We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cassandra De Mercedes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cassandra below.
Cassandra, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I think that life is really about the ebb and flow so when there are times that are a little on the downside, I always know that the upside is right around the corner. I am also a huge believer in the law of assumption so I work hard to live as though the result that I want from anything I am working on, is already here or done. I visualize it being how I want it to be. I am also someone who just doesn’t give up. I stick to my routine. If I am working on something, I keep putting the work in and just know that it will fall into place or end up how I want it to be. I just simply do not give up.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am the Co-owner and Artistic Director of Baila con Pasión, the premier Latin dance company in Minneapolis, MN and in the Twin Cities area, previously in Stuart, FL, Charlotte, NC, and Bavaro Dominican Republic. I am the choreographer & artistic director of Las Bellas de Baila con Pasión™, my student performing team as well as the Trainer for my World Team Project Minneapolis Teams. I am extremely proud to be one of the prestigious World Mastery Academies worldwide and am certified in the full curriculum of Multi Time World Champions, Adrian and Anita, Anita’s Ladies Styling Curriculum as well as Fernando Sosa’s curriculum, SOSA Style Salsa.
My husband and I are the only ones in the state of Minnesota that teach authentic Dominican Bachata as well as Bolero and Son and I am a World Team Project Team Trainer, World Mastery Instructor, and a World Mastery Ambassador! I was the ONLY American Instructor teaching at the 2022 Egypt Sensual Bachata Festival in Hurghada Egypt in March of 2022 and I’ll be teaching again this year, in April. I’ll also be teaching at various events worldwide again this year as well as continuing to build my dance company and community here in Maple Grove and Wayzata, Minnesota.
I began dancing professionally at the age of 13 and have spent nearly 3 decades in the entertainment industry working as both a professional dancer and a professional singer. I am classically trained in ballet, ballroom, and Latin dance but upon discovering her love and passion for Latin dance, specifically Salsa, Bachata, Bachatango, and Cha-Cha, they became her sole career focus. After having a school in the Dominican Republic and enjoying the opportunity to train with various famous Bachateros, Cassandra and her husband who is from Santo Domingo, bring authentic Bachata to wherever they are teaching, directly from the home of Bachata. They are also the only instructors in the Midwest that also teach Dominican Bolero and Son Dominicana, both dances from the Dominican Republic.
I have taught hundreds of thousands of students from coast to coast of the United States to the Dominican Republic and back again (and also everywhere in between) and have been a featured instructor at the largest and most prestigious Bachata Congress in the world, The Washington DC Bachata Congress. I am also one of the few International Instructors that has been invited to teach Bachata, in the very home and birthplace of Bachata. In demand to teach at Salsa and Bachata Congresses all over the world, my dance partner at that time, were one of few select couples from all over South, Central, and North Americas that were invited to compete in the Americas Bachata Masters competition for an opportunity to represent the USA at the finals in Spain in February of 2013.
A skilled dancer, performer, and choreographer, I bring a rare joy and insatiable passion to the dance floor along with an elegant and graceful style in Salsa and Bachata. As an instructor, I have a very strong technical emphasis in her teaching that comes from her many years of Russian Classical Ballet training, which ensures that our students become extremely well-rounded dancers. My passion for life in general along with my passion specifically for Salsa and Bachata is contagious and it quickly becomes clear that I truly do love what I do!
Always hungry to continue to grow in my own personal journey in dance, I continue my own training with regular private instruction from World Champion salsa coaches such as Multi-time world champions, Adrian and Anita of Barcelona, Ezgi Zaman, Fernando Sosa, Karen and Ricardo, Abel Pena, and Zulmara Torres, Cristian Oviedo, Liz Lira, and Edie the Salsa Freak so that I can bring all of that training back to our students and I train weekly with multi-time World Champion Anita Santos Rubin.I am coached for upcoming competitions with World Champion trainers Sonia Rivera and Ezgi Zaman and her ladies performing team will be heading to Egypt with her in April to perform their Authentic Bachata routine.
My husband and I also host a twice-yearly Dominican dance and cultural immersion vacation that consists of a small group that we take to different parts of the Dominican Republic to spend that entire week immersed in Dominican culture. We have daily dance training with various world-renowned Dominican Instructors , and I teach as well and then we head out each day to explore different cities and towns, enjoying their food, their music, their people, and of course their dancing! We enjoy everything from formal dance training to dancing Bachata on the beach or a catamaran on our way to La Isla Saona or Cay Arena. This event has been my vision for many years and every year we get to add more amazing things to our lineup. Our event, BachaTour! with Baila con Pasión, is now shared on GoDominicanRepublic which is a worldwide site that features things to do in the Dominican Republic. It is the only event of its kind worldwide and they are proud to share this life-changing trip with each group that they take to the Dominican Republic.
We offer group and private lessons as well as dance travel Adventures with our Dance Company. I truly believe that we set ourselves apart by the quality of our instruction, our focus on technique and our love for our students and our community. I am deeply proud of the dance families that I have built, internationally, and that we are still operating after the challenges we have faced these past few years. I don’t quit. I’ll give you that. I have the tenacity if a pitbull when it comes to my dance company and my BachaTour event. I always find a way. Always.
Dance can bring you out of the darkest lows and give you a freedom you don’t find anywhere but the Dance floor. I want people to experience that because it changes lives for the better.”
As you can see, dance is a part of everything I do, it is a part of my very being and my passion is to share that passion with as many people worldwide, as I can. So, with that…. come dance with us!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my Russian Classical Ballet training has been paramount in building my dance company. Staying true to solid techique has been so crucial in training solid dancers from square one. My tenacity has no limits in that I just do not give up. I think that when you really do love what you do, it is true that you dont work a day in your life and it fuels you on the days when you have run out of gas so to speak. Self discipline is also key. You have to be able to stick to a routine when you are self employed or you will never get anything done. I structure my days around training, rehearsals, private and group classes so that I can get it all done. Being able to prioritize is also so important. I know that my resiliance and passion for what I do has kept me going during some dark times like when covid hit but I never give up no matter what Im dealing with. The dance floor is my safe place. Where the worries and cares of this world can bring you down, the dance floor is free of all of that!
For those that are just starting their journey in dance, the one thing I can tell you that will help you is to never give up, no matter what you are facing in life. Follow your heart and do not let anyone disuede you from doing what you love. You can make it happen! Just dont give up!
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
100% my family! My Dad taught me so much about business and how to run the operations of a business and that has been instrumental in the longevity of my danace company. He also taught me that you have to keep learning! Never stop learning! My Mom was the one that brought the law of assumption into my life and at that time, I was just not interested but now, at this stage of my life, it is a part of who I am. They both taught me that I could be, do or have whatever I want for my life and that has been paramount in following the path that I chose and love so much. My family has always supported me in the things I have wanted to do and when you have that and you never give up, you truly can create magic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bailaconpasion.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bailaconpasion/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bailaconpasion/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzLlkhmNSGM_Wx8GYOqfRxg
- Other: Our BachaTour! with Baila con Pasión event website: https://www.latindancetours.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BachaTourwithBailaconPasion
