ABOUT
Julio Montero
Dance Instructor & Culture Promoter
"By encouraging dance,
we build healthier societies"
As a teacher of traditional dance forms, I strive to create a welcoming environment that can help my students flourish and fully embrace social dancing as a life style.
I also function as a cultural ambassador, and in virtue of this role, I pass on useful values and attitudes characteristic of Hispanic Caribbean people: collective joy, humour, and a positive attitude towards life. Everyone, adults and kids alike, greatly benefit from what they acquire in the learning of traditional dances like Cuban Salsa and Dominican Bachata.
As a plus, my students learn the Cuban Rueda de Casino circle dance (see picture on the left), which is a unique way of collectively sharing the dance experience, constantly exchanging partners through the course of a song while doing figures in unison.
ASSOCIATE DIPLOMA | LANGARA COLLEGE
BACHELOR OF ARTS | UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
4-YEAR | DEGREE COMPLETION AT UNIVERSIDAD DE CIENCIAS PEDAGÓGICAS
GO GLOBAL EXCHANGE | SORBONNE NOUVELLE PARIS 3
ON THE TEACHING OF TRADITIONAL DANCES
I teach traditional social dances that are not formally taught at dance schools in their countries of origin. No official methodologies exist to support the systematic teaching of these dances. Therefore, the finding of a suitable method is a challenging task for everyone who wishes to become an instructor. In this regard, having received formal education as a prospect English teacher has enabled me to apply valuable academic principles in my methodology.
HIGHLIGHTS
2005/2009/2011 VANCOUVER | COLLINGWOOD SCHOOL
2007/2008 VANCOUVER | GLADSTONE SECONDARY SCHOOL
2009 VANCOUVER | ARTIST IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM
2009/2012 VANCOUVER | BC DANCE EDUCATORS CONFERENCE
2012 CYPRUS | IMPLEMENTING DANCE PROGRAM OF CALIENTE SCHOOL
2012 RHODES, GREECE | CUBAN DANCE WORKSHOPS
2014 VANCOUVER | CUBAN MUSIC FESTIVAL
2015 VANCOUVER | COLLABORATION WITH CHARISME DANCE SCHOOL
2016 VANCOUVER | COLLINGWOOD SCHOOL
2016/2017 VANCOUVER | ROCKRIDGE SCHOOL
2019/2020 VANCOUVER | MEADOWRIDGE SCHOOL
2022 SUTHERLAND | SECONDARY SCHOOL
2023 VANCOUVER | ARGYLE SECONDARY SCHOOL
My 20-year-long teaching experience includes regular, evening dance classes for adults, and dance classes for teenagers at more than 10 different high schools in Vancouver where I have been invited as a guest teacher. I have also taught dance workshops in several countries like France, Norway, Japan, Peru, Bolivia, Cyprus, Greece.
I have worked with renown Cuban bands to promote our traditional social dance through various music videos, most notably, my latest collaboration with living legend Elito Revé y su Charangón alongside whom I co-wrote the song "Cuba Baila Casino". This production has received continual nation-wide airplay in Cuba, and sat at the top spots of the island's music video charts. The video's making-of was nominated for the Luca's Award, the highest distinction in Cuba's audiovisual industry.
I conceived "Casino Tradicional" as an online dance course to make Cuban Salsa (named casino in its native island) more accessible to those who for some reason can not physically attend my classes. This is an accelerated course with a strong descriptive component, based solely on my own teaching method. Moreover, Casino Tradicional is a useful guide for everyone interested in appropriately teaching this beautiful Cuban social dance.
From its launch date on April 18th 2020, people from more than 29 different countries have signed up in the vancuba.com website to access the course. Right now, the course is solely available as an additional learning tool for current stdudents.