Sueños de Salsa

Michael grew up in Santa Fe listening to the Latin rhythms of his father’s flamenco troupe. During Spanish language studies in Cuzco, Peru, he discovered salsa dance, and when he returned to the U.S. he joined every salsa class he could find. Desiring a deeper understanding of the dance, Michael traveled to Havana Cuba to study with Yaykel Parez. He studied for the next several years, traveling to Ecuador, Mexico and all over the USA and has trained and performed with world champions, Omar Muños, Johnny Vazquez, and trained with Jonathan Ibarra, Jhon Narvarez, Adrian and Anita, Alien Ramerez and many others. He has performed and competed throughout the Northwest. He and his dance partner Dana Sindona finished in the top 5 at the 2011 and 2012 Gemini Salsa championships, and he has won multiple Jack and Jill contests in Seattle. In March of 2012,13,14,15,16,17 and 19 Michael trained and competed in the Seattle Dances benefit. Winning a mirrorball trophy in 2014, 2016 and 2019. Michael opened Sueños de Salsa in 2011 and expanded the studio in 2021 to our current Roosevelt location.

Kelly has been dancing and performing since she was a kid. At age 15, she fell in love with salsa, and while she has explored and taught many styles from ballroom to folkdance, she always seems to find her way back to Latin dance. In 2019, she moved to Seattle and began training and teaching here at SDS. 

Kelly specializes in Salsa and Bachata, and teaches leads, follows, and couples of all levels. She cares deeply about her students' growth, as dancers and as individuals, and she loves helping people discover the joy that she has always found in dancing. 

Christina Walker has been dancing for over 25 years, starting with her traditional Native American dance as a child. She has trained in jazz, ballet, hip hop, flamenco, ballroom, zouk, and Afro-Cuban, and at 22 she fell in love with salsa. She has trained and partnered with huge names like Josie Neglia, Johnny Bravo, Johnny Vasquez and countless others, and competed against the best of the best.

Christina never stops pushing herself as a dancer, and is always learning, growing, and evolving. She believes in the healing power of dance, and she loves leading dance teams, sharing her passion and expertise with her students and watching their skills and confidence grow.

Marietta Villalobos is a world renowned professional pelvic isolation instructor based in Seattle, Washington. Born in Costa Rica, and raised in Louisiana; She specializes in dances with Pelvic movement like Tarraxinha, Twerk, Latin dances and more! Her Kizomba journey began in 2007 with close friends from Angola that taught her many dances and aspects of their culture. Later, her teaching journey began in 2014, in San Antonio, Texas. She’s been trained and certified by Mestre Petchu and Vanessa Ginga Pura for their 60hr teacher training course, and has also worked with many world-renown instructors. Twerking has been present in Marietta’s life since childhood. New Orleans is the birthplace of Twerk, naturally it is a huge part of the culture for people from Louisiana. Through dance, Marietta will connect you to your body by helping you understand its movement and functionality by bringing awareness to areas that may have trapped energy from trauma, stress, or stagnation. Lateral thinking is a strength for Marietta. She finds numerous ways to break down the same concept while keeping you entertained and focused. She is known for her strict attention to detail and fluidity. Her goal is to match all types of learning styles and guarantees you will come out of her courses with new and challenging material that you understand.

Camille has been a standout local salsera in Seattle for many years. She’s danced and performed for years, travelling and performing at congresses across the nation. She currently dances and performs with Tudo Beleza, a professional Brazilian Samba dance company & teaches salsa and bachata at Sueños de Salsa. With her background in gymnastics and years of coaching experience, Camille brings patience and enthusiasm to her teaching and loves to help students enhance their dance skills whether they are looking to improve as a social dancer or a performer.