Instructors

Hailing from all over the world, our staff offers you the best training available. Most of our staff members are still actively competing professionals who have won awards and have been finalists in such prestigious competitions as the Ohio Star Ball (seen nationally on PBS every year), United States Ballroom Dance Championships in Miami, British Open Championships in Blackpool (the Wimbledon of ballroom dancing), Russian Open Championships, German Open Championships, Italian Open Championships and many more.

Not only are our staff members great dancers, but they are gifted educators as well. All have passed rigorous exams given by the Imperial Society of the Teachers of Dance as well as Fred Astaire Curriculum certification. They have experience working with students from every age group and level of ability. Several have advanced degrees in teaching and sports education, and are certified, particularly for teaching children in a school environment.

Galina Detkina was born in Siberia. She has danced successfully around the world and is the winner of many international competitions in Germany, Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Canada, and the United States. She arrived in New York in 1997 to study acting. She continued studying dancing and acting in Russia, and she has recently returned to New York.

Vega Garcia hails from the Midwest and started dancing when he was three years old. He specialized in tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, and hip hop, becoming a top five finalist in many national competitions such as Showstoppers, Starpower, and Dance USA. He enrolled in a ballroom class, and his love of Latin dances let him to become a teacher at Fred Astaire Dance Studios, where he has taught for the past five years. He has participated in many national Fred Astaire Dance Studios Competitions and placed 2nd in the Mixed Novice category at the Astaire Awards Championships in 2004.

Tina Gerova came to the United States from Bulgaria. She is the reigning Bulgarian Professional National Champion in both International Standard and Latin. Before coming to the U.S., she toured around the world with a professional dance troupe. Her dance career in America has skyrocketed, and she is a UK Open, Blackpool, and International finalist. She has worked with Fred Astaire Dance Studios for many years and was featured on Good Morning America for her work with wedding couples.

Jimmy Rivera -Bio to come.

Elena Shabanova is literally a born dancer. Her parents are former professional dancers and her brother and sister are current Russian Youth Champions. Elena began dancing at age 5 and blossomed into a very successful ballroom competitor. She has won many International Dance Sport Federation sponsored competitions. She is a finalist of the Open Russian Championship in International Standard as well as a finalist at the Open Italian Championship, also in International Standard. Here in the United States she has continued to dance successfully, including her most recent achievement- winning 2nd Place at the Fred Astaire Cross Country Championships in Las Vegas. She is the recipient of a coveted top teacher award for the New York region in 2005. She graduated from Volgograd University with a master’s degree in economics.

Mikhail Zharinov came to us from Volgograd, Russia where he began his dance career. He is the winner and finalist at many International Dance Sport Federation competitions. He was the first place winner of Malyasian Millennium Dance Sport Championships and the Singapore Open Championships. He graduated from the University of Fine Arts with a master’s degree in choreography and dance education. Mikhail is quad-lingual- he speaks Russian, Spanish, French, and English. With his partner, Elena Shabanova, he is the 2nd Place winner at the 2006 Fred Astaire Cross Country Championships.