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 Susana Montero is established as one of the premier teacher/dancer and choreographers in the UK. WHY? Simply because of her vast knowledge of Dance and Salsa, her sheer dancing skills, and her excellent teaching abilities, which has men, women and teachers coming back class after class. All this wrapped up in one of the most likeable personalities around.
This has all helped to make Susana one of the most sought after Salsa teacher/dancers in the UK.
Susana was born and raised in Madrid, Spain and started dancing at the age of five, where she found a passion for Ballet (and Flamenco, which also was part of her Ballet training.) She excelled in Ballet, winning competitions and creating a name for herself along the way. She taught ballet at school from the age of fourteen, whilst performing for the Silvia Yague Ballet Dance Company in Madrid.
Around the age of sixteen, Susana turned her hand to Contemporary, Jazz and Afro Cuban dance, and studied these until she was twenty-four. Along with her dance career, Susana has a Ph.D in Psychology (which took 6 years)
Susana first came to London in 1995, with the intention of only staying for a year. It was during Christmas 1997, whilst meeting up with a friend from her English class, that Susana was introduced to Salsa for the first time. Magnetized by the challenge and passion of a new dance, Susana took to Salsa, like a duck to water.
Six months later, Susana won a South London salsa competition, held at the Brixton Recreation Centre, London, and then in the same year, went on to win the first British Salsa Championship competition, with her then dance partner, Chandy.
In 1999, she debuted in the Princess Diana Memorial Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, in a group directed by one of the UK's leading choreographers, Richard Marcel. It was during this performance, that she met her current dance partner, Leon Rose.
In 2000, she won the second British Salsa Championship title, at the Bacardi Championships with Leon Rose, and that's when her career took off! The first prize was the chance to perform to one of the most prestigious audiences in the Salsa world, at the Puerto Rico Salsa congress, where Susana and Leon received one of the loudest and longest standing ovations of the entire week, after their debut performance.
Susana now spends most of her time (when she isn't practising) at her classes, holding workshops and teaching and/or performing all over the world.
She has also done numerous TV and radio appearances and interviews for major newspapers and magazines.
When you watch Susana teach, dance or perform, you do not see someone who just happened to be this good by chance. She is the product of being a dancer, who has danced and trained hard for over twenty years, (including ballet, which is one of the hardest forms of dance), many of these years as a professional. Added to this, is a wealth of knowledge in several other forms of dance, (none of them done in half measures) which gives her a great understanding of body mechanics, which is an essential requirement for all teachers and dancers.
Her past has also trained her to have great concentration and focus in any project she pursues, which is one of the reasons she is so meticulous when she teaches at her lessons/workshops or practises for one of her performances.
In Autumn 2007, Richard Marcel invited Susana Montero to assist in the last televised season of Strictly Come Dancing (BBC, 2007). Together, they devised most of the Salsa routines and shows for UK celebrities Leticia Dean, John Barnes, Matt Di Angelo (SCD runner up 2007) and Alisha Dixon (SCD Winner 2007). With these choreographies, not only did the celebrity contestants manage to achieve some of the highest scores throughout the entire competition but would also catapult them into the finals.
Susana has recently helped Richard Marcel once again in the preparation of SCD presenter Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson‘s 80th birthday dance choreography celebration and for its rehearsals.
Susana is extremely grateful to top choreographer and dancer, Richard Marcel, and is very much honoured for being able to get involved in the making of these remarkable shows.
Richard Marcel has contributed on Strictly Come Dancing in numerous occasions. During the last series, he also prepared some of the group choreographies in the programs’ finale such as the much acclaimed and famous Dirty Dancing theme routine. For more information on Richard Marcel, please feel free to click here.
But the main reason for her ability to dance and teach so well, besides her abilities, is the fact that to dance and perform, is food for her spirit, it is her driving force, it is her vocation, but above all, it is her Passion!!
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