Raul Nieves Jr.

Raul’s dance journey began in 1973, evolving into a lifelong passion. Since 1998, he has been a cornerstone of Dance Caliente in Arlington, MA, in a business partnership with Eileen Herman-Haase in Creative Social Dance Instruction, Performances, and Party Facilitation. Raul and Eileen secured over 100 Massachusetts Cultural Council grants for initiatives like “Dancing through the Decades with Dance Caliente” and launched “Dance Caliente’s Children’s Latin Dance Workshop.” Raul’s professional teaching experience extends from Springstep in Medford, MA, to Suzanne Steele’s Temporada Latina, Ryles Jazz Club, and several other Boston and Cambridge adult education centers between 1982 and 2011. He volunteered for the BU Dance Ballroom program and later joined its staff. Raul’s competitive dancing with his partner Jana Bucholtz before 1982 included placing in Pro-Am in the Grand Nationals Dance Championships and American Star Ball Championships. In the following year, as a Dance Professional, Raul and Jana placed in the Rising Star American Latin and Ballroom Dance in the Grand Nationals Dance Championships. He worked at the Boston Sports Club as a Zumba Fitness and Pilates instructor. During the Covid lockdown, he conducted virtual Zumba Gold Fitness Classes for the Jewish Community Center of Middlesex County. Raul teaches Ballroom Dance, Cardio Dance, Yoga/Pilates Fusion, and Barre at the FitRec Center. Outside of dance and fitness, Raul enjoys Tennis, Table Tennis, Pickle Ball, and Yoga. He worked as an engineer, and a later as a computer specialist for the Volpe Center, United States Government Department of Transportation, for 32 years before retiring to dedicate his life to dance and fitness.