top of page

Success isnt defined by those who fought and never fell but defined by those who fought, fell and rose again- Nastia Luikin

      Evident from the home page, perhaps my deepest passion is Dance. My journey in dance started when I was in college back in India when a group of us got together and formet a crew and started performing. No formal training of any sort, the focus was just being musical and integrating almost all the moves we knew, Hip-hop, pop-locking etc.

Early Days...     

​

Soon after college and start of my job, dance just dwindled away into the distant past. Though I watched quiet a bit of dance online and had a yearning to learn Salsa dancing, it never materialized. I had the standard "Dont have time for that!" or " I will do it someday!" excuses. 

​

      All that changed when my wife signed me up for a Salsa dancing class at work - 1 hour every monday for 10 weeks. I reluctantly said yes, started and have not looked back since.

 

     As a beginner, you go through a plethora of emotions when you are into a dance that is accepted socially. When you want to go social dance as a beginner, you have the infamous " What are you doing? You are not good enough to ask HER to dance!" going on in your head as you approach pretty much anyone.  I think I got rejected by about 70% of the folks I asked to dance during my formative years as a social dancer. It was an interesting feeling. Definitely built some tough skin and some nonchalance.  Finally I mastered the art of ASKING someone for a dance with a disclaimer. 

     2 sessions after ( session lasts anywhere from 8-12 weeks), I joined one of their introductory beginner performance teams. I always loved the process of going on stage. Been on the stage a ton of times thanks to my good old singing and dancing days so stage felt like my home away from home, comfortable. But my journey had just begun. Little did I know that as of this writing I would stay there for 6 years, end up becoming a semi-professional level dancer, perform in numerous congresses and even have the esteemed honor of sharing stage as part of a footwork team as well as a professional team with the director himself and a very gifted, hardworking group of dancers.

 How Ego is your biggest hurdle to overcome...

 

At this juncture a little digression on learning and more precisely how Ego comes in the way of learning. I say this out loud so that people can learn from my example and not perform the folly I have in the past.

 

     After a season in protege, I was allowed to join the then semi-pro team (by todays standards, amateur) and perform. Guess what happened!  My HEAD got BIG, My EGO got in the WAY and more importantly, FUN left the building and in its place came " Iam too good for this shit!". I eventually was benched which in my opinion was a great learning experience mentally and psychologically. 

 

    I picked up the pieces and took a step back to hopefully move forward. I captained the amateur team in following seasons post demotion, perhaps helping in the growth of a ton of good dancers, built friends and extended family.  I was then eventually promoted to the semi-professional team, then helped coach a few sessions with some of the best dancers in the company.

Fear of Rejection :) 

 

My disclaimer was "Hi There! Would you like to dance? I must say I am a beginner and know perhaps 4 moves but would love to try them out and get your feedback on my lead as well. " Doors opened!

 

Ladies accepted my invitation to share a dance and give feedback. Some said it was awesome, some looked uninterested and pretty much "WTF is he doing?" with a fake smile but all in all, I got over my fear of asking and got some good feedback in the process.

​

     2-3 years into social dancing I got information about this new and upcoming dance company called Montuno Dance Company, run by Isidro Corona, known the world around as one of the most talented male dancers in the community. He used to run a training team  which was the fundamentals and foundation of technique. 

​

      I remember walking out of my first training team class like someone had taken my ego and destroyed it!  (Thanks Isidro -__-) My perception of my dancing (which I thought was amazing and mindblowing etc etc insert every possible superlative here) was completely altered. I understood not just what I was missing but also what was wrong, HOW wrong I was and more over, HOW hard it would be to un-learn and re-learn.

 

     I effectively, restarted my journey in dance.

 

     

As of today the 3 highlights of my dance journey were to

​

1. Share stage with some of the most gifted individuals at the World Latin Dance Cup 2012 and place third in the Amateur category with my partner Marianela Calonje. If there was ever a story worth telling, this would be the one.  9 days before worlds, we decide to partner up. We work on thanksgiving weekend, finish the routine and start performing the following Monday, making changes and tips from Isidro along the way. 13 performances in 8 days. Off to Miami- through the qualifiers, place first in semis and placed third in finals. - A dream run in short! Mari, thank you for taking that journey with me. You will always hold a special place in my heart.

​

2. Share stage with the best of the best in our company by closing the Saturday night set at the Portland Salsa congress. Thank you Isidro for the opportunity and Cindy Dinh, my partner for the fun ride :). Being a part of the pro-am Nuevo Montuno team helped me push myself my wildest dreams dancing alongside some of the pro's.

​

3. Coming back after 12 weeks in crutches from an injury, with 4 weeks of preparation and training and in the end winning 17 medals at the US Salsa open in 2012.

​

A Special callout to all my Dance Partners, Coaches and some great friends along my journey who have all been instrumental in making me the dancer I am today!

  1. Isidro Corona

  2. Andrea Bermeo

  3. Giselle Mendoza

  4. Amanda Lowrey 

  5. Leticia Vasquez

  6. Ali Monge

  7. Cindy Dinh

  8. Marianela Calonje

  9. Maikweyana Jones-Tapia

  10. Jazmin Segura

  11. Idalia Reveles

  12. Jim Dole

  13. Suresh Ranganathan

  14. Ariel Lehaitre

  15. Amanda Redmond

  16. Julie Diano

  17. Gosia Jakubasch

 A special Thank you! 

To my only coach, Isidro Corona. There have been times I hated your existence thanks to what you pushed me to do, but its those moments that have defined me as a dancer today. Your support and trust in my ability to work harder than anyone is what enabled me to embark on the toughest part of my dance Journey. Thank you!

wldc403646_4426401372879_899376770_n

wldc403646_4426401372879_899376770_n

redmond-leti-cindy-374423_396007143808828_656842472_n

redmond-leti-cindy-374423_396007143808828_656842472_n

redmond-616273_10151039642018050_171905613_o

redmond-616273_10151039642018050_171905613_o

mdc15284072_10207581428796382_5453628236190271319_n

mdc15284072_10207581428796382_5453628236190271319_n

cin-gosia-615107_10151110547386133_560062122_o

cin-gosia-615107_10151110547386133_560062122_o

gosia-256502_10151039647418050_1753368855_o

gosia-256502_10151039647418050_1753368855_o

julie-202304_10151039641683050_2095968882_o

julie-202304_10151039641683050_2095968882_o

girls-386753_2162725913284_1563699115_n

girls-386753_2162725913284_1563699115_n

cindy-296287_10150335816548050_1277821276_n

cindy-296287_10150335816548050_1277821276_n

gigi-384430_2055162104256_1584256227_n

gigi-384430_2055162104256_1584256227_n

Untitled

Untitled

andrea-77743_467451838049_3544341_o

andrea-77743_467451838049_3544341_o

cin-jazz-idalia-10341777_10202188117726976_31811125063877210_n

cin-jazz-idalia-10341777_10202188117726976_31811125063877210_n

redmond-leti-cindy-374423_396007143808828_656842472_n

redmond-leti-cindy-374423_396007143808828_656842472_n

© 2022 by Umesh Lakshman. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page