Salsa Classes Medellín: A New Service to Learn Salsa

Salsa Classes Medellín is a new service that connects students directly with a community of independent salsa instructors to enable learning salsa for cheaper.

Salsa Classes Medellín is a group of independent dance instructors in Medellín. The group was created in the summer of 2017 by a small group of students and instructors. And it has quickly grown to a total of 25 dance instructors.

This is essentially a win-win program for the students and the dance instructors. Dance schools typically pay instructors about half of what instructors receive in this community. Dance schools have to pay for teachers as well as for their overhead of the school, so they pay teachers less.

By cutting out the dance school middleman, students also benefit with lower cost classes. Note the above photo is of five of the dance instructors at Salsa Classes Medellín.

Three of the instructors at Salsa Classes Medellín

More About Salsa Classes Medellín

The dance instructors in the Salsa Classes Medellín community typically are professional dancers who train, compete and perform within dance companies and teach dance classes on the side to support their career. And many of them have competed and won competitions at both national and international levels.

The dance instructors in the program are selected by their peers in the program based on the quality of their teaching, skill level, personality, and professionalism. So, you get experienced dance instructors that are considered to be good teachers.

The Salsa Classes Medellín service enables students to connect to the most appropriate dance instructors directly to learn salsa or other styles. In addition, students in the program are of all levels – from beginners to advanced students looking to improve.

Also, classes can be at your home or in a dance studio. The service currently has five studios where classes can be held, which are located in El Pobaldo, Envigado, Laureles, Estadio and Belén,

Furthermore, the service offers private classes, couples classes, and private group classes. Private group classes are organized when three or more friends people show interest at the same date, time and place.

In addition, this community also offers classes in Cali, and soon in Cartagena and Bogotá. Furthermore, you can use your class hours in any city, which is ideal for travelers.

The classes are in private studios, where it’s just you and your teachers. You don’t have to share a room (and music choice) with other students and dancers like at other studios. This has been one reason why people really like the program.

Once joining this community, teachers and the community go out together. Upon joining, you get entrance into a private WhatsApp group for finding people to go out dancing with.

The community also does salsa themed vacations for people who want to come from abroad for up to a month of deep dive dancing, as well as trips to special events like the upcoming Feria de Cali.

How to Sign up with Salsa Classes Medellín

To sign up with Salsa Classes Medellín you fill out an automated questionnaire on Facebook Messenger that asks a number of questions. Here are the questions I was asked:

• First of all, do you speak English? ¿Hablas Inglés?
• Are you already in Medellin, or are you planning a trip?
• Would you like group or private classes?
• What would you like to learn? Aside from salsa, our community includes instructors of bachata, kizomba, tango & porro.
• Do you have a specific idea of the type of salsa you would like to learn (on1, on2, Cuban, Cali-style)?
• What’s your current level?
• Would you like to have the class in a studio or in your home? Doing the class in a studio is more expensive (between 5,000 and 10,000 pesos extra per hour)
• Our studios are located in El Poblado, Laureles and Envigado. Home classes are available every day and can be done anywhere, as long as the space is sufficient. In which area would you like the class to take place?
• How long are you in Medellin for?
• How many hours are you thinking of doing?
• Most of our instructors are professional dancers. You may get a discounted price by choosing a semi-pro instead – about 10,000 pesos ($3) less per hour. Alternatively, you can also choose to learn from a master, which will be more expensive – about 10,000 pesos more per hour
• Do you want a male or female instructor?

My Experience Signing Up

After answering the questions, I was contacted via Facebook to confirm. Most noteworthy, this is a curated service that handpicks the right instructor based on a student’s needs.

I signed up for 10 hours of Salsa classes in a studio. And it would have been even cheaper taking the classes at home. The price is established based on the level of instructor, the number of classes (with a discount for more classes in a package) and the location (home or studio).

My total for 10 hours of private salsa classes in a studio was 450,000 pesos. And I was sent an invoice that I paid online with a credit card for an initial payment of 150,000 pesos. There are three payments with Salsa Classes Medellín:

1. An online reservation payment via credit card
2. A second payment in cash to the instructor (after the first test class)
3. A third cash payment after half the packet of classes is used

After I paid the initial payment my instructor, Andrea, immediately messaged me via WhatsApp. And we scheduled a time for my first class and she let me know where the studio was located.

After an initial test class with your instructor you can continue taking classes with this instructor, or ask to try with a different instructor or you can get a full-refund of your online reservation payment.

The Instructors at Salsa Classes in Medellín

Currently there are 25 dance instructors in the Salsa Classes Medellin community, covering all Latin dance styles (salsa, bachata, tango, porro, kizomba and more), and levels of instructors (pros, semi-pros, champions). Here are three of the dance instructors currently in the community:

Lucia

Lucia – Lucia’s specialties are Salsa Cali-style and Bachata.  Lucia is from the salsa capital of the world – Cali, Colombia.  And she reached the final stage of the Munidal of Cali in 2016.

Here’s a video where Lucia explains the Salsa Classes Medellín community (in Spanish with English subtitles):

Esteban

Esteban – Esteban’s specialties are Salsa On1 and On2.  Esteban is a champion dancer. Most noteworthy, he won first place in the 2017 Colombia Salsa Festival as a “solista”.  And he won second place in On2 and Chacha.

Here’s an interview video of Esteban about the Salsa Classes Medellín community (in Spanish with English subtitles):

Andrea

Andrea – Andrea’s specialties are Salsa On1 and Bachata.  She is a professional instructor with over 18 years of dancing with 10 years of teaching both salsa and sensual bachata. I took taking private classes with Andrea and she’s a great instructor.

Two instructors: Esteban and Andrea together

Salsa Classes Medellín can be contacted via:

Website: http://salsaclassesmedellin.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salsaclassesmedellin/

Email: hello@salsaclassesmedellin.com

The Bottom Line – Salsa Classes Medellín

I started taking private salsa classes using the Salsa Classes Medellín service a few weeks ago. My instructor Andrea is great. And I feel that I’m learning at a faster pace than if I was taking a group class. I previously took a group salsa class and found you don’t learn as fast as you do with a private class.

Furthermore, I also included “Music and Dance” as one of 27 reasons I chose to live in Medellín. In Medellín, it is possible to dance salsa any night of the week.

A big benefit of this Salsa Classes Medellín community is that as a student you can connect with the right instructor for your level and what style you are interested in. They offer dance instructors with experience with nearly all Latin dance styles including salsa (Colombian, Cuban, On1, On2), bachata (sensual or Dominican), kizomba, porro, tango and many others.

The bottom line is that the Salsa Classes Medellín service permits you to find a dance instructor that meets your needs. And it will normally cost less than taking classes in a dance school.

Sign up for the Free Medellin Guru Newsletter – You can see all of the previous Medellin Guru weekly email newsletters and sign up here.