Co-Owner of EdanSe
Coach and Dance Instructor, Ballroom & Latin
Sara and Evgueni are the studio’s premier couple and through the past few years they have developed their dancing to be world-class. Currently, they compete in the 10-dance division (International Ballroom and Latin styles), representing Canada, Evgueni’s home country. Sara and Evgueni are the only couple in Connecticut to compete at the World Championships, not once, but 6 times! Tokyo, Japan in 2009; Kiev, Ukraine in 2010; Gatineau, Canada in 2011;Valleyfield, Canada in 2012; Valleyfield, Canada in 2013; and Innsbruck, Austria in 2014. They were also crowned Canadian 10-Dance Champions in 2010, and have been consistently Canadian National Finalists.
Sara and Evgueni are also judges of numerous competitions. They often perform live on TV, at corporate and special events, weddings, fundraisers, and more. In addition to teaching, they have proven to be great choreographers with their skill set ranging through all 4 styles of Ballroom and Latin.
In 1999, Sara was given the opportunity to teach and found she could not get enough of it! Wanting to challenge herself and be the best at it, she worked really hard and earned her Licentiate Certification from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) and her Associate Degree from the Canadian Dance Federation (CDF). Passionate about teaching, she motivates her students to love dancing as much as she does. On top of teaching at the studio she also coaches the UConn , Trinity College, Weslyan University, and UMass Ballroom Teams.
Outside of the dance studio, Sara’s other addiction is horseback riding. That is how she discovered her passion for sharing her knowledge, when she began teaching riding lessons at a very early age. She knew then that she would be teaching forever. Finally, she holds a degree in Business, which combined with her teaching experience and thorough knowledge of dance, makes her completely qualified as an owner and an instructor.
Sara Schilling
Evgueni started dancing Ballroom and Latin when he was 5 years old, growing up in Moscow, Russia. This was something that was quite common for kids of his age and he found that it was an activity that he looked forward to everyday. When he moved to Montreal, Canada with his family in 1996, he knew that he had to continue dancing. He soon found a studio and kept training hard to achieve excellence as a youth and adult Amateur competitor. In fact, among many of his achievements, he was ranked 2nd in North America in the 10-dance division, in 2006. This accomplishment encouraged him to turn professional when he met his current partner, Sara Schilling.
Evgueni and Sara are the studio’s premier couple and through the past few years they have developed their dancing to be world-class. Currently, they compete in the 10-dance division (International Ballroom and Latin styles), representing Canada, Evgueni’s home country. Sara and Evgueni are the only couple in Connecticut to compete at the World Championships, not once, but 6 times! Tokyo, Japan in 2009; Kiev, Ukraine in 2010; Gatineau, Canada in 2011; Valleyfield, Canada in 2012; Valleyfield, Canada in 2013; and Innsbruck, Austria in 2014. They were also crowned Canadian 10-Dance Champions in 2010, and have been consistently Canadian National Finalists. Evgueni worked very hard and earned his Associate Degree from the Canadian Dance Federation (CDF).
Outside from competing together, Evgueni and Sara are also judges of numerous competitions. They often perform live on TV, at corporate and special events, weddings, fundraisers, and more. In addition to teaching, they have proven to be great choreographers with their skill set ranging through all fourstyles of Ballroom and Latin.
Evgueni also brings with him a great track record as a talented instructor. His passion for teaching and the drive to truly invest in his students has won him numerous Top Teacher awards at some of the most prestigious competitions throughout New England and Canada. Thanks to his creativity and extensive knowledge of dance, he has also successfully choreographed special individual and group show routines for all sorts of events.
Additionally, Evgueni has had the opportunity to dance in Hollywood Productions. You can see him dancing in such motion pictures as “Get Smart”, 2007; “The Aviator”, 2003; and “The Great Gatsby”, 1999.
Aside from dancing, he has always had an intrigue and a passion for languages and is now fluent in three: English, French, and Russian. So, when he is not teaching, he keeps himself busy working at and running his translating company, Verbal Creations. That extra skill is very useful to him at the studio, as many students enjoy the ability to learn dancing from him in their native language.
Evgueni Chaoulski
Co-Owner of EdanSe
Coach and Dance Instructor, Ballroom & Latin
Rachel Francis
Receptionist
Licensed Massage Therapist
Throughout her life, Rachel has been passionate and interested in helping people. She has explored numerous aspects of how she can benefit others from baking and office work to volunteering. Rachel excelled in customer service skills, but wanted to help people even more. She found her true calling in massage therapy.
Being an active person, Rachel has gone for many massages, some of them to help sore muscles, other times to get some relaxation in. No matter why she booked a massage, she always felt great after one. Wanting to help share what massage has given her, she earned her Massage Therapist License through the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy.
Massage therapy helps people in all different aspects of life; physical, mental, and emotional. It is a great way to relieve stress and relax. For active people and dancers, massage will help enhance your performance by releasing muscular tension, it will help prevent injuries, and will speed up the body’s natural recovery process.
Rachel’s knowledge of sports, dance, and customer service makes her one of a kind in the massage field. She listens to you, and truly cares about each person and their individual needs. She specializes in Sports Massage, Relaxation Massage, and Swedish Massage.
Outside of massage you will find Rachel in the kitchen working on making amazing gluten free baked goods, dancing, or spending time with her horses and dogs. It doesn’t matter what the activity is, Rachel’s true joy is bringing smiles to people’s faces and helping others.
Deshauna Hammond
Dance Instructor, Ballroom & Latin
Everyone starts dancing for various reasons. Deshuana got peer pressured into it from a friend. She is still thankful to that friend! After trying it that first night, she was hooked, and ballroom has become a major part of her life. Since starting to learn with UConn Ballroom, she had grown in leaps and bounds. Deshauna has earned multiple awards in competitions all over New England as both follower and leader. She became a mentor for the team, and still maintains that position, helping teach new college students how to dance. While gaining a degree in accounting, she was always grateful she had ballroom
Deshauna finds her past cheerleading experience lends itself nicely to ballroom. Her confidence, showmanship, and never ending positivity benefits her as a teacher and inspires her students. She truly enjoys helping people learn and watching them achieve their dance goals. Deshauna believes that dance changes people’s lives in many ways; as much mentally as emotionally and physically.
Outside of ballroom dance, Deshauna loves cooking and spending time with her family.