Dance

Sasha Nissengolts

Sasha is a US national champion and winner/finalist in all major US competitions and semi finalist in major comps abroad. She is coach to US Junior national champions and World finalists. She is a very accomplished dancer and choreographer. She has been a member of Dance Passion coaching team from the start. Sasha has been trained by the world’s top coaches, and she is determined to share all that knowledge with her students. Her personal high standards and perfectionism are transferred to her s

anita Smite

Anita has been a member of the Dance Passion team for the last 2 years. She is originally from Latvia, where she has had a very successful dance career. She has represented Latvia at the World Championships, and after the birth of her children transitioned into coaching and judging. A perfectionist, she demands the same from her students. Nothing she ever does is half way, it is always to the full extent, and lots of sweat! She teaches both Latin and Standard, and along with Sasha they make an a

anatoly Granovskiy

Ron Garber & Liza Lakovitsky

Liza Lakovitsky began dancing at the young age of 6 and has since enjoyed many successful years of competitive dancing. At only 11 she became a National Champion, and most recently with her partner, Ron Garber, she is National Vice-Champion in the Under 21 category. Together, they are also World Under 21 finalists, placing 4th in the Paris World Championships in 2013. Liza finds inspiration in traditional Latin American dancing style and she is known for sticking to her artistic ideals and stayi

James Repetti

James has been dancing and competing for the past 11 years. He has competed in and teaches all four competitive styles: Latin, Rhythm, Standard, and Smooth; however, he currently specializes in the Latin and Rhythm styles. What he loves most about these styles is their ability to allow people to express themselves and feel confident in what they are able to do, regardless of their level of expertise. Although as dancers we focus on technique and very precise ways of doing things, in the end, Ja

Alexandra Kopelovich

Alexandra has been dancing for 6 years competitively. She believes that one of the beauties of ballroom dance is its natural competitiveness, which other dance styles lack. The competitive nature of ballroom dancing is what drives her to pursue higher achievements in her dance career. Alexandra specializes in both Rhythm and Latin styles. Even though these styles have some basic resemblances, she finds the two styles to be completely opposite of each other. Rhythm, which is her primary competiti

Jessica Karpishin

Marek Klepadlo

Marek has been dancing and competing since the age of 7. He first realized he had a passion for dance when he was around 15 years old. That year was the first year in which he brought home the title of national champion. This accomplishment made him realize that if he continued to put his heart and time into his dancing, he would find himself living an extraordinary life as an accomplished professional dancer. Marek specializes in the international standard style and believes that the best thing

Ieva Pauksena

Ieva has over 15 years of teaching experience with competitive couples, children, and social dancers and is trained in all styles of international dance. Ieva is highly qualified, holding many titles including 2002 British Open Professional Semi-Finalist, 2001 US Amateur Standard Champion, 2001 World Finalist, and 1996-2000 Latvia National Standard Champion.

Maija Rutkovska

Maija Rutkovska is a contemporary dancer, instructor, and choreographer from Latvia. She recently graduated from Martha Graham School of Contemporary dance Professional Training Program with a scholarship of Martha Graham Center. She has trained and performed internationally (Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, France, USA) and was the Lead Dancer in Coyote Dancers Co, with legendary choreographer Maher Benham. Maija has also danced and collaborated with internationally recognized artists: Jean Paul Gou

victorio

Victorio teaches a traditional flamenco style that has been greatly influenced by some of his former teachers, including El Farruco, a gypsy who truly symbolized for him someone capable of expressing through dance the entire history of his race. While tradition remains the essential part of his class, Victorio does experiment with more contemporary forms of Spanish dance as a means of broadening one's horizon. In addition to teaching a formalized structure of heel work, body posture, turns, and

Becci Bowens

Gymnastics has always been Becci's number one passion. She started at 7 years old, attending Brooklyn Gymnastics for a couple months, then moving onto Nova Gymnastics, where she was immediately placed onto pre-team. Several months later, her talent landed her a spot on the competing team. Becci has competed all over the states, coming in first place in nearly all of her competitions. She then qualified for the state championships, where she traveled to Rochester. Her glory came at these state c

Joshua Yarbrough

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Joshua Yarbrough learned to dance from his nationally ranked sister. While studying classical dance at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Joshua won the Young Arts competition in the are of hip-hop in 2012. After high school, Joshua received a full scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet year round program. He has also danced with numerous dance companies throughout the east coast: Elsco Dance Company, Mare Nostrum Elements, Jazz Roots, Switzerland Dance Compan