Hanler P. Nieves was born and grew up in Santa Clara, Cuba where as a child he learned to Latin dance from his mother, family and especially his friends, dancing in the streets, school recess, parties and celebrations. He loved to sing, dance and entertain and was recognized for his talents at a very young age with awards and recognition.
For a short time, Hanler was a middle school teacher but when a Hotel Entertainment and Hospitality Management School in his home city opened up to help meet the demands of a growing resort industry, Hanler pursued his dreams of working in entertainment and was one of only a dozen people selected out of hundreds to complete the diploma which included the subjects such as teaching Latin dance and event and entertainment management. In just 6 years, Hanler quickly climbed the ladder and became Manager of Entertainment at some of Cuba’s top hotels.
After moving to Toronto, he trained and worked as a Dance Instructor at Pollock Dance Studio for 2 years and then in 2011 he opened The Salsa Club to promote Latin culture and teach Latin dance lessons before weekly social Latin dance events. At the request of his clients, he also began creating and leading group and private Latin dance lesson programs in downtown Mississauga, with a focus on non-competitive, Latin social dancing.
Hanler has a lifetime experience of Latin dance and almost 20 years of experience teaching Latin dances such as Salsa, Rueda de Casino, Cha-cha-cha and Dominican Republic’s dances merengue and bachata. With Hanler’s background in entertainment, events, and Latin dance lessons, his classes are well-organized and broken down into easy steps for everyone to understand; and he loves to make classes fun and entertaining too.