Public Republic

Denka Koleva’s interview with Teodora Yordanova

Teodora Yordanova: Salsa is my passion

Teodora Yordanova and Maestro Alfredo Torres

Teodora Yordanova was born in Sofia in 1990. For a year she has been living and studying architecture in Milan. She started learning ballet when she was three.

Besides Latin dances – her passion, she also performs hip hop, ballet and contemporary. At the moment Teodora studies the refinements of flamenco in Milan.

How long have you been dancing?
I have been dancing with Alfredo Torres since I was twelve years old. I am one of his first students. Before that, in my the early childhood, I danced ballet for a while. But the credit for my dancing skills goes entirely to the Maestro (Master) – Alfredo Torres.

What attracted you to the magic of dance? Who gave you courage – first to start, and then to continue?
My mom took me to ballet lessons when I was three. Then, in the same way, she took me dancing with her to Alfredo. We both danced in the beginning, but she works a lot and could not continue. Alfredo always says she was much better than me in the beginning.

What is it that dancing gives you? What is it to you?
EVERYTHING! My whole life. When I am sad or not feeling well, I must dance to get better. Dancing has given me incredible discipline and I have learned many things from it, which help me now in everything I do.

AlfredoStyle Team

Wich dance gives you most plesure when performing?
Salsa, of course. This is my passion … One must try it to understand why. It can not be explained by words. It is so sexy and sensual.

Tell me more about working with Alfredo Torres and AlfredoStyle Team.
In 2007 Alfredo formed AlfredoStyle Team. Everybody in the team were his students. In the beginning we started with 3 couples, then we gradually grew up.
Each year the team and pairs from the team win prestigious competitions. Alfredo is a choreographer, as well as a dancer. Unfortunately, I can not dance any more with them, because I went to study in Italy. But I still feel a part of the team. I miss them a lot.

Is it difficult to dance with a partner? Do you always manage to keep in step together?
I’d rather dance with a partner than alone. But for now I do not have a permanent one so I deal with more dances where I am on my own.

Have you ever failed in a contest, dancing with a partner, because of an individual mistake?
Yes. When dancing with my partner we have failed. He was very uneasy when we had to dance on our own on stage. In the team performances, he felt much stronger. Of course, I have made mistakes myself – that is normal, that’s how we learn.

Who was the best partner you have danced with?
I had a regular partner when I was dancing in AlfredoStyle Team – Penko. I felt very good in a couple with him. Now I dance with a few different people, but with none of them permanently. I hope to find a permanent partner soon and begin competing again.

Teodora and her partner Penko dancing

How do you combine studying and dancing?
I do not dance as intensely as before when I trained with Alfredo’s team. I do it in the evenings, after classes. That` s how I relax from the things we do at the university.

Do you have enough time to do other things besides dancing and studying?
Sometimes. I can’t say that there is plenty of free time, because architecture is extremely time consuming. The rest is dance … I like going out, of course, with my friends when I have the time.

What prizes have you won?
We are multiple salsa-champions of Bulgaria. European champions for 2007. We participated in the World Championship in 2007, but the level there is very high. There is a lot of work to be done. We were fourteenth there.

AlfredoStyle Team dancing in the World Salsa Championship in Orlando, Florida

How does it feel to reach so far?
Of course, what we have achieved is no small thing at all. Team competition is extremely difficult. The first 5 teams in the championship were all Colombians. And that’s how it is every year.

Do you enjoy competing? Is it thrilling?
Very much. It’s the best for you to find out what your level is and what you still have to learn. This thrill, when I appear on stage for a competition, is fundamentally different from just showing off your dance. The second is still incredible, but when you know that someone gives you points (or marks) is different. It is like this in almost every profession. The most famous architects, for example, despite the money they earn, work permanently on projects for competitions and it is very important to them. So it is with dancing.

AlfredoStyle Team

Do you compete now?
No. I have not given up, but for now I’m studying new styles. I’m open to new things and want to learn, things I did not know about. I am learning flamenco right now. I’m learning from a very famous teacher in Milan. I also give lessons in her dancing school. I keep on dancing salsa with a close friend of Alfredo – Maykel Fonts. I would like to thank them both. Alfredo helps me a lot, although I live so far away.

What important lesson for life have you learned from dancing?
As I already mentioned, it’s an incredible discipline, which I need much of in the things that I’m dealling with lately. I am studying architecture – a very specific topic.

What are your plans for the future?
I am planning first to go in the native land of flamenco – Spain, because that is the best place I could learn it. Everything else is yet to be decided.