Gemini - Javier y Jenny Portland's Salsa King and Queen!

Welcome to Gemini Teams

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Gemini is pleased to have built many champions who are proudly represented below with a star.

PDX Gemini Salsa Dancer Team

Eres Briones was born in Cuilco, Guatemala, where he always admired the salsa dancers in the street. He came to Portland in 1996, and decided to start dancing in 2003, after visiting Fernando's Hideaway for the first time and experiencing the salsa scene.

After taking a few months of classes, he performed at the Viscount Ballroom with a performance class where he met Javier Solis. Javier took Eres under his wing and motivated him to expand his knowledge and passion of salsa to a higher level.

In 2005, Eres received the great honor of being invited to perform with the Portland Trail Blazers Dancers at the halftime show. Shortly after that he competed at the 1st Annual Gemini Salsa Competition and placed 4th. Later that year, Eres reunited with his very first performance partner, Alina and began dancing with her.

They went on to compete together in the 2nd Annual Gemini Salsa Competition, where they placed 8th. The next year, with much hard work, tears, and dedication, Eres finally achieved his long-awaited goal and went on to win first place in the amateur division of the 3rd Annual Gemini Salsa Competition with his partner Alina.

He currently live with a giant trophy, which couldn't have been obtained without salsa and most importantly, Gemini.

Alina Graham, born and raised in Portland, Oregon has been studying dance since she was eight years old starting with ballet, jazz, tap and then moving to partner dancing. She was on her high school dance team for four years and continued to practice while in college at the University of Oregon. After completing her studies in architecture, she moved back up to Portland where she vigorously studied Argentine Tango, Swing, Quickstep and Salsa. Although Alina enjoys many different styles of partner dancing, she found she had a passion for Salsa dancing. She began training under Gemini to bring her dancing up to a professional level. She is passionate about performance and loves the challenge of perfecting her routines. When Alina isn’t dancing, she is busy practicing architecture in Portland.

Alejandro Maldonado Mi nombre es Alejandro Maldonado, soy originario del estado de Oaxaca,Mexico. A los 18 años de edad me movi al estado de Oregon.Lo mío nunca fue el baile, hasta que un día unos amigos me invitaron a tomar clases de salsa lo cual me llamo la atención, pero las clases solo duraron un par de semanas. en una ocasión un amigo de una televisora local me invito a una grabación en la que Javier daba una presentación de salsa con su equipo, ahi fue donde conocí a Javier quien me invito a tomar clases de salsa con el. después de un tiempo me integre a su equipo, y mi primera presentación fue en el 2009 donde me toco abrir el show en el PORTLAND SALSA CONGRESS . Actualmente sigo en este ambiente el cual disfruto mucho.

Ana Alonso was born in Puebla, Mexico where she grew up watching her sisters at their dance performances and where she got motivated and introduced to dance. In 1999 she moved to Portland, Oregon where she developed her dance skills at her high school dance team for 3 years where she learned jazz, ballet, modern dance and more. Although Ana enjoys dancing she also choreographed routines for quinceaneras for a couple months. Now she is joining Adrenaline where she is developing her passion for salsa dancing and where she wants to take her talent and passion to the next level.

Kihyun
Ki, born and grew up in Gwang-ju, South Korea, came to Portland OR in 2004 to go to U of O, Urban architecture program. He took Jazz dance class for an year back in Korea and that’s where he met his wife, Heeyeon. Before then all steps that he knew were the boxing steps. He says, one thing in common between these two is learning steps- controlling movement of body. He and his wife always wanted to take a salsa dance class because wanted to dance as a couple. Finally they found a time to go back to this dance class and Ki is having a great time, dancing with his wife and unborn baby, on the way.

PDX Adrenaline Team

Ángel zapata. Nací en un pueblo llamado Oxkutzcab (Yucatan, Mexico) Donde viví y practique en algunos bailables de la escuela mayormente bailes Típico de Yucatán que es la jarana y mi gran pasión que es y siempre será el futbol. Cuando cumplí los 18 años me mude a los estados unidos (sanfrancisco california) donde trabaje como cocinero por un ano luego decidí moverme a portland Oregón ahí salía a los clubs a divertirme y bailar. Hasta que un día una amiga me llevo a bailar salsa. desde entonces me comenzó a gustar la salsa. Luego decidido a aprender salsa me encontré con gemini que me invito formar parte de su equipo de bailadores (adrenaline) tal vez allá yo encontrado mi segunda pasión

Azucena Jimenez. Was born in Cuernavaca Morelos Mexico. Since first grade I was always really involved in school activities, including a dance team which was mostly folk dance, and native dances. We performed in school for rallies and festivals. We would also perform for other local festivals. Ever seems I remember I’ve liked to dance, so I really enjoyed been part of the schools dance team. Later in the summer of 1998 I moved with my mom and dad to the united states . We lived in California for 5 years were I attended jr. high and high school. It took me a while to get familiarized the whole transition and getting comfortable with school and school activities, but when I was in 7th grade now more comfortable with everything and been able to fully understand and speak the English language I started looking more into dancing again. In 2002 I joined cheerleading and did that for two years. In 2004 I moved to Portland Oregon, where later I was given the opportunity to join ADRENALINE, and now im working hard together with my team to make it the best.

Alejandro Gomez Nacio en Ecatepec Edo. De Mexico donde rodeado de familiares y amigos crecio con la misica asi aprendio lo basico de merengue,cumbia,salsa & brakedance. Participando en eventos como bailables y competencias en las escuelas en las que acistio. Al cumplir la mayoria de edad ya terminados sus studios medios superiores se traslado a la ciudad de Portland Or. En el 2005 interesado en como mejorar su tecnica de baile recorrio la mayoria de centros de baile en la ciudad, donde conocio nuevos estilos y nueva musica. Lugares donde Interesado en aprender, conocio a Javier Solis quien lo invito a tomar clases y formar parte de Gemeni, donde ahora practica duro para llegar a ser un major bailador y poder demostrar las habilidades con las que cuenta y participar en los eventosen los cual participan personas de todas partes. “La musica y bailar le da vida a la vida”

Angela Rico. I am from Bogota, Colombia and have been dancing since I was in my mother’s womb. I have recently begun to dance for Gemini, and it has been a really amazing experience. Dancing has been my passion and it fills me with great energy and love for my culture. I love the fact that many people are now being interested in salsa for it will diversify us and make us come together for a fun cause. I know I will have many more wonderful experiences with this team and I look forward to it. Salsa dancing is a passion that will only continue to grow as you learn more and meet more people. I feel like I can learn from every person I meet and every step I take. I am thankful I can be part of such an amazing family of dancers that will allow me to grow as a person as a dancer to eventually be able to compete against the people that I admire.

Antonio Murillo Rodriguez, naci en un pueblo en el estado de Michoacan Mexico. En el 2001 conoci estudiantes de la Univecidad de Willamette, una de esas mujeres fue la primera que me introdujo al baile de la salsa. En mi estado de origen y con mi gente, lo usual es bailar banda, por esto mismo se me hizo complicado y fuera de lo que yo sabia, pero me di cuenta que me gustaba. tres anos mas tarde yo mismo comense a buscar lugares donde dieran clases de salsa; esto me llevo a parar al Fernando's Restaurant(downtown Portland). desde entonces, tomo clases con Gemini aprendiendo todo lo que necesito para poder un dia competir. En estos momentos trabajo en la Willamette Valley Vineyards y practico salsa en mi tiempo libre.

Daniella Vivas Giraldo Naci en Tulua Valle, Colombia. Hace 4 años que vivo en los Estados Unidos aqui en Portland Oregon. Asisto a la escuela d Portland Hight School y mi deceo es estudiar comunicacion y derecho. Mis mas grandes pasiones son el baile y el modelaje. Actualmente estoy en el grupo d Adrenaline por Gemini y me facina bailar por que me hace sentir Libre y muy Feliz. Espero muy pronto poder hacer presentaciones y conocer muchos lugares y gente por medio del baile d la Salsa.

Alejandro Maldonado Mi nombre es Alejandro Maldonado, soy originario del estado de Oaxaca,Mexico. A los 18 años de edad me movi al estado de Oregon.Lo mío nunca fue el baile, hasta que un día unos amigos me invitaron a tomar clases de salsa lo cual me llamo la atención, pero las clases solo duraron un par de semanas. en una ocasión un amigo de una televisora local me invito a una grabación en la que Javier daba una presentación de salsa con su equipo, ahi fue donde conocí a Javier quien me invito a tomar clases de salsa con el. después de un tiempo me integre a su equipo, y mi primera presentación fue en el 2009 donde me toco abrir el show en el PORTLAND SALSA CONGRESS . Actualmente sigo en este ambiente el cual disfruto mucho.

Pdx Sabor a mi

Mark Mohanty. Also known as” Kumar”. Mark was born in India and raised in Portland. Always fond of music and dance. Love to play soccer and played in major leagues. Fell in love with Salsa when invited to a salsa party by his x-girl friend and then started learning to impress the girl friend and now it’s a part of my life. In 2007 learned from a Puerto Rican dance master in Chicago but due to busy schedule and computer science education lost it after a while. Now started it all over again with Gemini. Mark feels he has lot of natural movements which he got from his long soccer carrer.He feels if his movements can be directed in a well controlled way; he can be an excellent dancer.

Rafael Gallegos. Soy originario de Salamanca, Guanajuato Mexico, pienso que el bailar es un hobby divertido y sano, siempre me a gustado la Salsa, Merengue y Cumbia aunque yo queria aprender a bailar profesionalmente Salsa nunca busque un lugar donde aprender, pero un dia por suerte vi un flyer con la information de las clases, asi que anote el numero de Javier Solis y decidi llamarlo, ahora estoy tomando las clases bailando profesionalmente tal como yo queria y Gemini me dio la oportunidad de ser parte de su equipo.

Seattle Xtreame Team

Mario Tayah and I am originally from Lebanon, came to the US some 5 years ago, lived in NY and then moved to Seattle. I always thought I would never be interested in salsa dancing. I always passed by the salsa dancing studio which is next to where I live and thought that the music was nice but salsa dancing was not something that I would enjoy. A friend started dancing salsa a year ago; and although at first we used to have the same opinion about salsa dancing, he somehow was enjoying it and kept thinking that I should give it a shot. Salsa turned out to be a very interesting and enjoyable activity which from six month to today I have been getting more and more involved into. Other than salsa, I enjoy working out, skiing, hanging out with friends and clubbing. I look forward to gaining more experience in salsa dancing as well as maybe other forms of dancing.

Angel Eiselstein. I am in my young thirties and live in Tukwila just south of downtown Seattle. I have the love of the most handsome and wonderful man in the world as well as the best two cats a girl could ask for. I was born in Bitburg, Germany. My ethnic background consists of Filipino, German, Spanish, and Chinese. As a child, I traveled everywhere but was mainly raised in Austin, TX. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest for about 15 years or so now. It's definitely beautiful here but it definitely has its ups and downs. I’ve been involved in the medical field for the past 4-5 years. I currently work at an outpatient surgery center in downtown Seattle. I've been blessed in being able to experience a variety of jobs and have developed a variety of different skills. My career interests lie all over the place and I'm thankful that I am able to try those interests out and be challenged everyday. I’ve always been interested in and love to dance. I’m part Filipino so it pretty much runs in the veins. My uncle, who lives in Virginia Beach, use to ballroom dance professionally. I was on the dance/drill team in high school and was part of a hip hop group a few years ago. I have always had a special interest for dance especially Latin dances such as Salsa. I’m excited about being part of the Seattle Salsa Dance Team and the opportunity it offers to train and meet new people who also love to dance. ?

Jay Banerjee Dance background: salsa, last 2 years Why Salsa: Because I love dancing :) Why join the team: Helps me learn more about the dance, allows me work with a motivated group of fellow dancers and because it is fun!

Frances Tee grew up in Manila, Philippines where she was inspired to start dancing ballet after watching the Dance of the Hours from the opera La Gioconda in Walt Disney’s Fantasia. She came to Boston, MA for college and picked up some jazz along the way. She discovered partner dancing through a program to train ballroom instructors and fell in love with the Lindy Hop and Blues. In 2007 she moved to Seattle, stumbled into salsa dancing at the Belltown Dance Studio only 3 blocks from home and hasn’t stopped. She continues to explore other forms of latin dance along with casino, rueda, belly dancing and blues and enjoys using all dance to continually improve her connection to music and partner dancing. When Frances is not dancing, she works as a Program Manager at Amazon, plays volleyball, blows glass and tries to get her non-dancing friends to venture into the wonderful world of dance.

Kirill Petrov. I am originally from Russia, moved to the US to study. My first university was on the border of Georgia and Florida. This is where I met a guy from Cuba who really knew how to dance and who taught me some basics. He gave me a CD that I transferred to my iPod and this playlist is still among my favorites. Though always excited about salsa I never had time to practice. I moved quite often, lived in various parts of California and finally ended up in Seattle's Belltown. Jim's studio is just a few blocks away from my place and my decision to go back to the future was the easiest I have ever taken!

Kim Rooney was first introduced to latin dancing in college at a Spanish club event almost 20 yrs ago. About 12 years passed before she started taking classes in salsa, cha cha, and tango in Chicago, Illinois. After about 2 years of classes and going to the many latin clubs in Chicago, Kim moved to Whislter BC. where the salsa scene was pretty much non existant. After moving to Seattle 6 yrs ago Kim started again with a class here and there at various locations in Seattle. In June of 2009 Kim searched again for a teacher and the found Belltown Dance Studio. After taking 2 sessions of intermediate classes Jim Chow announced that this studio was interested in creating a team. Excited about the potential of actually having a standing partner and serious coaches Gemini Javier, Holly and Jim Chow, Kim joined the group. Kim is also a psia certified ski instructor, a 200 hr registered yoga instructor, and has a landscape architecture practice in Seatte.

Jim Chow. From a very young age, Jim possessed the rhythm and love of music which has influenced him throughout his life. For a while, he was known as an exceptional freestyle club dancer. But freestyle days were over when Jim was introduced to Salsa in 1999. Salsa immediately became his biggest passion and primary means for self expression. Although he was strongly influenced by LA style (on 1) and captivated by its flares, drama, and beauty, in early 2004 Jim started adding the flavor and softness of NY style (on 2), to his dancing. This made his style truly unique, and on the dance floor he stands out above the rest.

Aleena von Berks born and raised in Tacoma, grew up making home music videos with her friends in the backyard. Now her interest in dance has two-stepped its way to the salsa stage. Why the move to salsa? Simply put, life is full of surprises! Though, what came, perhaps, as more of a surprise was the schooling in nonverbal communication between men and women that she discovered on the dance floor. “Salsa teaches me to be a better woman.” Her claim to fame? Aleena was a ballgirl for the Seattle Mariners. Yes, she likes to be challenged by those in the big leagues – that, she’ll tell you, is why she joined the BDS Team :)

Marc Lorenzo and I’ve been salsa dancing for six months off and on. I started dancing because it sounded like fun. After a five week series dance course I was hooked. Dancing has been filled with many challenges but the rewards have been even greater. It has taken me away from my comfort zone and introduced me to an entirely different world. My goal is to be comfortable enough to dance with the beginner all the way to the expert. When a connection occurs all the hard work suddenly becomes worth it. Outside of dancing I enjoy music, playing guitar, exercising, spending time with friends, working on my house on Queen Anne, and enjoying the city. I look forward to finding out where salsa takes me. I hope I become skilled enough that my dance partners remember me.

Marina Orobinskaia “Dancing concept is all about gentleman offering “Darling, could you, please” and lady answering “Yes, my dear, whatever you want” – taught me my first dancing teacher 3 years ago. There is no such thing as lady’s leading. That made quiet a shift in my “strong independent” woman’s brain. I must follow! That was a life changing experience. I must follow. It is just that easy, yet never was fully understood by me. And once you take away the worry about leading, you can really show off! Thanks salsa for straightening things up.

Michael Bassovets has been dancing salsa since May 2009. He was looking for a new hobby when he saw Jim's studio and remembered that he enjoyed the Latin music he heard when traveling in Cuba and the Dominican Republic. He has enjoyed taking lessons at BDS and when an opportunity presented itself to join the team, was happy to practice and learn more.

Katie Campbell grew up watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies and wishing she could dance that way. She finally got the chance to take a few ballroom classes in college and loved them. Katie was studying in Mexico when she was exposed to salsa for the first time. Although she had never danced it before, the ballroom classes had taught her to follow and she was able to pick up the basics quickly. Add in the experience abroad, infectious rhythms, and expressive Spanish lyrics and she was hooked. Fast forward to a few years later when Katie was living in Chicago and rediscovered dance as a fun way to be active, get out of the house, and meet new people. She took classes in tango, swing, mambo, and contra dancing. Although she enjoyed aspects of all the dances, it was the music that always brought her back to salsa. When she moved to Seattle, Katie knew she had to find a place to dance, so one day she walked into Belltown Dance Studio, and she hasn't been able to leave since. You can find Katie working the door at most of the events at BDS and sneaking in dances when she gets the chance. She is excited about the team and the opportunity it gives her to challenge herself, push her out of her comfort zone, and improve her dancing.

Javier Solis * GEMINI * P.O. Box 8102 * Portland, OR 97207
Tel. +1.503.740.9100 * www.geminisalsa.com * e-mail: gemini_salsa@yahoo.com
Internationally Recognized Professional Dancer, Instructor, Promoter & Choreographer