Lorenzo Haire

Lorenzo is a native Californian from Los Angeles and just moved to the D.C. area on May 5, 2007.  Lorenzo is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (2001) with a degree in Political Science – International Relations.  An avid salsa dancer Lorenzo started dancing salsa in November of 2004 when his job moved him to North Carolina.  He learned under Mambo Dinamico and The Cobo Brothers Dance Company.  He was then promoted and moved to Chicago Illinois.  There he mostly learned through befriending and social dancing with members of Descarga Caribe and Latin Rhythms Dance Company.  Lorenzo always had a considerable music collection.  It wasn’t until DJ Vino suggested that he should do something with it that he got the inclination to DJ.  He has been dancing and DJing since then.  DJ Renzo can be seen at a variety of salsa venues throughout the D.C. area.  Lorenzo has no actual publication history or literary talent but he likes to yell and boss people around so he started The Scene magazine.

Kira Zalan

Kira moved from Bay Area, California to Washington, D.C. five years ago.  A few years later, she stumbled onto the salsa scene by attending a free beginners class at Yucca restaurant, where she was attending a friend's birthday.  That night, the defense treaty analyst with a Master's in Russian Studies became a salsa addict.  For a time, she could be seen at salsa venues 5-7 nights a week.  She has since become better at balancing her life, and enrolled in a master's program for Journalism at Georgetown University.  When Lorenzo Haire, a fellow Californian, explained his idea for a salsa magazine, she knew it would be the perfect way to a) practice writing and b) mask her addiction to salsa behind a professional endeavor.  She initially planned on writing one article for The Scene, but fate would see to it that she quickly became the Managing Editor (pain in the arse) of the magazine.  In this capacity, she comes up with feature stories that make up the content of the magazine, manages ten very talented writers and two amazing photographers, edits all stories and even writes some.

Kelly Reed

Kelly Reed has more than 14 years of graphic design experience and provides original design and layout––from inception to completion––for print and electronic collateral.

After graduating with a B.A. in Advertising Design from Atlanta College of Art (now Savannah College of Art & Design) Kelly worked for a major health care system in Atlanta, GA. There, she organized worked as a designer for Egleston Children’s Health Care system. She was privileged to work on projects for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia as well as intern related tasks for Cartoon Network and Coca-Cola through Murrell Design Group. After returning to her hometown in Montgomery County, Maryland in 1998, Kelly worked in Gaithersburg, MD for 9 years. She is now a designer for Circle Solutions, Inc. in Tyson’s Corner, VA.

"I believe that organization is a key factor in keeping my work environment running like a “well-oiled machine.” Quality control is among my highest standards to insure that I work effectively and efficiently. Having a strong work ethic is as essential in graphic design, as having form follow function."

Hildi Pardo

Born in Washington, D.C. Hildi Pardo has lived in Virginia all her life, and is bilingual and bi-cultural.  Her father is Colombian and her mother is Peruvian.  She danced ballet for many of her childhood years, then did a year of flamenco, and has dabbled in martial arts.  In early 2007 she joined the salsa scene, and made lots of new friends on the dance floor and through the Meetups.  She is a TSR regular and calls herself "a TSR girl."  A mother of two, Hildi is also a member of "Batala Washington," an all women, Afro-Brazilian, samba-reggae drum band.  Hildi joined The Scene after the first edition was released.  Hearing that Hildi spotted all four typos in the first issue of The Scene, Kira quickly embraced her as Copy Editor.  Hildi and Kira became fast, red-pen friends, obsessing about grammar and consistency, over margaritas.

Nick Walker

One day in 2006 while a student at George Mason University, Nick Walker realized he was bored and wanted to try something new.
He saw a flyer for salsa lessons on the campus bulletin board, and life has never been the same.
When he wasn't busy dancing Walker earned a degree in Media and Electronic Journalism, so when he saw /The Scene/ he knew it would be a perfect fit.
His favorite places to dance include The Salsa Room, Costa Verde, Clarendon Grill, Station 9, or anywhere fun.

Joanna Chakerian

Joanna Chakerian is an Arlington native who returned to the area after attending Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia and receiving a Bachelor's degree in English. She went on to earn a Masters degree in Journalism at Georgetown University, and now resides in Dupont Circle. She is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, and is thrilled for the opportunity to contribute to The Scene. Joanna would be hard-pressed not to mention her good friend and Managing Editor Kira Zalan, who recently converted her to salsa and is always willing to lend her dance shoes, salsa CD's, rides to salsa hot spots, and good advice on the basic step and more. While salsa is getting up there, Joanna's first loves are the Redskins and her two dogs, a pug and a yellow lab.

Mathina Calliope

Mathina Calliope’s articles have appeared in The Washington Post Magazine, and her commentaries have aired on NPR’s Morning Edition. She recently earned an MFA in creative nonfiction from Goucher College, in Baltimore, and she holds an undergraduate degree in journalism. To pay the bills, she works at home writing reading and writing questions for standardized tests.

Mathina started (seriously) dancing salsa in 2005 but didn't become a Cool Kid until late 2007, when she bunked with D.C. superstar DJs Steve Martin and Jon Trevino at The Hotel Carter for the NY Congress. She awaits international recognition, however: Mouaze from Paris has yet to accept a dance invitation.

For three years, she slaved away at a memoir, “My People Didn’t Dance,” about her immersion in D.C.’s salsa scene. At the moment, she has shelved the manuscript while she considers whether to follow the advice an agent gave her to “open the kimono” and “flirt with the reader.” Mathina likes geology, cooking, and running. She dances on two.

Karina Hurley

Karina Hurley is a Spanish language broadcast journalist and producer in Washington D.C. Originally from Lima, Peru, Karina obtained a B.A in communications at the University of Lima and a a master's degree in investigative journalism at Georgetown University. Karina started her career as a television journalist, producing her own educational segments for a weekly, nationally-broadcast program. Currently, Karina is a active member of several journalistic organizations, including the National Press Club and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Karina contributes to the salsa community, and particularly to The Scene magazine, as a way to stay connected with her Latin roots and her passion for dance. She lives in Virginia with her husband, Joe, and her two sons, Joseph and Gregory, with whom she spends her time playing, teaching Spanish, and eating Peruvian food.

Cristina Martinez

Cristina Martinez moved to Virginia from her native Puerto Rico in 1995, when she was 10 years old. Although she embraced the American lifestyle pretty quickly, she always felt like something was missing and couldn’t shake off her passion for her Puerto Rican culture, food and dance. During her time as an undergrad at the College of William and Mary, she got involved in as many performances as possible, including tango, tap, flamenco, belly dancing, hip hop and of course salsa. Cristina has an absolute passion for traveling and learning new languages; she perfected her French while studying abroad in Paris in 2006 (although her French is a little rough now), studied Italian for a year and practiced Portuguese for a bit. She currently works at a multicultural marketing and PR agency in Alexandria. She learned to dance salsa with her dad when she was a child in Puerto Rico and has practiced and performed with ClaveKazi studio since September 2008. She has traveled with the studio to Cancun, Philadelphia, Orlando and New Orleans.

Salsa dancing has always been a huge part of Cristina’s life, but writing about it had never occurred to her until a conversation that she had with Kira Zalan at a barbeque on Memorial Day 2009. That day, a passion for writing was reawakened in her and she is very much enjoying being a part of The Scene magazine writing staff. In addition, she enjoys writing about dance and travel on her blog on examiner.com called DC Dance Travel examiner.

Rosy Valenzuela

Cathy Freeman

Grace Badillio

Grace Badillio is one of the founders of Dancing With Grace. A certified Salsa Instructor, she recently won the National Presidential Volunteer Service Award and uses her dance company to help the poor, needy, orphaned, deaf, blind and mentally retarded.  She teaches all over the nation and is now residing in Tampa, Florida with her husband Hugo Badillo.  She has an etiquette column in our magazine and loves to contribute teaching how to deal with the many issues dancers face in social situations.  Her goal is to promote humility, kindness, and integrity in dance, dance instruction, and dance writing.  She is currently writing a book about dance.

Barbara Bernstein

Barbara Bernstein is the director of DanceInTimeProductions (www.DanceInTime.com) and has been teaching Salsa Rueda for many years in DC/VA/MD/Baltimore.  Her dance background includes training in Foreign Folk Dance and Ballroom as well as Latin/Salsa.  Her teams include a professional Rueda Team,  a Student Rueda Team, and an all-Women's Group that performs other dances including fusion presentations.  These teams have represented DanceInTime at Salsa Congress with performances in Miami, New York, Puerto Rico, Washington, and Philadelphia.
 
Bernstein has produced and performed in shows on many local stages including the Kennedy Center, the Verizon Center, etc.  She has taught, and her teams have done other shows, both in and out of the DC metro area.  Barb also produced a short documentary on the spread of Rueda de Casino throughout the world, as well as creating an instructional CD on Rhythm and Timing.  Formerly an academic teacher, Barb likes to write and teach.  She has written and published in professional journals many articles on teaching methods, educational psychology, and enjoys writing about dance as well!  For more information on her classes, as well as instructional videos and more, check out www.DanceInTime.com

Shaka Brown

Shaka Gonzalez Brown is one of the most sought after instructors in the Salsa world. From Washington DC, his influence can be recognized around the globe. An instructor for over 10 years, Shaka has demonstrated in 20+ countries that dance workshops can be both fun and informative. Shaka has been able to help thousands find the dancer within themselves, teaching turn patterns, spinning, body movement, footwork, musicality and more in a style that is both engaging, challenging and educational. His professional approach and positive attitude have provided him with opportunities to teach to a wide range of students, including the Deaf, as well as those with physical challenges.

Marquita Bianca

Marquita Bianca is originally from Austin, Texas born to Italian, Puerto Rican and African American parents. Marquita was first introduced to salsa in 2004 and instantly knew that dance was her calling. She danced socially for 1 1/2 years then decided to take her dancing to a new level by joining Mezzlocutis Dance Co under the direction of Psyon Mauricio. Known for her choreograghy beyond the genre of salsa, Marquita has performed numerous times for major television networks such as BET and MTV. Currently she volunteers for many organizations as M.G.U. Miss Virginia Delegate for '09-'10. While taveling for dance, Marquita has seen various dance fashions and in 2009 became a fashion designer when she launched her own line of legwarmers called LegLovers. She is based in Virgina Beach and is joining The Scene magazine family as a Fashion Columnist.

Jon Trevino

Enrique Bravo

Enrique Bravo is a nerd who also truly enjoys the nightlife and photography. He was born and raised in Mexico, where he studied International Relations. He moved to Washington D.C. in 2004 to pursue a Ph.D. in Political Science at Georgetown University. Enrique has always enjoyed dancing; he started with merengue and bachata, and then moved on to salsa. Enrique learned to dance by going out to parties organized by the Caribbean community in Mexico City, with no formal instruction. In addition, photography has been a true passion for Enrique. He first learned the craft while living in Italy with maestro Angelo Friolo, and then at the school of photojournalism in Mexico City. He has held photo exhibits in Italy, Mexico City and, most recently, in Washington D.C. Left with little free time due to his Ph.D. work, Enrique found that being on staff with The Scene's provided him with the perfect opportunity to simultaneously practice his photography while going out and dancing.