Interview of Marlon & Annetje Castillo
By Edie, The Salsa FREAK

Marlon & Annetje Castillo are one of Holland’s top professional Salsa coaches.  I had the pleasure of meeting Marlon & Annetje during Team Salsaweb’s Euro-Tour ’98.  They were kind enough to host a workshop / performance for us at their beautiful studio in Haarlem, Holland.    We were welcomed in their home, and stayed with them during our brief tour there.  They are the some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.  Honest, straight-forward, and surprisingly humble!  This was something that completely caught me off guard.  I was pleased to finally get a chance to get to know this famous Salsa  dance couple whom I’ve heard so much about.  

I had the opportunity to dance with Marlon, and ladies, I’m telling you, this man’s lead is fantastic.  Gentlemen, take careful notes when you take his workshop!  Annetje adds to the couples dynamics with her beautiful styling techniques.  I was surprised to learn that they had both started out in Los Angeles.  They moved to Haarlem in 93, where they’ve since made their home.  Every year they host the International European Festival in June, and every year, the caliber of instruction and dancing gets better and better. 

Salsaweb Magazine is proud to present Marlon and Annetje Castillo as two of the International Instructors at this year’s International Salsaweb Convention in Toronto, Canada.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are  proud to introduce to you, Marlon and Annetje Castillo. 

Where are you both originally from?

Marlon is form Loja, Ecuador, and Annetje is from Holland.

Do you have any children?  (name(s), ages)

Yes, one beautiful daughter, Nadia, age 5.

Do you do anything else besides teach dance for a living?

We live to dance and dance to live.

How old were you when you became interested in dance? 

Annetje: I started dancing when I was three. Marlon: When I saw my uncle dancing, at that time I was 11 years old.

Who were your mentors / instructor(s) when you first started dancing?

As far is Salsa is concerned: Everybody dancing in the nightclubs.

What got you interested in teaching?  Who encouraged you? 

Annetje: I got into teaching by accident. Marlon: Annetje.

Why did you decide to become instructors?

Because like to teach people, and share our knowledge.

What other forms of dance or types of dances do you teach? 

In our studio we teach European Ballroom and Latin dances, Argentine Tango, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Streetdance, Country Line Dance.

Tell us a little bit about the European Salsa Festival you host each year. 

When we arrived in Holland in ’93 salsa dancing was fairly new there, and the climate between the professionals was very bad. We started to organize the European Salsa Festival to show the Dutch that there were other styles of Salsa than they were dancing, and that each of those styles was good, that there is no such thing as ‘the only way of dancing salsa’. Salsa has developed enormously since then.

This year we are hosting the event june 2-4 in the Amsterdam Hilton.

Tell us a little bit about your company, where you teach, and your class schedule.

We teach in our studio in Haarlem, close to Amsterdam. Occasionally we teach workshops in other cities. We teach seven days a week. Our free time we spend with our dance team. We choreograph shows with them and do performances.

Do you have a website?

Yes. www.castillo-dancecenter.nl/framesasie  for the english version of the salsa dept.

Who are some of your favorite dance partners and mentors?

Joe Cassini, Daniel Klein, Luis Castillo (Marlon’s uncle) Rene Victor, Raul & Alicia Gomez, Bobby Medeiros.

Do you travel abroad often?  If so, where?

Yes, we travel a lot, to dance or instruct. In the past we went to Chile, Hong Kong, Russia, Puerto Rico, Great Britain, Argentina.

Do you currently perform or compete now?  

We perform, but we don’t compete anymore. We competed a lot in LA, we won the major competitions at that time; a car, the works. Now we concentrate on choreographing and performing.

When Team Salsaweb visited Holland in 1998, most dancers danced with the right foot forward.  Is this still the case?  If so why, if not, why not?

No, fortunately not. We have to admit, it is completely our fault that now most dancers dance left foot forward, like the rest of the world. We showed them in the Festivals that the best dancers in the world dance left foot forward, and that when you start travelling, your possibilities are very limited if you dance with right foot. It caught on, now even the ones that said they would never change are switching (some take lessons with us).

Do you teach on the One or the Two?

We teach the one, on music that has the accent on one, we dance both, if the music gives you a two, you should dance it. We tell people to dance what they feel, to discover their own style, and not to become copies of their teachers or ‘heroes’.

What makes you stay in Holland?  Why not move back to the US? 

The same reason that made us move to Holland. The security of owning our business, including the buildings. The structure of the dance courses (people sign up for at least 10 weeks, and pay in advance). The level of safety of the country, compared to Los Angeles. We wanted a baby, and having a child in LA and raising it is not easy!

How long have you lived in Holland?

For almost 7 years now.

Has Holland experienced a Salsa Explosion in the past three years like the rest of the world? 

Last september it really boomed.

What do you find most satisfying about teaching? 

Helping people discover the world of music and dance. Teaching people something they want to learn, what can be more satisfying? Helping people to become more confident.

What are your future plans for dancing and teaching?

Prove we can elevate Salsa dancing in Holland to a top level, by making the base strong and wide, and showing that our team is world class.

Any words of advice for budding dancers? 

Feel the music, go out dancing, dance with as many people as you can.

What do you plan on teaching at the Convention this year? 

Come and see

If you got the opportunity to sit yourselves down, and have a conversation with your “selves”, what type of advice would you give “Marlon & Annetje Castillo”? 

Take more time for yourselves!