CUATSALSA classes, more known to CU locals as "Yuri's classes," were originally started by Mügé Dizén in 2000. Yuri Sohn
As a teacher, Yuri's goal is to educate, inspire and entertain his students as he strives to share his joy of partner dancing. Since the summer of 1997, Yuri Sohn has continuously studied the art of partner dancing. He has taken many private lessons, classes and workshops in b
allroom(waltz, quickstep, tango, foxtrot, viennese waltz), latin(cha-cha, rumba, samba, jive), and nightclub(lindy, west coast swing, salsa, merengue, bachata, rueda, nightclub 2-step, hustle, Argentine Tango) dancing. He has studied under instructors from all over the nation and world ranging from Argentine tango masters, Gloria and Eduardo Arquimbau to the Swedish lindy hoppers, Eddie Jansson and Eva Lagergist. He has attended numerous dance camps ranging from Swing Out Hawaii to the Chicago International Salsa Congress. He has competed in numerous ballroom competitions in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, as well as competing in competitions for salsa, swing, hustle, and nightclub 2-step respectively in Champaign, Chicago, and Fort Worth, Texas. He also judged at numerous Dancing Illini Ballroom Competitions. In addition to competing, Yuri has performed at various events and venues in Illinois and Indiana in swing, salsa, rueda, cha cha, Argentine tango, hustle, quickstep, waltz and foxtrot. Yuri has taught a multitude of classes, workshops, and lessons since 1998 in ballroom, latin, and nightclub dancing. The various organizations he has collaborated with include McKinley Foundation, Dancing Illini, U of I Counseling Center, Illini Union Board, Swing Society, Urbana HighSchool Spanish Club, Champaign Park District, Lincolnshire Country Club, and Bloomington Indiana Waldron Arts Center. In addition, Yuri has worked as a DJ for the Dancing Illini, Illini Union Board and ran a popular Latin Dance Night on Tuesdays at the McKinley Foundation. Mügé Dizén
Mügé Dizén’s dance experience started early on in life with ballet training. She started partner dancing in 1998 and got “hooked” on salsa very quickly. Soon after, she started dancing Argentine Tango and Hustle in addition to salsa and other Latin dances (Merengue, Bachata). In 2000, she started teaching salsa in C-U area and had several different teaching partners (Tanya Berger-Wolf, Peter Ellis) before she started teaching salsa with Yuri Sohn in 2002. Mügé and Yuri taught together till 2006, when she temporarily relocated to Charlotte, NC. They had year round sessions of various levels, celebrated teaching their 300th class together, and participated in several performances in the C-U area. In addition to salsa, Mügé also taught Hustle in C-U with Peter Ellis and Paul Jones over the years. One of Mügé’s major goals in teaching and dancing has been forming a community of dancers in the C-U area. To this end, she formed several local online communities. Mügé has recently moved back to Champaign and rejoind CUATSALSA and is starting to teach classes again as of Sept 2009.
