Tanya

Tanya was born in Japan.  Coming from a military family Tanya developed her love of travel and other cultures at an early age.  Her family settled New Jersey where her passion for music and dance took her to a professional Hip Hop dance company in New York City at 18. After dancing at a professional level for a year Tanya decided to study Psychology and Criminal Justice and graduated from Rutgers University.   Tanya came to Maryland in early 2000 and began to focus on Salsa and Mambo.  Following performing and teaching with Psyon Mauricio for 3 years Tanya became the Co-Director of Mezzlocutis Dance company in February 2006.  In April of 2007 Tanya left Mezzlocutis Dance Company to focus on YemaShun and other teaching aspects.  Tanya has a love of teaching fundamentals.  She believes that everyone must learn to walk before they can run without falling.  She is known for Breaking down movements to their simplest forms, and steers students towards what they need to know to execute basic movements and turn them into complex patterns.  Tanya has focused most of her energy in working with students one on one.

It is important for her to continue to share and grow in her understandings of the history of modern styles of mambo and salsa, and the fusion of African and Latin rhythms.  Bringing back the reasons for our movements, where they came from and how each individual interprets their uniqueness within the dance.  Knowledge is like a wave and as Tanya is on her journey who knows where the wave will land and the search for how it began.

Most recently Tanya has begun an afterschool program with Montgomery County Schools Systems.  She is teaching Mambo and preparing the students for a performance in April 2008.

Tanya primarily has trained with Psyon Mauricio.  She has also studied with the following instructors:  Frankie Martinez, Johnny Matos, Shaka Brown, Manuel Martinez, Sekou Miller, Gorden Neil

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Tiffany

In the last two and a half years Tyffani has become a regular on both the Baltimore and DC Salsa scenes.  She not only dances socially, but also performs with Barb Bernstein's Salsa Rueda Women's Team.  Her love of the music and passion for the dance keep her coming back for more!  When Tyffani is not dancing she's working as a personal trainer and chiropractic assistant. 

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Paola

Paola has studied African dance primarily with Assane Konte, Mohammed Camara and Kadjatu Conte, jazz dance with Douglas Yeuell and Maurice Johnson. She has studied salsa primarily with Keith Givens and Psyon Mauricio. She has also studied under the direction of Melissa Rosado, Eddie Torres and Frankie Martinez.

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Shortly after meeting Maylis, one of the newest members of Yemashun, one can’t help but notice a certain “joie de vivre” she carries with her. Born in the south of France to a French mother and an American father, she developed her passion for dance upon arriving to VA at age six. Her dancer father would take her to Glen Echo for swing dances on the weekends and she soon became a ‘regular’, by the age of 10… every now and then you’d catch Maylis taking a nap on the sidelines of Glen Echo! To this day, she always mentions her family as a driving force behind her adoration for dance, which she considers to be a vital form of artistic expression. 

In high school, Maylis joined a jazz and modern performing ensemble through Shenandoah University and later went to the National Championships with her dance team. With very little formal salsa training, she has learned the art of following through social dance, where she has added her unique flair of soulful passionate sensuality. By fully immersing herself, the salsa scene has provided the training grounds necessary to fulfill her dream of being recruited into a dance company.     

Vangie Avellanet

Currently residing in Columbia, Maryland Vangie specializes in database administrative support and medical billing for Plastic Surgery Professional Associates.  She seasonally provides administrative assistance to Backstage Dance Studio and does promotional work for Jolie Entertainment.  As of May of 2005 she has been volunteering to teach Hispanic families in the northwest region of MD about the Bible.

As a dancer she has come a long way.  Inspired by the February 2006 Chicago Salsa Congress Vangie quickly began dancing On2 in the DC salsa scene.  Without any formal training she has been able to progress by social dancing and was invited to join Mezzlocutis Dance Company and YamaShun in September.  Her style blends Hip Hop and Tango with Afro-Cuban movements.  While keeping a soft touch, she follows every lead with a style all her own.  Her sometimes sensual and sometimes playful body movements ensure that every dance with her is definitely not boring.  She always sports a smile when she's in your arms or by herself.  Keep an eye on her, she get's better everyday!

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