Espinosa: The Latina Choreographer Behind the Moves in “Magic Mike”

Channing Tatum and Adam Rodriguez’s highly anticipated Magic Mike may be a movie about male strippers… But there’s actually a Latina behind some of the men’s dance sequences… And, her name is Teresa Espinosa.

Teresa Espinosa

The 38-year-old Latina actress/dancer—a member of the all-female breaking dance crew Beat Freaks, which was the runner-up on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew—served as an assistant choreographer on the Steven Soderbergh-directed film, which is loosely based on star Tatum’s real-life experiences in the world of male stripping.

Magic Mike

Filming on Magic Mike took less than a month, leaving rehearsals “very sporadic because everybody’s schedule was so mixed up,” said Espinosa, who, assisting fellow Beat Freaks member Alison Faulk, choreographed group numbers and solo routines. “We’d get one hour with one person, another hour the next person. For one of the group numbers, we didn’t have everybody rehearsing together until the day of that shoot. But they all worked very hard individually that when it came together for the shoot day, they created magic.”

After graduating from the California Institute of the Arts, Espinosa got her big break dancing with Janet Jackson on her The Velvet Rope World Tour, and she later received an Emmy nomination for contributing choreography for Jackson’s HBO special.

Since then Espinosa has danced and choreographed for several popular artists, including Britney Spears, Pink, Rihanna, Mariah Carey and Miley Cyrus.

“The reason why I feel like I have been so successful is because of my passion,” said Espinosa in an interview with Latination. “I live and die by it!”

Meanwhile, Espinosa is excited about sharing her work on Magic Mike with the world.

“I don’t think any of us, except for Channing Tatum, really understood what we were getting into.”

Magic Mike opens in theaters this Friday, June 29.

The Latest Trailer for Rodriguez’s “Magic Mike” Features More Skin

Adam Rodriguez’s latest film Magic Mike may not open in theaters for 16 days… But it’s already getting massive buzz, mainly due to the film’s latest just-released trailer.

Adam Rodriguez in Magic Mike

The restricted trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s highly anticipated male stripper movie—loosely inspired by Channing Tatum’s own life as a stripper—may be shorter than the trailer released in the United Kingdom about a week ago, but it’s definitely more fleshed out… And, by fleshed out, we mean that you’ll see plenty of Tatum’s and the 36-year-old Puerto Rican/Cuban American CSI: Miami star’s skin, as well as that of his co-stars Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey and Matt Bomer.

“The audience will most definitely get to see PLENTY,” Rodriguez previously told Celebuzz! “How much of plenty will be up to Steven in the editing room and the audience keeping their eyes open in the movie theater.”

Magic Mike opens in theaters nationwide on June 29.

Alves Marries Matthew McConaughey…

Camila Alves is now a mother and a missus…

The 30-year-old Brazilian model, television host and fashion designer married her love of six years and the father of her children, Magic Mike actor Matthew McConaughey, in Austin on Saturday, according to Us Weekly.

Camila Alves & Matthew McConaughey

“There were about 100 of his close friends and family there,” one wedding guest tells the magazine of the “high-end,” campout-themed event. “[The ceremony] was very emotional. There was a moment when . . . [Matthew] leaned down and whispered something in [Camila’s] ear and you could see a tear coming down her face. Everyone let out a collective sigh.”

Following the ceremony, guests — including Woody Harrelson and filmmaker Richard Linklater — celebrated all night long, camping out in state-of-the-art tents set up on McConaughey and Alves’ property.

“It’s definitely a campground, but they weren’t exactly roughing it,” one source explained. “They have showers, restrooms, and air conditioning. It’s very unique, high-end camping.”

Alves and the 42-year-old actor, who met at a bar in Los Angeles in 2006, have two children together, 3-year-old Levi and 2-year-old Vida. McConaughey proposed to his Brazilian-born love this past Christmas.

“Just asked Camila to marry me, #MerryChristmas,” the actor tweeted December 25, posting a sweet photo of the newly-engaged pair sharing a smooch.

“I found the woman I wanna make a family with, hopefully live our life out together,” he declared to Esquire magazine in March 2011. Still, the head-over-heels pair saw no reason to rush things, because, as Alves told ET Canada this past March, they already felt like a married couple.

“We’ve been living a married life for over six years now,” explained Alves. “We have homes together, we have family together, we have kids, we’ve built a life together. So we’ve been living a married life this whole time.”

Added the former host of Bravo’s Shear Genius, “A lot of people, sometimes they’re so stuck on ‘I gotta get married, I gotta get married,’ that they forget that the really important thing is to have a healthy home, a healthy family, a healthy family for your kids and to have everything going in a good, peaceful way.”

As young as her children are, Alves admitted her kids were excited when their parents decided to make their union official.

“Levi actually understands what it means now that mama’s going to have the same last name as they have, so that’s neat!” the model explained.

So what about plans to expand their family?

Teased Alves, “We’ll see!”

New Trailer for Rodriguez’s “Magic Mike” More Revealing

If the latest trailer for Magic Mike is any indication, Adam Rodriguez and his co-stars will be setting tongues wagging!

Lionsgate, the company distributing Steven Soderbergh’s highly anticipated male stripper movie in the United Kingdom, has released its trailer for Magic Mike overseas… And, it’s definitely more risqué than the trailer Warner Bros. released in the States.

Adam Rodriguez in Magic Mike

The film—which stars the 36-year-old Puerto Rican & Cuban American CSI: Miami actor, as well as Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew Bomer and Matthew McConaughey— looks like it may deliver more than originally expected.

So just how much skin will be revealed on the big screen?

“The audience will most definitely get to see PLENTY,” Rodriguez said in an interview with Celebuzz! “How much of plenty will be up to Steven in the editing room and the audience keeping their eyes open in the movie theater.”

So how did Rodriquez prepare for his oh-so-revealing role?

“Plenty of dieting and exercise with 60 to 90 minutes of cardio a day — sometimes two.  An hour of weight training and a whole lot of dance rehearsals,” said Rodriguez. “We have a few group numbers in the movie that we worked really hard on. We definitely went balls out.”

Rivera Wins NewNowNext Award

It’s an obvious fact: Naya Rivera is a stunner… And, now she has an award to prove it!

The 25-year-old half-Puerto Rican singer/actress, who has quickly become a standout star on Fox’s Glee, nabbed the Cause You’re Hot Award at the taping of the Logo network’s annual NewNowNext Awards late this week.

Naya Rivera

Rivera beat out Magic Mike’s Channing Tatum, The TudorsHenry Cavill, American Horror Story’s Jessica Lang, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol star Paula Patton for the public-voted award.

The NewNowNext Awards showcase who and what are on the verge of a pop culture explosion in the coming year.

The awards show will be broadcast on Monday, April 9 at 10:00 pm ET on Logo.

Rodriguez Bares Skin in Latest Magic Mike Movie Still…

He’s appeared in Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By MyselfAnd, now television veteran Adam Rodriguez is expanding his body of work on the big screen…

Adam Rodriguez

The 36-year-old Puerto Rican & Cuban American actor—best known for his role as Eric Delko on CSI: Miami—will appear in Steven Soderbergh’s male stripper movie Magic Mike.

And now there’s finally proof of his appearance in the film—co-starring some of Hollywood’s hunkiest actors, including Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Joe Manganiello, Alex Pettyfer and Matt Bomerin this exclusive film still from Entertainment Weekly.

Magic Mike Film Still

Set in the world of male strippers, Magic Mike is inspired by Tatum’s real-life experience working as a stripper in Tampa, Florida. The film follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money.

“When Channing talked to me about this, I thought it was one of the best ideas I’d ever heard for a movie. I said I wanted in immediately,” says director Soderbergh. “It’s sexy, funny and shocking. We’re using Saturday Night Fever as our model, so hopefully we’re on the right track.”

Magic Mike will hit theaters June 29, 2012.

Vasi Joins the Cast of VH1’s “Single Ladies”

Denise Vasi has plenty of reason to be a proud “single lady”…

The half-Dominican, half-Puerto Rican actress has signed on as a series regular on VH1’s Single Ladies, which was renewed for a second season after averaging 2.8 million viewers per episode.

Denise Vasi Single Ladies

The former All My Children star will play a businesswoman named Raquel—a friend of one of the show’s current characters, Keisha, played by LisaRaye McCoy.

“Denise is the perfect addition to the Single Ladies cast,” said Queen Latifah, the show’s executive producer. “She is bringing a fun, new element to the show.”

Vasi will replace another Latina bombshell on the hit show…

Stacey Dash has previously announced that she planned to leave the show, which films in Atlanta, to spend more time with her children in Los Angeles.

Vasi has also appeared on White Collar, The Protector  and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She’s also set to appear in Steven Soderbergh’s movie about male strippers, Magic Mike, starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Olivia Munn.

Season 2 of Single Ladies will debut next summer.