra, Moderna Tradcion, he continued to direct musical groups and shows for over 30 years.

By the time Roberto left Cuba he had developed a wealth of knowledge and a diverse mastery of Cuban music and dance which also included dancing Rumba en la calle, excelling in playing the Bata for Tambores (Yoruba religious ceremonies), choreographing for Carnival and performing on the National Stage.

In order to get the highly tuned performances that he required for his shows, Roberto began to train the dancers and musicians himself. Once in New York, Roberto focused his energy on teaching. With an authentic historic perspective, he worked on creating a meticulous method of teaching that combines music and dance with the evolution of Cuba's musical history. He teaches his students how to listen; one of the most valuable skills that a dancer can have. Along with a surplus of charm and charisma, Roberto has a generosity of spirit that transpires and inspires all of his students.

From a student in Cuba's pre-revolutionary dance halls to a prolific performer of Afro-Cuban dance and percussion, Roberto is able to harness the eros of the stage and direct it towards the world of teaching. If authenticity, raw talent and compassion are what you are looking for, Roberto Borrell is the teacher for you.

Ryan Mead is co-director and co-founder of Rueda Con Ritmo. Ryan has been teaching Cuban Salsa since 2005, and to date he has taught and performed across the United States, and internationally in Cuba, Mexico, Canada, and New Zealand. Besides being a dancer, Ryan is also a percussionist (he began playing at age 8) - he is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory and has taken several trips to Cuba to study both dance and music (once from a grant from Stanford). As both dancer and musician, Ryan is uniquely positioned to illuminate the inextricable connection between dance and music. Aside from his creativity as a choreographer, he is perhaps best known by lovers of Cuban dance and music for innovating a vocabulary of rhythmic calls and steps to aid dancers in the understanding and interpretation of Cuban music.

Sidney Weaverling is co-director and co-founder of Rueda Con Ritmo. She first studied dance as a teenager, and after several trips to Cuba she began teaching Salsa and Rueda in 1999. She is a longtime contributor to the currently thriving Cuban Salsa scene in the SF Bay Area, and has taught and performed across the United States and internationally. As a former student of theater and film, Sidney is a talented director with a keen aesthetic vision. A natural dancer and a thorough teacher, Sidney not only has a beautiful and fluid style of movement - she has the teaching experience and attention to detail that enable her to effectively and efficiently transform and inspire dancers at any level.

Mike Eskeldson is the fearless leader of Rumbanana Salsa Group, a Rueda de Casino team headquartered in Corvallis, Oregon. He loves to share his addiction of Cuban music and dance and to continuously seek out new information, resources, and music. Mike has been spreading his love of Cuban salsa across the United States as well as in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. He co-started Rumbanana Salsa Group in 2006 as a way to promote Cuban dancing and music in the Pacific Northwest. He has been dancing, performing, choreographing, and teaching Casino and Rueda for over fifteen years and has brought Casino and Rueda to thousands of people around the world.

Mike’s teaching ranges from small classes to over 100-person workshops. Not only are his workshops and classes filled with meaningful information, but he has a knack for making this dance fun and exciting to learn. Teaching venues have included Mike’s own classes in Corvallis, as well as workshops at national events, such as the San Francisco Salsa Rueda Festival, Rose City Salsa Festival, Houston Salsa Congress, Palm Springs Salsa Congress, Chicago International Salsa Congress, Philadelphia Salsa Congress, Honolulu Salsathon, Summer Salsa Extravaganza in Palm Springs, NW Salsa Congress, and many others. Mike is available for performances, workshops, and special events.

Duane Wrenn was born to dance. Learning salsa at 26 years young, Duane quickly excelled to be considered one of the top dancers and instructors of Afro-Cuban Salsa in the Midwest. His dance background ranges from Cuban Rumba, Son, Capoeira to break dancing and hip hop.

He is a fitness consultant and instructor of dancing to Cuban rhythms. Duane founded the company Energetic Soul in 2000 and since then has developed three programs that focus on the art of dancing as a conversation. He has also co-developed two other unique programs - AFRO-tImBa with Kati Hernandez and SoulChiSa with Dr. Jeya Aerenson. Each of the five programs are designed to teach general and specialized audiences salsa dancing and how to utilize what they are learning as a vehicle to add spice to their daily life on and off of the dance floor.

Born in New Orleans, Duane currently resides in the Detroit, Michigan, where he hosts workshops and teaches group classes. His hobbies are writing, foot massage and looking for top destinations to listen and dance to Cuban music.

Wilfredo Guilbiac Rodriguez is a professional dancer, choreographer and teacher with a degree from Escuela de Artes Varietur in Havana, Cuba. While there, he specialized in Afro-Cuban technique, modern dance, and Cuban popular styles and worked with some of the country’s most important names in these fields.

International performances and teaching gigs at dance festivals have taken him to Germany, France, Curacao, Mexico and all over the US. Wilfredo was also selected as a judge in the first annual World Latin Dance Cup with producer Albert Torres. Currently he teaches classes in San Diego and is the artistic director of La Tribu dance group.

Kati Hernandez brings to the to the United States her humble, yet explosive and uplifting energy. Kati's knowledge of dance and choreography reveals her intricate and versatile style, making her a highly sought-after performer, nationally and internationally.

A native of Cuba, Kati grew up surrounded by the sounds of the drum and the Afro-Cuban tradition. Her dance studies included folkloric, popular, modern, ballet, choreography, composition and staging. Her earlier performances include the Havana International Jazz Festival with Cuban stars such as Bobby Carcases and Chucho Valdez and the Bienal Internacional de la Habana with Afro-Cuban music and performance icon Mercedita Valdez and visual artist Manuel Mendive.

Kati's international journey began where she went to Spain to tour with the well-known orchestra Manolito Simonet y Su Trabuco soon after graduating from Art School in Cuban (en la especialidad de Danza). Kati's fiery, refined style awarded her the invitation to tour Internationally with several Cuban music and dance productions throughout Portugal, the Bahamas and Costa Rica, where she later resided for five years. This gave her the opportunity to refine her talents in teaching and choreographing dance, and to expand her range as an actor and dancer/choreographer for television. Kati also volunteered her time and skills teaching dance to children and young women in impoverished communities throughout Central America, empowering them to use dance as a medium for expressing emotions, experiences, hopes and dreams.

Following her extensive travels, Kati moved to the United States. In California she taken on the responsibility to teach and cultivate Afro-Cuban culture by producing regular events and workshops that create a community that bridges dance and music across cultures. She is the co-founder of KimBamBula Production which produced the annual "Essence of Cuba", a paramount reunion of Afro-Cuban masters in Los Angeles including members of the renowned group Los Muñequitos de Matanzas with California's finest Cuban folkloric masters. Kati recently created one of her dream projects, "Isupo Irawo", an ensemble of Legendary Afro-Cuban masters from around the world. This group features Maestro Lázaro Galarraga, one of founding members of the Conjunto Folklorico de Cuba, who has been a lifelong inspiration to Kati, and recently a mentor to her development. Their most recent performances include the Esalen International Music and Dance Festival and the opening act for the world-renowned Brazilian jazz percussionist Airto Moreira at Avila Beach, CA.

Kati's other accomplishments in Los Angeles include: The Ford Amphitheater popular Cuban music production of "La Charanga Cubana" , "Tropicana in Hollywood" where she was a choreographer, costume design advisor and production coordinator; the dance installation "Fire"directed by Judith Davis and presented at Pomona College; UCLA's film project, "Raiz" and choreographed for the Santa Monica College dance company Global Motion In addition, She is praised for her tribute piece to legendary Afro-Cuban master percussionist Francisco Aguabella at Esalen in Big Sur, CA.

Kati guest teaches dance classes and lecture at several colleges and universities and dance studios in the country including the University of California, Irvine, University of Oregon, Eugene. She continues to tour, bringing her flavorful Afro-Cuban dynamite to national Afro-Cuban folkloric and salsa dance conferences. Currently, Kati is the artistic director and choreographer of her own community-based, Afro-Cuban dance and music experimental project, Afro-Cuban/ Casino (cuban salsa) "KimBambula" and “Pa’ La Orilla”. Eager to spread the roots of Cuban Dance, she is now the co-founder of Afro-Timba, a dance fitness program that she is currently touring nationwide along with her own training dance Programs “Oricha Therapy,” “Kati’s Cuban dance Map” & “Afro-Cuban 4 Mambo”. Kati is known for her unique teaching techniques, her vibrant energy and flavor on the dance floor. Her work is a true illustration of her heritage and an endless celebration of Cuban dance and music.

Juan Carlos Blanco Riera was born and raised in Havana, Cuba where he became a Master Afro-Cuban Artist in Dance & Music. He has been teaching Afro-Cuban music and dance in San Diego since 1997. His performance career began as a youth with the folkloric arts company, Cumballe, and Oba Ilú, in his hometown of Guanabacoa, which also happens to be the epicenter of Afro-Cuban folklore. He was recruited and later directed by Juan De Dios Ramos Morejon, in one of Cuba's most renowned folkloric companies, Raices Profundas (Deep Roots). He spent 9 years with Raices Profundas during which time he rose to the level of lead male dancer and soloist, touring Latin America and Asia. His professional artistic experiences led him to the theatre where he worked in productions with various companies including Teatro de la Habana. He danced, acted and choreographed for Arte Popular, directed by Tito Junco. Juan Carlos was a dancer for the innovative modern dance company, Alabama. He also spent several years as percussionist and instructor of Afro-Cuban dance with the Franco-Haitian company Ban Rra Rrá, directed by Isaias Rojas Ramirez. He was charged with the responsibility of training professional Cuban dancers and educating foreign students through the Instituto Superior de Arte and the Escuela Nacional de Arte. He was also artistic director of Afro-Cuban folkloric ensemble, Arawe until coming to the United States.

Juan Carlos came to the United States in 1997 and has been an integral force in founding our Cuban music and dance community in San Diego ever since by consistently promoting this rich culture via classes, events and performances for the community. Planting seeds wherever he goes, he also taught one of San Diego County's very first Rueda de Casino workshops in North County in 1997. Blanco has been featured in various Afro-Cuban productions throughout California as dancer and guest choreographer for groups including Olorun, Alafia, and Taifa among others. In 1998 he founded the San Diego-based Afro-Cuban folkloric ensemble, Omo Aché, which performs in schools, universities, and multi-cultural venues throughout California. He has taught Afro-Cuban Percussion & Dance to youth and adults, K-8, High School, Universities and Community Colleges throughout the United States and internationally. He's taught at various institutions in California including UCLA, UCSD, Palomar College, Grossmont College, Cal State San Marcos and Humboldt State University. He has traveled throughout the United States teaching Master workshops in the states of Michigan, Arizona, Maryland, Oregon, Illinois, Ohio and California.

He created the event, Noche Cubana, to celebrate with the commUnity a lo Cubano and continue spreading the love and appreciation for Cuban music & dance from its African roots to its most contemporary urban expressions. To this day, Noche Cubana, is San Diego's biggest and funnest Cuban music & dance party, always featuring live performances and authentic Cuban sabor (flavor). He currently continues teaching Drum & Dance Class Series, workshops and regular weekly classes . Check out his weekly schedule or upcoming classes/events at omoachecubanculture.org Juan Carlos is proud to be a cultural ambassador through teaching, performing and creating out of the love, passion and respect for his culture and a great desire to share it with the commUnity and world.