Zwei Leute tanzen Salsa

Latin

Salsa, roughly translated as “sauce”, is a Latin American dance and music culture derived from Cuban Son. Originally situated in New York City’s Latin American immigrant ghettos during the 1960s as a practice enhancing cultural identity, salsa lost its socio-critical charge with a wave of commercialisation, not least exemplified in 1987’s “Dirty Dancing”. Today, salsa is mainly a popular party dance that brings together a wide variety of different people.
The variegated vocabulary in steps as well as the emphasis on hip movement and a large number of specialties from New York Style, Cuban style or Miami Style turn salsa into a dance that stresses effortlessness and joy, because: The head does not dance - the body does! Apart from courses and workshops, the regular Wednesday Noche de la Salsa provides another opportunity to become a part of the salsa community.
The dance style bachata, on the other hand, originated in the Dominican Republic, yet it is one of the “social dances”, just like salsa, that bring people from all over the world together, as a dance practiced in couples or in groups. Just like tango, samba, salsa, or jazz dance, bachata is strongly linked to the music of the same name. Bachata will normally be performed in close contact and with a strong emphasis on the hips, which is the reason it is seen as one the most erotic dances of all.

Instructors

Francesco Batti

Show courses (8)

When Francesco Battigaglia wound up in a Salsa club in Miami completely by chance during a holiday, he was hooked. The colourful mixture of people he encountered, the effortlessness on display as well as the music sparked a Salsa fire in him. Originally a primary school and languages teacher, he gave up his vocation to completely dedicate his future life to dance and “would do so again in a heartbeat.” During an era when Latin-American dance was barely established in Germany, Francesco set about acquainting himself with the various local facets of Salsa on-site in New York, Puerto Rico and Cuba. As the first instructor in North Rhine-Westphalia, he also offers Salsa lady styling.

Ivana Scavuzzo

Show courses (13)

Ivana Scavuzzo has been working as a dancer in international stage shows by artists like Cascada, Debora Woodson, Addys D’Mercedes, Dana Smith as well as for product presentations of notable firms. She is active as a choreographer for the Crazysalsa Dance Company, TV and theatre productions and as a Salsa coach for musical “Miami Nights”. There is a longstanding and continually intensifying work relationship between Ivana and tanzhaus nrw. In her classes, Ivana imparts fundamental basic steps and turns that build into interesting combinations. They concentrate on rhythmic schooling, expressiveness, dance technique as well as on musical interpretation.