LOS ANGELES, CA — Laura Canellias, who is widely known as the "First Lady of Salsa," "The Salsa Queen," and "LA's Salsa Diva," is a legend of dancing in Los Angeles and someone who has taught thousands of people in the course of her career. She is, indeed, one of the foremost salsa instructors on the west coast.

When I first started dancing, my very first salsa lesson was with Laura Canellias at the now-closed Rudolpho's Nightclub in Silverlake. She started her classes by bringing a level of comfort to all students with a little Merengue dancing, which is much simpler than Salsa steps and partner dancing, but gets you in the groove and makes you confident. Not many instructors anywhere do this, and not one does it like Laura does it. I think it is very safe to say that Laura's extensive experience really shows in how she approaches her students and all her lessons. 

Laura, who is originally from Texas, started dancing ballet, jazz, and tap at an early age, and later on moved to social dances like Latin, ballroom, and country western. After moving to Los Angeles over 20 years ago, she quickly became a major player in the Latin dancing scene and has remained influential throughout the years. 

Films like "The Mambo Kings," "Out to Sea," and "Dance With Me," have featured Laura Canellias as a principal dancer, and back in 1998 she also choreographed and performed in "Oye Como Va" & "Ran Kan Kan" with the late, legendary timbalero, Tito Puente. 

Recently, Laura Canellias produced and created a dance aerobic workout DVD, "Cardio Salsa™," which showcases Laura's unique way of teaching with Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, & Merengue steps and is truly a blast to workout to. In this day and age, with the invention and widespread promotion of dance-based workout programs, Laura's DVD is truly a gem that everyone should have! -- Order Laura Canellia's "Cardio Salsa™" Here

The multi-talented Laura has also produced 7 music Compact Discs for Rhino Records: "Salsa Fresca: Dance Hits of the 90s," "Mambo Mania: The Kings and Queens of Mambo and Mondo Mambo," "The Best of Perez Prado," "Let's Dance Ballroom Favorites (2 volumes)," "The Best of Tito Puente," and "More of the Kings & Queens of Mambo." 

Truly, Laura Canellias is a legend in the Los Angeles Salsa Scene and someone who has contributed greatly to the growth and popularity of Salsa! Many great dancers mention her name when they talk about how they started dancing Salsa. One of those who went to do wonders globally was Alyra Lennox of Tropical Gem. Yes, one of Alyra's first dance instructor was Laura Canelias!