RAZIEL GUTIERREZ
BACHATA / SALSA ON1
Raziel Gutierrez started to dance salsa socially in 2008 with Rumba Azteca Dance Co led by Jorge and Karla.
In 2009, he started to teach “Beginning Salsa On1” and also joined the Rumba Azteca dance team, performing at various private and public events in local nightclubs and venues as well as salsa congresses outside Arizona, like Los Angeles Salsa Congress and Las Vegas Super Congress.
He has taken private classes with world renowned instructors and coaches like Yamule (NY), Fernando Sosa (Italy), Alma Latina Tijuana Mexico, Rafael & Carine (Brazil), and Liz Lira.
He has also taken private classes with top dancers in Los Angeles, like Cristian Oviedo, Francisco Vasquez, Luis Vasquez and Johnny Vazquez, as well as Ataca y La Alemana with Island Touch Dance from Miami.
He won several competitions in the Salsa On1 and Bachata categories, which gave him confidence to think on building his own dance company.
In 2012, he funded his own dance company. He created multiple dance choreographies, performing them at social dancing events with Kathy Patino on the Phoenix West side, and AZSalsa on the East side.
One of Raziel’s most remarkable achievements occurred in 2015 when he and his team shattered expectations by breaking a Guinness World Record: “Largest Salsa Dance Lesson” in Rocky Point, Mexico; they drew an astonishing number of participants, earning them a place in history for the greatest number of people attending and participating in a salsa dance lesson at a single venue.
He continued teaching and gaining the recognition among the Arizona dance community and launched his own studio, offering classes of salsa, bachata, cumbia, rueda de casino, Jazz, and Hip-hop for adults and kids.
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of the Dance Studio operations in 2020.
He remains an integral part of the Phoenix salsa scene, attending local social dance events and contributing in the rotation schedule of Tumbao | Latin Fridays where he teaches the “Intermediate-Advanced Salsa On1” class.
Raziel is available for private and group classes and can be reached in his Facebook page @raziel.gutierrez.9.
