Instructors

Aleksandar Bonev

Empowering Lives Through Dance

Founder/Owner/Dancer/Instructor/Choreographer

Aleksandar is a Professional dancer, fully certified instructor and choreographer with over 22 years of training and over 8 years of teaching experience. He possesses a wealth of experience in competing and performing in various dance styles and disciplines. He began his dance career at the age of six in his hometown of Ruse, Bulgaria. He received his dance training in Bulgaria, Russia and the United Kingdom. Prior to discovering his passion for ballroom dancing, Aleksandar had studied modern ballet and gymnastics in his early years. In 2010, Aleksandar was selected as one of the professional dancers for Bulgaria’s version of Dancing with the Stars “DWTS”. Following the success of DWTS, Aleksandar went on to instruct and choreograph for Impulse Ballet, one of Bulgaria’s largest dance companies. In 2011, Aleksandar graduated from the High School of Agribusiness and Developing Regions in Bulgaria.

Aleksandar decided to bring his knowledge, experience, and passion for dance to the United States in 2011. He formed North Shore Dance Society in 2013 after having spent several years teaching and training at several franchised studios in Chicago. The formation of North Shore Dance Society is the result of Aleksandar’s hard work and childhood dream. It was founded on the belief that dance, in its many styles and benefits, is achievable to anyone of any age or experience.

“Hard work, dedication and commitment” — those are the words that students of Aleksandar would use to describe him. Aleksandar cares about passing on his knowledge to his students, and he inspires them to take their own dancing to the next level. His strengths as a dancer lie within his creativity, versatility, energy and musicality. Due do his hard work, Aleksandar was awarded and recognized TEN times as one of the Top Instructors at the Chicago Harvest Moon Ball DanceSport Championships between 2013-2024, 2017-2022 Indianapolis Open DanceSport Competition and Wisconsin State DanceSport 2018

In 2017, Aleksandar followed his dream and organized the 1st annual Extravaganza DanceSport Showcase, a weekend event that combines individual dance showcase & competition.

Aleksandar has trained with esteemed and world renowned champions of Smooth, Standard, Rhythm and Latin, notably, Bill Sparks, Slawek Sochacki, Alain Doucet, Ray Rivers, David Hamilton, Maria Hansen, Paul Holmes, Anna Mikhed, John Swick, Bonita Brockert, and many others. He continues to coach regularly with top coaches.

As an instructor, Aleksandar competes Pro/Am with his students. He and his students have coached with Bill Sparks, Slawek Sochacki, Marzena Stachura, Kasia Kozak, Emmanuel Pierre Antoine, Maxim Kozhevnikov, John Swick, Alain Doucet and Bonita Brockert. His students have also participated in ballroom camps and workshops taught by Slavik Kryklyvyy, Ricardo Cocchi, Yulia Zagoruychenko, Maurizio Vescovo, Victor Fung, Anastasia Muravyeva, and Eugene Katsevman.

In the Professional competitive circuit, Aleksandar has competed in Professional American Smooth and American Rhythm. In 2017, he was an American Rhythm Professional finalist at the following competitions:

– Cincinnati Ballroom Classic
– Cleveland DanceSport Challenge
– Motown Showdown DanceSport Challenge
– North American Imperial Star Ball
– Chicago Harvest Moon Ball DanceSport Championships

Since 2018, Aleksandar have been competing in American Smooth Division.

~ 2018 Windy City Open Chicago Open Professional Finalist

~ 2018 RS Smooth Winners, Best Overall Dance Techniques Winners & 3rd in Open Professional Smooth at Cincinnati Ballroom Classic

~ 2018 – 3rd place in Open Professional Smooth & RS Smooth at Northcoast Dancesport Classic

~ 2018 Cleveland Dancesport Challenge 2018 – PRO RS American Smooth  3d place finalists and Pro Open  American Smooth 6th place finalists

~ 2018  The Motown Showdown Dancesport Challenge 2018 – PRO RS American Smooth  2nd place finalists and Pro Open  American Smooth 3rd place finalists

~ 2018 Chicago Harvest Moon Ball DanceSport Championships  – PRO Open  American Smooth 4th place finalists

~ 2018 Yuletide Ball  – PRO Open  American Smooth finalists

~ 2019 Golden Star Dancesport Championship- PRO RS American Smooth  finalists

~ 2019 Maryland Dancesport Championships – PRO RS American Smooth  4th place finalists and Pro Open  American Smooth finalists

~ 2019 Indiana Challenge Dancesport Competition  –  PRO RS American Smooth  2nd place finalists and Pro Open  American Smooth 3rd place finalists

~ 2019 St. Louis Star Ball – PRO RS American Smooth  2nd place finalists and Pro Open  American Smooth 4rd place finalists

~ 2019 Nashville starz 2019 – PRO Open  American Smooth 4th place finalists

~ 2019 Indianapolis Open Dancesport Competition – PRO RS American Smooth  2nd place finalists and Pro Open  American Smooth finalists

~ 2019 Wisconsin State Dancesport Championships – PRO Open  American Smooth finalists

~ 2019 Northcoast DanceSport Classic  – PRO Open  American Smooth finalists

After the COVID-19 period, Aleks returned to compete with his wife Yelena at various dance events across the United States, consistently reaching the finals despite a nearly three-year hiatus from professional DanceSport. In 2023, Aleks retired from professional competition to focus on his children, students, and his long-term goal of becoming a Doctor of Psychology. He is currently in his second year of a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling.

Apart from dancing, Aleksandar believes in being charitable and giving back to the community. For the past 7 years, he shared his love of dance with a group of special needs individuals at Misericordia, bringing joy and empowering them through artistic movement.

Personally, Aleksandar is passionate about sharing his love of dance with his students. His commitment and goal-oriented mentality are qualities he enjoys passing on. He believes that dance can empower and enrich people’s lives and looks forward to cultivating confident dancers in all types of ballroom dances. Aleks continues to excel in Pro/Am dancing and teaches over 60 lessons a week, serving the North Shore area of Chicago. He and his colleague Peter own a studio in the heart of Glencoe, IL.

 

 

#bonev #danceteacher #dancestudio #danceinstructor #dancer #prodancer #dancesport #dancing #thedancersbook #northshoredancesociety

Peter Minkov

Owner/Dancer/Instructor/Choreographer

Peter Minkov is a certified Ballroom and Latin dance instructor, professional dance competitor, and has over 25 years of dance and teaching experience. He is a ballroom dance adjudicator with the US Terpsichore Association and the owner of the oldest ballroom dance competition in the USA – the Chicago Harvest Moon Ball Dancesport Championship.

Peter was introduced to ballroom dancing at the age of 9, in his native country Bulgaria. From the first moments on the dance floor, he knew this would be his lifelong passion, which eventually became his profession and life.

As a professional competitor, Peter is a former winner and champion of over 20 U.S. professional ballroom championships.

He was a U.S. National Professional top 10-dance Finalist, combining Latin & Ballroom styles and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the country as well as top 16 in the world for several years in a row.

His experience as a dance instructor combined with his wide breadth of knowledge, expertise and life experience,  makes him the perfect instructor for students of all backgrounds and ages.

His exposure and involvement in his family business of wedding planning and photography makes him an asset in the ballroom industry as he is well versed to help students prepare for their wedding dance or special event.

As a renowned coach and trainer who is well sought after, Peter loves to teach and is passionate in teaching dancers of all levels. Whether you are a beginner, recreational social dancer or an advanced competitor, Peter can help bring your dancing to the next level.

Yelena Bonev

Dance Instructor

Awards, titles, academic titles and degrees:

  • Three-time European Champion in artistic and ballroom dance 2013
  • Two time European Champion in Artistic Dance Moscow 2013
  • Certificate from the Sports Dance Federation Topic “Judging Criteria” 2014
  • National Dance Council of Kazakhstan.
  • Certificate. Topic “European Program (Development of modern choreography)” 2014.
  • Letter of thanks from the DDiU 2014.
  • national WADF Championship Adjudicator/Certificate of passing the license for judging on the line of the VADF. Poland 2014
  • Two-time World Champion in Artistic Dance (Ballroom choreography)
  • Four-time Vice-World Champion in Artistic Dance (Latin America Dance Program competition)
  • Bronze medalist of the World Show Championship (ballroom choreography)
  • Certificate from the WDC Federation For advanced training in sports (ballroom) dancing at the National Congress of Coaches and Judges from 11.12.2015

Since the beginning of 2022 Yelena and have been competing in Open American Smooth Division with her partner Aleks.

Yuliia Sorokata

Dance Instructor

Yuliia Sorokata is an Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing certified ballroom dance instructor with over 6 years of teaching experience and 20 years of competitive dancing. Yuliia specializes in all areas of ballroom dance: International Latin, International Standard, American Smooth, American Rhythm, as well as choreographing routines for Competitions, Showcases, Solos, Formations, Weddings and Social events, and directing stage shows for different events.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

  • 5 times Ukrainian National Champion
  • 10 times Ukrainian National Finalist
  • Ukrainian representative at World Championships – semifinalist (top 12)
  • Blackpool Dancesport Festival semifinalist – (top 8)
  • Winner and finalist of major United States Professional Championships
  • German Open Championships – semifinalist (top 12)
  • Austrian Open Championships – finalist (top 2, top 3, top 4, top 6, top 7, top 10)
  • Alassio Italian Open Championship – semifinalist (top 8)
  • Polish Cup Champion
  • Tropicana Cup – runner up
  • Alexander Dubcek Cup Champion
  • Prague Open – runner up
  • Kistelek Open Champion

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:

  • Choreography
  • Show dance
  • International Ballroom
  • International Latin
  • American Smooth
  • American Rhythm
  • Contemporary
  • Modern

Yuliia started her dance journey at the age of 6 in her hometown Khmelnytskyy, Ukraine. From the first moment she stepped on the ballroom floor, she couldn’t imagine her life without dance. A year after her dance journey began, her coach recognized the talent and potential of a young dancer and moved Yuliia and her partner at the time to a competitive group with an intense training program. Being very driven and dedicated dancers, their couple would spend 5 to 7 days a week training. Very soon their hard work would pay off and they became one of the top couples in the country and later on one of the strongest athletes in Europe. Yuliia is a 5 times Ukrainian National Champion and 10 times Ukrainian National finalist. As champions, they earned the right to represent Ukraine at the World Championship where they placed in the top 12. One of their most significant accomplishments was the Blackpool Dance Festival, the biggest and oldest competition in the world, where they placed 8th out of 160 couples.

Her experience as a ballroom dancer and the competitive training made her personality stronger and more persistent, encouraged her to keep fighting, and helped her gain more confidence growing up.

She is now happy to share her experience with her students and help them achieve their personal goals.