About Us
Be Limitless
As an extraordinary leader in the dance competition industry, Shake The Ground has received rave reviews from studio owners, directors, and parents on the proficiency and professionalism of the competitions. Through the use of state-of-the-art video judging and online registration, Shake The Ground is a Non-Profit 501C3 company that has set a new standard in competitions. We triumph through dance, scholarships, mentorships and positive reinforcement.
At a Shake The Ground competition, every dancer has an incredible opportunity to take advantage of FREE Master classes taught by world renowned teachers, receive special awards and prizes, and get awarded scholarships to some of the tops dance programs. Every season Shake The Ground as a Non-Profit company awards over $200,000 in summer intensive scholarships to incredibly talented dancers. As a result, these dancers attended renowned summer dance programs like the Joffrey Ballet School, Sarasota Ballet, Florida Dance Festival, Broadway Dance Theater, Art of Movement and more!
executive team
LISSETTE SALGADO-LUCAS
FOUNDER/PRESIDENT
Born in Miami, Florida, LISSETTE evolved her passion for dance while studying with Liana Navarro, Judith Reece Newman and Marianna Alvarez. In 1988, She joined the Joffrey Ballet and danced with the company for seven years. Some of Lissette’s roles included: Balanchine’s Tarantella, Frederick Ashton’s Les Patinuers and La Fille Mal Gardee, Kurt Jooss’s The Green Table, John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, Jiri Kylian’s Return to Strange Land, Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain and Viva Vivaldi, and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. In 1995, Lissette joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and danced lead roles in: Bengt Jorgens’s Swedish Song and Anthony Tudor’s Leaves are Fading. She was recognized for her role as Odette/Odile in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Juliet in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet, Beauty and Butterfly in David Nixon’s Beauty and the Beast and Butterfly, Lucy in Mark Godden’s Dracula, the principal role in Mikhail Fokine’s Les Sylphides, Paquita in Petipa’s Paquita, and Kitri in Petipa’s Don Quixote. Lissette is a renowned, international guest artist who has performed with the Daring Project under the direction of Margo Sappington and Valentina Kozlova. She also performed her role of Juliet in Florence, Italy with Teatro de Maggio Dance Company and was a guest artist with the ‘Stars of Canadian Ballet’ Company, touring throughout Canada and performing in the Pan Am Summer Games Closing Ceremonies. Lissette has taught at the North Carolina School of the Arts, South Carolina Governor’s School of the Arts and Dillard High School for the Performing Arts, and is the Founder/President of Shake The Ground, The Ultimate Dance Competition, her extensive professional experience and relationships with professionals in the industry allow Shake The Ground to expand on a national platform.Since 2015 Lissette has Co-directed along with her husband David the Joffrey Ballet School Summer of Hip-Hop Program in New York City. In 2020 they will add and direct the Joffrey Ballet School Summer of Hip Hop in New York City and Tampa, FL They are also be the directors of the Joffrey Ballet/Contemporary program held for 2 weeks in Tampa, Florida.
DAVID LUCAS
FOUNDER/DIRECTOR
Born in Chorley, England, and raised in Kelowna, B.C., Canada, DAVID unveiled his passion for dance at age nine. The Canadian School of Ballet is where he began training under the direction of Betty Farrally, the co founder of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company. He later trained in Toronto and graduated from the National Ballet School and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. David joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company in 1988 and danced for 14 years before retiring in 2000. He danced many lead roles such as: Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante and Tarantella, David Nixon’s Beauty and the Beast, Butterfly, Mark Godden’s Dracula, Paquita, Don Quixote’s Pas de Deux and Brian McDonald’s Pas D’Action. It was with the RWB that he met his lovely wife, Lissette Salgado, and was honored to partner and perform many lead roles with her throughout his career. David has also performed in five made for television dance movies as well as the popular Children’s TV show “The Toy Castle,” where he played the Strongman. He has also been invited as a guest artist to perform in Japan with the Reiko Yamamoto Ballet Company. David was also the Artistic Director for the Canadian School of Ballet Summer program, which he and his wife, Lissette, directed for four years. David and Lissette choreographed and staged performances each year for the students. David later founded ‘The Stars of Canadian Ballet’ Company, which brought together the best artists in Canada from the National Ballet Company, The Alberta Ballet Company, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company. This renowned group toured in Canada and performed in the closing ceremonies for the Pan Am Games in 1999. In 2012, David co-founded Shake The Ground with his wife, Lissette, and in 2013, Universal Ballet Competition. Both competitions offer over $200,000 in scholarships to inspiring young dancers, annually, to assist each of them in reaching their remarkable potential, catapulting them to the next level of their dance careers.