Dance Classes

Street Latin describes a variety of Latin club dances & includes Salsa, Bachata & Merengue. These are fun partner dances characterized by spins & turns for both the leader & follower, incorporating an interesting variety of dynamic moves & combinations.

Salsa is a popular form of social dance that originated in New York with strong influences from Latin America – particularly Puerto Rico, Cuba & Colombia. The movements of Salsa have its origins in Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo & other dance forms. The dance, along with Salsa music is energetic & sexy. Quite likely Salsa is the most popular Latin dance in night clubs around the world today.

Authentic Merengue is one of the simplest Latin dances to learn & is considered the national dance of the Dominican Republic. The beat is clear, the rhythm constant, & the style is relaxed & unrushed, with a regular step-action where turns & moves can be as simple or as complex as desired, & can be executed with as many steps as the partners choose.

Bachata is also a dance from the Dominican Republic & both the music & the dance have been influenced by many of the other Latin dances including Salsa & Merengue. Bachata is typically a slower dance than Salsa & its sensual, smooth style is rapidly increasing in popularity in dance clubs world-wide. It’s also a great dance to catch your breath after a fast Salsa & it’s very enjoyable to learn with it’s simple traveling side-step.

In this class you’ll learn how to dance in sync with a partner, how to lead/follow, the basic footwork, timing & styling of Salsa, Bachata & Merengue; as well as a variety of popular moves & sequences. You don’t need any dance experience or a partner to take part in this beginners’ course, which will teach you the fundamentals to fully enjoy these popular dances.

West Coast Swing (WCS) is a very smooth & expressive dance that can be slow, sexy & sophisticated or playful, funky & up tempo. It incorporates predominantly 6 & 8 count moves danced in a slot with musical interpretation, improvisation & spontaneity being a big part of the beauty of this dance.

WCS evolved from Lindy Hop in the late 1930’s & has the same time frame as many other forms of swing dance, however the look & feel of this dance is quite unique & the beauty of it is that it suits such a wide array of music.

Many contemporary songs played on the radio today with a slow to medium tempo suit WCS, as does blues, R&B, classic swing, jazz, big band, hip hop, funk, country & western, plus the classic hits of many eras.

Once the basic patterns are learned, many styling variations & improvisations can be added in response to both the music & your partner’s interpretations.

This dance is still evolving as it follows the music trends of each decade & adjusts to accommodate new dance styles. This makes it a great dance for night clubs, weddings & any social gatherings where there is music.

Similarly for all the dances, you don’t have to be amazingly skilled at dancing to have fun, but it does become more & more addictive the better you get.