017 Sip & Chat: Ahtoy Juliana, PhD

Welcome back to LNXdance with your Co-Hosts, Marcus & Mari! Our guest for this episode is the lovely Ahtoy Juliana. We are so honored to share her story with you. Enjoy!

Ahtoy on IG: ahtoyjuliana
Baila Society: https://www.bailasociety.com/

Comparte el amor with our guest, and let us know your favorite part of this chat. We want to thank Ahtoy for making this Sip & Chat happen and for sharing her story with us!

Ahtoy grew up in Guam and has indigenous CHamoru and Cuban ancestry. She has been part of the Afro-Latinx dance community since moving to NYC at 17.  Ahtoy began her professional dance training in Guam and studied classical ballet and modern dance with the Houston and San Francisco Ballet Companies. Ahtoy’s salsa career began in 2003 with Santo Rico, where she was a principal dancer and instructor. Ahtoy has performed with Billy Fajardo, Santo Rico, The Hustle Collective, Team Fajardo, and The New York Movement.

Ahtoy formed BAILA Society in 2006 with Daniel Enskat and Joseph Rivera. As Artistic Director, she has created over three dozen works that are showcased worldwide. She is currently dancing with Edwin Tolentino. Together they hold numerous world champion titles in Salsa and Latin Hustle. Ahtoy & Edwin are proud to represent Latin Hustle in the salsa industry, where they are showcasing and restoring the Latinx and Queer heritage of Latin Hustle. Ahtoy is a founding judge of the World Salsa Summit and adjudicates national and international competitions. She co-founded the United States Latin Social Dance Championship and The Youth Summit Championship.

Ahtoy was a dancer in the “In the Heights” film adaptation. In 2022, she joined the cast of “Do the Hustle”, featured at Jacob’s Pillow and Guggenheim Museum. Ahtoy is in the faculty of Peridance Center and Ailey Extension. She is a member of the Latinx Dance Educators Alliance.

Recently, Ahtoy co-founded Not Just Chisme, an alliance that seeks to address sexual misconduct, race & gender inequality, and abuse of power in the Afro-Latinx social dance industry. 

Ahtoy has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Master degrees in Public Health and Epidemiology, and a PhD in Epidemiology, all