SALSA classes in medellin

Salsa dancing has long been popular in Medellin, Colombia.

Before 2012, the majority of salsa dancing was done at local salsa bars. And, at crossover bars, viejotecas and social gatherings, salsa was one of the genres that would be heard and danced to. And, the 2 primary Medellin salsa radio stations were and still are Latina Stereo 100.9 FM (salsa brava and salsa classics) and El Sol 107.9 FM (mainstream salsa). People who enjoyed salsa dancing had generally not taken classes at a salsa school. And, the most predominant style of salsa dancing was Colombian or Cali style salsa, which like Cuban style salsa, is a more circular style of salsa dancing than is danced in most other parts of the world. There were already various salsa schools in Medellin that offered private classes and some group classes. And, there were companies that focused on the formation of professional dancers for shows and competitions. Colombia was ranked among the top in the world at salsa competitions for soloist, couple and group salsa, and known for its elaborate footwork and acrobatics. Other than local salsa bars, there wasn’t yet a social dancing scene in the city for those who had formally learned to dance salsa at dance schools and/or were familiar with international salsa dancing styles, such salsa on1 and salsa on2.

In 2012, DANCEFREE began offering free group salsa and bachata dance classes, followed by social dancing. For its first 2 years, DANCEFREE offered free dance classes only. Then, DANCEFREE began offering paid private classes, group classes and socials, too. For private classes, DANCEFREE offered many rhythms, including salsa, bachata, tango, porro, merengue, kizomba, hip hop, bolero, fox and more. For group classes, DANCEFREE focused primarily on salsa and bachata, with less frequent classes for tango, porro, kizomba and other rhythms. DANCEFREE's first salsa and bachata social was every Thursday. This became the first and most popular social for salsa and bachata in Medellin. Then, DANCEFREE began offering group salsa and bachata classes 6 nights a week, salsa and bachata practices 3 nights a week, and salsa and bachata socials 3 nights a week, until as late as 4:00am. DANCEFREE became the place to be for students, teachers, and anyone else who wanted to learn, teach and dance salsa and bachata, and the social dancing scene, and number of students and instructors in Medellin grew exponentially.

Here is some basic information about salsa, to get you started:

  • Salsa music is composed of phrases, and each phrase is divided into 8 beats.

  • The majority of salsa dancing basics include 6 weight changes on the beats 1-2-3 and 5-6-7.

  • On the beats 4 and 8, there is a shift of the hips from one side to the other, which straightens the leg that you most recently used and bends the knee of the other leg so that you can then use the leg with the bent knee.

  • The leader generally begins with the left foot and the follower generally begins with the right foot.

  • Some of the most common salsa basics include the in-line basic (front and back), the lateral basic (side to side), fifth position or “quintas” in Spanish (the basic of Colombian style salsa), and double or “doble” in Spanish (the basic used for romantic salsa).

  • There are many styles of salsa dancing. Among them are LA or Los Angeles style (also known as salsa on1 because it is danced beginning on the first beat), New York and Puerto Rico Style (also known as salsa on2 because it is danced beginning on the second beat), mambo, Colombian style salsa, Cali style salsa, salsa callejera (not formally a salsa style, this is a variation of Colombian style salsa, generally learned informally/empirically), Cuban style salsa, Casino/Rueda (also Cuban style, danced in a circle by several couples while a leader calls out the moves and partner changes).

  • Once you have more experience, you can begin to learn about new concepts, such as how to better understand your own weight on the floor, how to better understand the rhythm/music, how to isolate your individual body parts (knees, hips, shoulders, chest, rib cage, etc.), cross body leads, how to turn yourself and your partner, spinning, illusions, launching of an arm (“lanzada” in Spanish), shines, dissociation, footwork and legwork (points, kicks, lijas, cha-cha-chas, etc.), and how to give subtle, clear indications to your dance partner (if you are the leader) and how to feel and follow (if you are the follower).

  • Salsa is based on Afro-Cuban music and includes African, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Latin American influences.

  • Salsa came to life in the early 1940’s and 1950’s in New York City and was named “salsa” in the 1960’s.

  • The first salsa album, released in Cuba in 1959 and the United States in 1962, was “Salsa Y Sabor”.

  • Some of the top salsa artists include Celia Cruz, Joe Arroyo, Héctor Lavoe, Rubén Blades, Willie Colón, Oscar D’Leon, Eddie Santiago, Eddie Palmieri, Ismael Rivera, Cheo Feliciano, Johnny Pacheco, Larry Harlow, and Ray Barretto.

  • The root of the word salsa is from the Spanish word “sauce”.

  • Salsa instruments include the piano, generally at least one wind instrument, such as the trumpet or saxophone, various percussion instruments, such as the timbal, congas, cowbell, bongo, and güiro, and sometimes other complementary instruments, such as the guitar and bass.

DANCEFREE offers private salsa classes, in person in Medellin, Colombia, and online via Zoom and Google Meet. Our in-person classes are 7 days a week and our online classes are on weekdays only, subject to availability. We have more than 25 salsa instructors and teach students of all levels, from new (no experience) to expert. If you would like to take private salsa classes, click here to view the steps for beginning private classes. If you would like to view our calendar for salsa socials and more, click here.