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Competitor Info
Judging Info
Schedule
Register
Workshops
Contact Us

NEW! Brazilian Zouk Jack’n’Jill – Official BZDC registered event

The best of New Zealand's Latin Dancers

ENTRIES CLOSE 15TH NOV

Registrations for the 10th annual competition will open soon to dance soloists, couples and teams from New Zealand and abroad covering street latin dance genres popular around the world, namely Salsa, Bachata, Zouk, Kizomba, Chacha, Reggaeton and Samba.

COMPETITION CATEGORIES

2024 National & International Judges Panel

AlmendraInternational Head Judge - Salsa & Bachata

Almendra Navarrete (Chile) Professional ballerina, World Champion of the World Latin Dance Cup 2017, Feminine Soloist category and Salsa On2 category, in addition to being Ultimate Champion with her partner Richie Torres. Since 2014, she has been a podium player in the Female Soloist category at the WLDC.

Richie TorresInternational Judge - Salsa & Bachata

Richie Torres (Argentina) Professional dancer. In 2016, he won Second Place in the WLDC Salsa On2 category with Almendra Navarrete. In the year 2017 he obtained the first place in the Salsa on2 category in addition to being the Ultimate Champion of the same event. Subchampions World Salsa Summit 2018 and 2019 Category Salsa On2.

Claire Kellner-ReadInternational Judge - Salsa & Bachata

Brisbane based dancer Claire started Ballet at the age of 3 in the UK. In 2006 she joined the Austrian Youth Ballet Company then furthered her full-time classical training at the Australian Dance Performance Institute, gaining an Advanced Diploma and High Distinction in her RAD Advanced 2 exam. In 2012 she was accepted into prestige European Ballet Academies, then moved to Sydney in 2018 to start her Salsa career under the guidance of Oliver Pineda and Adrian Medina. In 2020 she left Sydney to further her studies with renowned dancers such as Marco Ferrigno, Franklin Diaz, Griselle Ponce and Jhesus Aponte. In 2022 Claire launched CKR Coaching where she works closely with dancers to help them achieve their personal goals. Since 2018 she has not only made her mark in the teaching world but also in the competition: 2018 Semi-Pro Salsa Solo Champion, World Salsa Solo 2019 Semi-Pro Salsa Solo Champion, Australian Dance Cup 2019 Professional Salsa Solo Champion, World Salsa Solo 2022 Professional Runner-up, Las Vegas Ultimate Latin Dance Championships

Rebecca ConnaughtonSalsa & Bachata

Rebecca discovered Salsa while living in Tokyo, initially learning from Cuban instructors and by immersing herself in the social dance scene. She became involved in the competitive salsa scene since 2007, initially as a competitor and then as a coach, choreographer, competitor and judge. She has coached and choreographed a successful NZ salsa shines team since 2012, with this team placing at numerous competitions in NZ, as well as placing at competitions within Australia and the USA. Rebecca attended a judges’ certification course with Billy Fajardo from the USA, and has been a regular judge at the World Salsa Solo in Brisbane and the South Island Salsa Championships. Rebecca’s true passion is mentoring dancers in order to provide them with skills to move in a way that suits their specific body type, and to encourage confidence and self-expression on the dance floor.

Trajano LeydetZouk

Trajano who is the Director of Auckland studio Brazilian Dance Art, better known to many as Zouk Art, is from Argentina and has a strong background in acting, martial arts and Capoeira. Prior to moving to New Zealand he danced Cuban Salsa and Ballroom and he has since trained in contemporary, circus, acro, animal movement, yet his main focus for the past 11 years has been in the Brazilian dances Brazilian Zouk and Samba de Gafieira.

Reuben WatkinsSalsa & Bachata

Reuben, the esteemed owner of ‘Salsa Latina’ in Christchurch, is a celebrated New Zealand Professional Multiple Champion, Choreographer, and Judge. With an impressive 37 first-place titles won by his Latin dance teams to date, he has built a remarkable reputation over 24 years. In December 2023 with his partner Miléna achieved 1st place at the ‘Brisbane World Salsa Solo Competition’ in the Salsa Pro-Am Cabaret category.

Farya ZamanSalsa & Bachata

Farya is an accomplished Latin dance professional with extensive training across multiple dance styles. Known for her elegant, feminine style and meticulous technique, she has won multiple championships across New Zealand and Australia. She has spent the past two years in Australia refining her skills with top global talent and is considered our very own national, International!

Yohei John MikawaSalsa & Bachata

Yohei is a seasoned artist with over a decade of dance training under his belt. With a focus on Salsa on 2 and a keen interest in Bachata, he is particularly passionate about musicality and the art of social dancing. Yohei has taught, competed and performed across New Zealand, Australia, and Asia. In recent years, Yohei has enriched his knowledge training extensively in Sydney alongside the renowned Artia Zandian.

Emily ArmstrongKizomba & Zouk

Emily started dancing at a very young age, training and competing in Ballet and Jazz for many years. She started dancing Salsa and Bachata about 13 years ago, and over time trained in a wide variety of other styles including zouk and kizomba. For 8 years, Emily taught many of these styles at her dance school, Salsa Club Dunedin. She also ran a dance school for children. Emily is now dance partners with Augusto and their favorite dance styles are Zouk and Kizomba. They have taught both these styles all around New Zealand and in Australia. They also have competed together in many styles and have had great success.

Augusto Hugues von MontfortZouk & Kizomba

Augusto is from Brazil, has been social dancing for 12 years, and has been teaching a wide range of dance styles for 6 years now. He has attended congresses and festivals all over Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia. He now lives in Dunedin where he owns and runs his own dance school, Dança Latina Dunedin. Emily and Augusto have been dance partners for more than 4 years and their favorite dance styles are Zouk and Kizomba. They have taught both these styles all around New Zealand and in Australia. They also have competed together in many styles and are the current NZ Latin Choreo champions (2022 and 2023), NZ Kizomba champions (2022) and NZ Zouk champions (2023).

Irina KapeliSalsa & Bachata

Irina has been dancing Salsa since 1998. Prior to that she trained in gymnastics, ballet and jazz. She has completed a year and a half of University studies of Dance technique and Teaching, Chorography, Anatomy, physiology and Biomechanics. Irina is also an IDO certified judge.

Julian ZhuSalsa & Bachata

Phoebe DentonZouk

Phoebe has been dancing since she was 3 years old and has over 25 years of collective dance experience across Ballet, Gymnastics, Latin Ballroom, and Zouk. Her love for Zouk took over in 2011 and has been her primary focus ever since, leading her to study extensively all over the world. She has been teaching Zouk classes and performance teams for 7 years and will always continue to learn and develop so she can pass her knowledge onto students. She sees Zouk as a graceful conversation between two people and her love for the style has pushed her to be a skilled dancer and teacher.

Dharshana RatnayakeZouk

Dharshana is originally from Sri Lanka and has lived in Auckland, New Zealand for 20 years. He trained and competed in Tae Kwon Do until a friend dragged him to a Salsa class. After discovering Zouk it became his focus, and he has been training and teaching the style ever since. Dharshana has competed nationally and overseas and won numerous titles in Zouk and Salsa. He has trained multiple performance teams that have gone on perform in several New Zealand congresses. To him, Zouk is an art form and he loves being able to share it with others in the community and see them grow in confidence and skill.

Ella AspellKizomba

Alyx TySalsa & Bachata

Jason StubbsKizomba

Jason caught the dance bug in the early 2000s after attending his first Modern Jive class. This led to more classes and a hunger for places to practice. Sky City was a popular venue for bands and dancers back then and Jason soon discovered the latin dance scene. Salsa lessons ensued, followed by various other dance styles such as Bachata, Tango, West Coast Swing, Zouk and Kizomba, which eventually became his main passion. Jason has placed in and won numerous dance competitions (couples & teams) and was the inaugural NZ Kizomba champion back in 2018 with dance partner Clare. He has also performed & competed with various dance groups such as DancExtreme & AVEO Ep. Jason has been an instrumental figure in the Auckland Kizomba community, having been there right from the beginning, helping to organise and run free socials, and being one of it’s leading instructors. He’s excited to be part of the Kizomba judging panel for this year’s competition & looks forward to seeing how far the community has progressed.

The best of New Zealand's Latin Dancers

Competitor Registrations

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WORKSHOP PASSES

COMPETITION CATEGORIES

2024 National & International Judges Panel

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