Ido Flaishon
Ido is the prime teacher and the owner of La Candela. He has been dancing and teaching Cuban Salsa since 2008. He is a certified teacher by the top school for Cuban Salsa in Israel – Latingate. He developed his knowledge and skills by studying with several Cuban Teachers in Israel and Europe, and expanded his knowledge of the Cuban culture and dances even further by practicing with the Folklore Group “Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba” in Havana, Cuba. In Israel, he was teaching as a senior teacher in “Latingate” and instructed in regular classes, workshops, and festivals. In Berlin, he opened La Candela in order to allow advanced dancers to take one step further. Currently, he is himself a student of Classical Ballet and researching ways to fuse Ballet technique into Salsa Cubana.
Additionally, he created and owns the Salsayo project which acts internationally as the number one source encyclopedia for Cuban Salsa moves.
Ido is an avid salsa dancer with a passion for social dancing stressing personal connection, clean movement, musicality, and deep knowledge of the Cuban culture and dances. His teaching style is known for being very methodological and detailed. He teaches Cuban salsa at all levels, folkloric dances, traditional Cuban dances, body movement, and newer fusions such as Reggaeton and Salsa-Hip-Hop fusions.
Notable Certifications & education:
- Certified Salsa teacher by Latingate class 2011
- Certified Son Moderno teacher by Danger & Yunaisy.
- Intensively trained in Afro Cuban dances with Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba in Havana under the tutelage of Miriam Izquierdo.
- His notable Cuban teachers among others: Miriam Izquierdo, Richard Dancer, Nano Manuel Hecheverria, Danger & Yunaisy, Yorgenis Danger Garcia.
- Head of the Salsayo project – The International Salsa Cubana Figure Encyclopedia
- Writer and developer of Teaching Methodology for Social Dance Teachers.
Agnita Januskeviciute
Agnita started her dancing journey in 2012. She has learned with multiple teachers and dance schools in Scotland, Lithuania, and Berlin, and studied under many Cuban teachers across Europe & Cuba. She has been part of La Candela from its very early days and later joined the ranks of teachers in 2021.
Before her first classes as a student herself, having believed that she was born with two left feet, she is a living example that with work and enthusiasm we all can become great dancers and enrich our lives through this wonderful activity.
If you ask her why she loves dancing, she will tell you: “Dancing takes you from your normal daily routine to another world. Moving your body in the rhythm of salsa music is a form of meditation and the best holiday for the soul”.
Melina Garcin
Melina started dancing at a very young age and went through different styles, modern jazz, ballet, contemporary dance, locking, Cuban salsa (incl. Rueda), Porto Rican salsa, Kizomba, Bachata, Rumba, Afro Cuban dances, etc. Melina has been dancing Cuban Salsa since 2011, starting in France, and continuing in Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany. She has been learning and studying throughout the years with many different teachers from Cuba and dove deeper into the Cuban folklore and culture, which fascinate her. Through her background in different types of dances, Melina loves mixing up styles and is always keen to learn and practice something new.
Melina joined the ranks of teachers in La Candela around 2021. “Dancing brings balance, joy, and also sweat into our life 😉 While dancing, you get to forget about anything else.”