I was born in Panama on the 25th of October 1979 and my mum, wanting to be original, named me Albir. The story behind this is that a friend of hers, traveling in India, heard a woman calling her son by that name. He asked her what it meant and the woman replied: "brave." I think the woman was right to some degree since I would not have got where I am today without, among other things, a bit of courage.

Returning to my mother: when I was 12, she tried to teach me to dance, but at that age my mind was on other things, such as video games. And so it continued until, at age 14, I was invited to participate in choreography in high school. I accepted and hence began my passion for dancing. I liked it so much that I could not stop dancing and ask when the next choreography would be. At 16 I started taking classes at a funky dance school and little by little I began to learn. Between choreography and choreography, I graduated high school at age 18 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Accounting).

I started working in an office as an accountant while studying at the University in the evenings and rehearsing at night. As you can imagine, it was quite tiring. One day while reflecting about my situation, I decided to abandon one of those three activities, since my body was close to saying "that's enough!" As might be expected, I decided to leave the office. It was also no surprise that my family were up in arms, saying typically: "dance has no future", "devote yourself to something else"... but I had made my decision. I started taking more classes and danced even more. Little by little, my family realized that I really loved to dance, that I took it very seriously, was driven and energetic, and I prospered and improved; so they believed in me and supported me.

At 21 years old , with my TV production career close to finishing and after exhibitions, shows, musicals, dance competitions and classes both taken and given, I decided to travel to Madrid (Spain) to study cinema directing. I was excited when I took the plane, ready for a new adventure. After three weeks things had not gone as I had expected. I thought it would be easy to take this new path, but it was not. On my own, inexperienced, occasionally experiencing bad luck, I went through difficult and sometimes very sad moments, but thanks to my desire to fight on and with the support of those who loved me, I keep ploughing ahead. So I continued with my studies and gave my first dance classes, offered to me after a year living in Madrid. With some ups & downs, I was thriving thanks to my commitment and with the help of many great people.

I completed the Diploma in Film Directing, gave a lot of classes, did some shows and participated in various performances. I was still learning, still growing as a person, and continued doing what I like best: dancing. I became interested in the world of sound and I studied it, finishing a Sound Technician's course followed by a specialization in studio recording.

Dance has given me and continues to give me work and the chance to enjoy wonderful experiences. I thank God, my family, my friends and my students for the support they have given me throughout this time. I'm still dancing and learning every day, and will dance and dance until I drop!

Thank you all for your trust and support. Never give up and never stop pursuing your dreams. I'd like to end with a phrase a good friend of mine once told me: "When you cannot go on, you feel tired, and you see darkness all around you, hold on just a little longer and just in that moment the sun will begin to rise."