Salsa Teachers
Sharon Lawrey
Teaches Beginners followed by Improvers on Mondays in Bracknell, and similar classes on Tuesdays in Reading. On Thursdays she teaches Absolute Beginners in Reading.
Sharon fell in love with Salsa on Bastille Day 1980 when she woke up to the sound of a Salsa band playing in the back streets of Paris. Passionate about her teaching she wants to both inspire AND instil confidence in her classes.
Endlessly patient, and with a down to earth sense of humour, her classes are relaxed and friendly (just watch out though if she sidetracks into Quantum Physics - her other passion!).
For Sharon Salsa is all about two people enjoying dancing together - whatever their level.
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Ed Woloszyn
Ed is well-known for his off-the-wall sense of humour. This combined with his relaxed, laid-back style of delivery, make his extremely popular classes fun as well as informative.
He aims to always teach moves which are achievable and flowing - and which work well on the dance floor (with partners who have NOT been to the same class!).
Ed takes great care to break down and explain the moves, footwork and leads as clearly as possible.
Most of all, he makes dancing fun and enjoyable - which guarantees to keep your interest throughout the class and leave you with a smile on your face at the end of the session!
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Ian Worrell
Ian first stumbled across Salsa in 1996 and has not looked back since. He set up the Salsa School of Moves in 1999 originally specialising in creative moves for advanced dancers. Now he runs classes, workshops and parties for all levels throughout Midlands. He is also a regular favourite as teacher, DJ, and stage manager at Pontins weekenders.
Ian is a unique talent on the Salsa scene, able to put the most nervous of beginners at ease with his relaxed and humourous teaching style yet also able to challenge the most advanced of dancers with original and creative moves.
Top quality tuition combined with loads of fun are his trademark.
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Chunky
I'll never forget my first time at salsa when I went to club with a female friend of mine whom I hadn't seen for a while as she'd been bitten by the salsa bug and was salsaing most nights of the week. (I had to find out what would take my introvert friend into a party diva.) The atmosphere was amazing: everyone was dancing and enjoying themselves and I was mesmerised by how they all looked like professionals even my friend who'd only been dancing 6 months. Well I also caught the same bug.
My first dance in a club after I had done a few lessons was unforgettable, I danced forward and back for about 2 minutes straight, my mind went blank as I couldn't remember a single move. (I can laugh about it now.) I nearly stopped salsa after that. (Glad I didn't.) I realised that I hadn't given salsa or myself a fair try to develop with only 6 lessons of salsa under my belt.
In 2000 I competed in Corona Salsa Championships in Ireland and went on to compete in 2000 and 2001 at UKA UK Salsa Championship Finalist in 2000 & 2001. Also had salsa dancing appearances in BBC's Baby Father and Happiness.
Chunky fuses New York and Cuban to give a very fluid, flowing and creative style executed using smooth leads.
His teaching style centres around breaking down even the most difficult moves' techniques and components into manageable 'Chunks'.
He is renowned for his energy, charisma, bad jokes and explaining moves very effectively. His classes are a real chance for guys to take their leading skills to a higher level, and for ladies to learn how to respond well to guys' leads and find a natural grace and style in their dancing.
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Val
Val's patience combined with her excellent teaching and communication skills create a great rapport in her class.
She is always highly aware of what is going on in her classes and knows when people are ready to move on or when they need further repetition.
Thus she can teach complex routines while still 'taking everybody with her'. These are the words her students always use when describing her classes.
You will be amazed with how much you achieve with her.
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Marco
Marco first had a taste of salsa whilst studying abroad at summer school. He saw it being danced in a park and was immediately hooked by its sensual rhythms. After coming to study at Reading University he soon found a local venue. Although he had some experience of other dance forms - i.e. hip-hop, street jazz & tap - he found the co-ordination required for partner dancing a big challenge.
Eventually he overcame this and soon had the 'salsa bug'. From this experience Marco firmly believes that dance is for everyone no matter how many left feet they have; all that's required is enthusiasm to learn plus regular practice.
With two professional teaching qualifications under his belt; CELTA Cert & JEB Cert ICT he has a wide range of teaching experience including lecturing at University.
Marco has also competed in several competitions both in the U.K. and abroad including the Czech Open and Advanced Open at Pontin's where he won second place. He's also appeared in several dance shows, most recently in July 2008 at Reading University. That said, Marco is always very approachable and loves nothing more than a social dance so don't hesitate to ask!
Marco has taught across Berkshire, from Reading to Windsor and occasionally does guest 'spots' further a-field. He has a reputation for infectious enthusiasm & careful preparation as well as paying special attention to breaking down any areas of difficult technique. He also throws in fun moves from time to time to 'spice things up'.
Here's what some of his regular students have said about him;
"He's a very easy to understand tutor - don't like to miss any of his classes!"
"Fabulous fun! I always look forwards to the classes - good & patient teacher..!"
"Good routines, always stylishly put together."
"Enthusiastic teacher who gives clear directions for each of the moves & techniques."
"I find his classes challenging and fun. He goes through each step very thoroughly."
"His teaching is good both for the boys and the girls. He also pays attention to style for the girls which from any point of view is great."
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Katerina
Katerina, our own bachata teacher, has been dancing all her life. She qualified to teach ballroom and folk dance in Russia and has also worked as an aerobics instructor during her studies at Saint-Petersburg University. After finishing her MSc, she took a year gap to learn English and enjoyed the multinational society so much that she decided to stay in England.
She was brought to the Red Hat salsa party nights by a friend, where she completely fell in love with Latin social dancing. After learning a couple of moves she went to Florence for a salsa holiday and discovered bachata. As there were too many girls in the class she decided to try the leading role and she was so successful that all the girls wanted to dance with her by the end of the weekend!
Katerina's way of teaching bachata is very passionate, challenging and extremely enjoyable. It's a wonderful way to keep your body fit and spirit happy.
She is very friendly, approachable and attentive; no doubt you will love her bachata class!
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Newton Brown
Newton 'Bomb' is a popular advanced teacher, described by his students as 'sassy', 'inspirational', and 'very motivational'.
Just oozing enthusiasm, Newton has a unique capacity to make everyone feel they are special and talented. Very often a touch of magic seems to be present in his classes.
Newton's motto is 'Dance is simply 90% confidence. Confidence will grow with the correct guidance and encouragement.'
Newton has also performed and competed several times (UKA Finals 2001, Bacardi Finals 2002 and Pontin's Championships 2002).
He has more than 5 years teaching experience working with some of the most reputable Salsa companies in the UK like Mambo City, I Love Salsa, and Salsa On Sundays. His superb bio is testimony to his quality and teaching excellence.
As well as Salsa, Newton's other passion is singing, which he does professionally in shows around the country.
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Jenny
Jenny started dancing at the age of 8, when she was first introduced to Scottish Country dancing and went on to pass her junior grade up to gold medal. She then went onto studying music and eventually teaching the clarinet at the age of 17, which helped subsidize her own studies.
Her next teaching experience came in later years when as a black judo player she started teaching children and youngsters how to safely apply judo techniques. In order to do this, she attended many teaching courses and achieved several coaching awards.
Whilst practising judo, Jenny met fellow players who introduced her to the world of Salsa dancing. 'Initially it was a strange experience' says Jenny, 'one night I would be trying to throw these guys around on the judo mat and the next night I would playing the tranquil lady allowing them to lead me in my dancing'.
Jenny has now been dancing for 10 years and teaching for about 5 years. Her teaching technique is not only simple and easy to follow, but also well known for being great fun and relaxation. She first shows you what you are going to achieve by the end of the lesson and smoothly takes you through the moves. She efficiently breaks down every move and step and makes those accessible for everyone. It is Jenny's foremost pleasure to watch the uprising buzz of excitement as the class achieves more and more.
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Moe Flex
Moe Flex, the man with the biggest smile in salsa, is one of the most exciting, inspiring and entertaining characters in the international Latin scene today. Moe's professionalism, enthusiasm and excellence in a wide variety of disciplines have established him as one of the best teachers around, encouraging and mentoring everyone from first time beginners to professional dancers in his inimitable 'all good' style.
His unique teaching qualities were recognised by the British public when he won an award last October and he was also short-listed for a number of other awards.
Moe's boundless enthusiasm for dance is impossible to escape.
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Valentina Papiri-Bray
Valentina, a very friendly and approachable teacher, trained at the Urdang Academy of Performing Arts in Covent Garden, London. She previously trained in her native country, Italy, at the Centro Danza La Sylphide in Rome, where she studied Ballet, Jazz (Lyrical and Street), Contemporary, Tap, Singing, Acting, Voice, Musical Theatre, Salsa and Ballroom dancing.
Her credits include dancing in numerous shows and musicals in Italy and performing on a TV show. In 2002 she became dance captain and choreographer assistant with the Preziosa Dance Company.
She started teaching ballet, modern, jazz, tap and salsa in 1998 and became a qualified teacher with the Royal Academy of Dance in 2001. Since then she has been enjoying working as a teacher in a number of prestigious schools in Rome and London.
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Anthony Lee
Having taught for 8 years Anthony is surely one of the most experienced and prolific teachers in the South, regularly teaching salsa and bachata across the region with classes ranging from Absolute Beginners to Advanced Level.
In addition to his regular classes Anthony also teaches at party nights, all-dayers and weekenders around the country. He has also performed several different shows since his debut 5 years ago.
As a teacher Anthony's approach is laid back and friendly and this, coupled with his ability to explain and impart good technique, acts as a springboard to freeing a dancer's personal style whilst increasing their repertoire and giving them the tools to take their dancing to the next level.
As well as enjoying teaching his own slick style of Crossbody Salsa, Anthony is also recognised as one of the foremost Bachata teachers in the South and is able to dip into Dominican and European bachata styles, fusing them together effortlessly before adding an exciting flavour that is all his own.
As a dancer he has been described as 'smooth and effortless'.
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Lamar
Lamar is one of our RedHatSalsa regular teachers on Sundays in Reading (Intermediate & Advanced) and Mondays in Bracknell (Intermediate 1 & Intermediate 2).
Lamar is an extremely stylish dancer and an excellent teacher hailing from Barbados. His smooth style and flowing moves are very much appreciated by his students.
The feedback from the men who take his classes say they are the kind of flowing routines that they really want to remember and build into their own repertoire.
His classes are very well prepared and structured and he breaks the move down clearly and patiently making for a great learning experience.
A nice guy and highly approachable - his classes are deservedly gaining in popularity.
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