Kuriko La JapoMana is an International Dance Instructor and a
Dance Mentor specializing in Authentic Latin Dances such as
Bachata and Merengue and Casino

Her Japanese and German mixed background has shaped her appreciation for authentic culture, because she believes that understanding the cultural background of the dance will only enrich and help you become a thriving dancer.

Kuriko fell in love with Latin dances in 2006 during a student exchange program in Spain and has never stopped dancing ever since.

She has made nearly 10 trips to the Dominican Republic since 2011 to dance & learn the culture.
She has also been to Cuba three times and many other Latin American countries to refine her understanding for the dance, music & culture.
Thanks to her multicultural upbringing, the curiosity for understanding different cultures, and the ability to transmit the essence of the cultural aspects of the dance, people call her “The Messenger”.

In 2017 she started her career as a dance instructor and has made it her mission to spread her love and passion for (real / authentic / Dominican) Bachata to the world.

Her base of learning Latin dances was on the dance floor social dancing with many latinos.
Once she started teaching, she started attending countless festivals, where she also got taught by
great instructors and mentors such as Edwin Ferrera & Dakhota Romero (Areíto Arts, US) and Argenis & Carolina (Spain).

Since 2018, she started teaching at festivals in Europe, namely:

• Bachata French Kiss in Troyes France in 2018 with Nino Acosta (DR)

• Keloke Bachata Festival 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden with Leonel Paulino (DR)

• Bachata Experience 2019 in Huesca, Spain

• Fiesta Deluxe in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 2021

• Fiesta Dominicana Cologne Germany in 2022

• Keloke Bachata Festival Summer Edition in Stockholm, Sweden, 2023

• La Tradicion Bachata Festival in Groningen, the Netherlands, 2023

Besides Frankfurt where she was based, she has also given workshops in other parts of Germany like Mannheim & Cologne.

Kuriko is not only well know for her teaching skills but also for her gift in spreading the word : In 2019 she worked as a promoter for the Bachata album “Bachata Haiti” by iASO Records owner Benjamin DeMenil, where she successfully managed to make the album popular in the Dominican dance scene worldwide. And in 2020 she worked as a content creator for the Instagram page Embajador Dominicano for the Dominican art and culture.

From 2020-2021 she worked closely with two renowned dance schools in her area Momento Cubano and Tanzschule Weiss where she held regular classes and also workshops until she started giving her own classes independently in 2022.

In August 2022 she started to live the nomad life and successfully gave classes, workshops and
organised events in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka Japan.
Besides all the festivals and events, in 2023 she also managed to teach and work
with local communities around the world :
- Auckland New Zealand
- Melbourne Australia at La Bodega with Sandy
- Kuala Lumpur Malaysia at Talent Hub
- Amsterdam, Netherlands, at Bachata Playtime
- Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at Ay Chi Chi Tour
- Cabarete, Dominican Republic, at Ninafrika Dance School.

She also organized the first ever Dominican Bachata festival in Japan - “APLATANAO” - which was entirely dedicated to the Dominican dance & culture together with her friends Mitsuko Haga, Naoki El Pancho and Luis Sasaki in September 2022.

She strongly believes in generating and educating new future instructors which made her host two Master Classes in Bachata, one in Frankfurt Germany and one in Tokyo Japan. The Japanese version of the Master Class is currently available as an Online Program.

As a travelling and community mindset instructor she has created a huge dance network and thanks to her loyal and committed local students she built a Dominican Bachata community in Frankfurt. Currently she is running several Facebook groups in order to grow communities worldwide together with her friends and students : “Bachata JAPON” for the Japanese community, “Bachata Dominicana Frankfurt” for the German and European community , and “Bachata & Merengue Malaysia” for the Malaysian dance scene.

Also she actively supports other dancers and instructors as a mentor worldwide to build their own communities.

Currently she is travelling around the globe to spread her love for authentic Latin dances and the awareness that Dance Is Culture.

* If you want to find out more about her personal experience and reason of why she promotes Bachata Dominicana,
make sure to check out her latest blog post.