Salsa Classes   (click here for classes) Class descriptions after a brief, but we think interesting history.  Enjoy!

The term "Salsa" (simply the Spanish word for "sauce" but used in the Spanish Caribbean to connote spicy flavor) was first used in New York to describe the rich blend and high energy of the Latino-Caribbean music and dance that Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Dominicans brought to the city throughout the twentieth century, but the chief ingredients of the sauce began to blend in Cuba as far back as the late nineteenth century. As agricultural production diminished in the wake of slavery and colonialism, Cuba's multicultural population converged on the island's urban centers where the rhythms of West African drumming, the guitar-playing of Spanish troubadours, French country dance, and the call-and-response rituals of former slaves formed the ingredients of a new sound and a new dance style that spread throughout the Caribbean, picking up more influences and evolving a variety of styles. When the Spanish-American War increased U.S. involvement and influence in the region, Latin music spread farther, brought north by Puerto Ricans who were made citizens by the U.S. takeover of the island and encountered by southbound U.S. tourists who fled Prohibition for the nightlife of nearby Havana. Cuban and American Jazz influenced one another throughout the mid twentieth century, and the dances inspired by the Cuban sound - rumba and mambo - were mainstream crazes in this country at the same time that swing dancing was growing out of jazz. But where jazz music and swing dancing suffered a great diminishment in the late sixties and through the seventies, Salsa only grew stronger, evolving toward a more modern and urban-edged sound with the emergence of Latin record labels in the U.S. and strong dance scenes in Los Angeles, Miami, and, of course, New York City - each with its own distinctive style. Today salsa is more popular than ever, with Latin dance clubs in cities throughout the world attracting dancers of every background to move to a mix of Dominican Merengue and Bachata, Columbian Cumbia, and Cuban-style Salsa along with emerging new styles of music that blend salsa beats with Jamaican Reggae or contemporary urban Hip Hop. It's this embrace of diversity and openness to innovation that keeps the dance alive, the sauce spicy and fresh.

Club Salsa I- This class covers the fundamental steps danced in the nightclubs today. The core material and variations are covered in depth along with syncopations that can be danced with a partner or solo. A strong emphasis is placed on how to be a flexible leader and follower. This is a dance class designed to help you understand how to dance with a partner, but also teaching you how to move your body in a way that looks good. Basics include: Passes left and right, cumbia variations, cross body leads with and without turns and the game of trading turns. No partner required.

Club Salsa 2- The intermediate class works more on the development of good technique and latin body movement. The isolations of your knees hips and upper body will help bring new life to your basics. Technique for spins and shine steps will be explored with a dip or two thrown in for good measure. Think of it as the advanced driving course! 

Salsa Rueda-This class will be a strictly Cuban casino style of salsa. This style resembles square dancing in structure but is very cool! First you have the great circular Cuban style, the you put all your friends in a circle and start calling out moves and changing partners left and right. The moves are all given names that are sort of like diner lingo. Take the next girl then go back to the first ... send him to his mothers and go to the party...leave her and find her sister... make a bridge and cross it. You do not need a a partner as we switch partners regularly. However; this is a dance to be danced with friends so bring some old friends with you and make some new ones here! Some salsa dance experience is helpful but not required.

Partners are not required.