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DIRECTOR Antonio Torres:
Antonio Torres is the Founder, Director and Choreographer of RumbaY Cache Dance Company and Rumba Y Cache Performance Team. Born in Mexico, Antonio grew up dancing to different genres of music, such as cumbia, folklorico, and others, then, in 1984 He relocated to Oregon, and has lived here ever since.
While a student at Oregon State University, Antonio began studying ballroom dancing and Latin dancing, and it was here that he was introduced to Salsa. Soon thereafter, He joined the University's Latin Performance Group and began performing locally.
After finishing his education at O.S.U., Antonio relocated to Portland and started taking Salsa Classes again. He began performing again in 2002, locally and out of state, and has been doing that ever since. In 2004, Antonio started teaching Salsa classes in the Portland-Metro area. In 2007, He created Rumba Y Cache Dance Company, the ONLY L.A. Style Dance Company in Portland. Rumba Y Cache Performance Team was created in 2009.
Antonio has performed in major Salsa Congresses, such as Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas . He has studied abroad various summers in Los Angeles, and in Milan Italy, with Alex Da Silva, Francisco Vazquez, Fernando Sosa, and Cristian Oviedo. He has also taking an infinite amount of workshops and private lessons whenever there is an opportunity with many other world-renown instructors, such as Jayson Molina, Maykel Fonts, Rogelio Moreno, Salsamania, Edie, and many others.
These experiences have had a strong influence on Antonio's choreographies, as well as in his philosophy for dancing--which is, WE NEVER STOP LEARNING and WE MUST REMAIN HUMBLE--no matter how long we have been dancing and no matter how many competitions we have won--Thank you, to Cristian Oviedo, my friend and Mentor, for instilling this philosophy in me.
Antonio has competed in several competitions, where He has done very well. He won the Portland Jack and Jill Salsa Competition in 2005. This competition TRULY judges a dancer's ability on the dance floor---because He or She competes with people that one has never danced with, and it is NOT a choreographed number. Competing and Fame is not Antonio's goal; however. His love and passion for Salsa and for dancing is to help people grow as dancers and to help them reach their full potential. It is due to Antonio's SINCERE love and passion for Salsa, that He is well-respected by Portland dancers, D.J.s, and Instructors, as well as by Salsa promotors in different states of the Union. Antonio has also had the experience of being a judge at several Salsa competitions around Oregon.
Antonio has a Masters Degree in Education, a Black belt in Taekwondo, was an amateur boxer, and a soccer player. See You on the dance floor!
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TECHNICAL STYLING COACH Leslie Justiniani:
As a result of spending most of her life in and around the salsa community, Leslie Justiniani has developed a great appreciation for the latin culture and the diversity of styles and interpretations of dance that it has to offer.
Over the past several years, she has trained and performed with two local dance teams and of recent, had the “experience of a lifetime” by taking the floor with her wonderful friend and world renowned choreographer and dancer, Jayson Molina.
Leslie hopes to encourage others to grow and change in their dancing and enjoys assisting them whenever possible in the process. Her personal goal is to continue improving her own dance skills while being moved by the music that she feels in her soul and nurturing relationships with special people that have touched her heart along the way.
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Jenny Ostoj:
Jenny’s passion for salsa began when she took her first lessons in 2001 while studying abroad in Granada, Spain. After returning home, Jenny continued dancing and joined the dance troupe Salsa Con Sabor. Like many salseros, Jenny’s love for salsa became more intense as she gained more experience. In 2004, Jenny co-founded the Portland dance company Gemini Salsa, where her and her partner won several dance competitions and traveled both domestically and internationally to teach and perform.
Although Jenny took a few years off of the dance floor to focus on other aspects of her life, salsa has always held a special place in her heart. She has tried other dances, but nothing energizes her soul like the rhythm and movement of salsa. Jenny is excited to work with the members of Rumba Y Cache toward the goals of having fun, becoming better dancers and people by learning from each other, and to ultimately having a positive impact on the salsa community.
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Amber Black:
Amber was first introduced to salsa dancing in 2004, but it wasn’t until she completed graduate school, in 2008, that she really prioritized salsa dance into her life. Amber has grown up learning a variety of dance, including: ballet, tap, jazz/lyrical, and currently teaches children at Pacific Dance Academy in Milwaukie, OR. Amber is excited to have finally found a balance between her career as an occupational therapist and her passion for dance. In 2009, Amber co-founded the all woman’s Latin fusion group, Remix, and is proud to have joined Rumba y Cache in 2010. Amber is looking forward to the challenges that come with performance partner dancing and the opportunity to have fun while learning!
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Shannon Butler:
Originally from Canada, Shannon has been living in Portland for the last 20 years. She has a degree in fine arts from the University of Calgary, and is currently self employed as a photographer.
Although Shannon has no dance background except for some figure skating as a child, in the spring of 2009 on a total whim, she took a salsa class and was immediately hooked. She loves everything from the music, the energy, the movement, and the warmth of the people in the salsa community.
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Jennifer Ford:
Jennifer is somewhat new to salsa, she has only been dancing for 2 years and loving every minute. Previously she could be found in her barn with her horses, she rides English hunter jumper. If not in the barn she could be found at the fire station, where she served 10 years as a Firefighter/Medic. Jennifer has no previous dance training, but grew up on the ice, skating. She continues to take classes, workshops and attend congresses. She has had the honor of taking lessons with Cristian Oviedo, Liz Lira, Alex DeSilva and recently Jayson Molina. Jennifer has attended many congresses the past 2 years but has yet to perform...this year 2010 she will be performing for the first time in San Francisco in March and in Las Vegas in July!! She became a member of Rumba Y Cache in 2008, where she started on the training team and has been working hard under the careful guidance of the director Antonio Torres to get ready for her performance debut.
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Kiki Anderton:
Kiki discovered the world of dance in 2003 while attending college and soon began exploring ballroom and swing dances. It was a year and a half later when she found Casino Rueda Salsa and finally ventured into the world of salsa where she fell in love with the music, people and joy of the dance.
As life would have it, work eventually consumed Kiki's life taking her to an isolated town in Southern Oregon. There she attempted to continue her passion by teaching the basic tenets of dance in the remote community and traveling around the country to continue to learn. Another turn in life has brought Kiki to the Portland community in late 2009 where she immediately began to work toward immersing herself in dance once again. She is excited to be a member of Rumba Y Cache as an opportunity to continue to grow as a dancer, meet new people, and have fun dancing!
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