Nat Blanco is a DMV native and inherited her love for dance from her father who stressed the importance of embracing her latin cultural through music and dance. She received her early years of dance training at Joni Reese’s Wheaton Studio of Dance in Maryland. She continued her studies in dance at the University of Maryland College Park and joined UMCP's hip-hop team DYNAMIC. Finding her strength in this genre of dance, Nat later became a member of Culture Shock DC (CSDC) in 2005 and from 2007 to 2016 was Artistic Director for their youth troupe, Future Shock DC. Nat has gone on to directing troupes at both national and international showcases and competitions. In this upcoming 2016-2017 dance season, she will be the Dance director for DanceNMotion hip-hop program, teaching at Savage Dance Company, and Hip-Hop Department director for Northern Virgina's premier arts high school and dance studio, Metropolitan School of the Arts. Nat is also a proud member of DMV’s all female dance crew KickRocks, and co-founder of their youth crews, The Pebbles and Little Rocks. In addition to her dance career, Nat is a graduate of The University of Maryland R.H.S School of Business and proud employee of the US Army. She hopes to continue her passion for teaching and sharing the joy and opportunities dance has brought to her life with young dancers who will shape the future of dance.