Kelly St. James
Kelly St. James has been on the air and behind the scenes in local radio since 1980. You may have heard her on Lite 95, Wink 94.1, EZ 92.5, Star 93.3 and 93.7 The Light. She has 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren. Two of her children were adopted through foster care and all are happily married. Kelly lives in Hamilton loves the community there and all it has to offer. She enjoys gardening, cycling and pickleball. She has taken numerous mission trips and loves to support worthy causes like Kindervelt.
Her dance partner is Robert Rice
Robert brings more than a decade of Latin dance teaching experience, with a specialty in Cuban dance, including Casino and Rueda de Casino. He has taught at salsa weekend events in cities throughout the United States and is a regular instructor at Cincinnati's Salsa on the Square. He also founded a Latin dance club at the University of Cincinnati and is the director of Casino Reàl Cuban dance in Cincinnati.
His extensive dance background includes Salsa Casino, Rueda de Casino, Salsa LA On1, Salsa NY On2, Son, Bachata, Merengue, Cha Cha, and Ballroom. Studying such a wide range of styles has given Robert a strong understanding of the principles that connect partner dances, particularly lead-and-follow technique, connection, timing, and musicality.
Robert has trained and performed with a variety of dance teams, including Cincinnati's Salsa Underground, Columbus's Club Tropicale, Cincinnati's Salsannati, and Dare 2 Dance Atrevidos. His performance experience spans Casino and Rueda, Salsa On1 and On2, Bachata, and Cabaret.
After being introduced to Timba music, Robert was drawn to the energy, musicality, and social nature of Cuban Casino. That interest developed into a particular passion for teaching Casino and Rueda de Casino and sharing Cuban dance and music with the Cincinnati dance community.
As an instructor, Robert draws from his experience across multiple dance styles to help students understand not just what movements to do, but the underlying principles that make partner dancing work. His goal is to develop confident social dancers with strong fundamentals, clear lead-and-follow skills, musical awareness, and the ability to truly connect with their partners.