Paolo "Slice" Penala Children & Teens Bio

Paolo "Slice" Penala (he/him) is a New York City based professional dancer and choreographer originally hailing from Washington, DC. He began his dance career in college dancing under the mentorship of industry legend Lyle Beniga and performing competitively for Major Definition out of Baltimore, Maryland, with whom he served as choreographer and Executive Director. He continued his dance career choreographing and dancing for professional company Culture Shock, DC after graduating with a degree in economics and music at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He has had the opportunity throughout his career to train with some of the top choreographers in the industry in commercial and foundational hip-hop dance.

Paolo has served as the creative director, choreographer, and movement coach for up and coming R&B singers Teraj, Jessalyn Gore, and David Correy of America's Got Talent and pop singer Alus. Other credits include performing at BeautyCon with Mac Daddyy, Carnival Choreographer's Ball, the Nickelodeon Halo Awards, and the world famous SOB's, opening for Big Sean, touring with Sarah Geronimo's In Motion U.S. Tour and multiple appearances on Good Morning America. He can also be seen in commercials for Adidas, BIRA 91, and Spectrum.

Paolo has been teaching dance passionately since 2008 at various studios around the east coast and this has led him to work alongside the DEA and Amazon to teach dance to at risk youth around the country. His style is a mix of his experience in commercial dance with his training in various street foundation styles which include New Jack Swing, Breakin, and House. His goals for his classes are to grow his students ability and confidence in street styles while teaching them the correct and right way using freestyle foundations applied to choreography.