The Company
Así Dance Company is a collaboration between Jim Dole and Idalia Reveles with the goal of sharing their extensive dance experience with anyone passionate about learning the fundamentals and improving their techniques. Under the Direction of Jim and Idalia you will learn footwork, partner work, isolations and body movement in the style of Salsa On2, also known as Mambo.
Así is all about making a simple statement, "Don't tell me, Show me. Like this..." Así takes it to the next level by building a solid dance foundation so that not only will you see the movements, but also love, live and feel the movements.
Jim and Idalia first met in August 2012 at the Prodigy 4th Annual Gala in Fresno, CA. They would later reconnect under Montuno Dance Company in early 2013 where they began performing together. Their first major stage performance was at the 2013 Las Vegas Salsa Congress. Their first major competition was at the 2014 World Latin Dance Cup. They both share a passion for all forms of dance, with Mambo holding a special place in their hearts. You can learn more about their dance profile below.
The Mambo dance that was invented by Perez Prado and was popular in the 1940s and 50s in Cuba, Mexico City, and New York is completely different from the modern dance that New Yorkers now call 'Mambo' and which is also known as Salsa "on 2". The original mambo dance contains no breaking steps or basic steps at all. It is termed "mambo on 2" because the break, or direction change, in the basic step occurs on count 2. (Source: Wikipedia)
Idalia Reveles
2012 US Salsa Open Semi-Pro Team Champion, Prodigy Dance Company
2011 Stevens Steak House Competition - 3rd Place, Amateur Division, Prodigy Dance Company
Idalia began her dancing career in 2005 at Dianna’s Studio of Dance where she started dancing Ballroom. Shortly thereafter she attended a Salsa class at Starline Salsa Club in Fresno, CA where she fell in love with Salsa dancing. She remained in Fresno; becoming the President of Fresno State’s Salsa Club. She also became their Dance Team Director where she discovered her passion for choreography Directing their College Salsa Team. In 2008 she joined Montuno Dance Company (“MDC”) in San Jose, CA where she Directed Team Protégé and competed as a member of their Professional Dance Team. Inspired by her success at MDC, she returned to Fresno, CA and launched her own dance company called Prodigy Dance Company (“Prodigy”) competing in local, state and national salsa competitions. It was during those 10 years of competitions and learning from World Class Champions, her passion for Mambo grew. A new job would cause her to relocate to the Bay Area. Before leaving Fresno, she handed off control of Prodigy to two of her students. After settling in the bay area a renewed inspiration to dance and create grew stronger and would move on to co-direct Así Dance Company.
Jim Dole
2012 US Salsa Open Amateur Team Champion
2012 US Salsa Open Amateur Couples Champion
Jim started dancing in 1991 where he studied Ballet and Jazz for 2 years at De Anza College where he performed multiple genres of dance at the Flint Center, such as Jazz, Ballet, Modern and Hip Hop. Thereafter he discovered ballroom at Starlite Ballroom in June of 2001 where he studied the core dances: Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, California 2-step, East Coast Swing, Rumba, Cha Cha, Hustle and Salsa. He developed a passion for salsa dancing and pursued lessons from World Class Instructors to learn as much as he could. By the following year, Jim was teaching ballroom basics part time at Starlite with an emphasis in Salsa; teaching private and group lessons. In 2007, Jim joined Ricasalsa and performed with them for 2 seasons. At the end of 2010, he joined Montuno Dance Company under the direction of World Champion Isidro Corona. He started on their amateur team and by the following year he was competing and performing with Montuno Pro Team. For the next 3 years, he danced with the Pro Team and took on Directorial responsibilities for some of the other amateur teams. In early 2017, he move on to co-direct Así Dance Company.
