Best Salsa Lessons in Cali, Colombia

I recently took salsa lessons in Cali. I would start from the beginning, but that story is a bit long. Suffice to say I’m a relatively tall, very white man raised in rural Canada. My wife is a caramel skinned Latina from the pacific coast of Colombia. We’ve never really learned to dance with one another. But after 17 years together, and having lived in Cali for 6 months now, we should have some idea. Even though I’ve lived in Colombia before, it is our first time in Cali. Cali is a city that lives and breaths Salsa, you can’t escape it. We’ve never been able to properly enjoy a night of dancing. So I took it upon myself to book some salsa lessons. It was past time. I had recently met the founders of Salsa Classes Cali so I decided to give it a whirl.

We’ve been out lots in Colombia. I’ve even been out ‘dancing’. But telling Colombians you don’t know how to dance often gets you the response “It’s easy! Just listen to the music” and a big friendly Colombian smile :). So in the past I’ve typically just ordered enough drinks to trick myself into thinking I can dance. But the proliferation of camera phones meant I had learned the truth. I needed some lessons. This was going to be different.

Why Salsa Classes Cali?

We’re a busy couple, with two young boys. Living in the south of Cali, a fair ways from downtown. Life is hectic. I wanted classes that were flexible, and convenient for me. Plus I wanted to learn quickly, so I thought a private teacher was best. Salsa Classes Cali offers access to teachers not only in Cali, but Bogota, Medellin and Cartagena as well. It wasn’t a big deal for me, but if you’re travelling around Colombia it’s a bonus.

I had asked around a bit, trying to find some classes that were affordable and convenient. Through some local networking I met the founder of Salsa Classes Cali. He told me the goal of SCC is to connect passionate, professional Colombian dance instructors, with everyone from beginners, to international professionals looking to perfect a particular style. Thereby sharing Colombian dance and Culture with the world. The price for a teacher from SCC was on par with local schools.  The huge advantage being that I could book online and the teacher would come to our place!

My Experience

I requested a teacher through their Facebook page. I was asked a number of questions about my level of experience, what type of dance I wanted to learn, and the type of teacher I wanted. After a small deposit paid online, I was connected to my teacher Lucia, who I discovered was not only a professional dancer but a world class competitor! We set up our first class for later that week. I had booked a total of 10 hours in order to get myself started.

Lesson 1

Lucia arrived and wasted no time getting going. Classes began with a full body warm up which immediately tested my coordination and posture. FYI my posture is terrible, but I didn’t realize it was so important for dancing. Within two hours I had some basic steps down. I also had a better grasp on the musical count. I’m a difficult student, I always want to know why, and how. I say “I’m trying” a lot and I think I’m smarter than I am. Thank god for Lucia’s patience and knowledge, she was more than up for the challenge.

Our 10 hours of classes were spread over the week. There was scolding for not practicing enough (I did try). Repeated reminders to stand up straight, turn tighter, follow the music, and not forget to look like I was enjoying myself! I was, but you couldn’t always see it on my face. What I enjoyed and was surprised by, was the speed with which I progressed. We decided that for the final class my wife would join me so Lucia could help pair us up.

Lessons 2-4

It’s a testament to Lucia’s skills that by class two we were starting to do turns. Class three saw more new moves, and more scolding for lack of practice. Lucia surrounded me with chairs to keep me dancing in place “para donde vas” she would say, with a laugh. But we were getting in a grove, our videos were getting better too!

Lesson four was supposed to pull everything together for lesson 5 with my wife. I still needed some chairs, but I was getting better at identifying the beat in each song. A handy trick on YouTube are songs with the count in them. By the end of the lesson I was confident I could lead my wife through a 4 minute salsa song. Underestimating the difference between knowing how to dance, and ‘Knowing how to dance’.

Lesson 5

Caleños have salsa in their blood. I didn’t believe it, but it’s true. It marks a significant difference between a born dancer and a taught dancer. True professionals need to bridge that gap, and we were about to put Lucia to the test. For me and my wife to dance together, my wife would have to learn to do something that she knew how to do. It might help to think of language. Have you ever corrected someone (maybe a child) and when they ask why? You say, that’s just how you say it; because you don’t know why, you just know it’s right. That’s how my wife dances.

Our different approaches to dance where on full display when the music started. I began to count, my wife began to move. Our first attempt was a bit of a disaster. I had spent 8 hours dancing with Lucia, who of course knew what I was trying to do. Apparently my skills as lead still needed a little work. We made it through about 30 seconds of our first song with zero cohesion. The music stopped, Lucia smiled and shook her head saying we might be the most polar opposite couple she had ever worked with. Then spent the next 20 minutes teaching my wife the basics of the moves that we’d been learning. Yes it took my wife 20 minutes to figure out my 8 hours worth of classes.

Second attempt, excellent improvement. Second issue, dancing to the music, and dancing to my novice prompts are very different things. We managed to dance together, but we had trouble dancing with the music. With a little more guidance (and using a song with a verbal count) a half hour of tips and pointers later, we figured we were ready for video.

Salsa is for Everyone

I found that even a tall, white, rock ‘n’ roll raised Canadian can manage a few salsa steps. It was a ton of fun learning to dance with Salsa Classes Cali. If you want to improve your level quickly I’d recommend one of their immersive salsa experiences.

The weekend after my salsa lessons ended, we took a trip to Buenaventura, Colombia. We put my social dancing skills to the test, and my wife said the classes were worth every peso. While not the smoothest couple on the floor, I was sober, leading and we were both dancing and smiling!

Check out our article on great salsa bars in Cali