INSTRUCTOR BIOS
JOHN HENRY
John Henry was introduced to partner dancing at 7 years old and has been dancing consistently since the age of 16. He started as a professional skater at age 13, and he has always been interested in movement. One of his first performances was at Hillcrest Dance Company at 16, and he competed throughout San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. When he turned 18, he followed an art career and moved to Taos, NM and became an artist’s assistant for several artists, such as Jim Wagner and Frank Seckler, while continuing to dance in his free time. He moved to San Francisco, where he started teaching full-time at AMA Dance Studio, Broadway Studios, as well as other studios. He has taught in Albuquerque and Taos for the past 11 years, and he currently owns and teaches at Double Time Dance Studio in Albuquerque.
John Henry
- has studied swing with Jean Veloz, Frankie Manning, and Norma Miller, and tango with Carlos Gavito, Nestor Ray, Nora Dinzelbacher, as well as many others
- has been on American and European television
- won first place at the Greasers Ball in Bimbo’s San Francisco in 1998
- won first place swing at Lucky’s Belvedere Lounge in 1999
- was the 2006 Cowboys Country Champion
- performed at Kids Unleashed for three years
- performed for the New York Dance Company
- has taught for the University of San Francisco and various universities in New Mexico, including UNM, where he still teaches tango, swing, and two step
- has judged many dance competitions
- choreographed the dance sequences in Husband for Hire with Mario Lopez, Mark Consuelos, and Nadine Vasquez
- was a mentor in Juilliard’s dance program
- co-created the Taos Two-Step
- was the first lindy instructor in New Mexico
- has taught at Michael Martin Murphy’s Country Christmas, Casa de Corazon, Taos Public Schools, a New Mexico mayors’ convention, the Albuquerque Hispanic Cultural Center, and the Salsa Mambo Festival in Palm Springs, where for the last three years, he has been the only dance instructor teaching a tango bootcamp
- traveled to Argentina for tango
- choreographed and performed at dance events including Albuquerque’s Shop & Stroll and Keshet Dance Company
- created Double Time’s tango team and the Duke City Salseros
- started one of the biggest tango, swing, and salsa nights in New Mexico
- won 1st place in the Summer 2009 Salsa Mambo Festival Professional Jack & Jill competition
NICOLE JACOT
Nicole has loved dancing and entertainment her entire life. Good luck finding her sitting in one place for very long! She took her first ballet and tap lessons when she was only in kindergarten, and later she spent 13 years competing as a gymnast. She graduated from college with a Theater degree, and soon after she began partner dancing for recreation. After spending most of her life as a street dancer, Double Time Dance Studio recognized her talent and potential. It is here where John Henry has taught her the technique and the skills that best match her passion for dancing, and instilled in her an intense desire to make dancing and teaching her career path. She is a very animated individual who loves expressing herself through every form of dance, not just one. Hands down one of the funnest teachers in New Mexico, whether your desire is to improve your skills or just simply have fun dancing, Nicole is one of the best teachers to take from!
AMANDA ARCHULETA
It all started in 1988 when she started training in ballet, jazz, and tap at La Mesa Dance Academy. There she danced with Energy in Motion Dance Company for 9 years. High school brought on new adventures with competitive dance in regional, state, and national competitions, as well as an endeavor into swing. By college she had experience teaching kids and dancing with Albuquerque's semi-pro basketball team, Slam. As her interests grew towards partner dancing, she began training in salsa, west coast swing, and Argentine tango. Since 2005, she has been traveling and training at festivals in Ann Arbor, Denver, LA, Palm Springs, Portland, San Diego and San Francisco. She now teaches at Double Time Dance Studio and choreographs for the Duke City Salseros.
CORY ALLISON LEONARD
Originally from Southern California, Cory grew up with her creative family of musicians, actors, painters, and sketch artists. After starting piano lessons at four years old, she was hooked on music and performing, and she dreamed of becoming a professional musician. However, during her college years, she drifted toward the sciences and graduated from UNM with a degree in psychology. Just after finishing college, Cory decided to return to her roots in the performing arts by learning to dance. She immediately fell in love with Double Time Dance Studio, where John Henry taught her nearly every social-style partner dance. Once she began working at Double Time (on the business side) and attending classes up to seven days a week, her dancing skyrocketed. She performed with John Henry and assisted with his tango bootcamp at the Winter 2009-2010 Salsa Mambo Festival. She is now an instructor at Double Time.