Kimberly Parent

True to her Metis roots, Kimberly Parent has always loved to dance, but when she discovered Cuban music and dance, there was an instant connection—something inside her changed. After spending a year overseas learning and teaching, she returned to Saskatoon in 2003 and began teaching Salsa simply to have others to dance with. In no time, her company, Saskatoon Salsa Dance Co., was born. Kimberly’s passion for dancing has led her to many places and in many creative directions. Her life’s purpose is to enhance the community in Saskatoon using salsa dance as a medium for social connection and personal growth.

Hoping to inspire others into either dancing or business, Kimberly has been a guest speaker at several events in Saskatoon including the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneur Gathering, Women Entrepreneurs Sweet Success, Ideas on Tap, and Shaken with a Twist to name a few.

In addition to heading up Saskatoon Salsa, Kimberly founded the Holy Guacamole International Dance Festival, an annual 3-day event that promotes dance, community, and multiculturalism. While her professional development and instruction has taken her to New York, Taiwan, Australia, and much of Central and South America, it is Kimberly’s family, community, and Métis heritage that continually guides her back home to Saskatoon. Kimberly recently worked on the Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK) advisory committee, advising on strategy, policy, and activity development, a position she accepted soon after being awarded the 2019 WESK Indigenous Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Most recently Kimberly was the recipient of the 2020 SABEX Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Ervin Kormos

Ervin has been teaching & choreographing with Saskatoon Salsa since 2012. He teaches youth, adults, rec classes, leads performance teams & competes with the school’s competitive team. Ervin has been teaching salsa & bachata since 2002, and has taught salsa & bachata in Europe, the Caribbean & Canada. He has a passion for musicality, salsa rhythms, and helping students learn & grow both on and off the dance floor. Many of his previous students have gone on to professional dance careers & opened dance schools. Ervin’s love of dance is contagious & you can often find his enthusiasm translating into smiles & laughter in the studio. Ervin is continuously challenging himself and studying his craft. He travels regularly to attend, perform and compete at Salsa & Bachata Congresses around the world. He’s attended congresses in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, England, Bulgaria, Hungary & his home country of Romania.

Mariana Lessa

Born and raised in Brazil, Mariana Lessa grew up dancing, training in several Brazilian styles of dance before moving in 1990 with her family to Canada. From there, her dance vocabulary only expanded and Mariana is now fluent in Samba, Merengue, Cumbia, Frevo, African, Dancehall, Hip Hop, and more. Mariana loves to teach, to meet new people, and to share in the joy as she helps her students express themselves through dance. What she appreciates most about Saskatoon Salsa is that it’s professional yet fun, and that it brings enormous opportunities to students and members in the form of performance, workshops, and social connections. Mariana continues to take part in workshops herself, and embraces every opportunity to hone and increase her skills.

Lileas Cortes

Lileas has been working with Saskatoon Salsa as our amazing administrative assistant for three years, however she started dancing at the studio at age 10. Her hispanic background brought her into dance at the age of five when she started salsa lessons. Her love for dance expanded since then as she finds herself joining as many classes as she can.

When Lileas isn’t in the studio dance, she’s in the office keeping everything organized, running smoothly and answering question so every student can have the best experience at Saskatoon Salsa.

Robbyn Dupuis 

Robbyn’s passion for dance started at an early age. Growing up, the dance studio served as her second home. She trained in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Modern, Pointe, Hip Hop and even Clogging! As a teen, Robbyn danced competitively and started her teaching career. When the opportunity to explore partner dancing arrived, Robbyn dove fully in. She started in Ballroom, but landed where her heart is, Latin dancing! They say home is where the heart is, and that is both with her family and friends, which are largely woven into the dance community. To her, relationships are everything, she is our Love Artisan.

Now, as a dance coach with SSDC, Robbyn loves to ignite a fire of inspiration in her students, and drives them to discover their own greatest potential. She focuses on team mentality and growth mindset. Although technique is an area she loves to hone in on, even more-so, she strives to help students thrive by expanding into their fullest, unique, creative & authentic expression. Robbyn’s dance mantra is “your feet may learn the steps, but only your spirit may dance”. She believes that as with life, Salsa is a journey, not a destination, and what’s most important is smiling, learning, and having a lot of fun along the way!

Luke Kehrig

Luke has been dancing nearly his entire adult life. Starting with ballroom dance, Luke has also trained in salsa, bachata, zouk and west coast swing over the last 15 years. Luke has been a performer with Saskatoon Salsa for over 10 years and has performed locally, nationally and internationally. Luke regularily travels to hone his craft and has attended numerous salsa events in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Mexico and Cuba.

As an instructor, Luke's strengths are a focus on partner connection, technique and fun! He teaches recreational classes in the styles of salsa, bachata and zouk and frequently teaches private lessons, especially for couples looking some moves for their wedding dance!

Leo Liendo

Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Leo is the Owner and Director of Tennis operations at Lakewood Indoor Tennis Centre and has been teaching tennis for over 42 years.

Leo found his passion for dancing at the age of 12 while watching Oscar D’Leon performed on TV. He has been teaching Salsa and Bachata at the University of Saskatchewan for the Kinesiology Program for the past 4 years. While also being the director of Saskiz where he teaches Kizomba Fusion and Urban Kiz with his wife Leah Frei. He is really excited to team up with Saskatoon Salsa and share his love for the music and dancing with all participants.