Technical Advancement Intensive 2023

Alisson Sandi began his dance career at the age of 15 in São Paulo, Brazil where he was born. Over the years he trained in Brazilian Dança de Salão, Street Latin and International Ballroom dancing under the methodology of Alex de Carvalho, Renata Peçanha, Jaime Arôxa, Rodrigo Delano, and other Masters.
In 2007, he moved to Perth (Australia) where he joined Juan Rando Dance Academy (JRDA) to start the Brazilian dance scene from scratch and continue developing it for the following 10 years. He also trained multiple teachers/dancers who have become international artists, and others who have opened their own school. During his time in Perth he also met Audrey Isautier and together they became one of the top worldwide Brazilian Zouk Couples between 2010-16, traveling to over 41 countries to share their knowledge and passion.
In 2017 he decided to take up a challenge and moved to Melbourne to help growing and upgrading the local Brazilian dance scene with his fun classes and focused training courses. He also created ‘BraZouky’ - Worldwide Brazilian Dance Festival, which hosts over 300 people and is also a fundraising event which gives dance scholarships for disadvantaged teens and kids in under privileged communities around the world.
Now in 2019, Alisson has decided that it is time for another challenge and has moved to Washington DC (USA) to join District Zouk and their passionate team. Having visited DC back in 2015, he fell in love with the community and when deciding which city to go to, he had District Zouk as his first pick. Alisson is super excited to join the DZ family and help the dance community grow healthier and stronger!
Alisson loves to push himself and currently holds the following titles:
- 2x Pro World Zouk Champion
- 3x Pro Australian Zouk/Latin Champion
- Winner/Finalist of various BZDC All Stars/Champions Jack and Jill Comps and Invitationals
Alisson has been an official head judge and an important member for the Brazilian Zouk Dance Council since its first competition event in 2014. And he is one of the founders and the first choreographers of the International Zouk Flash Mob/International Zouk Day which has been running yearly since 2012.
In late 2018, Christina Montoya (USA) went to Australia to train with Alisson and together they won the Australian World Champion in the Mixed Latin Category with the highest partner couple score of the competition. Since then, they have started an exciting partnership and are looking forward to sharing their passion with the world.
In one of his latest adventures in 2020 mid pandemic, that’s proven to be very successful, is the start of the ‘ZoukNerds’ group on Facebook. His desire to learn, share and connect with the community has grown by over 2.7k active members, and growing rapidly daily. In this group, Alisson hosts interviews and discussions with key members of the community and also facilitates deep and knowledgeable conversations via posts in the group where members feel heard, welcomed and safe to ask questions and share their experiences.
Alisson has a passion for teaching and is always striving for innovative ways in which to overcome technical and personal challenges. He is known for his attention to detail and effective instruction in dance techniques.
Christina Montoya is an international Brazilian Zouk instructor based out of Los Angeles, CA. Dancing has always been a part of her life but she did not begin any training until she was 12 years old. Her passion for dance at a young age led her to experiment in different styles beginning with Hip-hop, Jazz, Competitive Cheerleading, and Tahitian prior to training in Latin styles like Salsa and Bachata. She has trained and performed in partner dancing since the age of 18 with various companies in Los Angeles.
Once Christina found Brazilian Zouk she dedicated her life to this dance. She began her training with Igor Fraga who partnered her to compete at the US Zouk Open in 2015 where they received 1st place in the Semi-Pro division. Since then, she has trained with many international artists and sought to deepen her knowledge by taking several Brazilian Zouk Teachers Courses throughout the world. She holds 1st place in various BZDC Intermediate Jack & Jill competitions including Prague Zouk Congress 2016, Rio Zouk Congress 2018, and LA Zouk Festival 2018 and is the first person in North America to enter the Advanced division. She also holds the 1st place title with her partner Alisson Sandi for the "Mixed Latin Cabaret Couples Division" from the World Salsa Solo in 2018 where they also received the highest scores for the overall competition.
Christina is known for her franchise teams, "Zouk Babes" established in 2017, which emphasize the importance of follower's technique. Since then Zouk Babes has teams and performers throughout the US and internationally with 50 current members. Zouk Babes was created with the intention to unite and empower followers through dance performances and training technique. Christina's goal is to spread her passion for Zouk to the dancer inside everyone.