Eleonora Lappano

My passion for movement, expression, and creativity started when I was 4yo. In 2009, in Italy, I joined a musical school and performed in theaters until I moved to Canada in 2012. In 2014 I discovered the world of social partner dancing and decided to join CADENCE dance school and learned Brazilian Zouk, Bachata, Salsa, Afro, and Dance Hall from a number of amazing dancers, performers, and instructors. My first Latin performance was with CADENCE’s Bachata team in 2016 and I then continued to perform at a few independent gigs for weddings and events. Even though the world of performances will always be a treat, my heart always belonged to the social dance floor. I quickly started assisting in classes, helping with performance teams, and co-teaching Salsa and Bachata throughout the years for Cadence, Salsa in the six, and independent gigs for weekenders and events. 

Brazilian zouk was from day one the dance that spoke to me the most and so I trained with Cadence under Davy and Natalia until I started traveling for congresses to numerous places for fun and to continue progressing in my dance training. In 2018, I started training in Toronto with Laura Riva and Dzouk and to this date trained as a dance instructor under her. 

In 2017 I began my journey in Kizomba and spent a full year traveling to congresses monthly to keep learning from international and local artists. My most current training has been in 2021 with Eddie Hercules where I spent 1 month of intense daily training under his wing and have improved my knowledge and skills. Lately, my heart has been focusing on tarraxo and tarraxinha as my love for connection and micro-movements keeps growing. Since the beginning of my dance career I have participated in a few competitions and Jack & Jill for both Brazilian Zouk and Kizomba and placed 1st in the Novice category of both styles at Neokiz 2019 and Canada Zouk Congress 2022 

During my entire dance life, I have taken this art in a very serious way and dedicated myself to learning not only the steps and background of each dance but also their moral etiquette from a performance and social point of view. Understanding the mechanics of mind and body has always been equally important to me. Having an understanding of follow and lead roles is in my opinion fundamental to being able to really break down the movement and its dynamics.

My current repertoire involves Brazilian zouk (follow & lead), Kizomba (follow & lead), Bachata (follow & lead), Salsa (follow), Afro (basic), Contemporary (basic), and Belly dancing (basic).

I have now been an independent Brazilian Zouk and Kizomba teacher since the end of 2021 and I am committed to keep growing my own skills both as a teacher and as an artist for myself and for the students that put their trust in me.