Salsa dancing, like spelunking or a staring contest, is best performed with a partner. Learn in tandem with today’s Groupon from Jose Cruz and the Salseros Dance Company. For $30, you get a salsa-lesson package (a $108 value) including the following:
- One private salsa class for one or two people at Studio B (a $70 value).
- Two group salsa classes at Studio B (a $24 value).
- Two admissions to Salsa Night at the Vet’s Club Ballroom hosted by Jose Cruz (a $14 value).
Artistic director Jose Cruz has guided hips and feet in the art of salsa dance for 12 years, drawing on his combined talents as a performer, choreographer, and Latin-rhythm musician. Available in three levels based on prior experience and spiciness, Jose’s beginner’s salsa classes ground students in the fundamentals of salsa dancing, a social art form known for its smoothness, sensuousness, adaptability, and strong sense of justice. During each class, partners learn basic steps, patterns, and techniques and a private session gives students the confidence to step out on the dance floor or in the post-office parking lot.
After learning the basics in class, students can two-step to the Vet’s Club Ballroom for Salsa Night. To begin the evening, Jose leads salsa classes, free with admission, at 8:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., warming up attendees’ feet and hips for three more hours of hot Latin dancing. From 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., DJ Jose plays a variety of music, from cha-cha to merengue, as dancers step in time, sway their hips, and swing from the rafters.
Jose Cruz Salseros Dance Company
A dancer since 12, Jose Cruz moved to the states at the age of 18 and performed with a dance group in Eugene. Soon enough he realized that his talent and passion for dance was pushing him to start his own troupe. A few years later, Salseros Dance Company was born. Cruz also started a dance studio where he and his hand-selected instructors teach the dance styles that first enticed Cruz to the United States. Private and group classes along with workshops and parties give students a chance to learn at instructors' skilled dressed feet. During parties, Cruz himself DJ’s; students practice the steps they learned in class, or confusedly imitate their instructor and make disc-scratching sounds all night.