A childhood cancer survivor who found solace in salsa dancing is now combining her success on the international stage with ambitions to help advance cancer research.
Natalia Beans, a Marquette University student from Milwaukee, was diagnosed with leukaemia at 18 months old. After entering remission, she began dancing at the age of five and has since become a seven-time world champion in solo and group competitions with Salsabrositas.
The Milwaukee-based non-profit, established in 2017, offers salsa classes for dancers of different abilities. Beans is now its team captain, while also studying biochemistry and molecular biology at Marquette.
Natalia Beans: from cancer survivor to salsa champion
Beans’ stepfather and Salsabrositas co-director, Daniel Balderas, encouraged her to take to the stage after watching adult dancers perform for years.
“After the cancer situation,” Beans said, “dance was the immediate thing that I found that really gave me peace of mind.”
Balderas said her experience had given the activity a deeper meaning.
“How dare we not dance when there’s people who wish they could, and if you get a second chance to dance, by God you better take it,” he said.
Beans performed in her first world competition in Puerto Rico at the age of 11. Although she did not reach the championship round, the experience marked the beginning of a journey that would see her develop into one of Salsabrositas’ leading performers.
She said her mother encouraged her to continue when the competition became intimidating, reminding her that surviving cancer had already shown she could overcome difficult challenges.
Beans has also spoken about how salsa helped her embrace her identity as an Afro-Latina with African American and Guatemalan roots.
“You appreciate it a lot more because it comes from somewhere, it comes from a struggle,” she said, referring to the music and dance traditions shaped by African and Caribbean history.
Her approach to performing is to focus on the audience rather than the judges, allowing her passion and connection with other people to guide her.
“Practice like you never won, and perform like you never lost,” she said.
From childhood cancer to cancer research
Outside the studio, Beans is pursuing a career in scientific research, motivated by her experience as a childhood cancer survivor and by the impact the illness had on her family.
Marquette said she is an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of Dr Anita Manogaran, where she has worked on research into protein misfolding and aggregation. She also co-authored a peer-reviewed paper linked to the work.
Her academic achievements earned her a 2025-26 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of 441 students selected from more than 5,000 applicants. The award provides $7,500 for each of her junior and senior years.
Beans has said she hopes to complete a PhD and contribute to cancer drug discovery, with the long-term aim of helping patients and survivors.
She continues to teach salsa as well as compete, and is applying to graduate school while planning to remain involved in dance for as long as possible.
“I love salsa dancing,” Beans said. “I think salsa dancing cures the soul, cures a lot of different things, so I can’t imagine my life without it.”
