Elena found the essence of Brazilian Zouk completely irresistible at the end of 2018. While dancing, competing and teaching in Ballroom, she was drawn to Brazilian Zouk as a safe space: for the people, the culture, the love, and the flow.

She is now teaching all levels of classes within the Zouk Phoenix Community and helps to support the Community’s growth, collaborating on curriculums, teacher and ambassador trainings, providing practice and social spaces, and teaching private lessons. 

Her background spans all dances that were available for her to learn since 2013, including Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Rumba, Cha Cha, Swing, Bolero, Samba, Argentine Tango, Night Club 2 Step and West Coast Swing. She uses ALL of those dances and an awareness of their techniques to build a beautiful Zouk repertoire in both dance and training methodologies. 

Elijah James, her original inspiration into the dance, along with his dance and teaching partner at that time, Deenie, also offered an opportunity to learn to teach in the local Zouk Phoenix scene, to help with the Foundations classes in the community as it was quickly growing in 2021.

She helps to host the artists that visit Phoenix, providing the local scene with weekender events, while teaching Weekly Group and Private classes, both alone and with the Zouk Phoenix Teaching Team and a variety of other instructors. 

She’s studied in the MAC teacher training program, Zouk MX teacher training, and then Bruno and Raiza BRiCK methodology for the last 3 years to complete their Level 5 teacher training in August of this year. 

She continues to love her studies in the Brazilian Zouk Arts under her mentors, most influential of which are Bruno & Raiza, Gui Prada, Larissa & Kadu, Iago & Vanessa, Pedrinho, Felipe Meger, Nina & Matheus and Lui & Larissa, as well as constantly learning at different events and from different instructors from around the world.

"I’ve found that dance does more than move ones body, and more than create a fun social atmosphere to be around people. Personally, it has helped me create awareness of what feels good, in movement, in connection, in musicality, and in my heart. It has helped me speak up when I need something different. 

It has helped me become present in the moment. Best of all, it has helped me allow space and flow to let my walls down, to be more of myself, to be more love and show more love and to find more joy in life, and a way to share it too! 

Through all of this, it helps me find growth in absolutely every part of my life, and in my spirit, as I strive to be better in every way.

I like to be able to combine my health based skills (Registered Pharmacist), dance based skills (now Full Time Dance Instructor), people skills, work ethic, and empathy to do whatever it takes to make any scene I teach and dance in successful, full of joy and thriving!

I strive to make every class I teach feel the love and support, and bring awareness in some way, even if it’s through our perspective and understanding of ourselves and the world, not only the pattern or steps or techniques we happen to be dancing."