Jenna Robey Mendiola (she/her)
Instructor, Co-Owner
Dance Styles: Bachata, Cha-Cha, Merengue, Salsa On1 and On2
Biography: During the day, Jenna works as a middle school teacher. In the studio, she combines her passion for teaching with her passion for dance to create a contagious desire to learn and grow.
Jenna has been training in Latin Dance styles since 2008. She began her dance training while living in Santiago, Chile, where she was introduced to Rueda de Casino. Upon returning to Boston, she began training with various Latin Dance schools around the Boston area. In 2016 she achieved one of her biggest accomplishments winning 1st Place with her Salsa team, Mambo Revelation, at the World Salsa Summit in Miami under the direction of Mariano Neris.
Jenna began formal training in Bachata in 2013 after joining the Island Touch Dance Academy Franchise, Boston Touch. A couple of years later, she was introduced to Alex & Desiree and trained extensively under their wing. Jenna has received teacher training certifications from Alex & Desiree, Gaby Equiz of Alma Latina, and Carlos Cinta.
Luis Talavera Diaz (he/him)
Instructor, Co-owner
Dance Styles: Bachata, Salsa On2, Hip-Hop, Merengue
Biography: Luis moved to Boston from Puerto Rico in 2013 and has continued his success in dance. In addition to Latin dance, he is also a trained Hip-Hop dancer and choreographer. He has performed at a large variety of events including the Olympic Games of 2010 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, with artists like Olga Tañon, Wisin y Yandel, Tito el Bambino and Ana Isabel. He has also choreographed and performed in music videos with international artists Jowell y Randy and J-Alvarez.
Luis and Jenna have been partners since 2013 and have trained and worked extensively to grow the Boston Bachata scene.
Sirae Richardson (she/her)
Instructor
Dance Styles: Hip-Hop, Salsa, Bachata, African, Bellydance, & Ballroom
Biography: Sirae began her dance journey by studying multiple dance styles, including: African, Bellydance, and Ballroom. She was later accepted into the Boston Arts Academy, where she expanded her knowledge of multiple other dance styles including salsa. She rediscovered her love of hip hop, salsa and bachata by training with multiple teams in Boston under the instruction of Michelle Garcia, Alma Latina franchise, and Island Touch taught by Luis and Janna. She found her home in the J&L Studio and tries to be a part of every project offered under Jenna and Luis’ instruction. Sirae has a passion for making dance light and accessible by combining technique, movement history and musicality with everyday activities. When she isn’t training, she is either bartending or singing with her band The Doped Up Dollies.
Jacqueline Gerritsen (she/her)
Instructor
Dance Styles: Bachata, Salsa On1 & On2, Kizomba, Zouk
Biography: Jacqueline fell in love with Bachata shortly after moving from the Netherlands to Boston in 2015. Ever since, she has trained extensively and consistently with Jenna and Luis and shares their mission to create technically strong dancers while having a great time. She also trained in several other dance styles with local artists; Salsa with Andres Giraldo of SYC, Kizomba with Ceijay and Bruna, and Zouk with Jose Cuadra. She has been co-teaching classes at Havana club in Cambridge and captaining various J&L and Island Touch dance teams for several years, and has been a fierce advocate of learning both leading and following regardless of gender.
Outside of dance, Jacqueline holds a PhD in Biological Engineering from MIT, and works in the Kendall Square area to make an impact in human health. Besides dancing, she loves to work on her own DIY projects, spend time outdoors with her dogs, and travel to new places.
DJ Casanova (he/him)
Instructor
Dance Styles: Kizomba, Tarraxa/o, Urban Kiz, Konpa
Biography: Jovan is a Boston Dance instructor who is heavily involved in the Kizomba community. He has been teaching Kizomba for 5 years and has developed intricate teaching methods to ensure his students excel in any dance they do. Jovan has accomplished many works in the community, and has been at the epicenter for any Kizomba related event in Boston. He also aims to bring well renowned instructors to the area to help foster growth in the local Kizomba community. Training with many high caliber instructors allows him to fuze his style and personality with technique and precision needed to become a top dancer. Partner that with traveling internationally and Jovan ensures his progressive career as an exceptional instructor and dancer.
Franklin Condori (he/him)
Instructor
Dance Styles: Salsa On1 & On2
Biography: Coming soon!
Jason Kwan (he/him)
Instructor
Dance Styles: Hip-Hop, Popping, Salsa On1, Bachata
Biography: Jason, a Boston native, began dancing at 18, initially learning Popping and Hip-Hop through YouTube tutorials and practicing at home. As an undergraduate, he joined Bryant University's Velocity Dance Team and started choreographing during his Junior year. After college, Jason continued his Hip-Hop training in Boston at Phunk Phenomenon, Green St. Studios, Dance Complex, and Boston Dance Studios. In 2022, he discovered a passion for Salsa and Bachata and began training and performing with Salsa y Control and J&L Dance Studio.
Outside of dance, Jason works as a Social Media Manager at WB Games and plays Mortal Kombat competitively in tournaments.
D Havey (any)
Instructor
Dance Styles: Commercial Hip-Hop
Biography: D began taking commercial hip hop classes in 2008. They spent high school and college learning choreography from YouTube and joining extracurricular dance clubs. They and their dance partner strongly believed in making the joy of dance accessible to anyone and built a performance hip hop group at school open to anyone who wanted to join. The focus was always on having fun and building up the memory to retain choreography. They fell in love with teaching and carry the same principles to their classes today.
D pulls inspiration from 80s and 90s hip hop, 2010s K-pop, and contemporary commercial choreography. When they aren’t at dance class, they are a project manager and play D&D.
Jessica Pang (she/her)
Instructor
Dance Styles: Hip-Hop, Commercial Hip-Hop, Salsa, Bachata, and Dance Sassy
Biography: Jessica grew up in Seattle listening to R&B and hip-hop with her breakdancing cousins and involved in theater, choir, orchestra, and martial arts. Dance found her later in life when she took her first hip-hop classes at Boston University in 2013. In 2014 she joined an all ladies, beginner footwork team, Leah's Chicas, at Salsa y Control's dance studio. She struggled through both Luis' first hip-hop classes in Boston and Chris Suharlim's Dance Sassy classes but never stopped attending. Her dedication led to performances with Muevelo Dance Studio, Bella Vita Dance Studio, Island Touch Boston, Urban Feme, Dance Sassy, and J&L Abayarde.
Dance has given Jessica a strong sense of community and confidence in self-expression. She is passionate about giving back to the community all that it's given. Outside of dance, she works as a User Experience Designer, is a member of the Women of Color Entrepreneurs cohort, cosplaying, and gaming.
Ally Rzsea (she/her)
Instructor
Dance Styles: Commercial Hip-Hop, Salsa, Bachata, Contemporary fusion, Heel, Broadway Jazz, Tap
Biography: Ally likes to wiggle. Besides baby ballet, she started dancing in 2015 and hasn't stopped since. She's taken classes in a variety of styles from house to waacking to heel to pole, and has choreographed nearly 20 youth theatre musicals with stageGR. She currently performs with Salsa y Control and J&L Abayarde—and you can catch her in class at Fusion Dance Collective.
Outside of dance she's a big ol' nerd playing D&D, buying too much clothes, crocheting, reading, or doodling for a newspaper.