Primary Instructors at Paradise Studio

 

 

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).
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

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

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 


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

 

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!



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.
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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