Our core values
Pursuing greatness and possibility instead of resigning to our comfort zones and limitations.
Humility and passion. We believe learning and growth are a continual pursuit.
Community. We are always, always stronger together.
OUR INSTRUCTORS
EDA KACHIRI - Owner
Salsa, Bachata, Kids Latin
Born in New York, raised in Costa Rica and Minnesota - Eda began her dance journey when she joined her high school dance team. What started as pure curiosity soon evolved into unequivocal passion. As her excitement for dance grew, she immersed herself in exploring different styles of dance including jazz, modern, and hip hop. Eda eventually found her way to the Latin dance realm, which opened a door when she was invited to train and demonstrate with Byron Johnson, an experienced instructor in the community. She received her teacher training at Social Dance Studio in Minneapolis under Joy Davina in 2010 and has been teaching, coaching, directing, and performing ever since. . Through her hard work and passion, she has become an esteemed artist in the community. She opened up her own studio in 2021- Yirii Dance Studio- committed to cultivating an environment where all folks can explore their own mind, body, and soul through movement.
She has also spearheaded initiatives such as Project Sabor- a women’s dance company, YOUnity collective, and created a dance program and curriculum for youth of all ages- all aimed at providing safe spaces to find one’s confidence and voice through dance.
She is driven to inspire all those around her to follow their passion and strive for excellence, even if it’s not in dance; but that is where she invites people to start, of course.
Tommy Valerio
Bachata
Born and raised in New York City, Tommy grew up listening to Bachata music. He started Dancing at the age of 16 and loves the way bachata allows him to express joy for life and culture. He describes Bachata as a language that allows people to communicate love, passion, and joy. After studying at Buffalo University, Tommy moved to Minneapolis for work and found that he wanted to dance more seriously and saw the opportunity to bring more education and awareness to the Minneapolis Latin Dance community. As bachata has evolved, Tommy’s mission is to keep the cultural roots and history of bachata alive so that others can appreciate where bachata comes from.
Chelsea Bohmer
Co-Director Yirií of Teams
Chelsea has over 17 years of dance experience across Salsa, Hip Hop, Jazz and Ballet. A Minnesota native that lived in Chicago for 13 years, she is thrilled to be back in her hometown teaching her favorite style of dance, Salsa. Over the last 17 years, she was a member of the DePaul University Dance Team, President of Ritmo Dembow (DePaul Salsa Club), Gifted Souls Pro Salsa Team and Hip Hop Training Team, performed at World of Dance and Salsa events across the country, and trained at Carnegie Mellon for Musical Theater. Dance is not her only passion, as a long time actress and singer, she has done commercial work on national television, sung on historical stages, and won an MN Spotlight award. Through her variety of training, she has learned vital technical skills that are fundamental to all types of dance and expression and is ready to help others reach their full potential.
Lydia Véjar
Heels 101
Lydia Véjar is a dancer who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. She graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2020 and then decided to stay in the Twin Cities because she fell in love with the dance community. She participated in studio style dance throughout high school and college. It wasn't until after she graduated that she discovered her love of training in heels. Lydia feels most confident and powerful when she's dancing in a pair of stilettos and she hopes to share this passion with all of her students!
Carlos
Reggaeton
Carlos was born in Mexico City and raised in Minneapolis, MN. He has been dancing since he can remember! Carlos learned to love many styles of dance at an early age, such as Bachata, Merengue, Cumbia and Salsa. As he grew older, he got into Reggaeton, Jazz Funk and even ballet! But the style that caught his heart was definitely Hip Hop! This self taught dancer, has been choreographing Quinceañeras around the Twin Cities for a little over a decade and has also taught hiphop to the youth and teens with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. He has been a Reggaeton Instructor at The Workroom MN for a year now & is looking forward to expand his work all around Minnesota.