SARASOTA (WSNN) – The tropical rhythms of Latin music bring many people together. In today’s Hispanic Heritage series, it gets spicy with Salsa dancing.
“Vamos a bailar salsa,” DK Dance student Jim Kutch said.
That means, ‘Let’s dance salsa!’ Kery Fernandaz and her partner, Dario, teach different styles of Latin dance at ‘DK Dance’ in Sarasota.
“You don’t need any experience to come to DK and learn how to dance,” Fernandez said. “We start you all the way from scratch. Even if you have two left feet, we’ll help you out and get you going.
Salsa is a tropical rhythm that has a history from the Caribbean islands.
“From Cuba and Puerto Rico,” Fernandez said. “It is a product of diaspora in New York, actually born in the Bronx, in the Palladium.”
The dance you see here is the LA style, Salsa On-1.
“It means that you’re dancing on the first beat of the count,” Fernandez said. “So you’re dancing 1-2-3, 5-6-7.”
You don’t have to be Hispanic to shimmy and shake your hips. Latin Dancing is for anyone. You can connect with people of all backgrounds when you turn to the rhythms of salsa.
“We kind of fell in love with it,” Kutch said. “I was adopted by the Spanish dance community of Sarasota.”
Kutch had never danced Salsa before he came to Sarasota from up North.
“When I was living in Northeast Pennsylvania, it was non-diverse,” Kutch said. It was as non-diverse as you could ever imagine. But down here, I’ve met people from every country and centrals in South America and the Caribbean and it’s just been a great experience.”
“It’s a family, that’s what it is. It’s the family atmosphere that I love,” DK Dance student Rosa Arroyo said.
While Puerto-Rican, Rosa Arroyo knows how to dance, she says she learns something new everyday.
“I’m 71-years-old and I love it,” Arroyo said. “This keeps me in shape. It’s the best exercise ever and I intend to take salsa classes here until they kick me out.”
“It feels amazing to be able to bring this to Sarasota County and to give a little bit of our culture to absolutely everyone here,” Fernandez said.
If you want to get your salsa on, DK Dance’s November cycle starts in two weeks. You can find more info here.