Meet our Instructors:
Learn from some of the Bay Area's most experienced and passionate dance professionals.
Browse our instructor team below, then scroll down for detailed biographies and teaching backgrounds.
Deborah & Stephen Cullip
Chrystal Bella Chen & Oscar Rodriguez
John Narvaez & Liz Rojas
Rebecca Bertram
Christian Solares
Vanessa Thomso
San Manh
Stephanie & Randy Krul
Jason Wayne
Jeff Chandler
Lisette Perelle
Lucy Yoo
DEBORAH AND STEPHEN CULLIP
DEBORAH CULLIP
Debbie started dancing classical ballet at the age of 7 on a Ford Foundation Scholarship and the American Ballet Theater Scholarship. She is a former actress who appeared in Charlie’s Angels, the original Hawaii Five-O, Magnum P-I, and several other movies. She was also a model and owner of her own production and event planning company – DLC Talent – for 15 years in San Francisco. She choreographed and produced shows herself for much of San Francisco’s talent at events such as SF Ballet’s Gala events, Chamber of Commerce, Union Street Merchants Assn, Robin Williams, and many Silicon Valley Companies.
Debbie loves Ballroom Dancing and is wife and partner to Stephen Cullip, former two-time U.S. Professional Ballroom Champion. Stephen and Debbie have performed many shows around the Bay Area in the past several years. Together they teach the largest, most successful group classes in the Bay Area three times per week. Debbie’s dedication and patience make her a much sought-after teacher. She has students ranging from ages three to 80! Many of her students are competitors and have achieved great things in the ballroom world. She has also danced Pro/Am with students and choreographed formation routines at Stanford and Berkeley Universities.
STEPHEN CULLIP
Stephen is a Thirteen Time U.S. National Champion Twice as U.S. Professional Ballroom Champion Five Times as the Pro in the U.S. Pro/Am Championships Five Times as U.S. Amateur Ballroom Champion Once as the U.S. Amateur Ballroom and Latin Ten Dance Champion Debbie started dancing classical Ballet at age 7 on a Ford Foundation Scholarship and the American Ballet Theater. She is a former actress and appeared in many shows including Charlie’s Angels, Hawaii Five-0 Magnum P-I and several other movies. She was also a model and owned her own production and event planning company. She has organized many events including SF Ballet’s Gala Events, Chamber of Commerce, Union Street Merchants, Robin Williams and most recently many showcases and dance events at Just Dance Ballroom. She started Ballroom Dancing 15 years ago. Together they Teach Group Classes on Tuesday Evenings and Private Lessons weekly at Just Dance Ballroom. Tuesday 7pm-8pm - Beginning to Intermediate Ballroom (Hobby Level) 8:15-9:15pm Intermediate to Advanced Ballroom Sunday Rounds - 9am Warmup. 9:30am-11:00am Competitors Rounds in Ballroom and Smooth We Train Champions. Beginners are our specialty.
CHRYSTAL BELLA CHEN & OSCAR RODRIGUEZ
Chrystal Bella Chen and Oscar Rodriguez are Bay Area–based International Latin competitive dancers, instructors, and performers known for their passion, creativity, and high-energy performances. With backgrounds in ballroom, salsa, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and other dance styles, they bring strong technique and dynamic personality to every event.
They have trained with top ballroom coaches and earned multiple first-place awards in Latin Ballroom competitions throughout the Bay Area. Chrystal and Oscar are available for weddings, parties, corporate events, conventions, performances, and beginner-friendly group dance lessons.
JOHN NARVAEZ & LIZ ROJAS
John Narvaez and Liz Rojas are World Champion Salsa dance artists, instructors and directors of the Salsamania Dance Company of the San Francisco Bay Area, which they founded in the year 2000. They are among the most accomplished competitive Salsa dance couples in the world and currently rank as top champions of the 2005 and 2006 World Salsa Championships.
John and Liz came to the U.S. from Colombia at the ages of 11 and 10 respectively. Drawing upon the rich heritage of rhythm from their Columbian roots — a musical universe in its own right, John and Liz bring an undeniable love and intelligence to their approach to Salsa Dance. They have evolved a deep appreciation for the beauty of Latin dance into a clear vision of sharing their passion and knowledge of Salsa throughout the world. They have performed on MTV’s Telemundo program and Alberto’s Night Club events, as well as at international invitationals throughout Asia, Europe and South America.
Their Salsamania Dance Company is the #1 Bay Area Dance Team – known for its hypnotic performances marked by high levels of grace, speed and technical difficulty. John & Liz’s Salsamania style is devoted to well honed teaching techniques that they use in a building block approach to learning, thus enabling students to learn and progress rapidly.
You can catch John & Liz for Salsa lessons on Monday nights @ 7 p.m. beginner lesson; 8 p.m. intermediate.
CHRISTIAN SOLARES
Christian Solares is a professional ballroom dancer, instructor, and choreographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He began dancing in 2006 with Salsa before expanding into International Ballroom and Latin, eventually competing in amateur Ten-Dance at competitions throughout California and beyond.
In 2018, Christian registered as a professional with the National Dance Council of America and competed in the American Smooth division. Since beginning his teaching career in Marin County over a decade ago, he has worked with students of all ages and levels in social dancing, showcase performances, and Professional/Amateur competitions.
Now an independent instructor, Christian continues to teach students throughout Marin, the East Bay, and San Francisco, offering instruction in Ballroom, Latin, Smooth, Rhythm, and social dance styles.
LISETTE PERELLE
Dancing since the age of 5, Lisette began her training in gymnastics. From there her education continued to Hula, Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Ballroom, Argentine Tango and Theater. She was a member of the Argentine performance company called Ballet Pampa Argentina under the direction of Pampa Cortes for 2 years. She has starred in 2 tango film shorts, “Burn” and “Tango in the Park” as well as performed on television for KQED in San Francisco.
Lisette trained in Argentine tango with Julian “Miller” Ramil, Pampa and Valeria Cortes, Fabian Salas, Mariana Flores and Eduardo Cappussi, Julio Balmeceda and Corina de la Rosa, Mariano “Chicho” Framboli, Mariana Dragone, Sabastian Arce and Mariana Montes, Carlos Gavito, El Flaco Danny Garcia, Omar Vega, Daniel Juarez and Alejandra Armenti and many others. She spends extensive time in Buenos Aires each year training as well as teaching.
She has taught tango in the Bay Area including San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Sacramento and Mendocino. She has also taught in Palm Beach, Florida and Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has not only performed in her home state of California, but also in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Presently, she is teaching locally in the Bay Area and is currently Directing and Shooting her own Documentary on tango. She is an elegant dancer and patient teacher who concentrates on the techniques necessary for smooth, powerful and beautiful dancing. She works with the whole body focusing on connection, alignment, lines and beautifying steps.
VANESSA THOMSON
Vanessa Thomson is an accomplished American ballroom dance professional, instructor, competitor, and judge based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a background in music education and Aikido, she brings strong musicality, movement awareness, and performance quality to her teaching and coaching.
After discovering ballroom dance as a teenager, Vanessa became an award-winning competitor in American Smooth and Rhythm under the National Dance Council of America. She also won the 2015 United Country Western Dance Council Open Division I World Championship title.
Today, Vanessa focuses on coaching pro-am dancers, judging competitions, and creating educational resources for ballroom and country dancers throughout the United States and beyond.
Rebecca Bertram
Rebecca Bertram is a Bachata instructor with over 10 years of experience training dancers of all levels. Known for her warmth, humor, and supportive teaching style, Rebecca helps students build confidence, improve technique, and feel their best on the social dance floor.
Whether working with beginners or experienced dancers, Rebecca creates a fun and welcoming learning environment where students can grow their skills, enjoy the music, and connect through dance.
JASON WAYNE
Jason Wayne is a West Coast Swing champion and instructor known for his competitive success, musicality, and innovative teaching style. He has competed at the Champion level in West Coast Swing, earning top placements at major events, including 1st place in the 2010 Champions Jack & Jill at Boogie by the Bay and 2nd place in the 2014 Champions Jack & Jill at Swing Fling in Washington, DC.
As an instructor, Jason brings high-level competitive experience and clear, creative coaching to help dancers improve their technique, connection, and confidence on the social and competitive dance floor.
STEPHANIE & RANDY KRUL
Stephanie and the late Randy Krul have been respected leaders in the Northern California West Coast Swing community for more than 30 years.
Their work played an important role in developing dancers, instructors, and future West Coast Swing champions, while also bringing nationally recognized professionals to the Bay Area for workshops and special events. Over the years, Randy served as a guest DJ, and Stephanie served as a guest judge at many Northern California West Coast Swing venues.
Honored with a Special Achievement Award in 2022, Stephanie and Randy are recognized for their lasting impact, dedication, and contributions to the West Coast Swing dance community.
LUCY YOO
Lucy is an award-winning International Latin Dance Champion and competed professionally in American Smooth and Rhythm. She also qualified World Salsa Championships in 2008. She studied dance in college and earned a Master’s degree in Physical Education by completing a thesis on The Evolution of Ballroom Dance in the US. Lucy began dancing at an early age, and before becoming involved in the ballroom, she studied ballet, modern dance, and Korean traditional dance.
She is currently a lecturer at UC Berkeley in the Physical Education Department. She enjoys introducing college students to dance and loves training people for social dancing at Just Dance Studio in Oakland. She puts her heart into instructing each of her students! She specializes in teaching social dances, Salsa, and wedding dances.
Lucy’s theory on teaching partner dance is to introduce students to a set pattern of steps, so they become comfortable with dancing. As her students gain confidence through these patterns, they move on to improvise and flourish on the dance floor. She has successfully taught this way for more than 15 years. Learn more about Lucy at lucydance.com
JEFF CHANDLER
Jeff has been a ballroom dance instructor, coach, professional competitor, and choreographer since 1979. He is best known in the ballroom dance world for his mastery of technique in his teaching and his unique choreographic style.
In 1991 Jeff opened the Metronome Ballroom in San Francisco. At the time it was the largest ballroom dance studio on the West Coast.
Jeff is also the producer and director of the Ballroom Blitz events at Lake Merritt Dance Center in Oakland, California. These are themed dance parties featuring a show with professional dancers from around the Bay Area.
In 1999 he was approached by the Midweeklies organization to teach 6th and 7th grade kids. Having worked primarily with adults and “serious dancers” Jeff reluctantly began teaching a small group of around 60 children. He made the focus on the dancing and all of the good manners and mutual respect that come with it. Today the program spans the entire school year and is attended by nearly 700 students. He considers this program one of the great achievements of his professional dance career.
He currently teaches private lessons and group classes at Just Dance Ballroom in Oakland and at other studios around the Bay Area.
SAN MANH
San has dominated the dance floor for decades! His clear teaching style attracts dancers of all levels to the dance floor. Throughout the years, many have sought to learn San’s compelling and entertaining routines. San’s patience, humor, and knowledge of the leader’s and follower's steps made him a popular instructor for beginning hopefuls and seasoned experts. Many seek his guidance on how to improve their fluidity on the social floor.