Group Classes:
Tuesday Nights - International Style Latin & Standard
7:30pm - Bronze to Silver Level Latin
8:15pm - Bronze to Silver Level Standard
9:00pm - Silver to Open Gold Level Standard
Lydia is a top professional ballroom dancer, performer, teacher and choreographer in Ballroom, Latin, Ballet Character, and Jazz styles, from St. Petersburg, Russia. Her extraordinary rise in ballroom dance in Russia, extensive dance experience, and exceptional talent as a coach has brought her recognition not only in Russia, but also in the United States.
In Russia and later in the U.S., Lydia worked with companies to develop a new and exciting ballroom training and instruction program especially for youth and children. Lydia established the very first children's program in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has enjoyed enormous success. This was followed by the launch of a new program here in the Washington, DC area in June of 2003. In addition to being a highly-regarded instructor, Lydia 's Competition Titles include:
US Open National Professional Ten Dance Finalist, Ohio Star Professional Rising Star Latin Champion, US Open Professional Rising Star Runner-up, Two Times 2009 World Pro-Am Champion and many more ...!
Group Classes:
Monday Nights - International Style Latin
6:45pm - Ladies' Styling
Joyce has been Hustle dancing and competing since the mid 70's. She is committed to it's establishment throughout the United States and in 1994 she chose to dedicate herself full time to raising the awareness of Hustle as an art form in the dance communities of the Washington and Baltimore areas. She is responsible for keeping it alive in the DC area through her very popular "Monday Night Hustle Classes and Dance Party" at Elan DanceSport Center, where all the best dancers in the area have been uniting on a weekly basis for over 12 years.
For the past 16 years Joyce has instructed, judged and DJ'd at many national and regional dance events including, the Virginia State Open Swing Dance Championships(VA), the "Easterns" Country Western Dance Championships(VA), Swing Fling Dance Championships(VA), the International Hustle & Salsa Competition(MIAMI), the Chesapeake Jubilee Country Western Dance Championships(BAL), the Disco America Dance Championships(PHILADELPHIA) and Hustle USA(NYC).
Group Classes:
Monday Nights - Hustle
7:30pm - Beginner Hustle
8:15pm - Intermediate Hustle
9:00pm - Hustle Party!
Hector "Toti" Chavez born in Venezuela with Peruvian decent, is the founder of LatinDanceVibe.com. The nickname "Toti" was given by his family since he was a little boy. Growing up, Toti was always captured by the Arts, such as music, drawing, painting, poetry and dancing. Never knowing that dancing would be his life, Toti's turning point was when he began working for a dance company as an Administrative Assistant. Since then, Toti performed with groups in the DC area, such as RuedaUSA (Steve Denlinger), DanceInTime (Barbara Bernstein), Salsumba (Galileo Lopez), worked with Michelle Reyes (SalsaDMV), Jim Johnson (SalsaFuego), Victor Hugo (Trabuco), trained with Salsa Heat (Andres Echevarria) Orlando FL and now is with Mezzlocutis (Psyon Muricio & Tanya Fiske) DC! You will see Toti's passion through his dancing, teaching & performance in an area near you! Hector is available for private lessons.
Group Classes:
Tuesday Nights - Nightclub Latin
7:00pm - Latin Mix
7:45pm - Salsa 1 (Beginner - Adv. Beginner)
8:30pm - Salsa 2 (Adv. Beginner to Intermediate)
Yana Mazhnikova started dancing in Russia at the age of five years old. She went through Music and Choreography school, studying Ballet, Russian Folklore dance, Ballroom Dance, Music, Vocals and Basic instruments. At the age of 16 she decided to concentrate mostly on Ballroom Dancing, participating in local and regional competitions.
In October of 1997, she came to America and continued to actively compete in the Latin American Style of dancing while teaching and competing Pro-Am with the New York Fred Astaire Dance Studio for 4.5 years. In 2002 she became an independent instructor, teaching in many independent studios throughout New York, coaching Cornell University's Ballroom Team, Ithaca University's Ballroom Team and students of Atlantic Ballroom Studios in Brooklyn, NY.
Yana is available for private lessons, pro-am competitions and exhibitions as well as for professional performances. She specializes in International Style Latin and American Style Rhythm. To book a lesson with Yana please contact us.
Group Classes:
Wednesday Nights - International Style Latin
7:30pm - Bronze Level
8:15pm - Silver Level
9:00pm - Advanced Level
Carlo de Jesus is not only one of the most familiar faces at Elan, but he is also one of our most popular instructors! He specializes in American Smooth & Rhythm, Children's Ballroom, Wedding Choreography, Hustle and West Coast Swing! Currently, Carlo is one of two instructors that head the Elan DanceSport Center formation dance team, and he teaches Children's Social Ballroom classes! To book a lesson with Carlo de Jesus please contact us today!
Group Classes:
Thursday Nights - Children's & Social Ballroom
6:15pm - Children's Social Ballroom
7:00pm - Introduction to Club Style Dances
7:45pm - Introduction to Social Ballroom
Lara Deni began her teaching career by age 15 in Tap, Jazz, Break Dancing and Ballet. In 2002, Lara began competing in both Swing and Salsa, placing in the top three nationally, and opened her own dance studio a year later. From January 2008 to July 2009, Lara and her partner, Keith Stremmel, traveled across the US competing in West Coast Swing. They won numerous National Titles in the Classic Rising Star division and placed in the top 15 in the US Open Swing Dance Championships. Her journey continues on with competing all over US and making a name for herself. Recently placing 7th in the 2009 US Open and winning numerous titles in both the Jack & Jill and Strictly divisions. Lara teaches Salsa, Swing, Ballroom, Latin, and Country.
Group Classes:
Thursday Nights - West Coast Swing
8:30pm - Beginner 1 West Coast Swing
9:15pm - Beginner 2 West Coast Swing
David began with Salsa dancing in 2004 and a year later added Ballroom dancing. Getting more involved in dance, David decided to venture into West Coast Swing and Night Club Two Step. He began teaching West coast Swing and Night Club Two Step, in his then hometown,Wisconsin and Chicago in 2007. By the end of 2007, he began competing Nationally in the West Coast Swing circuit. David currently is competing in West Coast Swing circuit, traveling most of the United States. David met Lara at a West Coast Swing competition in Buffalo in 2008. They began their adventure in both life and in dance in 2009. David and Lara are currently teaching and performing at numerous venues throughout the Metro DC area.
Group Classes:
Thursday Nights - West Coast Swing
8:30pm - Beginner 1 West Coast Swing
9:15pm - Beginner 2 West Coast Swing
Garry Gekhman was born in Russia, and started dancing at the age of six. He quickly became a top competitor in the USSR. He immigrated to Israel in 1990 and continued his dancing career. An active Pro/Am teacher of students at all levels, Garry has students who are successful competitors, placing in finals in many championships in the U.S. and Canada. In the past he has coached the Princeton University Ballroom Team for two years, and is fluent in English, Russian and Hebrew. In 1999, he moved to New Jersey, USA, and is presently located in Virginia. Most recently, Garry was featured on Dancing with the Stars as he performed his world famous robot routine, don't miss out on this spectacular instructor!
Group Classes:
Thursday Nights - International Standard
7:00pm - Syllabus Figures & Open Choreography*
7:45pm - Syllabus Figures & Open Choreography*
8:30pm - Supervised Standard Practice
*Dance Styles rotates every 8 weeks
Sergey Izyumov began dancing at the age of 9 years old. He learned ballroom dancing at a ballroom studio called Harmony. He started competing in Amateur competitions after only 3 months of training. He came to the U.S. in June 2007 at the age of 19 years.
Sergey is available for private lessons in International Standard and Latin.
Group Classes:
Fridays - International Standard & Latin
6:30pm - Introduction to International Style Standard
7:15pm - Introduction to International Style Latin
Saturdays - International Standard & Latin
11:15am - Open Gold Level International Standard
12:00pm - Open Gold Level International Latin
Carlos Gutierrez has been teaching internationally Latin style: Cha-cha, Rumba, Jive, and Samba, and American Social: Salsa-Mambo, Argentine Tango, Brazilian Samba, Merengue, Marinera, West Coast Swing, East Coast Swing,
and line dances for over thirty years and over thirty countries around the world.
He has choreographed and performed at Embassies, schools (all grades),
and universities in the DC metro area. He is the director of the Joy of Dance Studio in Potomac, MD, and the author of The Body Language of Dance, and his new book Wisdom In Action. Carlos
has been interviewed about his dancing and his books on several cable television programs, including "Smithsonian World", WETA live fundraising
"Burn the Floor", and other local cable television programs. Carlos is available for private lessons.
Group Classes:
Friday Nights - Argentine Tango
8:00pm - Argentine Tango Lessons
9:30pm - Milonga Practice Party
2006 Ohio Star Ball Professional Rising Star Latin Champion
2006 US Open Professional Rising Star Runner Up
2006 US Open National Professional 10 Dance Finalist
2004 United States Amateur 10-Dance National Champion
Group Classes:
Saturdays - International Standard & Latin
12:45pm - Full Bronze Level International Standard
1:30pm - Full Silver Level International Standard
2:15pm - Full Bronze Level International Latin
3:00pm - Full Silver Level International Latin
Dimitar began dancing at age 7 and has instructed dance since age 15. His experience allows him to teach all ballroom steps from social to championship level dancers. Dimitar competes and performs with his Pro/Am students. In Sofia, Bulgaria he performed with the Impulsdance Team. He was the Bulgarian National Vice Champion and Twice Finalist in Championships for World Ranking. He has studied International Standard and Latin dance with world renowned coaches Ekaterina Lapeava, World Vice Champion, and Paolo Bosco, World Champion Standard.
Group Classes:
Sundays - International Standard & Latin
12:30pm - Bronze to Silver Level International Latin
1:15pm - Silver to Advanced Level International Latin
2:00pm - Bronze to Silver Level International Standard
2:45pm - Silver to Advanced Level International Standard
Brian Le is one of the most familiar faces at Elan, and he is also one of our most popular instructors! He specializes in American Smooth & Rhythm, Children's Ballroom, Wedding Choreography, Bachata, Salsa, Merengue, and group formation! Currently, Brian is one of two instructors that head the Elan DanceSport Center formation dance team. To book a lesson with Brian Le please contact us today!
Tom and Debra have been teaching Jitterbug and Lindy Hop since 1987. They began their teaching career with a class one night a week in 1994; now their swing lessons are taught at eight locations, six nights a week. Gottaswing now teaches more than 500 students each week and introduces over 4,000 new dancers to the joy of swing dancing annually.
Group Classes:
Sunday Nights - Lindy Hop
6:30pm and on - Check GottaSwing.com for current schedule!
Juliana is a dancer with extensive training in diverse dance forms and technique. She began training as a classical ballet dancer from the age of four, attended renowned professional ballet schools throughout her life, and became an avid student of the Vaganova method, a Russian ballet technique. While pursuing her ballet, Juliana also learned pointe, jazz, modern, flamenco, and character.
In the world of DanceSport, with the same intensity and passion, Juliana trained in International Latin dance with top coaches including Vibeke Toft, Yulia Zagoruychenko, Maxim Kozhevnikov, and others. In the year 2007 alone, she won the Pro/Am Latin champion title at seven competitions in the east coast, including the prestigious Ohio Star Ball (also known as America’s Ballroom Challenge). Throughout her amateur career, she has remained a national finalist. Juliana is available for private lessons and shows.
Valentine Hodgman specializes in International Standard. He also teaches American Smooth and Rhythm.
He is available at Elan for Private Lessons, Shows, Coaching and Pro-Am Competitions and performances.
Genya Bartashevich was born in Belarus where he won many competitions and placed as a finalist in many International Championships as a junior. He has been instructing dance since the age of fifteen and has extensive knowledge and experience dancing in the 10 International Style dances. He came to the United States at the age of 18 and has been an avid competitor and instructor ever since.
Genya is one of the owners of the Elan DanceSport Center and currently competes in Professional Open Latin with partner Yana Mazhnikova, who teaches at Elan on Wednesday nights. He is available for private lessons, pro-am competitions and exhibitions as well as for professional performances. He specializes in International Style Latin and Standard. 
Olga began formal ballroom training and competing at age six, and started teaching at age fifteen. Since then, Olga has participated in many competitions and went on to win several national titles in Belarus, as well as representing Belarus at the IDSF World Youth Championships. Olga attended the Dance Academy in Minsk for 11 years where she specialized in ballet, folk and ballroom dancing. In 2004 she became the United States Amateur 10-Dance National Champion with partner Alexander Senko, which earned her the right to represent the United States at the IDSF World Championships. Olga is one of the owners of Elan DanceSport Center and competes in Professional American Smooth with her partner Kirill Gorjatsev from Dance Factory in Arlington, VA.