Magna Gopal

Magna Gopal is a leading instructor and performer in the international Salsa industry and is renowned for her teaching, her creativity, and her philosophy.

Biografía

Magna Gopal is one of the leading instructors and performers in the global salsa industry and world renowned for her pedagogy, her creativity, and her philosophy. A leading role model for dancers, she started with zero background in dance and has built her brand to become one of the top solo female artists and instructors in the industry.

Originally from India, she moved to Canada with her family where she obtained her B.A. in Economics and International Relations at University of Toronto and was exposed to the Latin dance culture. After completing her degree she decided to pursue her passion in dance, relentlessly. She started out with performing and choreographing for Toronto-based student and professional teams and later branching out on her own and moving to the New York/New Jersey area, where she is now based. She is one of the self-taught wonders of the salsa world and accredits her teaching methodology to the fact that she had to discover, analyze, and understand the movements of the body on her own. Combining her methodology with her affable nature and a genuine desire to see individuals grow has made her one of the most respected and sought after instructors and dancers. She has also found ways to take the lessons learned through dance and present her ideas across multiple platforms including dance related travels, public speaking gigs, as a research subject for a few PhD theses, Toastmasters, and as an advisory board member for the Modern Moves Project at King’s College in London, UK.

She has taught and performed in over 74 countries and has shared the stage with many well known dancers as well as famous Latin music bands such as Jimmy Bosch, El Gran Combo, New Swing Sextet, Mambo Legends and the Bronx Horns, to name a few. She was a Featured Dancer and an Assistant Choreographer for the short film "Mano" which won Best Cinematography at the Sol Dance Film Festival and continues to choreograph for couples and teams. She has released two instructional DVDs under her own name, is featured in two others in Salsa and Kizomba, and is working on new releases. Though salsa is her forte, her sensitivity and responsiveness to non-verbal communication allows her to easily adapt to and interpret other dance forms including, West Coast Swing, Swing, Bachata, Kizomba, Semba, Tango, Forro, and Samba de Gafieira.

Her desire is not only to teach and motivate people to be better dancers but also to inspire them to grow as individuals and challenge cultural norms through an increased awareness and respect for the human connection. She does this by emphasizing the importance of understanding existing rules of engagement, laying a good foundation, and expressing oneself in a manner that always retains a level of respect and compassion for others.