Maria Henriquez

Ms. Maria grew up in Dominican Republic. She has always loved bringing joy to others and her love for dance began when she first saw Latin ballroom dancers. Ever since she began to dance in all Latin rhythms such as salsa, bachata, merengue, cha-cha, rumba and samba! She has trained in ballet, tap, and jazz… with classic jazz being her favorite!

Ms. Maria moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 2003 speaking no English, and since then has graduated from Denbigh High School, earned an undergraduate degree in Human Services from Old Dominion University, and graduated with her Master’s in Clinical Social Work from Norfolk State University in 2015.

Her teaching experience first began in Dominican Republic where she was dance captain of her school’s dance team as a 7th grader. On the first day she began teaching at the Academy of Dance & Gymnastics, she fell in love with her students and her passion for dance! Her top priority is to build strong, empathic and kind dancers!