Somos Candela Instructors

Charlie began dancing at the age of 3, starting with hip hop and basic levels of tap and jazz. A decade later, he received his first taste of Latin dancing that turned into what we call, the“Salsa Fever.” Charlie hasn’t stopped dancing Salsa since! Blending his training, Charlie incorporates footwork from different backgrounds, body isolation, high energy, Cuban influences, flavor and technique to create his dynamic “swaggy” style!

Charlie was a choreographer for “Shine: The Movie” and has made appearances on Best Time Ever with Niel Patrick Harris, Good Morning America, Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks and theThanksgiving Day Parade with his partner, Brianna Rios, while continuing to teach and perform at salsa congresses all around the world!

Scarlett Medrano is a Professional Salsa On2 Dancer, born in New York City and partially raised in the Dominican Republic. She has always been moved by music, thus her mother decided to enroll her in dance classes. Scarlett began dancing Ballet at the age of 3. She studied Ballet, Flamenco, Hip Hop, and some Street Jazz before she found her true passion for a style of dance she never thought she would dive into, Salsa (New York Style). 

 

Scarlett took her first Salsa class with Nelson Flores at the young age of 13 which marked Scarlett forever and inspired her to begin her career in Salsa dancing. She (with the help of her mother) later decided to look for a school to be able to continue her salsa journey which brought her to Santo Rico Dance Company under the direction of Tomas Guerrero.

 

In 2017, Scarlett joined Yamulee Dance Company under the direction of Osmar Perrones where she continued to train and travel the world as one of his main dancers. She was able to travel to many more countries such as Egypt, Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Guatemala etc. As her dance career matured,Scarlett realized that she had a deep passion for teaching and decided to explore further what that meant for her while at Yamulee. She was later granted a permanent class at Yamulee Dance Studio where Body GROOVEMENT was born. Scarlett began playing with styles and fusing them with salsa until she found her perfect concoction. Body GROOVEMENT, a style that fuses Salsa On2 with styles like Hip-Hop and Lite Feet which are heavily seen in Urban New York areas such as Harlem where she was born. She eventually realized that she wanted to open her wings and start her career as a solo Artist and Instructor. She now teaches her Body GROOVEMENT online and, in the city, every other Friday and is known specifically for her contagious and unique GROOVE.

Madelyne “Maddie” Clark was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and grew up in Monroe, Louisiana, where she began her formal competitive dance training at Linda Lavender School of Dance. During her off seasons with Twin City Ballet, Maddie spent her summers studying at Joffrey South Ballet Summer Intensive, Next Generation Ballet, and Regional Dance America’s National Choreography Intensive. Maddie graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Louisiana at Monroe with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. She soon moved to New York to continue her training at The Ailey School. As a student in The Ailey School Scholarship Program, Maddie has worked with renowned choreographers such as Omar Roman de Jesus, Earl Mosley, and Martha Nichols and was featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. As a member of the Ailey Student Performance Group, she had the opportunity to not only learn repertory by Alvin Ailey but also work with Ronald K. Brown and Tina Bush. Currently you can see Maddie perform with TORCH Dance Theatre, Dance Boissiere, and Somos Candela. Maddie enjoys all styles of dance and exploring new movements through both improvisation and choreography of her own which has been recognized and awarded through Regional Dance America (Monticello Award 2017). Maddie has enjoyed being in the Latin dance community for the past 2 years with most of her training and performance experience being under the direction of Brianna Rios and Charlie Garcia. She is very excited to share her passion for wellness and cross training in her dance community at Somos Candela.