Brando Ortiz (he\/him) is an Ecuadorian choreographer, dancer, and educator from Queens, New York and was immersed into the arts at the age of 9, where he discovered his passion for dance through salsa. He trained in salsa at Cali Salsa Pal Mundo for 10 years, consistently competing and training around the world. He was fortunate enough to perform at salsa live shows like Salsamemucho in China and at Madison Square Garden in New York. During this time, he was also training at Broadway Dance Center’s Children and Teen Program, under the direction of Allie Beach. He was grateful to learn under Stacie Webster, Michaela McGowan, Jessica Epting, Selena Hepburn, Erica Ratkovicz, and more. He was also a part of Broadway Dance Center’s Arts In Motion Apprentice Company, where he performed work by Cat Cogliandro. Along with this program, he attended Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School, majoring in dance. He worked with many choreographers, one being Jessica Lang where he performed the work at The Metropolitan Opera House. He graduated from both the program and high school in 2020 and continued his education at Adelphi University. In May 2024, he graduated with a BBA in Business Management and BFA in Dance. During his time there, he performed works by Doug Varone, Omar Rom\u00e1 De Jes&uactue;s, Isaac Learner, Mark Morris, Maggie Joy, Sloan Pearson, Adelheid B. Strelick, Murray Louis, and more. He is currently a part of the faculty at the Steps on Broadway Academy, Nadia’s Performing Arts Center, and Love to Dance Performing Arts Center. He has a strong passion for choreography and has showcased his work at the American College Dance Association’s Northeast Conference, The 2023 Young Choreographer’s Festival, Adelphi University’s Student Showcase, Sybarite, Club NYC, Journey Dance Awards, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":34780,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"discipline":[10],"class_list":["post-34778","faculty","type-faculty","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","discipline-academy-jazz"],"acf":{"first_name":"Brando","last_name":"Ortiz","display_name":"","thumbnail":34779,"reel":"","bullet_points":""},"yoast_head":"\n