Raliza Velichkova
Bulgarian professional Latin American and Standard Ballroom dancer, DanceSport coach, and WDC international adjudicator. Over twenty years on competition floors across Europe and Asia, more than fifty couples mentored, and a founder who believes competition transforms people.
From a hobby at nine to a life on the floor
My dance journey began when I was nine years old. Very quickly, what started as a hobby became a passion that ended up shaping my life. I competed for the first time at sixteen, in both the Latin and Standard categories, and in 2010 I won two Bulgarian amateur titles: 10 Dance Champion and Latin Champion.
Having decided to build a career in dance, I moved to Italy to learn from some of the most prestigious teachers in the world, competing internationally throughout. After three transformative years there, I accepted an invitation to become a Senior DanceSport Teacher at Middle East Technical University (METU), one of the largest universities in Ankara, and later at FAME, one of Turkey's biggest studios. My focus shifted to teaching, and I became mentor to more than fifty couples, many of whom went on to become national champions.
After five rewarding years in Turkey, I moved into the professional category and took on a new challenge as an international adjudicator. Now based in Singapore, I coach students of all ages and levels while continuing to compete internationally as a professional and to judge championships across Asia.
Convinced that dance has the power to inspire and connect people, I founded Utalente to bring that transformation to individuals, schools, and organisations here. The name means "Your talent". Every student walks in with some. We find out how far it can take them.
Discipline with joy
Technical rigour and genuine fun are not opposites. The best training is both. I foster an inclusive, adaptable environment and welcome every student regardless of experience or age, then tailor the work to the goal in front of us, from body conditioning to the competition floor.
- Progressive learning. Foundations are solid before we move to complex technique.
- Positive reinforcement. Confidence and motivation are built deliberately, lesson by lesson.
- Every learning style. Classes work for visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic learners, structured with warm-ups, technique focus, choreography, and cool-downs.
- Tailored to you. Beginners, advanced dancers, children, and older adults each get a programme that fits their needs.
Experience, education, and expertise
Work experience
- 2024 – nowFounder, UtalenteSingapore
- 2017 – nowWDC international adjudicatorCompetitions across Asia
- 2014 – 2019Senior DanceSport coachMiddle East Technical University & FAME Studio, Ankara, Turkey
- 2010 – 2014DanceSport teacher & fitness instructorFitness clubs De Rossi & Total Body, Italy
- 2000 – 2010Senior DanceSport teacherSport Club "Shumen", Brezichka preschool & P. Popov primary school, Bulgaria
Education
- 2006 – 2008Professional qualification: DanceSport teacher (Latin and Ballroom)National Sports Academy "Vassil Levski", Bulgaria
- 2002 – 2006Bachelor's degree in Primary School Pedagogy and Foreign LanguageSt. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria
Expertise
More than 20 years of coaching, built around the whole dancing experience, from your first conditioning session to the feedback after your competition.
- Body conditioning. Strength, stretching, stamina, and coordination, so your body is ready for the dance.
- Choreography made for you. Routines built around your strengths, your music, and your level, for the competition floor or for a show.
- Costume and make-up. I help you choose the dress, the shoes, the hairstyle, and the right make-up for the floor.
- Confidence on the floor. Mental preparation and performance skills, so you walk on knowing you belong there.
- A sense of competition. You learn how a competition day really runs, from the entrance to the heats, so nothing takes you by surprise.
- Competition feedback. After nearly ten years judging championships in Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Singapore, and Thailand, I can tell you what the judges saw and what to work on next.
The same care goes into hobby and social classes for kids and adults, and into the shows I've choreographed in Turkey, China, Singapore, India, Bulgaria, Italy, and Thailand.
Results that back the credentials
- Bulgarian Amateur 10 Dance Champion and Amateur Latin Champion, 2010
- Professional Latin Champion, 11th Philippine Summer Ball Festival, 2023
- Professional Latin 1st runner-up, Singapore International Charity Dance Championship, 2023
- Amateur Rising Stars Champion, 2nd Negeri Sembilan Open, Malaysia, 2015
- Coach of Turkish national champions in Junior, Youth, and Adult categories, 2015 to 2019
- Adjudicator at the TDA DanceSport Championship, Royal Siam Cup, Ballroom World Open, and more
What students, parents, and partners say
If you're looking for the most patient, dedicated, and passionate Latin dance teacher, that's got to be Rali! Aside from teaching adults, she's also very experienced with teaching children and teenagers. She focuses a lot on technique and quality of execution, giving students a deep understanding of the basics. She teaches all her students, adults and children alike, with the same commitment and dedication. Exactly what you would want in a teacher.
Rali is an exceptional choreographer who organised and performed a captivating Great Gatsby-themed show for the ceremony of my installation as the president of the Rotary Club of Singapore. I highly recommend working with her.
I always have fun in the dance classes, but with teacher Rali, I really learn things.
If you are looking for a fun way for your child to learn Latin dance, Rali is the ideal instructor. My daughter has not only improved her dancing skills but has also learned the importance of perseverance, which is essential for success. Rali puts in great effort to help her students excel in dance. My daughter is lucky to have teacher Rali.
Throughout the years she taught here, she created athletes from zero to top level in both disciplines, Latin and Ballroom. Talented in organising events in our clubs. Raliza is a professional dance teacher to children and adults, a well-experienced fitness coach to all athletes, and a very supportive team-mate for the trainers' team.
Since we met Ms Raliza, we clearly understood that beside her successful dancing career, she is also a very good teacher for both Ballroom and Latin couples, with her unique communication and teaching skills. She is one of the main organisers of international dance camps and an adviser for international DanceSport competitions. Thanks to her high level of professionalism, desire, and devotion to work, she became a well-demanded teacher in our club and country.