Clara Toro, a native of The Bronx, New York, is of Puerto Rican descent. Clara’s roots in teaching, promoting and organizing salsa events in Richmond, Virginia go back to 2006. Two years later, her successes led to the formal establishment of her company, salsa4life.com. Clara’s background in dancing salsa dates back to 1993 in the hot salsa venues of New York City. After graduating from Baruch College in NYC with a B.B.A in accounting, she relocated to Richmond in 1998.

In 2017, Clara and her husband Michael moved to Portland, Oregon. They continued to coordinate the activities of Salsa4Life in Portland and were active participants in the Portland salsa community. In 2021, they relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Michael was born in Portland, Oregon. His childhood fascination with magic eventually led him to build a career as a magician. After college, Michael worked as an IT Support Specialist at various companies. He eventually married and has two adult children. He also served as the senior pastor of a small church for 15 years. Today, Michael entertains crowds at private parties, family events, and corporate functions. Michael also works alongside his wife, Clara, in teaching salsa dance lessons and promoting Latin dance events.