Más Movement: Who, What and Why

Más Movement is a dance school in Vancouver that specializes in Cuban Salsa and Rueda de Casino and also dabbles in other forms of Latin Dance such as Reggaetón, Son, Merengue, Bachata and Cha, Cha, Cha. Latin Dance has had a profound impact on our lives and we are grateful to be able to share the joy, exhilaration, creativity, learnings and sense of connection that we have experienced through these dances. We are also excited to expand our creativity as dancers and choreographers through our dance troupe, Más Movement Manifestación (MMM).

Instructors

Michael Gabriel Rosen

Michael Gabriel Rosen (Más Movement) fell in love with Cuban Salsa in 2002 in Santiago de Cuba. In 2004, he was then trained as an instructor by Dos con Dos dance school in Quebec City. As a dancer, Michael has danced in the Dos con Dos dance troupe (Quebec City), Estilo Cubano (Vancouver) and has recently co-created the Más Movement Manifestation - aka MMM (Vancouver). Michael´s extensive training in facilitation (Power of Hope, Check Your Head, Safeteen) contributes to the positive and inclusive learning environment in his classes. He is particularly skilled at giving precise feedback and balancing group and individual needs. Michael, who came to salsa as a foreigner (or yuma), is grateful be working with this powerful form of cultural expression. He sees Cuban Salsa as a way to experience joy and connection as well as an avenue for social change and personal development (see below).

Maria Lorenzi: 

Having trained with many of the top Cuban Style Salsa instructors in Vancouver and internationally, Maria dances with beauty, skill and style. She is also a passionate teacher and has honed her skills through training as an arts-based facilitator, highschool teacher certification and extensive training with Más Movement. Her dancing and teaching are also enriched by her belly dancing experience. She has been teaching with Más Movement since 2009.

SalsActivism

We see these dances as a means to creating healthier communities where people of various ages, classes, "races", sizes, sexuality are able to connect with each other, learn to move together and experience their bodies in a joyful way. As such, we strive to be radically inclusive in how we interact with our students, making our classes accessible by offering a sliding scale and organizing events in solidarity with marginalized communities (eg. Salsa for Queer Folk and Allies). We also make an effort to recognize and honour the cultures of the dances that we teach.

Más Movement also seeks to use dance as a way to contribute to other movements and organizations that we see as working towards justice, equality and peace. As such, we have participated in events such as Bridge to a Cool Planet, the Grand March for Housing, Sell Premier Gordon Campbell's house (support for Little Mountain Housing), the Vancouver Slut Walk, Moving Planet, as well as fundraisers for Co-Development Canada, COPE, Victims And Survivors of Torture (VAST) and more.