Born in Anzio, Chiara Tofani is a professional Italian salsa dancer, known to the world for her unique style.
Chiara she began to dance at the age of 6 learning classical and modern dance and at the age of 13 she began to dance Afro-Cuban folklore and Cuban salsa at Anzio in a school also frequented by her parents.
Over the years, Chiara has continued to deepen her studies with teachers such as Kirenia Cantin, Maykel Fonts, Fernando Sosa, Teresa Castaneda, Vanessa Lacedonia, Tania Cannarsa, Adolfo Indacochea, Leonardo Martinez Moya, Sergio Larrinaga, Franklin Diaz.
From 2013 to 2016, Chiara won several Italian Salsa and Bachata State Championships and performed all over Italy dancing with a company called Salsa crew.
In 2017, Chiara moved to Milan to study at one of the best Italian salsa academies: Sosa Academy Dance School.
Subsequently, she became a dancer with two important companies: Adolfo Indacochea's Latin Soul Dancers and Tania Cannarsa's Black Soul.
In 2018, Chiara moved to New York City to continue learning and honing her craft from the many established and illustrious salsa dance companies New York has to offer. Franklin Diaz is actually her teacher and a great inspiration for her in the salsa scene. Chiara began her career as a professional dancer between 2017/2018 developing her personal style known as a mix of mambo, Cuban dance with contemporary and modern influences.
In 2019 she worked with her body movement class teaching at one of the most important salsa schools in NYC, and has started her first personal dance project: Chiara Tofani ’s Team.
She began to travel the world performing and teaching in China, Singapore, Berlin.
In 2020, Chiara spent the pandemic in Italy training alone, working online teaching regular classes, and coaching her new Chiara Tofani online global team, a team of 60 girls from many parts of the world.
In 2021 she travels and dances around the world again: Spain, Germany, Holland, France, England, Turkey, USA, Peru, Emirates. She now lives between Italy (Rome) and the USA (New York) spreading her talent, her love for dance and for teaching. She is currently one of the most successful Latin dancers in the world. Chiara recently started a new collaboration with Italian dancer Gabriele Di Marzo, they performed her new show at NYIC and all over Italy.
Meet Chiara at her next congress and don't miss the opportunity to learn from her and dance with her!

DIEGO CASTRO : Professional dancer and choreographer since 2000.
Instructor and dancer of the most representative events of the National and International environment (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, USA, Dominican Republic, Italy, Switzerland, China and Japan.
• World Champion of the World Salsa Summit 2016/´17.
• 3rd world place in the World Dance Cup 2015/´16.
• Runner-up in the World Dance Cup 2011, Cha Cha Cha. Las Vegas - USA.
• National Champion of "Masters of Salsa" 2010, Córdoba - Argentina.
• 3rd National place of the World Salsa Open 2004 - ´05 - ´07, Bs As, Argentina.
• Legal representative of the World Salsa Summit in Argentina, 2017/´19.
• Creator and general director of the South American Competition, DC CHAMPIONSHIP 2023, Argentina.
Actually, he is general Director of the Afro-Caribbean Rhythms Instructor.

SOFIA ARDILA : She started working as a professional dancer and choreographer in 2015. She specializes in hip-hop and street dance, and has won numerous awards.
• Classes of Afro-Caribbean Rhythms and Urban Dances, in different events in Argentina and Uruguay (Hit the Beat, Comadreja Salsa Congress, Uruguay Salsa Congress, Arena Hip Hop Argentina, among others)
Actually, she is instructor of Afro-Caribbean Rhythms from 2020
• Finalist in the World Salsa Summit Argentina 2017
• National Champion two year in a row in the Comadreja Salsa Championship 2017/´18
• 1st Place, Arena Hip Hop Argentina (Dancehall Duo) 2015
• 1st Place, TAAD Producciones, Magical Dreamers Group 2015/´16
• 1st Place, Flavor Jam (Dancehall) 2016
• 1st Place, Santa Feeling Argentina, Mad Rass Group 2017
• 1st Place, TAAD Producciones - XMD Group 2018.

He is the one of the most important representatives of the Afro dance in the world. He has danced for 21 years in the national folklore of Cuba, becoming first dancer from the year 2005. He has not only danced in the best stages of the world, but also given his knowledge to the professionals who dance today, teacher of teachers.
He is a percussionist and multifunctional dancer, not only dances Afro Cuban, manages all Cuban popular rhythms. He knows the history of the dances, including in his classes or his dances the history of the Black Dance, in the other word, He is the living culture of Cuba.

Roman

- Performed with the LDA team at the 2011 Bachata International Festival (Sydney)
- 2013 K.S.F (Korea) Bachata Couple Category Winner
- Performed at the Shanghai Bachata Festival in 2013
- Appeared in Korean TV drama "Yuna's street" in 2014
- 2015 Workshop held in Qingdao (China)
- Performed at the 2017 FuKuoka Prime Party
- 2018 FukuoKa Roman Party Bootcamp team & WS
- 2018 Workshop held in Taiwan
- 2018 Invited to perform at the Fukuoka Salsa Festival and hold workshops
- 2019 Fukuoka Roman party held
- 2019 Invited to Fomosa Festival (Taiwan) for performance and workshop
- From 2013 to present Performing at numerous bachata lessons and events

After graduating from university, she moved to New York alone. There, she was selected as the first and only Asian professional member of the Yamulee Dance Company, the world's top salsa team, since its founding. After four years at Yamulee, she went to France and worked in Europe as a professional dancer invited by the Aregria Dance Company.
Her beautiful long limbs, expressiveness, and precision in spinning are the best among world-class professional salsa dancers.
She has been invited to congresses and competitions in more than 20 countries and has performed on many big stages. From 2018 she will challenge the world competition. She has won World Salsa Solo, Canadian International Competition, Liberty Dance Championship, etc. In 2020, she won 3rd place in the world's largest salsa competition, the first Asian to do so. She is now a mother of one child, but while performing overseas, she is the only one who combines a method for Asians to dance like Latin people and a salsa dance training method that has been prepared in Japan. The second lesson is being developed nationwide and around the world.

She started ballroom dancing since eight years old and got amateur youngest Latin champion, all-Japan amateur Latin competition, for three consecutive years from 1994. Then she appeared in numerous dance shows, TV and magazines and she also teaches choreography. After that, she met a Cuban dance partner and turned into a salsa dancer, and after studying abroad to the Cuban National Dance troupe in 2001, She established Dance studio casino in 2002.

Established NPO Japan Salsa Association in 2008.

She has worked for let people know about salsa dance. In 2011, she lectured about Salsa dance in the Entertainment business Management course at the Kyoto University School of Management (MBA).

She is currently a judge of the world Salsa Championship and also performances and provides workshops around the world.

RAVSHAN VALIEV : Mambo Dancer / Instructor / Choreographer / Rav & Yuko Mambo Academy Director / Adolfo Indacochea Mambo Excellence Certified Instructor

Rav & Yuko Mambo Academy Director / Adolfo Indacochea Mambo Excellence Certified Instructor

Originally from Uzbekistan.
Since his days at the Palaidium, he has pursued the modern mambo in both dance and music, and is energetically disseminating it. As a mambo dancer, he has appeared on numerous stages in Japan and abroad. He is also active as an invited instructor. His energetic dance style unique to men and powerful and gentlemanly pair dance leader lessons are popular.

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Yuko Akiba

Salsa Dancer / Choreographer / National Public Safety Commission Approved / Japan Dance Sports Federation Certified Instructor / Japan Salsa Association Certified Instructor

Rav & Yuko Mambo Academy Director / Adolfo Indacochea Mambo Excellence Certified Instructor

Born in Yokohama City.
She has performed on stages in North America, South America, Europe, Russia, Asia and Oceania. She is also works as an invited instructor and competition judge. She has also appeared as a salsa dancer in TV commercials, variety shows, national programs, Univision, and music videos.
She also visits numerous salsa music live stages, and her motto is to convey the relationship and enjoyment of music and dance.

He has various experience of performing dance performances at the opening of the Salsa World Congress and many other shows. He has contributed greatly to the spread of salsa and casino in Fukuoka as a dancer and lecturer since he visited to Japan in 2000.
Currently he lives in Fukuoka. He is not only an experienced dancer and lecturer, but he has also worked as an event producer, director, DJ and choreographer.

Representative of San'in Salsa
A dance lover from Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture!!
At the age of 16 she went to South America to study in Argentina. Warm connections between people experienced in different cultures and great nature. She is impressed by the way she incorporates music and dance into her daily life as a communication tool that transcends language barriers.
2012- Joined the professional team of Majesty in motion, the largest Latin dance company on the West Coast of the United States. She has traveled to Mexico, Peru, Cuba, etc. and interacted with dancers of various genres. After experiencing social activities through dance, she returned to Japan with the dream of communicating the possibilities and charms of dance based in her hometown. She continues to perform salsa performances, workshops, and organize events in Japan and abroad.
From May 2019, she started a salsa class based in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, which is her hometown! A dance community is beginning to grow in the San'in area, with men and women of all ages and an international flair.

She has been learning Latin dance at Tiempo Iberoamericano since 2013.
From the fall of 2015, she studied abroad for about 9 months in Cuba at the Afro-Cuban Dance Course at Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) where she studied with local students. Additionally, Yuka was taken under former National Folkloric Company of Cuba top dancers such as Israel Valdés, Yenis Flores and Ernesto Trujillo.
She is Tiempo Iberoamericano's Latin Dance Troupe "Anacaona" member since 2017.
From November 2019 she went to Barcelona and returned to Japan in March 2020.

They work in Osaka, Fukuoka, Tokyo and South Korea.
Directors of Marco's Grupo ESENCIA JAPAN (Osaka / Tokyo / Fukuoka).
Focusing on Japan-Korea exchange events.

SON is an enthusiastic instructor, who attracts women all over Asia with his dramatic social skills and techniques. , and analytical YUKO, who advocates tenacious follow-up that does not hurt the body from her own experience. They, are a strong Kansai-flavoured uneven combination.

Since she has touched by Latin music and felt intense attraction for the energy exchanging with salsa and the rhythm, She has been fascinated by the depth of the history of the salsa and particularly impressed by the music and dance of the Cuba and other carribean music.

Started learning again Cuban's popular dance and Afrocuban to make my dance base more strong.

Then My original salsa styles has been made of various latin dances.

Salsa is the Pair dance as a tool of Communication that does not require language all over the world. Her journey of expression and digging of her own style always begin from where she is now...

Dancer, percussionist, vocalist.

Born in Kagoshima Prefecture. Influenced by his grandfather who was a music teacher at Amami Oshima and his grandmother who was a dancer of the folk music of Satsuma (a town in Kagoshima Prefecture), he traveled to Cuba, the Republic of Guinea in Africa and Spain to study dance and music (percussion).

Continuing to study the fusion of dance and music, he performs in his own style.
Currently based in Tokyo, he works as a musician and dancer all over the country.

The group was created in 2019 by the conductor, arranger, composer and singer-songwriter Héctor Ferran. It is a band that champions Cuban music with its most contemporary musical aspects; La Timba, La Salsa, Latin Jazz and Word Music. Characterized by making music for the dancer, it achieves a very distinctive sound from music composed specifically for the band, with original compositions and arrangements of universal musical standards. The Black Coffee Band has collaborated with singers in other genres, including pop, rock, and American gospel. It is worth highlighting the collaborations with the renowned music producer "Tonny Succar" and other artists with an international career. The band appeared for the first time on the Cuban stage. Its founding members are musicians with impressive musical careers and international recognition. Since 2022, the Black Coffee group is active on the Japanese stages with the addition of new members. His new formation is made up of Cuban and Japanese musicians residing in Japan with a high level of musical ability.

A band formed by the founder of High Notes Big Band with selected musicians from his Big Band, Machao Arriba!.
Their performance on stage makes viewers enjoy the Caribbean rhythm creating a warm atmosphere.

Passionate about Bachata, Salsa, and Latin Jazz.
Started DJing in 2013.
Adheres to a selection philosophy that prioritizes the ambiance and flow of the dance floor, aiming to convey a storytelling experience through the music.
Furthermore, began remix production in the spring of 2018 with the desire to create tracks that are enjoyable to dance to.
Has already produced over 60 remixes in Bachata, Salsa, and Kizomba genres.

Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina. He has been involved with Tiempo Iberoamericano´s project in Fukuoka, Japan since 2002.
He is a key-player in the development of salsa in Fukuoka being undoubtedly the local main tango DJ for 20 years.
He is one of the organizers, producer and has played as DJ in FUSAFES since the first edition.

Dancers are always excited to see DJ Tan in the booth, as he not only plays their favorite classics but also covers a wide range of music, including romantica and latest tunes in top charts.
A fan of mid-tempo songs with strong melodies, DJ Tan is known for his flexibility in catering to diverse crowds, by smoothly transitioning across various genres.
With over 14 years of DJing experience at some of Korea’s biggest salsa clubs, such as Bonita, Buena Vista, Step, Mambo, Turn, Naomi, and Azucar, he is now a top DJ in the country, admired by both the locals and foreign dancers. He can be found spinning at Turn and Mambo in Gangnam, Seoul.