SARAH OXLEY, LOS ANGELES SALSA — A few weeks ago I had a chance to go to the Warehouse on a Friday night and I happened to dance with one of the best follows that I have ever had the pleasure of dancing with in Los Angeles. Her name? Sarah Oxley. A truly beautiful girl, it is easy to imagine that guys are just flocking to her on the dance floor and are almost fighting for a chance to dance with her, simply because of her looks. I am always suspect of things like that, as I do not like to be classified as a 'wolf' and am there for the dancing, not anything else. But as I got the opportunity to dance with her that night, wow!, the feeling was amazing! No weight, so light, so much ease of follow; resulting in me being able to interpret to the salsa song so…

LEARN TO DANCE SALSA — If you are new to salsa, or maybe a bit advance in your dancing, and would like to learn a really cool salsa pattern with partner and solo footwork, here it is for you: Tropical Gem at the 2008 Salsa Congress in Las Vegas. 

I had the privilege and delight of attending this event and attend their workshops (I only went because of the fact that Tropical Gem would be there), and this pattern was something new and unique and from which I've built up a lot more moves. Tropical Gem truly is a whole other level when it comes to salsa dancing. I truly recommend learning from them. 

So, in the video below, you will find Fernando Sosa and Tatiana Bonaguro, principal dancers of Tropical Gem of Italy, teaching a pattern that you can just play over and over again and practice…

SALSA DANCING BEWARE — It is common knowledge that there are some professional salsa dancers in every scene who truly wish to make have a grand lifestyle off what they do with their dancing and teaching in the salsa scene. These pro dancers see each person in their classes as cash flow that they better squeeze out like a lemon before they are gone to learn from someone else or to not take any lessons anymore. 

These pro dancers will be quick to promote their "private dance lessons," their "shoe lines," or their "salsa wear fashion dresses," etc, etc., to dancers who have attended only one of their lessons. You will hear a line that sounds a bit like this about their private lessons: "if you truly want to learn to dance, you have to pay me to teach you privately, where all my attention can be given to…

SALSAHOOK.COM — To many, dance is a great passion, to others it is just a hobby, to others it is part of their culture, to others it is just something they do to meet friends, but to some, dance is a means to an end and a way to generate income for themselves. When dance is your profession, you realize that there is a lot of obstacles out there that prevent you from either succeeding or profiting as much as you could, if the market wasn't so saturated or there were other dancers who practically give away their services and talent for free, or very little, just to gain a name or to get on a stage to perform. 

Dancers traditionally make their money from instruction, choreography, performances, etc., and for a very lucky few, they make it into film and television, or other media fields that cater to…

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…

LOS ANGELES SALSA CLASSES — Los Angeles is by far one of the most populous salsa dancing cities in the world. There is even a "L.A. Salsa Style" of salsa dancing that is taught in a multitude of countries and is, perhaps, the most popular style of salsa dancing in the world. We are truly a mecca for salsa dancing worldwide and salsa classes in Los Angeles can be found everywhere!

Nightclubs — Usually, nightclubs offer salsa dance lessons before a salsa dancing night. Students arrive about 2 hours before the dancing starts and learn from instructors that show up to teach them.  Look at our calendar for salsa events and simply pick a venue that is close to you (or wherever you'd like to go to) and read the description of the event. You might find that they offer the classes and you can just show up, withour a…

LEARNING TO DANCE SALSA — Many dancers often ask for opinions and suggestions on how they should learn to dance salsa and what method would give them better and faster results. The question often rotates between the options of Salsa Bootcamps, Club or Studio Dance Lessons, Private Lessons, or straight Instructional DVDs. 

Learning to dance Salsa can be difficult, especially for individuals who have no natural rhythm and/or have difficulty telling apart beats in music and/or different songs. That, in itself, will be a defining factor in how fast and how well a person learns how to dance. So, the first step I always tell people to take is to simply be honest with themselves in how rhythmic they are with music. 

If you are a very rhythmic person, even during your first lesson, when the instructor goes "left, right, left ... right, left, right" you will step…