How I got started with Salsa and Latin Motion PV

Hola, my name is Marcella Castellanos and I am a self-proclaimed Latin Dance FREAK. My boyfriend often says, “Honey, if I don’t learn how to dance, you and I won’t last long.” Correctomundo.  Salsa dancing is a part of my Latin blood now.  If I don’t get my fix of dancing at least twice a week, I feel like someone is cutting off my daily morning coffee consumption (don’t think so!) or my weekly tacos from Chilam Bilam. Again, I don’t encourage testing my limitations.

Latin dancing is one of those art forms that is full of passion and sensuality and you just can’t keep your eyes off of a couple who are dancing it-especially if they dance it well. The voyeurism invites you to explore your own sensuality and then you discover that it was always within you, just dormant. I started dancing ballet and jazz as a child and about seven years ago I was first introduced to salsa dancing in the San Francisco Bay Area.  That’s when I first got bit by the Latin dance bug.  It was sensual, infectious, social, and FUN! Not to mention a really good sweat. There were so many people participating and it is encouraged to switch partners without anyone giving it a second thought! I also made an abundance of business contacts and oodles of friends. Wow, getting involved with salsa was the all-in-one solution.

I teach salsa dance basics and soon bachata- a Dominican Republic dance taking the world by storm at Yoga Vallarta. I feel priveleged to have learned by some of the best salsa teachers and dancers in the world and from a few very talented people here in Puerto Vallarta as well. I often have local talent assist with my classes and soon-to-be workshops to encourage people to develop their own sense of style and not be clones of someone else’s fancy moves.  

When I first arrived to Vallarta two years ago, I was really hungry for information on where to go for dance classes, or where I could pop in for social dancing. It took me a while to navigate around town and figure out who teaches where, was there an upbeat live Cuban band playing somewhere, and on and on—Vallarta was lacking information in this area. I found it to be strange because salsa and Latin dancing in general attract people from all over the world; I was baffled that more businesses didn’t realize this opportunity. Since then, I have created a facebook page called Latin Motion PV. This is where people in the mostly salsa dance community post events, pictures, video, upcoming classes, etc.  so that locals, newcomers or people visiting can be informed and also post a comment or a bulletin to share their own  information on that theme. Latin Motion PV also prides itself on helping to raise awareness for social causes in the PV area.

I’m honored to be writing about a topic that I greatly enjoy and that I believe so many are interested in but may be shy about putting one foot in front of the other(no pun intended) to get started. Each week  you can look forward to me highlighting either a different Latin dance form, report on an upcoming or current event,  interview different instructors or dancers in the Puerto Vallarta area or talk about the do’s and don’ts of salsa dancing, as well as other educational articles. I hope to inspire and educate you to learn a dance form because I believe people are happier when they dance.  So the more you dance, the less grumpy you will be-just ask your partner.:)  See you on the dance floor!