Naomi Washington-Roque
Naomi Washington-Roque is DC Casineros’ Rehearsal Director, Afro-Cuban Dance Trainer, Choreographer, Principal Dancer and Instructor. Born and raised in Washington, DC, she celebrates her Puerto Rican, Cruzan and African American heritage. Her dance journey took shape while living in the Dominican Republic in 2008, and she began studying Casino with DC Casineros in 2009.
Her training includes Ballet Folklórico Cutumba and Compañía All Stars in Santiago de Cuba. Her teaching and performance connect Casino, Rueda de Casino, Son, Cha Cha Chá, Rumba and Afro-Cuban dance. She continues her Afro-Cuban dance study under master teacher Marisol Blanco.
Naomi served as President and Choreographer of Rutgers University’s Latin dance team from 2011 to 2013 and has taught with DC Casineros since 2014. Her Cuban dance interests include Afro-Cuban dance, Orisha dance traditions, rhythm, and expressive body movement.
Naomi earned her Master of Fine Arts in Dance at Duke University in 2021, having joined the inaugural cohort of its Dance MFA in Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis in 2019. At DukeCreate, she taught Introduction to Casino Dance on February 4, 2021 and Introduction to Cuban Rumba on March 4, 2021, connecting movement and musicality with Cuban history and culture.
Her teaching also includes Afro-Cuban Dance at Dance Place. Alongside her rehearsal leadership, Naomi contributes to the company’s youth and family programming. Education, youth work, community building, and West African dance are central interests in her artistic life. Learn about our youth and family programs.
Artist, Researcher and Educator
Duke research and university teaching
Her 2021 master’s thesis, Movement IS the Moyuba: Critical Orisha Dance Pedagogy, brings her movement practice into scholarly study of how Orisha dance is taught and shared. Read her thesis.
Naomi’s graduate research brought Orisha dance into conversation with Lucumí cultural and religious traditions. In spring 2021, her Orisha Dance project explored Ochún and Ogun through movement, song and cultural knowledge. That summer, she was invited to lead an Afro-Cuban dance workshop in the July Liberté program.
Education and the next generation
Naomi’s work with young people extends beyond the dance studio. She has led youth programs at Dance Place and judged the Macdonald Performing Arts Scholarship Competition in 2019. In 2021–22, she coached kindergarten and first-grade students at I Dream Public Charter School. Her educational leadership also includes serving as Learning Director at Achievement Prep with Higher Achievement, and her university fieldwork included an organization serving immigrant communities.
During Artes de Cuba in May 2018, Naomi joined Amanda Gill and Adrian Valdivia to teach a Kennedy Center children’s workshop. Explore our Kennedy Center youth and family work.
Teaching Cuban Son in Baltimore
Naomi and Adrian teach Cuban Son at World Dance Festival. From the company’s 2024 archive. Watch on YouTube.
Watch & Learn
Teaching Casino · CubaSon 2025
Naomi Washington-Roque and Sito Sasieta teach an all-levels Casino class at CubaSon 2025.
Un Tambor en el Alma · SALSAtlanta, 2024
Adrian Valdivia and Naomi Washington-Roque perform Son at SALSAtlanta’s 25th anniversary. Video production: Julian Mejia.