BTI Dance Institute

Specialties

BTI Dance Institute is a non-​profit training facility to generate revolutionary dance training programs for children, teens and adults.

The school has three branches:

1) ADULT Dance Training Programs open to the general public — for ALL AGES and LEVELS, drop-​in classes and courses.

2) YOUTH Dance Training Program for ages 3 – 23 including Ballet, Modern Dance and Jazz.

3) OUTREACH program to support dance training for low-​income youths in Washington D.C. and Latin America.

With an emphasis on ballet, we also offer classes in stretching & alignment, modern, afro-​brazilian dance as well as hip-​hop, house, bellydance, pilates, zumba and yoga.

History

Established in 2008.

BTI was founded with the mission of creating a ground-​breaking Dance Company and educational center. The 15-​member company in 2008 has toured 5 Latin American countries to audiences of at-​risk youth, and received funding from USAID and private donors. BTI also facilitated fundraising for El Salvador’s leading organization for children impacted by HIV/​AIDS. Last year BTI performed in front of 12,000 students. In addition, our instructors taught more than 150 youth in over 10 locations throughout the Washington, D.C. area, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. After one year since we began programming as a 503 c Non-​profit organization offering outreach programs, we are expanding to operate as a full-​fledged non-​profit dance education institution.

Meet the Business Owner

Alvaro Maldonado M.

Business Owner

Alvaro grew up in El Salvador during the height of a civil war, and travelled to the world to pursue a professional dance career seemed a nearly impossible dream. Yet amidst the violence, death, and despair, his passion for dance sheltered him from the corrosive conditions and gave me the courage to keep striving towards his goals.

Alvaro’s expertise stems from his years of training in dance and strength training. He began his training at the National School of Ballet, in El Salvador and began his professional international career at the age of 14 for the National Dance Company of El Salvador. He is trained in classical ballet, Horton, Graham, Limon and Jazz, and also studied at the Washington School of Ballet and Alvin Ailey School.

Alvaro is a producer, teacher, choreographer, and professional performer of ballet and contemporary dance, and has since performed classical ballet, ballroom, jazz and contemporary dance in over 30 countries.