
MEET THE TEAM
THE FOUNDERS


ABEL
DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER
Born in Havana, Cuba - the birthplace of Latin beats and rhythms. Abel has over 25 years of experience dancing and has thought in Dublin and Stockholm since 1997.
Deep passion for Latin American music and dance has developed Abel's broad understanding and appreciation for a variety of Latin genres and unique dancing techniques. Since getting a taste of salsa dancing at the age of 15, his journey through music hasn't stopped. Positivity and energy are what Abel will deliver with his partner Alina in his carefully crafted dance lessons to make you the dancer you want to be.
His recent interest is learning to play the bongos.


ALINA
DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER
During Alina's childhood and teenage years she played 4 instruments, graduated from music school, and studied acting and Lithuanian folk dancing. This acquired knowledge and years spent playing in and touring with the orchestra as a percussionist has shaped her holistic understanding of music and dance.
In 2014 Salsa and Bachata became her huge passion. Strong musical knowledge and an ability to analyze dance moves in a technical way allowed Alina to create a powerful recipe for success which she now transmits to the students.
Alina together with her dance partner Abel, combined experiences and passion for dancing will undoubtedly bring you technique-packed lessons every time.
DANCE INSTRUCTORS


JONATHAN
SENIOR DANCE INSTRUCTOR
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Life philosophy KAIZEN. Born in Quito-Ecuador. His dance journey started in January 2017 as a complete beginner. He fell deeply in love with Salsa, and in the subsequent year, he diversified into Bachata.
Since then his major focus has been on developing into a skilful dancer, practising with several teachers and schools in Dublin. However, Alina and Abel saw his passion and commitment and took him under their wing to be part of the DSA family. His work ethic and passion lead him to be a teacher and performance in many dance events around Ireland. However, his passion is not only Salsa and Bachata but design, marketing, and business strategies all of which have influenced the development of Dublin Salsa Academy.


KEVIN
DANCE INSTRUCTOR
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Kevin is originally from the west coast of Ireland. His main forte during his youth was Breakdance & Free Style. Upon attending Sligo University he became a member of the Breakdancing crew where he later thought Breakdancing for a number of years. During his years in Scotland studying for a master's degree he continued Breakdancing.
He fell in love with Bachata and Salsa when he began taking classes during his travels in South America in 2016. Upon returning to Ireland he continued his training and became a student at Dublin Salsa Academy for a number of years before joining the Team. Due to his outstanding attention to detail, energy, passion, and fun-loving personality - he progressed quickly from an assistant to a dance instructor


BILGE
DANCE INSTRUCTOR
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Born in Turkey, Bilge's interest in dance started during her university years when she joined the school's swing dance group in 2013. After moving to Istanbul for business life, she started going to Latin dance nights. That's when she realized her interest in salsa and bachata. She joined Berkan's class as a student in 2019. With this, she started to attend dance festivals.
Apart from her interest in social dancing, her interest in ladies' styling increased. Bilge started to take solo lessons from very successful teachers in the field of dance in Turkey. Before coming to Dublin the first thing Bilge researched was dance schools. Shortly after moving to Dublin, Berkan joined the DSA team, and so she found the best place to continue her passion for dancing. And not long after Bilge proved to be a great addition to the team at DSA.


GUILLERMO
DANCE INSTRUCTOR
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Guillermo has always been a music lover, since he was a child he used to spend time learning to play piano and guitar, developing his musical senses and rhythm.
He liked to dance at parties but it wasn't until his encounter with salsa and bachata that he fell completely in love with dancing. After joining a dance academy in Mexico he never stopped learning and spending time in social dances.
He trained salsa and bachata in Mexico for 1.5 years before leaving his entire life as an Engineer and deciding to move to Dublin for new experiences. From his very first day in the city, he went to a DSA class and social dance and had a good connection with people and the DSA environment.
His best attribute is to lead his partner in a light and relaxed way, enjoying the music and forgetting about everything else.


BERKAN
DANCE INSTRUCTOR
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Berkan, originally from Istanbul, Turkey, started his dancing journey in his secondary school with a Turkish Folk dancing group.
In high school, he tried hip-hop and modern dance. However, only in his university years did he realize that Latin dance forms were the best match and suited his personality best.
His journey in Latin dance truly began in 2014 when Berkan started to attend dance festivals and train with Dance World Champions. In 2017 Berkan joined Danskeyfi Dance Academy in Istambul and soon became a dance instructor assistant.
Berkan joined Dublin Salsa Academy only a few weeks after moving to Dublin. He has incredible energy and loves to give his best in each class.


ZARIA
DANCE INSTRUCTOR
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Zaria was born and raised in Ireland, however, her passion for traveling has brought her to many countries of the world. One of which was Melbourne, where she discovered her love of dance in 2017.
There, she spent two years learning salsa, and bachata and dabbling in reggaeton; fitting in as much dancing as possible from classes to socials to performance teams.
Since coming back to Ireland, she has continued to dance both in Ireland and participated in congresses abroad. Zaria loves Latin music, the energy and spirit of this community, and is keen to continue developing her dancing skills at DSA.


SABRINA
DANCE INSTRUCTOR
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Sabrina was born in Germany and raised in Australia, where her love for dance was sparked. Growing up she had the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of musicality, having played flute in an orchestra and concert band for 9 years. Sabrina began her dance journey with 4 years of standard, Latin, and New Vogue ballroom training, and since then taken up Salsa and Bachata as her main dance styles.
A recently discovered passion for teaching others means that Sabrina is always enthusiastic about sharing her dance knowledge with her students.
Sabrina has been an outstanding student at the academy for over 2 years and since joining the Dublin Salsa Academy trainee team in just 2 short months she was promoted to Assistant Dance Instructor, all thanks to her hard work.
TRAINEES & ASSISTANT INSTRUCTORS
Meet our team of Trainees and Assistants.
We carefully select who joins our team to provide you with the best Sylabus delivery rate for reliable progress.
All our Trainees and Assistants are or once have been our Students. We believe in our teaching methods and provide the opportunity for talented eager individuals to become Dance Instructors.


JULIA
ASSISTANT INSTRUCTOR
Julia was born in Kalisz, Poland. Her dance journey began at the ripe age of four in kindergarten. After moving to Ireland at six years old, she continued to explore different dance styles, determined to find the one that she enjoys the most.
Julia discovered salsa and bachata in Barcelona through her cousin, who was eager to introduce her to her social dancing journey. After walking into her first dance social, Julia wanted nothing more than to be a part of that community.
Shortly after returning to Dublin, Julia took her first class at Dublin Salsa Academy and knew immediately that she has found her place and people. After dedicating herself to these dance styles, she has become a fresh face in the DSA instructors family.


LUKE
ASSISTANT INSTRUCTOR
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Luke started his dance journey at the age of 9 when he was inspired by Michael Jackson’s ‘You Rock My World’ choreography. he was inspired to take up hip-hop and break dance. He loves all forms of music, ranging from Jazz, Rock, Hip-Hop, and of course the Latin variety.
In August of 2022 he began his salsa and bachata journey as a student in DSA. Before long he was training to be an assistant teacher.
Luke comes from a musical background, often performing music in the city centre, he plays several instruments including guitar and piano. Other vocations/ passions of his include Zoology , Voice acting, Radio Production and more!!
Although he is early in his Latin dance journey, his passion for helping others, self-growth, and determination to improve his skills shines through his energetic and passionate disposition.


JENNIFER
TRAINEE
​Born in India, Jennifer is a passionate dancer trained in salsa, bachata, and kizomba, and loves doing shines. She was also part of her university's dance crew. When she isn't dancing she's either swimming or gaming. Professionally, she works in IT and loves the creative escape dance provides from her day job. She looks forward to sharing her love for dance at Dublin Salsa Academy.


NOEMI
TRAINEE
Noemí is a primary school teacher from Spain who currently lives in Dublin, Ireland. She has always felt a deep vocation for teaching, driven by her love for children and her belief that childhood is the most important stage of life, deserving of time and dedication. Warm, empathetic, and incredibly determined, Noemí doesn’t stop until she achieves her goals. In addition to her passion for teaching, she finds great joy in decorating, singing, and dancing. A lifelong lover of flamenco, she discovered a newfound love for salsa and bachata two and a half years ago at the best dance academy in Dublin, where she also collaborates with an inspiring and supportive team. Her dream is to unite her two greatest passions, teaching and dancing, to continue growing not only as a dancer or future dance instructor but also as the best version of herself.
ADMIN TEAM


MUSTAFA
SENIOR ADMIN


TARIK
ADMIN