Bachatamante Profile Page
 |
| Anthony | |
| and Marissa | |
| - | |
| San Diego | |
| - | |
| Dance Teachers/Directors |
| A rapidly growing salsa dancer from the Bay Area began his career with Joelle Maletis in 2006 at San Jose State University. A year later Anthony joined the popular World Championship Team "Pretty Boys and Girls Productions" from San Francisco, California where he received the majority of his dance training.
In 2009 he shifted gears and took first step into the "Bachata world" with Jorge and Leslie from Bachata Caliente from Los Angeles Ca. Only months after, Anthony was offered the opportunity to partner with this world renowned Superstar, Josie Neglia, to perform and conduct workshops with her at the 1st Annual California Bachata Congress in Los Angeles, Ca. Immediately after, Anthony was discovered by Serena Cuevas of San Diego and was asked to co-direct one of San Diego's most popular & talented Salsa dance teams to which he gratefully accepted. After only 3 weeks dancing together, Anthony and Serena entered into the 2009 1st Annual Mayan World Bachata Championships making it to the finals and taking home 2nd Place. Anthony, with his new-found passion for Bachata and with his recent move to San Diego, Ca – He has managed to pioneer San Diego's Newest Dance Company and FIRST 100% Bachata Team with a mission to promote, train, create, spread, and unite Bachateros! With the help of his newest dance partner, Marissa Johnson, and now Co-Director of Bachatamante Dance Co. they have grown to 40+ students in the first month. Along with the team Anthony and Marissa put together a routine in 3 weeks to compete in London, UK at the Sexy & Sensual Latin Dance Festival where they represented San Diego Bachateros by winning and bringing home the First Place Title! With a ton of plans in the making….Keep an eye out for Bachatamante Dance Co. and Anthony Umina as they begin their plunge deep into the Bachata World. Bachatamante now has their monthly social the 4th Sunday of every month at Dance For 2 Studio in San Diego, CA. Visit www.bachatamante.com for more info. Anthony has had the opportunity to travel to over 10 countries and was able to learn from some of the worlds best: Oliver and Luda, Ricardo and Michelle, Junior and Emily, John and Liz, Enrique (Kike) Jarquin, Rodney (Rodchata) Aquino, and Eddie Torres, to name a few. Anthony has taught and done gigs at major events throughout California for Coca-Cola, Macy's, Jarritos, as well as San Jose State University. Marissa Johnson Born and raised in San Diego, Marissa has always had a passion for dance but did not start dance training until her high school years. During Marissa’s junior year in high school, she joined the Varsity Colorguard Team dancing primarily jazz. With the Varsity Team, she went to WGI World Championships, and the following year became Co-Captain of the team. She also began taking hip-hop dance classes with Culture Shock Dance Company. Following high school, Marissa continued her hip-hop and jazz training through the San Diego Mesa College Dance Company for the next two years, and performed in dance concerts at Lyceum Theater. In addition to Mesa College, Marissa also choreographed for and performed with local artists. She was soon recruited onto an intercollegiate hip-hop dance troupe called 220, also known as Second to None. With 220, Marissa travelled southern California to compete in hip-hop dance competitions. After dancing with 220 for about 2 years, she decided to take a break from dance. Five years later Marissa had the urge to return to dance, but wanted to try something new – SALSA! Her foundation in salsa is credited to Majesty in Motion’s superb training. In 2007, she joined the Majesty in Motion Pro Ladies Team, where she trained under Jennifer Stein for a year and half. In February 2009, Marissa built the courage to audition for a partnering team. She made Majesty in Motion’s Amateur Team, but quickly excelled and was recruited to Deseo Dance Company’s Advanced Team, where she continued her salsa training under Serena Cuevas. In August 2009, shortly after joining Deseo Dance Company, Marissa auditioned for the world-class dance company, Alma Latina, and was accepted onto their Pro Team. In September 2009, in addition to dancing with Alma Latina, Marissa joined forces with Anthony Umina, the founder of Bachatamante Dance Company, to teach bachata classes and co-direct the Bachatamante dance teams. |
Additional Info
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - | |
| - |