Arto began dancing in the age of 9 in Moscow, training with world renowned dancesport coaches including Shirley Ballas, Colin James, Dmitry Timokhin, Slavik Kryklyvyy, and Donny Burns. He quickly became one of the most distinguished dancers in his category and, with a world class status, began representing Russia internationally. At the age of 18, Arto moved to America where his successful competitive career continued in both the amateur and professional divisions. He has trained competitive couples and pro-am students of all ages – many of which have gone on to win national titles. He is one of the most sought-out dance instructors in the Bay Area. Arto has performed for Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) as well as with a cast from So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). Now the proud owner of Genesis DanceSport Studio, Arto continues to perform and compete both professionally and with Pro/Am students.

Irina is a trained professional specializing in Latin American Dancing, bringing extensive education, experience and expertise in the areas of dance, teaching, competing and performing. She has trained with world-class coaches and has captured numerous prominent titles across North America, including: North-American Under-21 Latin Finalist, Canadian Youth and Under21 Latin Finalist, Canadian Amateur 10-Dance Finalist. Irina believes that dancing should be a fun, liberating and energizing experience that heightens awareness of the body and creates a unique connection between people. From working with newcomers, wedding couples, competitive dancers and pro/am students, Irina strives to meet the needs of each individual or couple. She loves to share her passion with her students and feels rewarded seeing how dancing brings joy to people’s lives.

Robert has over 30 years of experience in the International Ballroom and Latin styles of dancing. He began dancing at the age of 7 and is originally from Riga, Latvia. During his amateur career, Robert won multiple championship titles and participated in the hit show, Dancing with the Stars (Dejo ar zvaigzni) for one season before moving to California in 2009 and competing professionally. Since arriving the US, Robert has coached and taught dancers of all ages, from youth to seniors and competed in many Pro-Am competitions across the US. Most recently, Robert has also branched out into the American Smooth category and has competed with students in that style. Robert continues to dance with his partner and wife, Lydia Miner-Voigt.

Julia has been a high achieving competitive athlete from the age of 6. After beginning her training with Arto, she achieved 5 World Pro-Am titles at the most prestigious competitions, as well as being crowned Champion of the International Grand Ball at 18 years old. She competed nationally and internationally in the Open level, specializing in Latin. In addition to her training at Genesis, Julia has trained with renowned coaches such as Karina Smirnoff, Vibeke Toft, and Colin James. Her passion for the technical and artistic sides of dancesport shows through in her dedication to practice, enthusiasm for teaching, and love for competing. Off the floor she is a university honor student and enjoys playing competitive tennis and classical piano.