BEnjamin & ashley Vasquez

About Ben & Ashley:

Ben is an American but he has a deep respect and connection to Chinese culture. He lived in Sichuan Chengdu China for 9 years (2010-2019). He studied at 四川大学 and 西南民族大学 learning Mandarin Chinese. His passion is teaching and specifically teaching dance. His profession is 街舞老师 and hip hop international studies. Ben has taught, competed, and judged  international dance events and in studios for the last 20 years. His specialty is teaching kids and also training dance teachers. He’s traveled to 13 countries for this career and over 65 cities in China. Ben's heart is to serve Chinese people and build communities that can have a cultural exchange. 

Ashley has been to over 18 countries and has performed on stage with over 20,000 people in attendance. She has choreographed dance performances, sang in 7 different languages, and has been an advocate for young people throughout Africa and Europe. Growing up in a musical family, her grandfather played multiple instruments and sang constantly. Her parents would encourage creative writing, singing, composing, spoken word poetry, art, playing instruments, and learning how to create short films. When she was a child, her grandfather traveled throughout Asia, building orphanages and shelters for those less fortunate. Since then, she knew giving back and serving others was important to her. For 15 years, Ashley has taught dance and singing to youth in the U.S., to orphans in Africa and to refugees in Scandinavia. She has also been a Creative Arts Director and Case Manager for at-risk youth in an effort to use art and music as a therapeutic tool for behavioral change. She has taught art classes and singing lessons to young students and helped revitalize a creative arts program that was almost canceled. Ashley has also been serving the elderly for nearly 10 years as a nursing assistant, singing and using music as a therapy to give moments of clarity back to those with dementia and Alzheimers. Her dream is to eventually run her own Creative Arts Company as a place to hear stories from our youth and teach different forms of creativity.