A bit of info on who we are, and how we came to be here!
Masha is an absolute legend in the NZ dance scene! She is a world salsa champion, and a multiple times winner of numerous competitions in NZ, Australia and overseas. Masha has been teaching dance for over 20 years (since 1998), here in NZ and overseas, sharing her love of dance with 1000s of students. For many years she ran the highly successful latin dance studio "Latinissimo" in Auckland, producing multiple student champions - including the only amateur world champion representing NZ, and a lot of her past students are now professionals on their own.
She featured on TVNZ Good Morning show, been a guest choreographer on TV3's "So You Think You Can Dance", was on "New Zealand's Got Talent" 2012, and earned the rank of a champion at various international salsa dance competitions. In fact, all you need to do is Google her name to see that she is the real deal!
Masha is an incredibly passionate dancer, performer and instructor, and even took her dancing to an academic level. She studied Physiology, Nutrition and Anatomy as part of the Bachelor of Dance degree at Auckland University of Technology in 2001.
Masha is highly respected for her clear, precise and technical instruction. She was the first in New Zealand to introduce syllabus based salsa courses that would extend to any level of salsa dancing. The idea was to have a "universal" way of learning and competing, and today the syllabus structure has been adapted by the majority of salsa dance schools, which in return has raised and continues to raise the level of salsa dancing in New Zealand.
In 2017 she moved to Nelson, which means the sunny capital of NZ wins again! Latin Dance Hub is the new brand under which she can continue sharing her love and passion of dancing, here in Nelson and Tasman.
Lev started dancing as an adult, back in 2007, first in ballroom, then switching to salsa in 2010. Ironically, it was at Masha's studio "Latinissimo" in Auckland, where he acquired a solid foundation of latin dancing, that would be the base to build on, when traveling the world in later years, learning from overseas instructors in UK, US and Canada. He danced and performed in various teams along the way, at latin dance events around the world.
In 2016 Lev made the move to Nelson, with Masha following shortly after. In November 2018 they made it official by getting married on the beach at Little Kaiteriteri.
Latin Dance Hub started at the beginning of 2018, as a brand under which Masha could continue spreading her knowledge and passion of dancing. With Masha's help, Lev is on a journey to further his knowledge of latin dancing, so that he can be an effective co-instructor.
With Masha as the choreographer and instructor, Lev placed 1st in 2017 NZ Salsa Open Semi-Pro Couples. An achievement that he is extremely proud of!
