Nicole Acarón-Toro
Being originally from Puerto Rico, some could say that music ran through Nicole’s veins even before she was born. Her dance journey started early in life through ballet and jazz, and then also expanded to include modern, lyrical and Afro-Caribbean dancing under the tutelage of Mumy Badrena. She was training and performing these dance forms while at the same time growing in a culture driven by salsa, merengue, reggaetón and the traditional Puerto Rican rhythms of bomba and plena. This mixed exposure allowed her to start realizing the infinite possibilities that rhythmic movement could portray.
However, Nicole’s continuous creative search led her to pause dancing while pursuing a career in architecture, which eventually brought her to Los Angeles. For a while, she channeled most of her energy towards that second passion but there was something missing. In 2014, she restarted a connection to dance that would prove to keep getting stronger throughout the years. She dove into the study of Afro-Brazilian and Samba dances within the LA community under Rachel Hernandez and Ana Laidley, and later on has had the opportunity to study with Vera Passos, Marina Magalhães, Linda Yudin and Luiz Badaró, among others. Having Afro-Brazilian dance as her anchor and compass has also inspired her to make connections to other Afro Diasporic dances, studying Puerto Rican Bomba with Taller Bula and Afro Cuban rhythms with Laroye Aña and Kati Hernandez.
The desire to dive deep into Brazilian culture has driven her to go study Samba no Pé and Gafieira in Rio de Janeiro. Also, under Viver Brasil’s Dancing at the Source program, she’s traveled to Salvador, Bahía to study Symbology of Orixa, Danza Afro, Bloco Afros, and other music and dances native to Northeast Brazil. In 2020 she won second place at the International Samba Congress Female Malandro Competition, and in 2022, she paraded at the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval with the Ala de Passistas of União da Ilha do Governador.
She has performed with Extra Ancestral, Malandro N’ Motion and Ocandeniye Dance Company, done several community performances with Viver Brasil, and now proudly represented Viver Brasil at the Disney California Adventure 10th season of Viva Navidad.
For Nicole, dance is an art, a language, a spiritual journey, an emotional expression, a celebration of her mixed background and African heritage, and most importantly, a way to bring people together. When she's dancing she's the most aligned and joyful version of herself, inevitably sharing that joy and Axé with the world.