Co-founder and Artistic Director of DC Casineros, Adrian has been dancing and performing Son, Casino, and other popular Cuban dances for 10 years. He has also been teaching classes infused with Afro-Cuban dance for the past four years. He won first place in the couple’s competition in Miami Rueda congress of 2009. Adrian has traveled nationally and internationally to participate and to teach in the major Rueda de Casino and Afro-Cuban dance conferences. Along with DC Casineros, he has performed and taught locally, nationally, and internationally at prestigious and popular venues, conferences, and congresses including: the Kennedy Center, Smithsonian, DC Salsa Congress, San Francisco, New York, Miami and Atlanta Rueda Congresses, and the Nicaragua Salsa Congress.

MTV 3 Latino featured Adrian and then-director Amanda Gill to talk about Casino as a Cuban Popular dance in the DC area.

Adrian and DC Casineros also brought the critically acclaimed All Stars Dance Company from Santiago de Cuba, and collaborated on a 1 and a half hour production in DC.

Born in Venezuela, Adrian grew up in a family of dancers and musicians, which heavily influenced his love for the arts. Adrian currently trains under the guidance of Afro-Cuban dance Masters Duane Wrenn, Kati Hernandez, Yudisleidy Valdes, Jorge Luna Roque, Yoel Marrero, Oscar Rousseaux and Aramis Pazos. He teaches Son, Casino and Rueda de Casino, rumba at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. His casino style emphasizes the power and intricacies of Son, Rumba, and at times Orisha dances.

Born and raised in Washington DC, Naomi Washington-Roque celebrates a multi ethnic; Puerto Rican, Cruzan and African American Background. Her passion for dance started in 2008 after living in the Dominican Republic and continued when she started taking Casino Classes with DC Casineros in 2009.

Naomi’s professional dance background includes being President and Choreographer for Rutgers University Salsa team from 2011-2013 and instructor for DC Casineros since 2014. Within Cuban dance, Naomi has a passion for Afro-Cuban and Orisha dances and rhythms and body movement.

Naomi’s other passions include education and youthwork, community building, West African dance, soccer and travel.

Laura was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Born to Haitian parents, she always had a passion for dancing and grew up dancing Compa. Laura has been dancing salsa for the last four years has quickly turned this into a passion of hers.

Her passions also include traveling, spending time with family and friends and working on environmental issues.

Diana was born and raised in Lima, Peru. Her passion for dancing started in her childhood and developed quickly. She started dancing in her high school’s dance group of Peruvian folk music. When she was 14 years old, she became a member of a professional folkloric dance group called “Jallmay Alto Folclor.” As a member of this group, she was part of international tours, including US, France, Italy, Spain and Taiwan.

After several years of professional folkloric dancing, she left the group in order to pursue an economics bachelor degree. However, her passion for dancing did not disappear. Right after she graduated, in 2008, she started practicing casino and became part of Peru Latin Dance.

After her arrival to the US, she became a member of the Boston based Metamovements Dance Company. Later in 2013, she moved to Washington DC and became a member of DC Casineros.

Like many of his D.C. Casineros family, Paul Cassens was introduced to Cuban music, dance, and culture through Jim Lepore at George Mason University.
He has performed and instructed with both the D.C. Casineros and Azucar, the GMU Salsa Club – where he was introduced to Rueda de Casino by Digna Rodriguez. Paul has performed throughout the Washington D.C. metropolitan region, Virginia, and many cities throughout the country. In 2016 he had the privilege of performing with the D.C. Casineros in Santiago de Cuba.
With a background in music, Paul enjoys playing and studying Afro-Cuban and Western Art music. He lives, drums, and dances in northern Virginia.

A native of El Salvador, William has been dancing baile folklórico from a young age in school and community events. William has traveled nationally and internationally performing Cuban dance with DC Casineros since 2009. He has taught Rueda de Casino classes since 2010. He truly believes and trusts that learning how to dance is just as easy and simple as counting 1 through 8 as long as you put your heart into it.

In addition to performing Cuban dance, he specializes in choreographing Quinceañeras and other special events. With more than 18 years of dance experience, he performs and teaches a variety of dance styles including Bachata, Timba, Rumba, Cha Cha Chá, Cubatón, Salsa, Reagaetón, Samba, Merengue and more. William is the Chief Creative Officer at DanzaTone™ Fitness where the mission is “Transforming Bodies! Changing Lives.” He is also the creator of Dame un Chin de Bachata where he teaches private Dominican style Bachata classes. He resides in Washington, DC and teaches Rueda de Casino with DC Casineros every Tuesday at Dance Place 3225 8th Street NE Washington, DC 20782 & cardio dance fitness classes at DanzaTone™ Fitness at 11308 Grandview Avenue Wheaton, MD 20902.

• http://www.dccasineros.org/
• http://www.danzatone.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/flakobailarin
• https://www.facebook.com/dameunchindebachata

Amanda Gill is DC Casineros’ founding and former Artistic Director. She continues to contribute as an instructor, including teaching children’s classes at Glen Echo. Her work with the company has included choreographing, teaching, and performing Casino infused with Afro-Cuban dance. Her experiences of sensuality, vitality, and community health in Rueda de Casino led her to study its connections to dance/movement therapy in graduate school.

Born in northern VA, she trained professionally in Ballet and Modern dance as a young adult; this versatile foundation of Ballet and African dance has led her to perform with companies like Ashe Moyubba, George Mason University Dance Company, Carla & Company. While studying modern and folkloric dance in 2004 at el Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana, she
also danced Rueda de Casino daily with a neighborhood team, and performed on the TV program Para Bailar. Not only is Amanda an aficionada for Cuban dance, but an admirer of Cuba’s free dance education and expansive dance therapy movement.

Her casino style highlights the body isolations and dynamism of son and rumba, subtleties of orisha dances, and lyrical free styling of modern dance. After completing her MA in Dance/Movement Therapy at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA she worked as a family therapist in Boston and taught Rueda de Casino at the Masacote School. In 2012 she returned to DC to offer Rueda dance therapy programs and to co-direct and perform with DC Casineros.

Sito Sasieta, also published as Alfonso “Sito” Sasieta, is a Peruvian-American poet, principal dancer, and instructor with DC Casineros. He lives in the Washington, DC area and serves as Outreach Coordinator for L’Arche Greater Washington, DC, helping build a community that includes people with and without intellectual disabilities. His poetry has appeared in Image, Sojourners, Michigan Quarterly Review, and other literary journals.

His poetry also explores Cuban dance and music: “Dancing Contratiempo in Advent” reflects on Casino’s rhythmic timing and partner connection, while “What We Want in a Montuno” draws on the energy and rhythms of Cuban music.