Nicknames: MnG

What sport do you compete in: Salsa Dance Competition

What does Shokkwear do for you: Shokkwear provides us with gear to train in. It is by far the most comfortable shirts we have ever worn. The bamboo material keeps you dry, smelling nice and feeling very light and comfortable. Gil's costumes are based off the Generation Material. A special thanks to Olga Volkova for designing our costumes.

What dance companies are you a part of: We perform with the Los Salsomanos Semi Pro Team here in Toronto. We are also part of the iFreeStyle.ca Dance School Crew as volunteer helpers. We love them both and wouldn't be here today without them.

Why did you start competing: We wanted an accelerated means to improve our dancing. We believe that competition is one of the best ways to get better because you receive lots of feedback from judges, peers and instructors. Competitions are a nice barometer to see if you can incorporate all the things you have tried to improve. Having said that we don't believe winning is the sole reason for competing, but rather to get better, have fun and please the crowd. Judging can be very subjective so just have fun and don't stress out. As one of our good friends and instructors, Angus Dirnbeck, told us "You can win one week and lose the next" so take it one competition at a time.

Competition Career:
1st place Winter Salsa Carnival Final Round: March 13, 2009
1st place Winter Salsa Carnival Semi Final Round: February 7, 2009
1st place Calgary International Salsa Congress Competition: January 30, 2009
3rd place Winter Salsa Carnival Preliminary Round: January 10, 2009
4th place San Francisco International Salsa Congress Competition: November 23, 2008

Congress Performances:
Montreal Salsa Convention: April 17, 2009
Calgary Salsa Congress: February 1, 2009
Canada Salsa Congress: October 10, 2008
Montreal Salsa Convention: April 18, 2008
Canada Salsa Congress: October 6, 2006
Winter Salsa Carnival: March 19, 2006

What is your best experience: Being able to choreograph something from scratch and executing it to our best potential. Many other competitors get their routines choreographed by their instructors but we design our routines on our own. Of course we get people to look at it for fine tuning but we can still call it our own. The other thing we cherish is the positive feedback we get from high caliber dancers and performers. It means a lot to hear their comments.

What is your worst experience: A week before the finals of the Winter Salsa Carnival, Gil hurt his back and almost had to pull out of the competition. However coming back from injury and winning the competition made the victory even sweeter.

Inspiration: We love watching Oliver and Luda from Australia, Junior and Emily from California and Anita and Adrian from Spain. Here at home we have much love for our instructors Gio Torres, Caryl Cuizon, Angus Dirnbeck and Estelle Nicolaidis. We also love working with Marie-Josée Strazzero from Montreal who is a very successful competitor on the World Salsa scene.

Other interests: Gil is an avid Mixed Martial Arts fan and also trains in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Boxing at the Kombat Arts Training Academy. He won't miss any major Mixed Martial Arts event no matter what part of the world he is in. Michelle loves running, volleyball and training in other forms of dance such as ballet and ballroom.

Goals: Our goal is to keep improving. We will be training in many other forms of dance to help make us better. We want to keep spreading our love of salsa and hope everyone enjoys our performances.

Final words: Thanks to everyone who has supported us from our family, friends, peers and instructors. Thanks to Shokkwear also for helping us reach our goals.