Latin-inspired dancers go to Studio D

Dancers practicing the salsa. Photo by Adahlia Thomas

Salsa — it’s so much more than a condiment for corn chips.

Studio D on Saturday hosted its monthly Salsa Dancers Social, an event where Latin-inspired dancers come and showcase their talent.

Studio D is just one of many dance studios in Tallahassee, but it specializes in Latin dance. 

“We do lessons, workshops, performances, and we throw parties,” Studio D owner and Tallahassee Salsa Dancers founder Miriam Watkins said.

According to its website, tallahaseesalsa.com, Tallahassee Salsa Dancers is a local community based Latin dance team that focuses on sharing the love of Latin dance with the Big Bend Area.

Since its founding in 2012 by Miriam Watkins, Tallahassee Salsa Dancers has been striving “to inform Tallahassee residents and visitors about local salsa events and instruction and is a collaborative effort between the Latin dancers in Tallahassee.”

Tallahassee Salsa Dancers teaches different types of Latin dance, but specializes in the salsa, hence the name.

“Salsa is a dance; it comes from African roots … because it comes from Cuba, and the Afro-Cuban movement [that] it stems from,” guest dance instructor Justin Genao said.

 Genao is from Bradenton, and has been teaching dance for six years. “There’s different styles to salsa; from LA style to New York style … so many different variations of it,” he added, “I like mambo, which is New York style.”

Kennedy Davis, a senior at the University of Florida, is a member of Gator Salsa and discovered Tallahassee Salsa Dancers through a dance event that she attended. Since then, Davis has been occasionally dancing with Tallahassee Salsa Dancers for about a year and she loves the blend of cultures, as well as the creativity, in the classes.

“I think that it’s beautiful that everybody from all different kinds of cultures can come together and bond over this dance,” Davis said. “It’s [also] a creative way to express yourself, but also get a workout and learn a new skill at the same time.” 

Studio D’s goal “is to unite the Latin dance community by providing a place for dance classes, dance education, social dance events, and family fun,” according to studiodtally.com, and that was exemplified Saturday night. 

Tallahassee Salsa Dancers’ classes are $5 and are every Thursday from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at Studio D, located in Parkway Center at 1105 Apalachee Parkway.