During all the years of the Australian Bachata Championships, there has been a team that has become a household in the competition: The Modus Vivendi team. They have won the Team Division 4 years in a row (from 2009 to 2012, and who knows how many more). Here I am, talking to Nestor Manuelian, the man behind such a great team.
JUAN: Nestor, first of all, congratulation on your team winning another championships! 4 years in a row, it is a big accomplishment!
NESTOR: Thank you Juan 🙂 Yes 4 years in a row now and very happy to have accomplished that. Latin Dance Australia has also managed to win the Amateur Division 5 years in a row! Testament to our hardworking dancers 🙂
JUAN: Your team has been together for quite some time now. How long has the team MV been together and when did you guys start performing Bachata?
NESTOR: Modus Vivendi has been around for over 6 years now and I have been fortunate enough to have had great members all the way through. This particular team has been together for what is going onto 3 years now. They have started as part of my Modus Vivendi Project (student team), moved up as my first Pro/Am team, and are now on the verge of becoming my Pro Team. They are very very hard working. As been part of Modus Vivendi, they have always had to dance Bachata as well as Salsa.
JUAN: I’m sure every team member has his/her personality. How do you manage the team dynamics?
NESTOR: I love running teams 🙂 Its the most difficult but rewarding part of my dancing career. Working with a team of dancers and managing personalities is very interesting indeed. The dynamics seem to change form rehearsal to rehearsal so I guess I manage one day at a time… Difficult…. but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
JUAN: How often did you train your team to get them ready for the Australian Championships?
NESTOR: My team doesn’t train for one event, they train all year round so are always ready to perform or compete. I run my team as a professional outfit of dancers and not just a regular student team. They love training and working hard … hence why the great results. They also won the Australian Salsa Open Latin teams with this BACHATA Choreo.
JUAN: Where did you get your inspirations / ideas to create the winning routine?
NESTOR: Katrina Quintal and I choreograph with a few factors in mind. 1 – We don’t limit our dancers to one style so you will notice that the choreos we do can go from Modern to Urban to Dominican from routine to routine and sometimes even with the same routine. That’s our style… We are very diverse and love to always keep people guessing. Last year this team won with a Bachatango, previous year MV won with an Urban Style Routine and previous to that something more traditional. Our inspiration is our imagination.
JUAN: What are the next projects / challenges for MV? What can we expect from them?
NESTOR: We are always on the path to bigger and better projects, events etc. Our biggest challenge is always our limits. We like to push as if there is none. And that’s what keeps us going so well 🙂
JUAN: if people want to see the MV team in action and/or learn Bachata from you. Where can people find you guys?
NESTOR: Modus Vivendi and its dancers are always somewhere performing, teaching, competing and dancing. If you join the Nestor and Katrina Fan Page we will keep you updated weekly. You can however join Katrina and I and the rest of the team at LATIN DANCE AUSTRALIA everyday of the week and of course EVERY WEDNESDAY for our BACHATA NIGHT!!
Just go to www.latindance.com.au for all the details on classes etc.
On a final note, thank you Juan for taking the time to interview us!