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Welcome
to Greater Toronto’s Salsa For Charity, the World's FIRST
Salsa/latin dance school focused on helping students and street
kids all at once! We specialize in transforming absolute beginners
into Salsa-loving social dancers/performers as well as helping kids
without homes, so get ready to get fit, make new friends and give
back with our fun Salsa lessons!
What’s Salsa? In short, it is the world’s most popular
Latin street dance. With ties to Cuba, Puerto Rico, & South
America, it has spread like wildfire around the world and is danced
by “Salseros/Salseras” in cities as diverse as Paris,
London, Hong Kong, New York, Shanghai and, of course, in Toronto.
In fact, any evening of the week you will find hundreds of
Torontonians dancing their hearts out in Salsa lessons and/or at
one of the many amazing Salsa clubs in Toronto and beyond. Go
traveling and you’ll likely find the same in every major city
in the world! When you start Salsa dancing, you join a huge family
of Salsa dance-loving folks spread throughout the
world.
Whatever
your starting point, whether you are joining with a partner or
without, our Toronto Salsa lessons are for you. Our Salsa
instructors are enthusiastic, patient, caring and deeply realize it
is a privilege to have Salsa in their lives and love sharing this
privilege with their students and the community. Our lessons are
all about teaching you how to Salsa dance in a fun, comfortable and
caring environment. We put careful thought into balancing the
number of men and women so you get the most out of your class
learning time. In addition, we have a group of Assistants and Salsa
For Charity Volunteers who take the time to help you reach your
full potential.
At
the start, we suggest Salsa Level 1 as your first set of lessons.
This class is a 9-week course with one hour of instruction per
week. The lessons will cover the basics of all 3 dances
you’ll likely see at a Latin dance nightclub: (1) Merengue, a
two-beat Dominican Republic dance is easy to learn and a lot of fun
to dance to. In this, you will learn basic musicality, body
movement and leading and following skills. (2) Bachata, a four-beat
Dominican Republic dance, is slower than Merengue and a bit more
romantic. In this, you will learn to use your hips and improve your
leading and following skills. (3) Salsa: the balance of the lessons
will cover the core moves of Salsa dancing including the four basic
steps, basic right and reverse turn combinations and variations of
the cross body lead. In the level 1 lessons as in all our levels
and classes, we focus on leading and following skills, musicality,
body movement and styling.
If you have prior Salsa dance experience, we do assessments to
determine the appropriate level for you. Note that since every
dance school and/or Salsa instructor has a different lesson plan,
it may be better to begin with our Salsa level 1 lessons.
Please browse through our website, video clips and contact us with
any questions you may have about Salsa For Charity’s Salsa
classes and lessons. Dance with HEART and do your PART. Salsa for
Charity!
"When
you have the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance...I
hope you dance." – LeeAnn Womack
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ARTICLE: Salsa Dancing can Change your
Life
S-A-L-S-A. Adds much needed flavour to slightly dry nachos. But
with dancing and life…what’s the connection there? The
connection: it can add much needed flavour to what might otherwise
be a slightly dry life. And everyone seems to be trying it. Is that
your doctor, your high school friend, or your neighbour on the
dance floor? All it takes is one trip to the local Salsa Nightclub
to see that the place is packed with shining happy people, be it a
weekday or weekend, with men and women from all backgrounds, ages
and sizes. The fact is, millions of people around the world have
come to enjoy this exciting and passionate dance so much so that,
second only to music, Salsa dancing might be considered the
world’s most understood and loved "universal
language”!
If you are still undecided as to whether or not Salsa dancing is
for you, here are some of the key reasons why you should make Salsa
dancing a part of your life:
Salsa
Dancing Helps You Stay in Shape
Witness the many toned bodies twirling at the local Salsa Nightclub
and you’ll see how Salsa dancing is great exercise. It can
burn from 300-500 calories/hour, comparable to cycling, swimming or
jogging. Salsa increases your heart rate, helps you burn more
calories, tones your muscles, and can help you lose weight. With
Salsa dancing, you will be strengthening your abs, hips, buttocks,
thighs, calves, and arms. Salsa lessons and Salsa dancing makes you
sweat and makes it fun at the same time. Salsa also promotes other
healthy habits. Salsa dancers tend to drink and smoke less. Salsa
dancers tend to eat healthier food and keep their weight at a
healthy level.
Salsa
Dancing Helps You Feel Better
Witness the abundance of smiling blissful faces at the local Salsa
Nightclub and you’ll see how Salsa dancing is an amazing way
to relieve stress. In your Salsa lessons, the world and all its
problems fade away and leaving you in a state of complete fun and
relaxation. After investing some time in learning to dance through
Salsa lessons and practice sessions, you will grow in
self-confidence both in the Salsa Nightclub and in the rest of your
life. Dancers are both more comfortable with themselves and with
others in social situations. Also, when you take Salsa lessons you
learn to dance and cooperate with so many new people that you learn
to feel better about yourself in a learning environment, which can
be difficult to accomplish. Believe it or not, feelings of family
and belonging are created in Salsa classes and this can also assist
with inner confidence, self-awareness, and
centredness.
Salsa
Dancing Improves Your Social Life
Witness the number of vibrant, cheerful people chatting and dancing
amongst themselves at the local Salsa Nightclub and you’ll
see how Salsa dancing can improve your social life. The truth is -
most of us could use an upgrade when it comes to our social lives.
Whether that means making new friends or meeting someone special,
Salsa lessons and Salsa dancing create an effective way to
socialize. Salsa classes can introduce you to dozens of new Salsa
dancing friends every semester. Add that to the hundreds of
students that are found practicing their moves at bi-weekly outings
and the thousands of Toronto Salsa lovers that can be found dancing
at local Toronto Salsa clubs and “poof”; your social
world has grown! Salsa gives folks a fun way to interact. Since you
already have something in common, conversation is easier. And once
you start dancing, the bond begins to form. Laugh together, feel
the music together, and talk with ease together. You do not need a
partner to take Salsa lessons, take Salsa club classes or go
dancing at an outing or club. Many people go to Salsa classes or
clubs alone because it gives them the chance to be social, meet new
people, and build friendships with folks they’ve met there
before.
As well as rewarding friendships, Salsa is an easy way for single
people to meet other singles and possibly start a romance. Salsa
dancing is fun, relaxing, and liberating so it is a great place to
find and get to know that special someone. Students in Salsa
lessons often get together in small groups and go out Salsa dancing
so not only are you meeting the students from your class but also
their network of friends and family. Staring at a computer
screen/connecting via an Internet dating site, speed dating or
singles events are other ways to meet people but why not learn to
dance and have a chance to meet someone at the same time? Why not
try a Salsa class! We have Salsa classes specifically designed for
singles looking to meet new friends and add some
“sauce” to their social lives. In the Salsa lessons,
everyone who wants to rotate gets the chance to change partners
every few minutes and meet a variety of Salsa
students.
Salsa
Dancing Helps You Get Inspired
Witness the abundance of Salsa dancers who swear by Salsa dancing
and bring that joy into their work lives, their community work and
their family lives and you’ll see how Salsa dancing helps you
get inspired. Salsa dancing is an extremely, creative, expressive
and inspiring activity. For anyone looking to develop and/or
showcase their inner artist, Salsa dancing is it. Countless turn
patterns, body movements, solo/partner dance steps plus your
interpretation of the music expresses one's self and is unique to
you and to you alone.
Most definitely, Salsa is F-U-N. With those high energy,
hip-shaking hot Latin beats, it’s not hard to guess why Salsa
has grown into the most popular, widely enjoyed social dance the
world has ever seen.
So
to sum it up:
• Salsa lessons are a great way to get in shape
• Salsa lessons burn calories and can help you lose
weight
• Salsa lessons improve muscle tone, flexibility,
coordination, endurance and strength
• Salsa lessons reduce stress
• Salsa lessons keep you mentally sharp and self-aware
• Salsa lessons keep you feeling and looking young
• Salsa lessons enhance self-confidence
• Salsa classes help you meet new friends
• Salsa classes help you meet someone special
• Salsa classes help you become self-expressed
• Salsa classes help you feel like you belong
• Salsa classes get you excited and enthusiastic about
life
Everyone who loves Salsa dancing can tell you how it’s
changed his/her life. So look past your reservations and try
something that will give you more in return then you ever
expected.
