::: The Great British Salsa Experience ::: 20 | 21 | 22 | November 2009 :::

Ahtoy began her professional dance training in childhood in Guam and studied classical ballet and modern dance with the Houston and San Francisco Ballet Companies. As a young dancer, singer, and actress, she has held lead roles in full-length ballets, musical theater productions, symphony concerts, and musical revues. Ahtoy became a top International Latin Ballroom competitor in the collegiate circuit while attending Columbia University. As one of the principal dancers and instructors of salsa company, Santo Rico, she has performed in over 35 cities worldwide in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Americas.

Ahtoy, currently a graduate student at Columbia University's medical campus in New York City, has conducted national epidemiological research and outreach programs for children and adolescents, has published several scholarly articles and is now training to be a psychiatric epidemiologist.

Since forming BAILA Society with Daniel Enskat and Joseph Rivera, Ahtoy and Daniel have performed and taught both domestically and internationally at Salsa congresses, cruises, and excursions, side by side with dancers such as Frankie Martinez, Eddie Torres, Santo Rico, Tito & Tamara, Hacha y Machete, Liz Lira, Al "Liquid Silver" Espinoza, Masacote, Art in Motion, and many more.

Ahtoy and Daniel have also performed for senatorial political fundraisers, at New Year's celebrations at the world-renowned Waldorf Astoria in New York, and have appeared on television for exclusive interviews to educate the general public on the art and sophistication of Salsa. In addition to Ahtoy and Daniel's solo dance careers, BASo has a team of dedicated professional dancers and instructors that perform and teach alongside them.

Daniel Enskat

Daniel holds Master's Degrees in History, Politics and Law, and speaks six languages fluently, currently studying his seventh language, Mandarin. He was born in Germany and the United States awarded him an O-Visa status to work in the U.S. as a "person with extraordinary abilities in business" in the field of international finance as Global Head of Consulting and Senior Managing Director.

He also had studied Jazz guitar and music theory and his love for music and dancing, combined with his passion for history and culture, led him to study the musical and cultural roots of Salsa, both the dance and the music.

As a professional tennis player, martial artist and part-time model, Daniel used his athletic abilities to study many different dance forms including ballet, jazz dance, Dunham, and ballroom, before focusing exclusively on New York Salsa "on 2".

After founding BAILA Society with Ahtoy WonPat-Borja and Joseph Rivera to promote 'Sophistication in Salsa', Daniel as Co-Artistic Director trained a selected group of professional dancers to represent BASo on stages around the world as BAILA Society Dance Company (repertory dancers and principals) and BASo Alto (apprentices).

The company's professional team has toured in Asia, Europe, Latin America and across the United States and regularly hosts charity fundraisers to promote the art form and raise money for charitable organizations (e.g. the Association for People with Disabilities, the American Heart Association and Cancer Research). Ahtoy and Daniel have performed for senatorial political fundraisers, at New Year's celebrations at the world-renowned Waldorf Astoria in New York, and have appeared on television for exclusive interviews to educate the general public on the art and sophistication of Salsa. They also performed with 9-time Grammy Winner Eddie Palmieri and dedicated a performance to his first Grammy winning album "The Son of Latin Music".

BAILA Society produces original research on the culture, history, music and dance theory of NY Salsa to educate the general public on the sophistication and history of the art form.

As ambassadors of NY Salsa around the world, the artistic directors of the company, Ahtoy WonPat-Borja and Daniel Enskat, were judges of the China Salsa Championship, spearheaded the Diversity Celebration of Columbia University in NY City, have given public lectures on NY Salsa history and dance in Europe, and BASo will the host of the 3rd Annual BAILA Society New York International Salsa Competition in New York City in September 2009.

BAILA Society in New York partners with Peridance, one of the premier ballet and modern dance companies to bring NY Salsa to the classical dance world and codify its techniques to certify dance schools around the world in the BASo Salsa teaching methodology.

About BASo

BAILA Society (BASo) instructs NY Salsa in New York City and around the world. Teaching absolute beginners and professional dancers, classes include footwork, partnerwork,styling/spinning, performance technique,dance/music theory, Latin culture and history, as well as stretching and conditioning.

BASo pioneered online dance instruction to reach international students and to facilitate the learning process at home and today teaches students from over 47 countries worldwide how to dance.

The company's professional team has toured in Asia, Europe, Latin America and across the United States and regularly hosts charity fundraisers to promote the art form and raise money for charitable organizations.

As ambassadors of NY Salsa around the world, theartistic directors of the company Ahtoy WonPat-Borja and Daniel Enskat were judges of the China Salsa Championship, spearheaded the Diversity Celebration of Columbia University in NY City, have given public lectures on NY Salsa history and dance,and BASo is the host of the 3rd Annual BAILA Society New York International Salsa Competition in New York City in August 2009.

BAILA Society in New York partners with Peridance, one of the premier ballet and modern dance companies to bring NY Salsa to the classical dance world and codify its techniques to certify dance schools around the world in the BASo teaching methodology.

Artist's Website

http://www.bailasociety.com