James Castro (UK/Dubai)
It all started back in 2000, when James first started to dance salsa, when a hatred for the music but a love for the dance was enough to get him hooked. The first years were spent finding avenues to learn within Dubai, but soon found that the only way was to travel outside the country, visiting the many festivals around the world. Seeing the performances as a spectator at the 2003 LA and UK Congresses was the time that James knew he wanted to perform at these various events. However, it wasn't until 2007 that he got his chance to be on stage at an International Congress.
After being a sports coach for over 6 years, teaching was a natural progression to make and 2003 saw him establish regular salsa classes in Dubai. James spent the next couple of years teaching and performing with various dance partners across the Middle East.
During the Summer of 2005, James started training with Alex. After performing at the Dubai Salsa Festival that year, they decided to form a partnership that has been going strong ever since. They have been continually working hard to improve all aspects of their dancing.
Click to read James's full bio.
It all started back in 2000, when James first started to dance salsa, when a hatred for the music but a love for the dance was enough to get him hooked. The first years were spent finding avenues to learn within Dubai, but soon found that the only way was to travel outside the country, visiting the many festivals around the world. Seeing the performances as a spectator at the 2003 LA and UK Congresses was the time that James knew he wanted to perform at these various events. However, it wasn't until 2007 that he got his chance to be on stage at an International Congress.
After being a sports coach for over 6 years, teaching was a natural progression to make and 2003 saw him establish regular salsa classes in Dubai. James spent the next couple of years teaching and performing with various dance partners across the Middle East.
During the Summer of 2005, James started training with Alex. After performing at the Dubai Salsa Festival that year, they decided to form a partnership that has been going strong ever since. They have been continually working hard to improve all aspects of their dancing.
Click to read James's full bio.
Alex de Smet (Belgium/Dubai)
From a young age, Alex always had passion for dancing, but it wasn’t until 2002 that she found salsa, a dance that moves her like no other. When a friend first told her about salsa, she never thought she would become as attached to it as she is today. What was first an activity to keep her busy soon became an addictive hobby that has transformed over the years into a full time profession.
Alex’s journey into salsa began with a couple of weekly classes, a desire to go out dancing every night and her participation in a student show. The following year, she partnered up with her first dance partner, with whom she started working more seriously on various shows and projects.
It was during 2005 that Alex started dancing with James, who had spotted her on the dance floor and saw her potential. After improving her technique for many months, they performed their first show together at the Dubai Salsa Festival 2005. From that time, they both knew they could take their dancing to the next level and subsequently never looked back.
Click to read Alex's full bio.
From a young age, Alex always had passion for dancing, but it wasn’t until 2002 that she found salsa, a dance that moves her like no other. When a friend first told her about salsa, she never thought she would become as attached to it as she is today. What was first an activity to keep her busy soon became an addictive hobby that has transformed over the years into a full time profession.
Alex’s journey into salsa began with a couple of weekly classes, a desire to go out dancing every night and her participation in a student show. The following year, she partnered up with her first dance partner, with whom she started working more seriously on various shows and projects.
It was during 2005 that Alex started dancing with James, who had spotted her on the dance floor and saw her potential. After improving her technique for many months, they performed their first show together at the Dubai Salsa Festival 2005. From that time, they both knew they could take their dancing to the next level and subsequently never looked back.
Click to read Alex's full bio.