Judges
Judges and Scrutineer
Billy Fajardo and Katie Marlow are in demand all over the world as performers, educators and adjudicators. This couple holds the distinction of versatility. Their ability to work equally well in both the partner/ballroom dances as well as theatrical dance arts has had them in demand throughout numerous dance circuits across the globe. Billy and Katie are the only couple in the history of the United States to hold two concurrent World Titles in the same year.
Adjudicating/Education: In addition to their performances, Billy and Katie are proud to be the head judge and scrutineer for the ground breaking World Salsa Championships being shown worldwide on ESPN. They also adjudicated and supervised the nationally run Newport Rhythm and Sound Dance Competition. Both Billy and Katie have achieved Licentiate degrees from the Imperial Society of Dance for Theatre Arts. As educators, they are known to be the "instructor’s instructors" – coaching many of the major headliners and title holders in the world for the Salsa, Latin Hustle and Ballroom competitive dance circuits. Their instructional Latin Hustle dance DVD’s are the top selling DVD’s in the world for this style of dance.
Choreography/Production: The pair recently was brought in for a second time to choreograph for the internationally acclaimed Las Vegas production of "Havana Nights". In years past, Billy was the choreographer for the legendary Combinacion Perfecta tour, starring such artists as Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. The dancing on this tour helped to shape the future for modern salsa dance performances. His company the Disco Dance Dimensions appeared on national television for 4 seasons on NBC.
Katie has been the Creative Director since 1995 for Dancesation! Productions; an event production and entertainment company that produces customized entertainment packages for Fortune 500 companies. Recent performances for Dancesation include such well known companies as General Mills, Elizabeth Arden, Trump International, Crystal Cruises, ATT, Home Depot, Siemens Westinghouse, the list goes on and on…
Billy and Katie are also owners and producers of five successful international dance events and competitions including the renowned International Hustle and Salsa Competition in Miami which just completed its ninth sell-out year.
Director of Yamulee Dance Company began his dancing career in 1994 under the guidance of Wilton Beltre. He has been a member of The Descarga Latina Dance Company, The Fuerza Latina Dance Company, Combinacion Magica, and was senior instructor/choreographer of Santo Rico Dance Company. As a dancer he has had the privilege of traveling, performing and teaching workshops in Brussels, England, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, California, Boston, New Jersey, The Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), Providence, Montreal -Canada, Puerto Rico not to mention in most NYC nightclubs. In addition, Osmar has performed in videos such as; Eve’s “What y’all want”, Jose Alberto “El Canario” – “Me Dejo Picao” and with other artists like Steven Falcon. He has shared the stage with artists like, El Grupo Niche, and Frankie Negron among others. From 2000-2002 Osmar participated in the off-broadway show Latin Madness. Currently, he is the director and founder of Yamulee Dance Company and supervises the student, children and professional teams.
Bio: Francisco Vasquez is considered by many to be the greatest salsa dancer in the world. He is the originator of what has now come to be known as L.A. style salsa ? a flashy, dynamic, showy style featuring fast-paced footwork and strong accents of the music. He is the founder, choreographer, and lead dancer of Los Rumberos which has been consistently in the top 5 groups in the world since 1996. He is the master of many dance styles including Salsa, Mambo, Bachata, Afro-Cuban, Merengue, Cumbia, Cha-Cha, Latin American Dance techniques, Rumba (authentic Cuban style), Mambo, Guaguanco, Guaracha, Charanga, Pachanga Mexican Folkloric & Indigenous Dances.
He has appeared in many movies: some of the better known are “Selena”, “Dance With Me”, and “Multiplicity”. He has danced in numerous music videos: J Lo’s “Waiting for Tonight”, Marc Anthony’s “I Need to Know”, Selena’s “A Boy Like That”, and others. He has also won multiple world championships at the Conga Room and the Mayan in Los Angeles and on the TV show Sabado Gigante. He has performed on stage with many of the Latin greats like Celia Cruz, Ruben Blades, and Gilberto Santa Rosa among numerous others, as well as touring his performances and teaching all over the world every year since 1997.
He is one of the most sought after teachers in the world and we are lucky to get him. I hope to see everyone out at his workshops.
Steve Vasco started dancing ballroom since 1993 at the age of 19. Within his first few years he showed incredible talent both in the competitive world as well as a Choreographer.
In 1996, Steve became a finalist in the United States Professional Rhythm category and that same year he was the winner of the most prestigious Salsa Competition in the world at the L.A. Mayan and was crowned as the “Hottest Salsa Dancer”.
Steve has choreographed for such TV shows as “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance”. He was Choreographer and Principal Dancer for Christopher Caliendo’s “Tango Americano” and the film “Dance with Me”.
His passion resides in teaching. With students who have won numerous titles including, U.S. Champion in Rhythm and Latin as well as World Pro/Am Rhythm Champion in 2006, which featured him in PBS’s “Championship Ballroom Dancing”. A very sought after instructor, Steve travels all over the world creating champions and future stars of dance.
Steve’s current project is to develop dance as a viable line of work in Latin America.
Directors of Mexico Salsa Con Clave Dance Co & Productions
Producers of the Acapulco World Salsa Congress
Victor & Gaby, with proudly Mexican origins, began dancing salsa since they were children. Their first international event was in PR Salsa Congress 2000. After they presented their amazing creation of Salsa with Quebradita (awesome and energetic Mexican folk dance and music), they took 2 years to have a pro salsa career and started to travel around the world in 2002. They have been performing and teaching in many countries as: US, Canada, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Venezuela, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain and UK. As judges and performers at the ESPN World Salsa Championships, Victor & Gaby are known internationally as “Mexico’s Ambassadors of Salsa”. They are crowd favourites everywhere they go, and are featured at most prestigious world congresses.
