Cynthia Swan grew up in the Midwestern United States and moved to California after graduate school. She has been a national and international public speaker since 1995, founding her own consulting company, Cielem’el, in 2003. An Argentine Tango enthusiast, Cynthia became a professional Ballroom, Latin, and Argentine Tango dancer, competitor, and instructor as well.
Diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, Cynthia underwent multiple biopsies and surgeries as well as chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Still dealing with severe chemo-induced neuropathy today, Cynthia’s unwavering spirit continues to encourage and inspire others as she travels the continent meeting a wide variety of audiences to share experiences of survival, inspiration, and hope.
Cynthia’s first Argentine Tango was in Buenos Aires in 1997, when she was taken onstage from the audience at a tango show and was amazed to find herself dancing ochos, molineras, ganchos, and boleos without a clue how the tanguero made it happen. A management consultant traveling throughout South America on business at the time, Cynthia never forgot the experience, but temporarily set aside the thought of dancing to complete her education and pursue her business career. Over the years she has returned to Buenos Aires multiple times to develop as a tanguera and appreciate Argentine Tango.
While consulting in supply chain management and teaching graduate courses in business intelligence and information systems, Cynthia began her dancing career in early 2003 as an amateur with Arthur Murray Dance Studios. Dancing in three competitions in four months as an amateur competitor, Cynthia won the top student award for her division at all three competitions, over 100 first place awards, top solo routine awards for Argentine Tango and Cha Cha/Hustle, and placed twice in the top three in the American Open All-Around (a competition across all nine American-style Ballroom and Latin dances) before going pro in June 2003.
As a dance professional, Cynthia has performed in numerous professional shows and pro-am competitions/shows. Her students have won dozens of first place awards, as well as the Silver Pro-Am American Open All-Around. Cynthia also won the top teacher award at the 2005 World Pro-Am Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Though not always a dancer, Cynthia has been a performer her entire life, performing her first piano recital in kindergarten and eventually becoming a professional pianist, flutist, and singer, with the pinnacle of her singing career occurring on the main stage at Carnegie Hall followed by a six-week European tour and the CD release “U Singers – Live in Europe.”
A DVIDA certified NDCA professional in the Ballroom and Latin dances since 2003, Cynthia also completed her Argentine Tango certification with the University of the Tango in Buenos Aires in 2007. Cynthia’s love of dance is contagious, and her ability to break down technical elements for any dance level, combined with her teaching ethic for students of all levels to have fun while learning, gives her students self-confidence that is evident both on and off the dance floor.
Though no longer a dance instructor due to severe chemo-induced neuropathy, Cynthia is still a tanguera, dancing Argentine Tango as much as possible in venues across the country and occasionally in her favorite city, Buenos Aires.