Carola Goya (1906-1994) was a pioneer of Spanish dance in America and a virtuoso castanet player. Goya appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet as a teenager and studied ballet with Michel Fokine. She studied with Manuel Otero in Spain and returned to New York in 1927 to launch a highly successful solo career as a Spanish dancer. Goya toured around the world, often accompanied by her sister, the harpist Beatrice Burford, and she is credited for being the first performer to play the castanets as a solo instrument with major symphony orchestras. From 1949 to 1952 she was a leading member of the José Greco Dance Company. Goya formed her partnership with Matteo in 1954, and together they toured and taught extensively both in the United States and abroad.

Matteo (1916 - ) is a leading authority on Spanish dance in America and a unique figure in the world of multicultural dance and ethnomusicology. He began his career at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and went on to study at La Meri's Ethnologic Dance Center, as well as with La Quica and Balasaraswati. He also received a Masters in Dance Education from Springfield College. Hailed by The New York Times as "the most versatile artist in the field of ethnic dance," Matteo introduced the study of ethnic dance forms at the High School of Performing Arts and was on the faculty at Jacob's Pillow for many years. His choreography includes works for stage, opera, and Broadway. Matteo is the author of "The Language of Spanish Dance" and "Woods that Dance."