Founding Partners
Daniel speaks seven languages and received his Master of Arts degree in Germany. After a decade of working in Europe and Asia, he moved to New York City in 2000 on an O-Visa as a “person with extraordinary abilities”. He studied Jazz and music theory, and as a professional tennis player, martial artist and part-time model, Daniel used his athletic abilities to study many different dance forms including ballet, jazz, Dunham, African, and ballroom, before founding BAILA Society with Ahtoy WonPat Borja and Joseph Rivera, to focus on Latin Dance and Salsa.
Ahtoy began her professional dance training in childhood in Guam and studied classical ballet and modern dance with the Houston and San Francisco Ballet Companies. Ahtoy became a top International Latin Ballroom competitor in the collegiate circuit while attending Columbia University. As one of the principal dancers and instructors of salsa company, Santo Rico, she has performed in over 35 cities worldwide in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Americas.
Born in NYC and raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Salsa has always been a part of Joseph’s life. He now holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Finance from Georgetown University. Today he is the Director of Interactive Design at a financial research/media company and is a founding partner of BAILA Society. When not dancing, he enjoys snowboarding, surfing, traveling and coaching youth basketball.
BASo Repertory Company
Saioa López Briones started studying ballet in her hometown in Spain. At 17 she moved to Madrid where she graduated in Ballet. She was a member of Ballet Carmen Roche, one of Spain’s most prestigious ballet companies. During this time, she was also a ballet teacher in SCAENA Conservatory. Full artist bio
Born and raised in Malaysia, Jessica has an eclectic background as a movement artist. She started her dance training in ballet and has won numerous top placing awards at Malaysia’s national level Classical Ballet Competition, including scholarships to perform internationally. Full artist bio
BASo Alto
