Javier Jiménez

Javier Jimenez was born in Havana, Cuba. He started his dance career at the age of twelve at the art school in the city of Cienfuegos, Cuba. In 2003 he graduated as a professional dancer of contemporary dance and folklore at The National Art School (ENA) in Havana. Once finished his studies he joined the dance group Yoldance, this company made several tours in Germany with the musical Viva Cuba! After some years dancing in Cuba he packed his luggage and moved to Salamanca, Spain. Here he is working as an instructor of Latin dances. Javier is also choreographer and a dancer in the famous dance group Fusion Latina. This group has twice won the Spanish Bachata Master Team and runners-up in the World Bachata Masters Teams. Javier is well known to bring joy and energy into his classes, but at the same time making it easy for the student to understand the techniques and moves.

Jennifer Fojaco

Jennifer Fojaco was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba. Since the age of eleven she started her career as a professional dancer in the school of Arts Benny More, in Cienfuegos. In 2003 she graduated as a professional dancer in Musical Shows National Art School (ENA) in Havana. After some years working in different dance groups in Havana, she moved to Spain and joined the company of Adrian and Anita in Barcelona. Here she obtained the third place in the Championship of Spain by groups. After moving to Salamanca she teamed up with the company Fusion Latina. This group has twice won the title Bachata Team Master of Spain and runners-up in the world bachata group championship.

In addition to the performing, Jennifer is running the biggest dance school in Salamanca, together with her partner Javier. There she is theaching classes such as salsa, bachata, ballet, jazz and modern dance. When taking her classes you will notice the quality in here teaching and the way she manage to transmit this to here students.

Manu

Manu was born in Cadiz. 15 years ago, Manu settled in Estepona where he opened a dance school. He invested all his time in being trained by the best of the best. He attended every social dancing event and attended every congress in Spain that he could go to. The desire to learn more and more was never-ending.

After a lot of dedication and training Manu began to give lessons himself. Giving lessons was the basis of his joy, but there was still one more itch to scratch: Competitions! Of course, seeing all those spectacular shows during congresses, Manu knew he had to be on that stage. He has again, trained with the best to create spectacular choreographies! Nacho Moreno has been key in the training for acrobatics. He now dances and performs with his dance partner Danielle. They give lessons together in Estepona and teach and perform at festivals around Europe.

Javier Escobar

Javier Escobar is a Salvadoran dancer, choreographer, and creative director who built his professional career in New York City. His work centers on Latin dance, with a strong focus on Pachanga, musicality, and movement clarity.

Javier is internationally recognized for his leadership in the global evolution of Pachanga and currently directs multiple dance teams across different countries. He is the founder of Do Mambo Studio Online and the creator of Latin City Events, a brand dedicated to bringing workshops and Latin dance culture to cities worldwide.

Before pursuing dance full-time, Javier worked as a Data Scientist, a background that continues to shape his artistic approach through structure, analysis, and intentional movement design.

Paulina Kropsiz

Paulina is a professional dancer with over 15 years of professional dance experience. Her background includes training in jazz, contemporary, acrobatics, and hip-hop, with a strong focus on salsa and bachata over the last 5 years.

She is a multiple competition winner and finalist in Poland and internationally, and has completed advanced training in New York City.

Paulina currently teaches salsa online and travels internationally to teach, perform, and share her expertise.

Danielle Ernstsen

Danielle was born in the Netherlands and moved to Spain when she was 3 years old. She lived in the countryside near a small picturesque Andalusian town where flamenco dancing was very popular! At merely 4 years old, she joined the local dance school to learn flamenco and Danza Española. The rest is history. Ever since dancing has always been a part of her identity. Her form of expression.

Over the years, she explored different disciplines: ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz & heels. Her dancing journey never stopped; it also continued when she moved back to The Netherlands. In Rotterdam the Caribbean culture is huge! Here she stumbled upon the vibrant Latin world. She would watch people dance salsa and bachata in the middle of the street and she thought it was beautiful.

It was only when she moved back to Spain that she took the step to explore yet another dance discipline. At No Solo Salsa she started her first lessons in salsa and bachata, and again, the rest is history. Manu was her greatest teacher. The combination of Manu's experience and her extensive background as a dancer has made a popular couple at festivals.

Fabian Vallejos

Fabian was born in Argentina and grow up in Bolivia and from 2002 he lives in Sweden. He is the director and creator of Dance Vida company. He has been dancing professional since 2004 and his first passion was Salsa. Fabian started his carrier winning the Scandinavian Salsa Championship, the Swedish Championship, third place in the European salsa championship and competed also in the World Salsa Championship in Orlando USA he finished 11 of 56 couples. He started dancing Bachata since 2010 and competed in the Bachata World Championship in 2012, and now he is opening his love to other dance styles like Kizomba, Tango and WCS. He is traveling most weekends of the year for the biggest dance events in the world, to teach, perform and be a jury in dance competitions.

Yordano Bulgar

Yordano is the fresh, Cuban energy in Oslo, a true street dancer from Havana, who managed to become runner-up in the Cuban “So You Think You Can Dance”, competing only with the professionally trained dancers. He was immediately snatched by the most prestigious dance company in Cuba, Lizt Alfonso, right after the television show, where he received professional training before moving to Norway in 2019.

Yordano is a unique and naturally talented dancer with great capacity, and we are so lucky to have him with us at the festival.

Alexis Ruiz

Alexis is a world-renowned mambo dancer, musician, and educator with over 30 years of experience. Originally from Guatemala, he grew up surrounded by Latin music and dance, teaching from the age of 12.

Now based in Norway, Alexis is the co-founder of A-custica Dance Academy, the country's only school specializing in Mambo and Tap, where he is the head of the Mambo department. He is also the founder of Allure Dance Company, Norway’s first mambo dance company, which has toured across Europe, showcasing his signature choreographic style that blends tradition, storytelling, and intricate rhythms.

Alexis is internationally known for his unique approach to musicality in dance, offering in-depth lectures and masterclasses that explore the roots of salsa and mambo, the connection between movement and sound, and the rhythmic structures that shape the dance. His methodology has influenced dancers worldwide, and his Mambo Masterclass concept continues to set new standards for musical interpretation.

Through A-custica and his Nordic Mambo Project, Alexis is shaping the future of mambo in the Nordic region, inspiring dancers to connect with the music on a deeper level. Don't miss the chance to learn from him at the Nordic Salsa Congress!.