Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddy And Darlene
Hi Eddy and Darlene, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Eddy is born to Ecuadorian/Colombian parents; his father immigrated to Miami and he left Ecuador shortly after his dad.
Darlene is Chinese (her family born & raised in India) and they met shortly after Eddy arrived.
When we met, we didn’t even like each other; but fit and danced together well. In our world finding your dance partner is very much like finding your ‘partner’;
We both had other partners before but this was different. It was our coach that put us together formally.
We perform and teach Salsa + Bachata with Aerial Acrobatics.
We are dance partners who are absolute polar opposites, constantly arguing but are also best friends who are also very much the same. This is a contradiction but somehow it allows us to make magic on stage.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We have the usual bumps as business owners: prioritizing tasks, new ideas, new clients, sleep. There was the language barriers; Eddy needed to learn English and Darlene Spanish.
And then we had a few bigger challenges; Darlene was diagnosed with stage 4 Breast Cancer (the middle of Covid/lockdown) and a short while later; Eddy’s PR + status was about to expire. We had to focus on how to a) how to survive b) how to not be deported c) how to stay sane.
Darlene was admitted immediately and had to complete chemo + radiation and surgery(s). Eddy’s status was always a hurdle, he needed a visa to travel anywhere. But this was his last chance to acquire his citizenship or he would be sent home.
For the most part we never stopped training or dancing and we kept going until we didn’t: we fought and had a massive argument and didn’t speak or dance with each other for months.
But time passes and we were able to set aside our differences and get back together; dancing is part of us and dancing together always saved us.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are artists & instructors in Latin + Cabaret (Salsa + Bachata with acrobatics) We perform and teach locally and internationally. We love the stage and audience and we aim to tell a story in every choreography but we always dance for ourselves. Something we hold true and share with our students. We teach and train in our studio and our students and performance teams often travel with us. A few of our favorite places; of course Toronto + Miami of course, Spain, Italy, Mexico and all Caribbean Islands.
We specialize in Bachata and Salsa with lifts/acrobatics and we are very proud of our students and teams.
What we do is very different from other companies and our dancers are able to produce something beautiful, that they to are proud of, and often only ever imagined doing.
Dancing is amazing outlet that is healthy, creative and social at the same time. It is a huge part of our lives and combining that with travel is a dream for us.
We know we are blessed to do this and it means even more especially after all our ordeals.
*By day we are busy business owners in completely different sectors.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Determined and ambitious as business owners, and strong in mind & body as dancers. It’s Important to be physically fit but also mentally strong,
We can’t be afraid to be knocked down, literally and figuratively. We need thick skin; (not everyone wants you to win, not everyone is in your corner) and have short term memory; everyone makes mistakes, learn from it and move on.
Putting in the time; you need to put in dedicated time on floor to develop your craft.
Trust is everything which translates to our life and our work; the lifts and tricks cannot happen without trusting each other.
Being kind, positive and motivational. Which is easy when times are fun but it only counts when things are hard..
Pushing through our own limits and those of our dancers/students so everyone wins.
And of course, being creative!
Pricing:
- Shows, workshops and classes
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bailaboogaloo.com
- Instagram: IG:bailaboogaloo IG: eddyanddarlene TicTok: eddyanddarlene
- Facebook: bailaboogaloo
- Youtube: bailaboogaloo
