Champion Teachers
edited 9/1/23
In 1972 Ron Montez and Carol Montez met at BYU while taking classes from the inspirational Roy Mavor. That Spring they were invited to take over as Dance Directors in Tucson at Town & Country studios. Seeking training and access to more competitions, they moved to Santa Monica in order to seek training from two of the old Scottish Dance Masters- Jock & Bemil McGregor. They had no idea of what they were about to start.
Having completed her Masters at BYU, Carol sought work at USC and was hired by Dr. J. Tillman Hall, Chairman of the Physical Education Department. Ron meanwhile was teaching at Santa Monica College part time. Carol was scheduled to teach Art History Through the Ages but only 5 students enrolled- not enough to carry the class. Fortunately Carol convinced Dr Hall (and 3 of the 5 enrolled students Susan Campbell, Emily Gartner, and Elizabeth Curtis) that a Dance Team would be great and he allowed it. 16 Students would be needed for a full fledged dance team so the three girls quickly set up a table in front of Tommy Trojan and recruited lots of other students.
They came to Los Angeles When they started teaching at USC, USC had no dancing other than the typical classical dance arts like Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Tap & African. Carol started with a Social Dance Program with Ron assisting and very soon, they started a performance dance team. Coupled with their great training and exciting personalities, they quickly drew lots of students.
Social Dance programs in most Universities are often taught by Ballet or Jazz teachers with only a cursory knowledge of Ballroom. These first students had no idea what this level of excellence as they had nothing to compare. From a few fun performance routines that were learned and performed at USC Football and Basketball halftimes, to a full blown 5 dance International Latin routine, they soon took this team to the US Championship in New York and took home the Gold Medal. The following year they were invited to dance in the British Open and took Silver.
The following year both Ron & Carol left the program in the capable hands of future US Ballroom Champion Steve Cullip. Suddenly there were now two teams. Over the next 10 years, the former USC members, drawn by the love of dancing on teams, continued to return to compete but now there were more teams coached by former USC members.
Carol Montez-Bressan
Excelling in one style of Ballroom dance is hard enough, but to excel in both the Ballroom Standard and Latin Styles is exceedingly hard. In just a few short years Carol reached the top in California by winning the Emerald Ball and California Star Ball Championships and 3 place in the US Ballroom championships. Dancing in the biggest event in the world- the British Open Championships, Ron & Carol made a statement by making the finals of the Rising Star Latin. The venerable Dance News, described them as fantastic, full of Rhythm that the British eye would not understand, and raved about the future of this couple.
After concluding her competitive career, Carol opened her own studio and became a top coach turning out several professional couples. In 1980 Carol was invited to judge the World Amateur Championships in Stuttgardt, Germany. In 1982, Carol took the Southern California Dance Team to the World Formation Championships in Germany. After closing her studio, Carol opened 5 prolific Cotillion Programs in Beverly Hills and the Westside.
Ron Montez
7 Time US Professional Latin Champion
Though everyone knows Ron the champion Latin dancer, with Carol, they were very successful 10 dancers winning in both divisions. A year after his successful partnership with Carol ended, Ron teamed with former student Elizabeth Curtis and won the first of seven consecutive US International Style Latin Championships. Over the next seven years, they were undefeated in the United States and even made the finals of the World Championships, the British Open, and the British Exhibition. At the Ohio Star Ball, he and Liz became favorites of superstar TV host Juliet Prowse. Ron also won two Feather Awards
After retiring Ron also became a top coach developing several US Pro & Amateur Latin Champions. He and Liz teamed with 15 time undefeated World Champions Donnie Burns & Gaynor Fairweather and created a spectacular show called License to Thrill. Ron then became the color commentator of Championship Ballroom Dancing with, first Juliet Prowse and later Broadway stars Sandy Duncan and Rita Moreno. Later he was the choreographer for the early seasons of So You Think You Can Dance. Among his many endeavors, Ron opened his own studio in La Jolla, owned Ballroom Competitions from Hawaii, to Las Vegas, to Chicago. Ron was the star of over a dozen Dancevision Teaching Tapes, and was elected as President of the Professional Dancers Federation. In January, 2021 Ron passed away from the Covid Pandemic and a few months later, the US National Latin Championship trophy was named the Ron Montez Memorial Trophy.
Stephen Cullip
2 Time US Professional Ballroom Champion
The son of former British Open Ballroom Champions Jim & Olive Cullip, Steve grew up in his parents studio -the venerable Hollywood Dance Center. Stephen Cullip started dancing in 1962, within 2 years he was Junior Ballroom Champion in Southern California. In 1965 when he turned 18 became an Amateur competitor and went on to become U.S. Amateur Champion several times and was chosen to represent the U.S. in no less than 6 World Amateur Championships placing 9th on two occasions. In 1974 he turned pro and then went on to place in the finals of the U.S. Professional Championships 14 times – winning the Championship twice in 1983 and again in 1991. Again selected to represent the U.S. in 7 World Championships. Retired from competition in 1993 and is currently coaching and teaching in Oakland California.
Linda Duarte Carrasco
Linda Duarte (Carrasco) started on the USC Dance Team in Spring semester 1977. She then followed Carol Montez-Bressan to start the Southern California Dance Team (SCDT) in 1979.
The SCDT Competed in the 1980 World Formation Dance Championships, placing 3rd – taking home the Bronze medal. The team also competed in the World Formation Dance Championships in 1982 and again in 1983.
In 1984 Linda helped form the United States All Star team that went to the World Formation Dance Championship where they place 3rd, taking home the Bronze Medal.
In the early years Linda was partnered with Bernard Ceballos where they placed first in many of their competitions. Linda and her final partner, Gene Fernando (SCDT), ranked amongst the top finalists in the Amateur Championships. Their best achievement was competing in the Blackpool dance festival.
Linda and Gene were also invited to compete in Canada and Scotland.
As an employee at USC, Linda was responsible for setting up extra practice space in the USC dance room for the various off campus dance teams, as a result, in 1985 USC eventually asked Linda to teach the Recreational Dance Class. Taking every opportunity, she accepted the position and eventual reinstated the USC Dance Team. Her first year there, the Dance Team performed on the Farmers Insurance float for the 1987 Rose Parade. In 1988 the USC Dance Team competed in the World Formation Dance Championships. She retired from USC in 1991.
Linda has continued to share her love for dance when she joined the Swing Dance Club at her work. Eventually she became the instructor because many of the new members did not know how to dance.
Linda and her husband live in Whittier, CA. Together, they have a daughter (the only child to share her love for dance) and 2 sons and 3 grandchildren.
Roy Mavor
Special mention has to go to legendary Formation Choreographer Roy Mavor. Though he wasn’t the local coach, Roy was a champion dancer from Perth, Australia and was famous for having won the Duel of the Giants in London, with wife June. Emigrating to Canada, then Utah, Roy turned the BYU into a powerhouse formation team. Relocating to Houston to open a chain of studios, Ron & Carol brought Roy in to choreograph the winning Latin Formations for the 1977 USBC and 1978 British Open Championships.
Roy possessed a marvelous voice and was the Master of Ceremonies of many competitions and the color commentator for Championship Ballroom Dancing before Ron. Roy taught so many places and teams that when he came in, it was like a whirlwind. He had no time for learning names, so he had “His LIST” If you messed up, you would hear Roy bellow “You move like a cow with calf!” From then on you were “Cow with Calf”. Other great monikers he issued “mad woman of Borneo”, “Gorilla arms”, “Dog’s Body” and we treasured those names. Many years later we would encounter other students Roy had gifted with the same moniker.
Vernon Brock
As if one legend is not enough, Carol and Ron brought in US National Champion and British Open Latin Finalist Vernon Brock. Vernon on the national board of Fred Astaire Studios was unique in that his background was the jazz stage. When Vernon danced at Blackpool, the judges did not know what to do with him. But they brought him back round after round to see how much they could copy for future years. Whereas Roy understood what the judges needed to see in a formation, Vernon was all about pizzaz and showmanship.
dr. Natalie masson
After dancing in the 1988 World Formation Championships, Natalie took over the USC Social Dance program and subsequently the Formation team. Co-teaching with Mark Emanuelli, & Steve Olsen they rebuilt the social classes in an era where the team was relegated to off campus space. Natalie also joined with Enio’s Latin All Stars performing at the US Open Swing Championships placing in the finals of the Cabaret division. Natalie also performed with fellow team member Jerry More.
Natalie is a doctor of Psychology as well as having a degree in electrical engineering. She lives in San Diego with her husband and daughter.
Steve Olsen
Another of the former students who took over the USC program- Steve Olsen was a very successful dancer in the amateur Latin ranks partnering with Ginny Mavor. As an amateur Steve also danced on Enio’s 1987 & 1988 US Championship team in Miami.
Turning pro, Steve took over the USC program and once again had to resuscitate the program, as the Ballroom Dance Program was pushed to a building off campus as the USC PE 207 was no longer available. Sadly Steve passed away.
Lorena Bravo
Lorena Bravo is another USC student who climbed the competitive ladder…..
I’m actually still coach the team there and have been since 2008. I started ballroom dancing with the team my freshman year in 2000, and I’ve been with them ever since. I’ve guest coached the majority of the local collegiate teams, and have even ventured out to some out of state schools for workshops at times. I also helped to found the CDA, the Collegiate Dancesport Association, and have been teaching for the dance department at Chapman University for about 4 years now.
United States American Smooth Champion, Lorena Bravo was first introduced to the world of competitive ballroom dancing while in her freshman year at the University of Southern California. Oh a whim, she decided to take a lesson with the USC Ballroom and Latin Dance team only to find herself completely enamored with ballroom dancing.
During her time as an amateur, Lorena competed in the International Latin, American Smooth, and American Rhythm categories. In 2007, with her last partner, Evan Yeh, she became a U.S. National Amateur finalist in American Rhythm and 9 Dance.
In October 2004, Lorena began dancing Pro/Am American Smooth with Jonathan. By 2007 they had won the U.S. Pro-Am American Smooth Championship. She began her progressional career the following year, and the two continue competing together as a professional couple in both American Smooth and International Standard until 2018. During their time together, they won various events, and were finalist in many major competitions.
Lorena now teaches and choreographs primarily out of Los Angeles area and is heavily involved in the collegiate dancesport scene. She has been the head coach at USC since 2008, and guest teaches and judges for many universities, including UC Santa Barbara, the Claremont colleges, Cal Tech, UCSB, UCLA, and University of Wisconsin. She was also faculty at the American Musical and Dramatics Academy, and is now teaching ballroom at Chapman University. Familiar with Hollywood, she has appeared in commercials and music videos, including “Love Bug” by the Jonas Brothers, the pilot for “The Greatest American Hero” reboot, has choreographed for American Crime Story, and other films and productions. She is also one of the founders of the Collegiate Dancesport Association and currently serves as the director of rules.
