Staff
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faceAlexa Pritchard
Alexa started her dance journey at Jorday Rivers’s Dance School at the age of 9. She performed various styles, but took a particular liking to lyrical and acro. She was a member of the competition team and had the opportunity to perform at the Apollo. She continued her studies at Cardozo High School as part of their dance program. She is currently a psychology student at Queens College. Alexa works in the front office of JRDS and occasionally teaches classes. She is thankful for to be a part of the JRDS family.
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faceAlexandra Landivar
Alexandra loves to spread her knowledge of dance and performance to the new generation of dancers. She has competed in local NY dance competitions since she was 15 years old, winning platinum, high gold, and gold. She was a member of the Archbishop Molloy H.S. Dance Team and choreographed many hip-hop and jazz routines for the Archbishop Molloy H.S. Dance Team and Club. Alexandra has participated in the Rockette Experience, Tremaine Dance Conventions, CT & NY Salsa Congresses. Alexandra was an instructor of a hip hop cardio based dance fitness class called The Vixen Workout in NYC and currently assists in a dance fitness class – Killer Moves in NYC. She teaches intermediate & advance hip hop and assists in advance/competition lyrical and jazz under Greg Sinacori, former Alvin Ailey II dancer. She is super proud of her students and always challenges them to be the best they can be.
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faceAngelina Romero
Angelina Romero is a recent graduate from Hunter College where she received her BA in Dance. At Hunter, she studied African Diasporic Forms, Ballet, and Contemporary, and created her own works. She attended Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech in New York City, where she began rigorous ballet training. After her time at Ballet Tech, Angelina joined Elite Dance Conservatory where she had the opportunity to compete, study contemporary, jazz, tap, and more, and has competed on stages all across New York City. Today, as Angelina continues to put her degree to use, she also gives back to the younger generation of performers by teaching dance at Jorday Rivera’s Dance Studio, as well as choreographing musicals for middle schools in New York City.
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faceAnna Jimenez
I’ve danced ballet, tap, modern, lyrical, contemporary and jazz on the recreational and competitive level since I was 10 years old. I attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School where I studied Graham and Horton technique. I’ve attended Modern workshops at the Brooklyn academy of music throughout my high school career as well. I am now captain of the hip hop team at Adelphi University, where I study Sociology and Childhood Education.
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faceCorde Young
Cordé Young, New York born and raised, has studied and trained in all styles of dance since he was 8 years old under the direction of Anthony Borello. Cordé is currently represented by Clear Talent Group, and is currently in the cast of X: The Life and Times of Malcom X. He has done work in TV and Film and can be seen in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Annie Live (NBC), The Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade, Demon High (Lil Uzi Vert), and more. He has performed in several well-known venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Orpheum Theatre, Dome at America’s Center, Wall Street Theatre, Arthur Ashe Stadium, Avalon Theatre, and more. Cordé is very thankful for all of his teachers, mentors, family, and friends that have inspired and supported him through all of his endeavors. -
faceJorday Rivera – Founder and Director of Mambo’s Finest
Jorday Rivera has a clean, energetic style of dancing. She concentrates on various styling techniques from other forms of dancing and combines them into one, which is apparent in her dancing and teaching style.
As a teacher, she pays close attention to detail. She drills her students on a number of different steps, paying close attention to execution and technique. If a student is struggling, she gives that student additional help during breaks or after class. Jorday loves teaching and her goal is to have all of her students walking away feeling good about themselves.
In her styling class, women learn the techniques on how to execute various steps. Each styling technique is broken down into eight counts with each step. Jorday emphasizes the importance of styling in her class because the first thing people see when you are dancing is your “styling.”
Overall, Jorday has proven herself with her many years of experience to be an excellent dancer and instructor. In efforts to share all of her experiences with her students, she displays a number of photographs from different events that she has participated in on what she likes to call her “Wall of Fame.” She takes pride in what she does and passes that attitude onto her students.
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faceKaryne Sandy
Karyne Sandy has been dancing since the age of 3 years old. She studied Ballet for 5 years, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Acrobatics as well. She started her interest in Latin dancing at the age of 15 when she joined a Latin Dance Studio. She learned Salsa on 2 and Bachata and danced in multiple shows up until 2020. Karyne Sandy is now part of a professional all-female Latin Dance Competition Company and has performed in multiple congresses and festivals around the United States. This being her first time teaching at Jorday Rivera’s Dance Studio, she is eager to teach a new generation of aspiring Latin dancers and focuses on musicality and the breakdown of Salsa and Bachata.
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faceNatalia Gayott
Natalia Gayott has been dancing at Jorday Rivera Dance Studio since the age of three. Throughout her years in the studio, she has participated in all the annual dance recitals, attended in fundraising event/ performances, and also competed on the JRDS National Competition Team. She has performed in various dancing styles such as classical ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary, tap, and hip hop. She attended Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, under the performing dance program, trained by her instructor, Carmen LaRosa. She has done various performances at Cardozo High School and under the phenomenal foundation, Dancing Dreams, to perform for children with physical and medical needs. She continued her training by enrolling in BAM Fall Insider Dance Program and collaborated with the Mark Morris Dance Company. Natalia also continues her passion by continuing her education with well known dance companies like the Martha Graham Intensive Workshops. Natalia Gayott is graduate and Merit Scholar, with her BS in Health Science under York College. She hopes to gain her Masters in pursuits of earning her degree in Physical Therapy, and children education.Natalia constructs her class by allowing her students to fully express themself through movement. She creates a free space for expression and believes it is important for her students to dance like nobody’s watching. She stretches the importance of the elements of dance (Time, Space, and Energy), and dance safety by creating lesson plans to prevent injuries. Natalia is also CPR verified, to create and maintain a safe environment at Jorday Rivera Dance Studio. Her lessons incorporate many study guides in order for her students to continue to progress and grow as dancers. She believes all her students will flourish and hopes that one day they will be able to give the gift of dancing to another individual.Natalia has a great passion to always give back to her community. She also was an intern at the Queens Hospital Center in the psychiatric unit for young children. She currently teaches dance at Commonpoint Forest Hills under the Community Based Services for Individuals with disabilities. She is also a Dance Specialist in Astoria, NY under NYEDGE. Natalia is also Zumba certified for adults and also in Zumba Kids. Her future endeavors are to open a safe zone for all children, making her center another place to call home. -
faceNatalie Collado
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faceNebz
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faceNicole Alvarez
Instructor & Front Desk
Nicole Alvarez started dancing at the age of 8 at Jorday Rivera’s Dance studio where she trained in salsa and hip hop. She later went on to be trained in ballet, contemporary and jazz at Broadway Dance Center. She attended dance conservatories and music camps. She become a dance member of Army on its toes, sponsored by the Salvation Army. Nicole has performed all around the US and outside the country like Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Canada. In 2016 she enrolled at Hunter College as a BA Dance major. Nicole is very passionate about choreographing. She was the divisional dance leader for the Creatives art department in the Salvation Army. She has choreographed for plays, musicals, outreach events, concerts, music camps and conservatories. She recently show cased her latest choreographic projects in Peggy theater title “Behind your back”.
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facePriscilla Velazquez
M.A., B.S., born and raised in New York City, Queens, has taught dance for over fifteen years at studios such as Jorday Rivera’s Dance Studio, American Dance and Drama Studio, The Queens MVMT, Theresa’s Academy of Performing Arts (TAPA) and the Aaron School. Priscilla has trained and teaches in styles such as Ballet, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Salsa, and Bachata. Priscilla graduated from Hofstra University in 2014 with a B.S. in Dance Education and a double minor in Psychology and Disability Studies and in 2019 Priscilla graduated with a M.A. in Dance Education from Hunter College. Over the past eight years, Priscilla has taught all grades ranging from K-12 full-time as a public school dance educator for the Department of Education. In 2019, Priscilla danced with La Fuerza Semi-Pro directed by Fausto Felix and Katlyn Rodriguez. Priscilla is currently pursuing her School Building Leader certificate in School Administration and is training and performing with Kate’s Dance Company directed by Katlyn Rodriguez.
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faceRafael Ortiz
Mambo Instructor
www.mambomta.com
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faceRoni Flores
Roni flores conocido como Roflow-Art nacido en la ciudad de Lima, Perú su viaje con la danza empezó desde niño a la edad de 11 años siendo un autodidacta en el aprendizaje del baile “Breakin” aka Breakdancing con algunos otros niños del área donde vivían. Conoció el baile a través de otro bailarines de musica Disco, acróbatas y también influenciado por el programa de MTV en el año ’99 con sus conciertos musicales de artistas de Rap. Ah viajado por diversos países del mundo como un competidor y siendo juez en diferentes plataformas de danza. Ah compartido diversos workshop’s al rededor del mundo y trabajado con algunas organizaciones de ayuda al adulto mayor usando el baile como una terapia física y a niños de sitios vulnerables dentro de su país de origen usando la danza como medio de ayuda a la sociedad formando lideres de cambio a través del arte. También a realizado diversas obras de teatro dentro de su país y llevándolo a diferentes escenarios dentro de United state, Europa y Asia, actualmente vive en New York desarrolla la labor de educador en danza y se considera un investigador del movimiento libre, donde usa su baile “Breakin” como su base fundamental.
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faceShayna “Miss Kisses” Wheatley
Shayna-Renee aka Miss Kisses is a professional commercial dancer and content creator from Nyc who loves to inspire the world through dance, beauty and fashion. Her creativity is both relatable and eclectic. She loves to model, shop and is known to have a whimsical sense of humor. Manifesting and pursuing big dreams are things that she feels strongly about and hope many people are in tuned with.Shayna-Renee fell in love with dancing at a young age by teaching herself how to dance from watching music videos, learning from her cousin and attending an after-school program. Although her love for dancing started from a young age, she started to take it seriously in High School and college. She graduated with an associate degree and realized she wanted to make dance a full-time career. In 2011, she started to make her way in the entertainment industry by booking her first job as a principal dancer in Kat Deluna’s video “Drop it low”. Since then, she’s been blessed with various opportunities that have gotten her to where she is today and has been signed by Clear Talent Group Agency in Ny & LA.Miss Kisses is oriented with excellent dancing skills that have taken her very far in her promising dance career. Being a passionate and hardworking individual, she has successfully worked her way on imprinting her brand and talents in the entertainment industry. She’s worked with Various Artist and brands such as Cardi B, Ari Lennox, Keke Palmer, 50 cent, Rob Base, Astr, Konshens, Kat Deluna, Staduim Goods, It’s a wig, Snipes , Gap, and Adidas. As she is fully pursuing her passion for dancing, she is also impelling exploring her modeling and acting more. -
faceShoshana
She started her dance training at the age of 5 in Modern dance class. At the age of 8, she was accepted into the Carnage Hall School of ballet. Shoshana went on to exploring other dance genres of dance, such as; Tap, Jazz, African, and Flamenco. In 1979, Shoshana attended belly dance class at the Serena Wilson Dance Studio. She had finally found her calling; to be a belly dancer. Shoshana’s introduction to the professional world of Belly Dance was a fast world wind. She auditioned for Samiha Koura, owner of the legendary NY night club, El Sultan. Shoshana also performed at the Ibis, Cedars of Lebanon, Darwish and many more top venues of the 1980’s. She started teaching thereafter for Serena Studio’s and became a member of the Serena Dance Theater Company. In 1996, Shoshana started her own dance company, “Shoshana Dance Theater Company”.
Shoshana is a graduate of the Swedish Institute with a Associates’ Degree in Applied Sciences. She is a NYS Licensed massage Therapist and a fine arts Artist (shomizart.com) She presently teaches dance class at the Jorday Rivera Dance Studio
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faceSummer Parks
Summer Parks is a queer biracial professional working dancer from the DMV area. Her main goal is to now give back to the younger generations, so they are able to succeed within the entertainment industry and follow their dreams.Within her journey, she started with competitive dance. She has trained in; lyrical, contemporary, tap, jazz, hip-hop, acro, ballet, and pointe. Summer also have a background in competitive gymnastics.Her training helped her appear on stages, fields, commercials, magazines, newspapers, and films on television.She has performed at Carnival in LA for two years, the Abrons Art Center, World of Dance NJ, the Washington Commanders Football Field, the Iridium, Latin Plug Club stage and even on MTV’s TRL. She has choreographed countless music videos like “Redes” by Klari and “Baila” by Lomoyeto. Lastly her choreography has helped routines earn special judges awards such as “best choreography” and top first overall at competitions. -
faceTiffany Rivera
Phone: (718)-275-4386
Tiffany Rivera is Director and Founder of Mambo’s Finest Take 2, a not-for-profit children’s dance company born February 2003. Her mission as the founder is focused on enhancing cultural awareness through dance, establishing positive and supportive life-long peer relationships as well as empowering children with the necessary skills to understand and appreciate the importance of education.
Having studied numerous forms of dance, Tiffany is flexible, has excellent speed, and the ability to grasp material quickly and execute it flawlessly. She is often complimented as a “Natural.” She swiftly accelerated in dance class, becoming a member of several well-known dance teams and became an instructor, a choreographer and, ultimately, a director of her own dance company. Tiffany has performed with numerous famous artists such as the late and great Tito Puente and Celia Cruz, in a variety of venues, including Madison Square Garden. Tiffany has also participated in various Congresso’s de la Salsa all over the world.
She has spent the last five years as an instructor in Jorday Rivera’s Dance Studio, a well-known dance studio, owned and operated by older sister Jorday Rivera. She has developed a reputation as a disciplined instructor with a “Can-Do” attitude. The success of the two sisters as dance instructors has lead to the creation of a professional adult dance team appropriately named “Mambo’s Finest”.
Tiffany passion for dance, love of children, and background as a peer counselor at a local community house fueled her desire to give back to the community. This led to the creation of “Mambo’s Finest Take 2”, her first solo endeavor.
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faceZuri
Belly Dance & Mini Belly Dance Instructor
Zuri has been involved in the creative and performing arts since childhood, but came to dance as an adult, beginning with the Latin dances. She has found a home in belly dance .
As music is her profession, Zuri incorporates her solid knowledge of timing and musical interpretation into her performances. Her show formats can range from traditional to a fusion with Caribbean and/or Latin flavor depending on client venue and preference.
When teaching, her knowledge of group dynamics, body mechanics, and different learning styles helps each student to reach their fullest potential. Zuri also has training as a pre/post-natal health and fitness group instructor, and welcomes the opportunity to work with women who want to stay fit during their pregnancy.
Zuri is also the owner of Cocoabelly Dance Services, LLC. Cocoabelly offers custom, handmade costumes for dancers of all shapes and sizes, make up services for dancers, and performers and props for your special event.
