Earl Linton

Steeped in a vast range of dance and music since his youth, Earl’s seasoned career as a performer, DJ, teacher and musician now fires his passion for all things Cuban, as anyone who has seen him call a Rueda at La Clave Cubana will quickly testify.

From the tender age of 11, Earl has been profoundly involved in vast range of popular music and dance genres. Starting out in family reggae band, playing trumpet and percussion, he toured the UK, while at the same time busting moves on the college and festival circuit as a performing break dancer. Hectic timetable regardless, Earl’s desire to broaden his dancing also guided him to immerse himself in ballroom and subsequently jazz and fusion.

This latter dance incarnation saw him performing in clubs across the UK and Europe as well as many TV appearances. Extraordinarily, Earl managed to combine this hive of activity with a career as a successful Urban Grooves DJ, playing throughout Europe and the UK with the likes of Tim Westwood and Trevor Nelson and winning a batch of DJ Mix Competitions along the way.

A man such as Earl, packed full of passion and dedication to his grooves was destined to cross paths with the vast, polyrhythmic spectrum of Latin music and dance. And when he did, a fair few years back now, he was driven to another level. His enthusiasm for the new form knew no bounds and drawing on all his dance experience he quickly absorbed and became proficient in salsa in all styles.

And when he finally connected to contemporary Cuban music, his heart exploded with happiness as he’d finally come home. Here he found salsa combined with a heady mix of musical elements from his past and danced with soul and sabor, which is what he loves.

Earl is a dynamic Cuban style dancer and Rueda caller and extremely animated thorough and clear when teaching. All of which is why we are thrilled to have him as part of our teaching team at La Clave Cubana.