In this episode we talk to Alien Ramirez, a 24 time world latin dance champion from Bayamo, Cuba. She comes from a family of musicians, composers, and self-proclaimed “dreamers”. She started taking lessons in ballet, singing, gymnastics, flamenco and cuban folk dance at 4 years old.

In her early twenties, she moved to LA and worked with renowned dancers like Alex Da Silva and Grizzly Hidriago and has choreographed for tv shows like so you think you can dance. Unfortunately, this partnership ended after Alex was convicted of a sex crime and Alien found herself lacking the same recognition on her own. After this, she made the decision to develop a career as a solo dancer so she wouldn’t find herself as dependent on another partner in the future.

She has danced and taught all over the world but above her many accolades and achievements, she really values time with daughter and family.

Follow Alien:

Instagram: @alienramirez

https://www.facebook.com/alienrocio/

In this episode we interview Rodrigo Cortazar who is one of the most life-loving, open, humble, and hilarious people we’ve spoken to yet! He is a natural storyteller and shared about his musical training in a conservatory, his deep respect and appreciation for other artists, and his love for art in general.

Some of the life lessons we learned from Rodrigo during this interview are that you need to believe in your own dreams because no one else will, you have the power to create your own joy, and that without taking risks, there are no rewards. He made us laugh and cry, and he is a testament of what can happen when you are willing to believe in yourself and work hard to achieve your goals.

Follow Rodrigo Cortazar:

https://www.facebook.com/rodrigo.cortazar1

https://www.instagram.com/rodrigo.cortazar.210/

In this episode we talk to Francisco Garcia, aka Dj Sisco who is a key member of the dance community in Toronto. He has been Dj-ing for over 12 years and he was part of the mastermind group that created the extremely successful, and dearly missed event Dame Tu Bachata. Before the pandemic started, him and his business partners started a new salsa event in Toronto called Tumbao! We are so glad and grateful that we had the opportunity to experience such an amazing event before the lockdown.

He is incredibly passionate about music and is dedicated to keeping the art of vinyl alive. His music collection is carefully curated and he is always supporting new artists and discovering new music. He is very encouraging of new talent (us included) and is dedicated to sharing his knowledge to help the new generation thrive. Speaking to him reminded us why we started the podcast, how much we miss dancing, and how lucky we are to live in a city where the community is so strong, vibrant and diverse.

Follow Dj Sisco:

https://www.facebook.com/DjSiscoAndHisTorontoSalsaDuraEvents

https://www.instagram.com/sisco84/

In this episode we talk to Jennifer Aucoin, the founder of Steps Dance Studio and the Canada Salsa and Bachata Congress, the longest running Salsa and Bachata congress in Canada. Jennifer has been dancing her whole life and she fell in love with Salsa when she visited the Dominican Republic when she was just 19 years old.

She has dedicated her life to the art form of Latin dance ever since. Her dedication, focus, and optimism are contagious, especially in these times. She is an example that you don’t have to come from a specific background in order to love and contribute to its culture.

Follow Jennifer:

https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.aucoin.77

https://www.instagram.com/jenaucoin27/

Follow Steps:

https://www.stepsdancestudio.com/

https://www.instagram.com/stepsdancestudiotoronto/?hl=en

Canada Salsa Congress:

https://www.canadasalsacongress.com/

In this episode we interview Jessica Taylor, the founder of For the Love of Bachata which started as a Facebook page to share bachata music with her community but has grown into socials, bi-annual festivals, and DJ’ing.

In March 2017, Jessica was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by the International Ambassador of Dominican Arts, Edwin Ferreras for her dedication to the development of Bachata in her community. She is truly a superfan of bachata and latin music and is an incredibly thoughtful event planner, recently having added sign language interpreters and instituting a code of conduct and consent for her events.

FTLOB events are continuing online, please visit https://www.fortheloveofbachata.com for details.

Follow Jessica:

https://www.instagram.com/fortheloveofbachata

https://www.facebook.com/jessica.djtay

Follow FTLOB:

https://www.fortheloveofbachata.com

https://www.instagram.com/ftlobevents

https://www.facebook.com/love4bachata

Our guests in this episode are two incredible bachata dancers that have an instantly recognizable style that focuses on intricate footwork with smooth transitions and isolations. They have so much flow, flavour, and a lot of wisdom about life too. Cristian is originally from the Dominican Republic but did not start his dance journey until he arrived in Spain, where he would later meet Katerina at a dance club. Katerina is from Russia and her dance career started when she was 4 years old which would take her to China and later to Spain.

Cristian and Katerina manage the Bachata Crew Instagram page where they promote traditional Dominican bachata videos and have been teaching online since the pandemic started, you can visit their website www.bachatacrew.com for more information.

Follow Cristian & Katerina:

www.facebook.com/Cristianykaterina/

www.instagram.com/cristianykaterina/

Follow Bachata Crew:

www.facebook.com/groups/311155745696345/

www.instagram.com/thebachatacrew/

In this episode we chat with Tina Cavicchio and Kyla Hallums. Tina is a queer woman who was in the first wave of female leads in the Boston dance scene. She founded Next Level, a dance company with inclusivity, empowerment, and acceptance at its core. Kyla never thought she would be a dancer or a dance instructor but her entire life changed when she had a pulmonary embolism in 2015. She has done incredible work around body positivity for herself and others and is the biggest example of the magic that can happen when you love yourself and connect with your purpose.

Follow Kyla:

@bailawithkyla

https://www.facebook.com/bailawithkyla

Follow Tina:

@tinacavicchio

https://www.facebook.com/tincavicchio

En este episodio podras conocer mas a fondo a Danger y Yunaisy, creadores del Son Moderno. Danger y Yunaisy nacieron y empezaron sus carreras como bailarines en Cuba antes de emigrar a Europa. Conoce sus desafios y sacrificios personales dentro y fuera de Cuba. Aprende ademas las diferencias entre el Son Moderno y el Son Tradicional y por que Danger y Yunaisy creen que el Son Moderno es para todos!

Para saber mas de ellos, siguelos en Facebook e Instagram:

@danger_yunaisy

@yunaisy_farray

@danger_rodriguez

Si quieres aprender de ellos en linea, visita su website:

www.sonmoderno.com

In this episode you will be able to get to know Danger and Yunaisy, creators of Son Moderno. Danger and Yunaisy were born and began their careers as dancers in Cuba before emigrating to Europe. Learn about their personal challenges and sacrifices inside and outside Cuba. Also learn the differences between Son Moderno and Son Tradicional and why Danger and Yunaisy believe that Son Moderno is for everyone!

To stay in the loop about Wilmer and Maria, follow them on Facebook and Instagram:

@danger_yunaisy

@yunaisy_farray

@danger_rodriguez

If you want to learn from them online, visit their website:

www.sonmoderno.com

We released our podcast to Soundcloud in April 2020 and have recently decided to move to another hosting platform. Unfortunately we couldn't do an easy transfer of our content so we are re-uploading our content again. All content from this teaser to episode 13 with Alien Ramirez are from 2020/2021! We are keeping everything as it was so you can hear the whole journey as it was, including our rebranding from Peak Flow Podcast to Dance Cultura Podcast and this message that was recorded after George Floyd's passing in May of 2020.

Original episode description:

Last week we did not release a podcast episode in solidarity with the online blackout events which encouraged people to forgo promoting their own work in order to highlight, share and uplift important work furthering the Black Lives Matter movement. We used the time to learn more about the history of oppression in the black community and gather resources to share with our listeners.

Places to donate: https://nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-for-black-lives-matter.html

How to be an ally: https://guidetoallyship.com/

Context behind the blackout: https://www.theshowmustbepaused.com/

Books and movies to educate yourself: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/06/06/871023438/this-list-of-books-films-and-podcasts-about-racism-is-a-start-not-a-panacea

The Black Roots of Salsa documentary: https://www.atticindependent.ch/en/shop/products/black-roots-salsa-licenses-download-movie?fbclid=IwAR3hyUTR75z5zJ1Uw4H3IsyH1ylBTgd-FMW15fmSbbx9Mp6JiiOpZg_5LBI

This episode features Brenda Liew, a latin soloist and dance coach. She founded the Brenda Liew Dance Company, an all ladies dance company in Singapore which offers classes in salsa and bachata shines, body movement training, arm styling secrets, and more. BLDC is also renowned for the many ladies performance teams that kick-ass on stage with powerful yet feminine choreography. Brenda is known globally for her fluid body movement, subtle and controlled musicality, and clear teaching methodology.

Follow Brenda: 

@brendaliew_official

https://www.brendaliewonline.com/