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your directors.
Stephanie CASE, better known as Steph, IS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS/OWNERS OF MODERNO DANCE. SHE started dancing at the age of 3 years old when her mother enrolled her into ballet and tap. Since then she spent her youth years dancing ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop and modern. She also dabbled in cheerleading for a bit but realized the only parts she enjoyed were the dance choreographies. She picked up Latin dancing over 12 years ago in the southeast. She performed with various dance teams and also received instruction from instructors everywhere from NYC to Miami. Eventually, along with Ace she began passing down some of what she had learned to their own students and dance teams. She has experience performing and teaching at several congresses, festivals, musicals, and productions around the country. Arizona, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska, Atlanta, and San Francisco just to name a few. Along with owning and running her own wedding and event production company, she and Ace also served as the directors of dance team program for Salsa Las Vegas for 3 years and they continue to provide direction, instruction, and mentorship to anyone with a passion for DANCE AND CREATIVE ARTS. SHE CURRENTLY IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE KIDS PROGRAM, LADIES TEAMS, AND COMPETITIVE DANCERS. For direct contact for competition information please reach her at info@modernodance.com
Abdiel “Ace” Acevedo IS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS/OWNER OF mODERNO dANCE. hE GREW up listening to Salsa and witnessing the joys of dancing in his home, Puerto Rico. After moving state-side, Ace was recruited to a dance team that specialized in Rueda de Casino, Merengue, and Salsa at the young age of 14. Passion for the music and connection to dance was the driving force from that point on. Ace then started to receive coaching from ballroom dance studios, then attending festivals and congresses where he performed, took workshops and received coaching from world-renowned instructors to further his knowledge in instruction. Stephanie “Steph” Case and Ace decided to pair up and they have both been a driving force in various cities around the country providing direction in social style dance and performance teams for the last 12-13 years. Besides also being a Concierge Supervisor for The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas and Vice-President of the Southern Nevada Hotel Concierge Association, Ace is just as passionate about teaching, performing and dancing as day one. Their goal is to continue to grow themselves and inspire more new spirits to express themselves through dance. HE CURRENTLY IS THE DIRECTOR OF MENS TEAM, CO-DIRECTOR OF SEMI PRO TEAM.
YOUR INSTRUCTORS.
CJ Edwards is a professional dancer, choreographer, instructor, and producer currently based in Las Vegas. Represented by Go 2 Talent Agency, he actively works in film, television, live stage performance, and music video. Some of his notable credits include: the 19th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, the LA Clippers halftime show, competitor on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, and featured dancer in musician Omarion’s “Entourage”. Trained in a variety of [forms] ranging from Hip Hop to Jazz to Ballet, CJ Edwards also works as a dance instructor at the renowned Millennium Dance Complex in Las Vegas, Nevada among others. He is the founder and creative director of Clear Just Entertainment and its affiliated performance showcase, A Vybe IMpacted. HE CURRENTLY TEACHES THE KIDS HIP HOP CLASSES AND IS PART OF THE MODERNO MEN'S TEAM.
Krista Wheatley has been dancing since the age of five. She was on a traveling competition team since 2005. She graduated from Bunker Dance Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2014. She attended high school at Las Vegas Academy of the Arts where she received a Honors Degree in Dance Performance and Choreography. She is currently attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas majoring in Dance Performance and Choreography and minoring in Production with a focus on lighting design as well as stage management. Krista is trained in twenty-five different genres of dance and has performed works by many well known dance influencers such as Mandy Moore, Peter Chu, Sonya Tayhea, Charmaine Hunter and many more. Krista is currently attending UNLV to gain a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography with a minor in Production Management and a certificate in Pilates. She was recently one of three students chosen to represent UNLV in Seoul, South Korea to train at the Korean National Sport University.
BILLY MARTINEZ first obtained official salsa instruction in November of 2013 at the San Francisco Salsa Congress. After that, he took classes in Las Vegas from many different instructors. HE THEN Officially joined the salsa Las Vegas team early in 2015, WHERE HE WAS TRAINED WITH Ace, Steph, JACK, TONY, AND GUSTAVO. HE COMPLETED THE instructor training course WITH MODERNO DANCE CENTER AND HAS Been teaching at Moderno since April of 2018.
Adrian Lomeli is a Rhythm Pro/Am champion with almost a decade of coaching, choreographing and dancing professionally in all styles of ballroom including; Smooth, Standard, Rhythm, Latin and Salsa. He continues to train his students to excel in competition as well as adding an aspect of enrichment to their lives through dance. His professional talents are not limited to only dance but extend into modeling and acting where he has appeared in multiple commercials, billboards and magazines.
Melani MICHAUD started dancing at the age of 2 in her home state of Minnesota. She trained at one of the top competitive dance studios in the Nation, Larkin Dance Studio. At this studio she was able to train under some of the most talented and creative people in the industry; Gregory Hines, Tyce Diorio, Dee Caspary, Mia Michaels and more. She started performing professionally at age of 10. Performing for; the Minnesota Vikings half time shows and performing in the Grand Opening of The Mall of America. Opening the Mall of America led her to dancing in fashion shows for Old Navy and Opening Under Water World. She also started training under her mentor Michelle Larkin at age 12 and teaching at her dance studio starting at age 15. At the age of 19 she twirled her way to Las Vegas and performed in numerous shows on the Las Vegas strip and a dancer and singer. Her lounge band Sin City Heat opened for Barry Manilow’s Holiday Tour 2007, she performed as a magicians assistant with large cats in Extreme Magic staring Dirk Arthur at the Tropicana, co-choreographed and performed in Sin City Bad Girls at The Hilton (now West Gate) and more. Melani has since gone on to coproduce, costume and choreograph; Superstars on Stage at Planet Hollywood, One Night With The King tribute to Elvis, The Man in The Mirror tribute to Michael Jackson, Tribute to Rod Stewart, Tribute to Tina Turner, and many more Superstars on Stage traveling tribute shows.
Lisa Iler has been dancing and training in Brazilian Zouk for 4 years. She is the pioneer of the Las Vegas Zouk scene, started a community from scratch and is teaching studio classes, private lessons, and holding her "Zouk Family" bi-monthly socials. Happy to be putting in the work to start a community because she "just wants to share her love of Zouk with the world," she is no stranger to the intimacy and love of the small, grass-roots dance communities we enjoy here in Las Vegas. She began training in partner dances in 2007 with Argentine Tango, then fell in love with Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba, and West-Coast Swing but her ultimate love is touch, the breath, and the heartbeat of Zouk. Zouk is a partner dance from Brazil, derived from Lambada in the 80's with elements from Salsa, Samba de Gafieira, and many more. It is most often characterized by upper body isolations, off-axis turns, body rolls, elasticity, and hair whips, led by very intricate leading and following techniques that allow for constant connection, pattern creation and improvisation. Brazilian Zouk is a dance with well defined basic steps and rhythmic patters, which may vary depending on the dancers' personal styles and musical choices.
Lupita martinez started her dance training at the tender age of 3 until the age of 15 years old in the styles of ballet, jazz, lyrical, flamenco, belly dancing, Tahitian, Tap, and Mexican Folklorico. She then continued her dance career as the artistic director and lead choreographer in the Mexican Folklorico style for Mexico Vivo Dance Company of Ixela Gutierrez. As a choreographer and performer she has had her choreographies performed at the Latin Grammys, a concert for Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Señorita Mexico USA, Miss Mundo Latina Nevada, and the US and Mexico tour for Pedro Fernandez. She began her training in salsa and bachata early in 2018 under the direction of Stephanie Case and Abdiel Acevedo at Moderno dance Center where she continues to train and now teach. She is co-direct a coed bachata team, coach of a ladies bachata team, and instructor of Moderno’s Latin Kids class ages 6-9.
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