Darnell Allen – Houston

Darnell Allen, aka “D”, was born in Virginia and grew up in Washington, DC until moving to Houston, TX in 1995 where in High School, inspired from seeing friends B-boying from R N S Crew (Rhythm ‘N Soul) and the guys from KORO (Knights of Rhythm Odyssey) as well as other B-Boys at Lamar, he first started dancing Hip Hop. The rhythms of Funk, Soul, House and of course Hip Hop beats motivated him to learn and practice more. In 1999 he joined Paraiso International Dance Company where he was introduced to more Dance styles. Through Paraiso, a new group called Candente was formed. While with these groups, D began taking Capoeira and Jazz classes for more personal training. He later joined Guajiro, and then Rhumba y Bongo (R ‘n B) Dance Company.
With R ‘n B, in 2005 D began giving Salsa lessons with Director Ruby Rivera at the best Club in Houston with the Best Latin Night in town, Scott Gertner’s Sky Bar. As well as at a studio called Urgeworks in the Houston Heights area. In 2006, this Instructing Duo began giving Salsa Lessons to the public at Houston’s Downtown Aquarium for a fun free seasonal series called ‘Latin Beats’ which goes on every Friday from Spring until the Winter for the past. As an instructor, he also assists in teaching and choreographing for the group Greek Salseros.

Throughout his dance career, D has performed at many Festivals and Events throughout Texas, as well as back up dancing for musicians and bands. Some events D performed in include the Houston Puerto Rican Festival, the Houston International Festival, the Bob Marley Festival, Dia De La Raza Festival, many Salsa Events across Texas as well as the New York Salsa Congress and more. Over time, D fell deeper in love with dance, and has developed his own steadily evolving style. On-2 is his preferred way of dancing since 2002-2003, even though he started originally On-1. Cha-Cha is his favorite of all styles of Latin Dance, and in his eyes “Only feels natural when danced On-2.”. D’s Cha-Cha is a mix of all the different styles of Dance that he has experienced. You can see hints of Hip Hop, House, Salsa, Samba, Jazz Dance and more accented with his footwork.