INSTRUCTOR BIO: INTRODUCING DANIJELA CORTAN!

Hello Dance Lovers! My name is Danijela and I am originally from Europe. When I arrived in the US, I didn’t know anyone and didn’t speak any English. My life turned into work, sleep, repeat. Oh, what a wild way to spend your early 20s…However, every time I’d watch “So You Think You Can Dance” my desire to put on dance shoes got stronger. I loved the movement, the outfits and the connection dancers had with each other so, I did it! With barely a few words of English, I marched into the Fred Astaire studio and asked if I could do their Intro package. Honestly, I loved every second of it, even tho I barely could understand my instructor, but he showed me every move and every step so I just copied what he was doing. Sadly, it was so expensive that I just couldn’t afford it long term. 


So, in my search for more affordable lessons, I came across Latin Dance classes and the rest is history! I fell in love! Starting in 2006, I took every class for partner dancing that I could find. Later on, I started an online meetup group for Salsa & Bachata in Greensboro, started organizing weekly meetups, dance classes, Potluck dance events, and even Dance fundraisers. I tried different styles from Swing and Argentine Tango to Zouk, Salsa and Bachata. The one that stole my heart, the winner of it all was Bachata! 


But let me tell you what the best part of my dance journey was. It’s me meeting so many amazing people that, otherwise, would probably never have crossed my path. I made some great friends, had the best conversations with some people from all over the US and many other countries, and oftentimes we had the best dances without ever even saying a word to each other. That is the amazing beauty of dancing; you can have a great conversation using your words, but you can also have a great “conversation” on a dance floor by using just the movement of your bodies;  the lead, the follow, the tease, the music, the floorplay…Yes, I found all that in Bachata and I’d love to share that with all of you, too! 


Come join me, learn some new Bachata moves and make some new friends! Bachata is easy to learn, you don’t have to be a dancer and don’t even have to speak English much. All you have to do is bring your best attitude and a smile! Don’t ever think that you can’t do it! Remember that I started with two left feet, just a few words of English and it turned into the best experience I could’ve asked for. You can do it, too! 🙂


I am also available for private lessons (1-2 people) and group lessons (4+ people) for ages 17 and up.