Rising Stars: Meet Katia Diamond

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katia Diamond. 

Hi Katia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My name is Katia Diamond. I am 36 years old, and I am originally from Sucre, Bolivia. I currently live in beautiful San Diego with my husband Barry and my dog Jake. 

I started dancing when I was 5 years old! My mom used to put me in lots of dance classes because she knew how much I loved music, and started to dance and move to the beat of music before I could even walk. 

In my 20s, I decided to follow one of my biggest dreams and began studying and training in Argentine Tango. I loved it so much that soon after, I started traveling to Buenos Aires every time I possibly could to further my Argentine Tango education. At the same time, I was also learning Ballroom Dance and competing in competitions throughout the USA. After just a few years of dancing ballroom, I became the 2015 American Rhythm Amateur Rising Star National & World Champion. I am very proud of this achievement and honestly owe much of my success today to my coaches and 3 Time World Champions Nazar Norov and Irina Kudryashova. Not only for their training, support, and help with this accomplishment, but they were a big part of my development as a dancer. They made me the technical dancer that I am today, and I continue to use their philosophy and attention to detail in my own teaching style to my students. 

As much as I love all the dance styles I have trained and studied throughout my life, Argentine Tango has always been my favorite. Today after many years of exploring this beautiful dance, I can proudly say that I am still living my passion & dream of being an Argentine Tango Dancer, Performer, Instructor, Competitor & Adjudicator. 

At this moment in my life, one of the things I love the most is to perform on stage. I also love to inspire people through my performances so they will follow their dreams, whatever they are. My other love is to host events because I love to see people happy dancing, and enjoying life! I now have a Milonga (“Milonga Magnifica,” an Argentine Tango dance party) that I host twice per month in San Diego. I am also working on some other bigger tango projects that are in the works right now and look forward to releasing them in the near future. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I consider myself a very happy & positive person filled with joy & love for others around me. My life was not always easy and on the contrary, I have had a very difficult past. My father died when I was a baby. I was separated from my mother and sister when I was 11 years old due to economic circumstances, and I was sent to live with my uncle and his wife in the United States. They were very difficult and unhappy people that took advantage of the situation and were very abusive towards me for the 10 years I lived with them. When I was a teenager, I worked full-time in 3 different jobs to get away from them as much as possible and also help support my mom and sister in Bolivia. One of my few happy moments while living with them was when my uncle’s friend somehow convinced him to let me go see a Tango show with his daughter who happened to be my age. The show was the famous Broadway hit “Forever Tango.” It was that moment that my life changed forever! I loved it so much that I forgot all about my problems and made a wish that came from very deep in my heart. I wished that if one day I could be on a big stage like that, feel the lights on my face, dance free like them, and inspire people to make them forget all of their problems just like I had, I would be the happiest girl in the world! So, for everyone reading this that is dealing with adversity and challenges in their lives, never stop dreaming. If you truly want something bad enough, dreams can come true! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an Argentine Tango Instructor, Performer & Adjudicator. In addition, I am the founder of Milonga Magnifica (an Argentine Tango dance party) that I host the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of every month in San Diego. I am also producing an Argentine Tango stage show called “Tango Burlesque” that is scheduled to debut in 2024. As you can see Argentine Tango is my passion, and it has brought me so much joy and rewarding moments throughout my life. 

I love what I do because I feel that through my dancing and my events, I make people happy and help them grow as individuals. I believe we need to enjoy every moment, and what better way to do that than to live your dream every day! I honestly could not love my job more!! I love to inspire people through my performances and see them smile and have fun at all my Milongas and events. 

Most of all as their teacher, I love to see my students grow and follow their dreams and achieve their own successes in dance and every aspect of their lives. My students always tell me how much they love me and how grateful they are for me. But I am truly grateful for each and every one of them, and they give me just as much happiness and joy in return in so many ways. Some examples are: 

• I have watched as many of my previously shy students, with support and encouragement, came out of their shell through tango and became more confident on the dance floor and in everything they do in life.

• I have seen many depressed people find joy and start to smile again.

• I have seen many of my group class students find the love of their life in my classroom and actually get married. I have choreographed many of their wedding dances and have watched them walk down the aisle together and start a new life and adventure as a couple.

• I help my senior students keep their minds and memories stimulated by challenging them with exercises and patterns that requires their concentration and focus.

• I see many of my younger teenage students grow and become respectful adults.

• I have trained students for dance competitions and have experienced so much joy to see the happiness and sense of accomplishment on their faces when they proudly competed and succeeded.

• I always take a video of all my new students taking their first tango lesson with me. Then months later, I watch it with them, and I love to see their faces when they realize how far they’ve come. To see their expression when they watch their first video and then compare it to today and realize how much progress they’ve made is absolutely priceless to me! 

I feel I am living my dream and the life I was supposed to live because I get to wake up every day and do what I love the most. Tango is very special and different than many other dances. It’s a conversation between two people through using body language! To succeed in tango, you have to learn to be very attuned with your own body and also the body of the person you are dancing with. It’s very much like meditating with another person, and each dance is a new opportunity to provide a unique improvisational expression and interpretation of the music. You have to be so present in order to understand it and fully enjoy it. It’s truly rewarding and amazing and can be best described as the perfect movement of two individuals moving in perfect sync together! 

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
My Favorite Book: Be Water, My Friend by Shannon Lee 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://katiadiamond.com
• Instagram: @katiadiamond
• Facebook: @katia.diamond.77
• Youtube: @katiadiamond

Image Credits
Martin Almiron
Daniel Roffo