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Primary Instructors at Paradise Studio
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Erick Gonzalez and Catherine
Rolph
With 21 years of combined experience, Salsa Con Coco Dance
Company Directors Erick Gonzalez and Catherine Rolph are proud
to offer the most comprehensive Salsa program in Portland. After
three years running their own studio in Guatemala, Erick and
Catherine are excited to be back in Portland and teaching
(again!) at the Paradise Studios.
For more information, please visit their website
www.salsaconcoco.com, or call them directly at 503.258.7192
(Erick) or 503.258.7127 (Catherine). |
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Mary Ann Carter
Mary Ann trained in
England and the United States with International Style
Champions. She competed internationally with her partner
and together they opened the Classique Ballroom in Chicago.
Mary Ann moved back to Oregon several years ago to be near her
family. She is a well known instructor in the Portland
Dance Community.
Marry Ann is available for:
Professional Instruction
Social Dancing
Championship Competition
All Ballroom and Latin Dances
American and International
Styles
Swing, Latin, Tango, and Salsa
To schedule a lesson or for
more information, you may contact her directly at :
503-679-0052 |
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Greg Krolicki
Greg began ballroom dancing seriously
in 1987 and transitioned into Country Western shortly
thereafter. He began competing in the early '90's on the Country
Western circuit and in the mid-90's he added the West Coast
Swing circuit. In 2006 he was one of the dancers featured in
the documentary "We Also Dance," produced by Nancy Stevens of
New York. The film has been circulated nationally on PBS
stations. .He currently coaches students for competition and
spotlight showcases, social through advanced levels. He
specializes in Country Two Step, Night Club Two Step, WCS, East
Coast Swing and Three-Count Hustle.
Contact Greg at -
Greg@ParadiseStudioPDX.Com
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Astrid Perry
Astrid Perry is a dedicated
dancer with endless enthusiasm and energy for this hobby.
She began dancing 3 ½ years ago and soon found herself learning
every style of dance. One and one-half years ago she
decided to add competition and performance routines to her
experience. With Greg as her Professional instructor she
competed in Swing, Ballroom, and Country Western competitions
throughout this past year. As a professional Social
Worker, she brings a wealth of experience in systems management
and event planning to the studio. In working with Greg as
a Coordinator for Bridgetown Swing 2008, her organizational
skills contributed to the success of the event.
Contact Astrid at -
Astrid@ParadiseStudioPDX.Com
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Polly McBride
Polly and tango discovered each
other in 1991 when she became a founding member of the Portland
Tango Community. Her dancing has been influenced by many of the
masters she has studied with at Stanford Tango Week, Columbus
Tango Week, Nora's Tango Week, and those who have visited
Seattle and Portland. She is a member of Nora's Tango Week
Public Relations Staff, and she partnered Maestro Jorge Firpo at
the 2006 NTW.
She has been a member of the
Executive Team for Portland's TangoFest and ValenTango festivals
since their beginning and is currently teaching at PCC/Sylvania
and at Paradise Ballroom where she has been director since 2005.
Polly specializes in teaching foundational skills for beginners.
Contact Polly at -
Polly@ParadiseStudioPDX.Com |

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Carla Titus
Carla started dancing from a
young age but was actually introduced to ballroom dancing 5
years ago. She is a former competitor with a wide range of
accomplishments nationally and internationally. One of her
highest placing was in Vancouver, Canada at the “2008 Snowball”
competition where she won 1st place in International Latin and
2nd in International Standard. Carla is a well diverse dancer
with her main focus on International Standard (Waltz, Tango,
Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz and Quickstep) and International Latin
(Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba, Jive) dances. She currently trains with
Yegor Novikov and was Jim Gray’s teacher’s assistance for 2
years. Carla is one of Paradise newest instructors and is
available for group and private lessons
She can be reached at
503-332-2014 or
carlitaef_05@msn.com
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Steve Klein
Steve has a combined total of 10 years of dance experience,
including 5 years instructing group and private lessons and 2 years coaching couples for
competition.
He has competed 5 years in UCWDC Sanctioned competitions, as
well as competitions in ballroom and West Coast Swing.
Steve has experience in progressive
social dances including:
West Coast Swing,
Country 2-Step,
Swing, East Coast Swing, Night Club 2-Step
He is also experienced at ballroom dances and techniques in both
American and International Standard dances:
Waltz, Cha Cha, Rumba, Tango. International Ballroom Latin:
Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Jive.
International Standard:
Waltz, Quickstep, and Tango as taken from the syllabus and
enhanced syllabus.
He keeps up-to-date with the latest dance techniques, by
attending workshops at major dance events and brings that
knowledge home to you.
Steve is teaches classes and is available for Special Events,
Private Lessons,
Wedding Couples Dance Instruction, and Dance instruction for special occasions.
He can be reached at 503-267-1167
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Melena Bronson
Melena has been dancing for as
long as she can remember, with influences in Jazz, Modern,
Ballet, Hip Hop, Ballroom, Latin, and Argentine Tango. A
Ballroom dancer for over 10 years and an instructor for over 5
years, she is a certified instructor of Arthur Murray with
Certification in all four levels of Bronze and Silver and is
currently working towards her Gold Certification. She has
experience with both American and International and with both
beginners and advanced dancers. She also has received a
Bachelor's of Arts in Dancing from the University of Oregon,
with a focus in Modern & Ballet dancing. She now uses this
knowledge to help dancers develop simple but important ways of
moving, posture & alignment.
In her first year as an instructor she was honored with “Rookie
of the Year,” (2002) as well as first, second, and third place
honors in regional studio competitions in the following years
(2002-2005). She was in the top twenty in the world of Arthur
Murray’s two years in a row (2002-2003).
Melena teaches a wide range of dances and techniques. Mostly
Arthur Murray trained; she enjoys, and teaches, Waltz, Foxtrot,
Tango, Quickstep, Viennese Waltz, Rumba, ChaCha, Swing, Salsa,
Mambo, Samba, Merengue, Bolero, Hustle, Night Club Two Step,
Country Two Step, Country Swing, Country Waltz, as well as West
Coast Swing, Lindy hop, and Argentine Tango. She is taking new
students and is excited to be working as an instructor in
Portland & Vancouver. She looks forward to making it fun and
easy for anyone and everyone who wants to learn how to dance!
Here are a few things she specializes in:
Private Lessons
Group Lessons (small and large)
Social dancing
Wedding dances
Special Occasions (such as you have to learn how to Salsa for a
hot date on Saturday)
Competitive dancing
Having FUN! |

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Cassie Winter
Cassie started dancing in preschool at the French-American
School, where she took ballet and performed in the school’s
production of “Cats”. Her journey continued in elementary school
when her mother won tap lessons for her at a silent auction. She
went on to study tap for three and a half years. During that
time she also studied jazz for a year. She returned to jazz in
high school for one semester, but other than that dance was no
longer a part of her life.
That all changed in the summer of 2006 when she watched the
second season of “So You Think You Can Dance”, which opened her
eyes to the world of partner dancing. So she signed up for Swing
and Argentine Tango with Rachel Lidskog at PSU.
As time passed Cassie continued to study under Rachel Lidskog:
joining her PSU performance team and attending and assisting in
her classes all over Portland. At this time Cassie also became
co-president of the PSU Dancers Club. However, in the end it was
becoming a social dancer that really helped her dancing take
flight.
While Cassie now specializes in West Coast Swing, her dance
career has made her knowledgeable in Argentine Tango, Ballroom,
Latin, Blues, and other forms of swing. She has studied under
and assisted numerous local instructors, including Trina
Siebert, Jason Isbell, Chris Jones, and Brenda Russell.
Furthermore, she began learning how to lead very early in her
career and is now touted as one of the best West Coast Swing
leads in Portland. She recently took 1st Place at Bridgetown in
the Novice Strictly Swing division with her partner Mackenzie
Grover, whom she lead.
Cassie began teaching in 2008 and has since become just as
passionate about teaching as she has of dancing. She is going on
three years coaching the PSU Dancers Club, and is very grateful
to now be an instructor at Paradise Dance Studios—the first
social venue she ever attended.
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Rachel Lidsog
A professional dancer, singer, and choreographer, Rachel has
been teaching dance as a certified dance professional since
1989. A two-times Bronze Medalist, Rachel has traveled the
globe for training, teaching, and competing in destinations such
as Argentina, Cuba, Canada, France, Holland, and Sweden, as well
as many cities throughout the US. Known for her joy while
teaching, Rachel's dance knowledge includes a broad repertoire
of styles, from the social to competitive level. She offers
weekly classes in Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country Western, Night
Club and Argentine Tango. www.2dancewithjoy.com
Her Musical Theatre Performance credits include the leading and
supporting roles of “Nellie” in South Pacific, “Dorothy”
in The Wizard of Oz, “The Ghost of Christmas Past” in Scrooge,
“Stupefying Jones” in Lil' Abner and “Old Devil Moon” in On
With the Show, as well as a principal dancer and chorus
singer in Oklahoma, South Pacific, Annie Get Your Gun,
and Cabaret. Rachel's choreography credits include
Newberg High School's Show Choir, Newberg High School's musical
production of Guys and Dolls, a community theater
production of Haddasah, and Forest Grove High School's
production of Brigadoon. Most recently Rachel performed
in Broadway Rose Theater's production of Evita, as a
Tango dancer and principal chorus singer, and is currently
choreographing the Fall 2010 production of Guys and Dolls for
the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics. |
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