Chen Lizra - Founder, Entrepreneur & Instructor
Member of the International Dance Council (CID-UNESCO)
2008 Student Entrepreneur Champion for British Columbia(ACE Canada)
Bachelor of Business Administration - will be completed in the summer of 2009!
Chen Lizra is an inspiring teacher! Her passion and love for movement is infectious! Dancing for Chen is about self-expression, laughter, and fun.
She is one of the leading forces of Cuban dance in Vancouver and has a unique approach to coaching people. Chen concentrates on detail, breaking each move down to very simple exercises, teaching people how to really dance, while keeping it light, warm and playful. She has taken knowledge from Cuban professional dancers and tailored the programs for people outside of Cuba. She is a rare combination of creativity, sensuality and a person with a vision.
Chen started dancing and performing at the age of 7 as a gymnast. She's been involved over the years with many disciplines such as 5 Rhythms, Contact improvisation, Brazilian Samba, Afro-Brazilian dances, Capoeira and Lindy Hop. In 2000 she got exposed to Cuban Salsa and got hooked.
Chen constantly looks for ways to expend her knowledge. She travels each year to Cuba, where she trains with some of the best professional dancers and brings unique knowledge like Cuban Son, Cuban Rumba, Reggaeton, Sueltas, Afro-Cuban movements etc. back to Vancouver. She then, initiates special classes, some of which are being offered for the first time in Vancouver, at affordable prices. Chen has taken on traveling and sharing this knowledge in other places in the world and each year initiates new trips internationally.
On top of that, Chen possesses a real entrepreneurial spirit, coming from her business studies, which make her an exciting innovator. Chen was a successful animator for eight years, working on many well known TV shows for some of the best companies, all across Canada. The website is her vision of the fun and playfulness that Latidos Productions offers. Chen is both an artist and an entrepreneur, and is the driving force of Latidos Productions.
Dancing is just something that she has to do to be happy!! Sharing it is her way of leaving her mark on the world!!
Graeme Sampson - Dancer & Instructor (Reggaeton & Cuban Salsa)
Graeme Sampson began dancing as a child in his mom’s kitchen, picking up Reggae, Soca and Merengue moves from her as she cooked. Eventually a Dominican friend of the family got him hooked on Latin rhythms, and Graeme traveled to Cuba for the first time. Since then, he has studied Cuban dance in Vancouver, Havana, and Santiago de Cuba.
This past year, Graeme was living in Ecuador, and spent several months in Cuba, where he learned many Reggaeton moves and male styling. In Havana, he trained with teachers from the National Folklore Group of Cuba, in Cuban Salsa, Son, Rumba and Reggaeton. Graeme has the passion for many Caribbean and Latin dances, and has also been learning Reggae and Dancehall, which he incorporates into his unique dancing style.
