Native of the Dominican Republic, Juan “Ta-To” Paredes began his dancing career in the Tampa Bay area over 14 years ago. Raised in Spanish Harlem New York City, Juan has always embraced his Caribbean culture, especially the music. His love and passion for dance has always been a part of his life from a young age. Juan’s most rewarding joy is to cultivate, grow, and teach the dance community around him, and to see others find joy in dancing.
As one of the pioneers of the On1 Salsa style and On2 Mambo New York style in Tampa Florida, his exciting dance journey has landed him in many major international, national, and local concerts and events. In 2005, Juan was cast in a dancing role in the movie “The Punisher”. Later in 2007, he released his first Bachata Instructional DVD “Sabor Dominicano”. He has also shared the stage dancing for Bachata artist Alexa Velez. In February 2007, Juan opened the doors to Latin Groove Dance Company, which provided weekly group classes, club classes, workshops, corporate events, and social events in the Tampa Bay area.
In 2010, Juan took a small detour and moved to the city of Chicago IL, where he stayed heavily involved in the dance scene teaching regular group, private, club, and workshop classes. He also served as a judge for several local Salsa and Bachata competitions. In March 2014, Juan, along with his family, relocated back home to Tampa where he and his wife started their new dance company TATOSALSA.
Due to his fun energy and dynamic style of teaching, Juan has been invited to teach and perform at major Salsa events and Congresses. His travel includes: Canada, Japan, Mexico, Curacao, Aruba, Panama, and all over the U.S