Elena joined David in coaching a Mambo Productions Bachata performance team in 2018. Since then, she has become the Bachata Team Director, coaching every Bachata team since.  She has also helped develop and deliver the ‘Bachata Sensual’ curriculum for group classes.

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Elena’s life has always included music or dance: starting with many guitar and song-filled evenings with family in her childhood in Russia; figure skating as a child; dabbling in Ukrainian, ballet, and modern dances in adolescence; playing trumpet in symphonic, jazz, and musical theatre ensembles in school and university; and conducting the Calgary Stampede Showband over university years.

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Elena first discovered Salsa when she accidentally attended the Expo Latino Festival in high school and promptly made up her mind to study this dance when she started university. An academic exchange to Mexico in 2008 and the Student Dance Club at the University of Calgary were her first introductions to the Latin dances. Since then, Elena has taken many courses and privates in Calgary, Montreal, Moscow, and at various congresses, always eager to learn and improve. She is fluent in the LA, NY, and Cuban styles of Salsa in addition to Bachata. For several years beginning in 2011, Elena also sang and danced with the Latin band ‘Tekila’ in Calgary. After an initial lack of interest in performing with Salsa teams, Elena’s deep love of performance took over in 2015 and she has been performing on the Calgary Salsa Congress stage ever since.

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As an instructor, Elena strives to convey the importance of technique and musicality and hopes that students enjoy a positive class atmosphere while walking away with a good understanding of concepts learned in class.