“Salsa Saturdays”: Latin dance class & party, select Saturdays 8 pm – 12 am
Latin social dancers from all backgrounds may join us for a fun class aimed at a low intermediate level of dance. We will teach a different Latin social dance each event – check our social media before each date for details. This will be followed by a dance social for the participants and our students to enjoy dancing together, complete with plenty of fun ruedas de casino and dance animations led by us.
This event is free for our monthly members. Click the dates below to reserve (if you have a membership and are logged into your account, the event will show as “free”). Otherwise, this event is $15.
Class 8-9 pm, Social dance 9-12 pm
Bi-Weekly Dates:
January 14 and January 28
February 11 and February 25
March 11 and March 25
April 8 and April 22
May 6 and May 20
Absolute Beginners Workshop & Mini-Social, select Saturdays 7-10 pm
This is the place to start when you have no experience. In these workshops, brand new dancers will practice walking in time and will learn the basic steps of Cuban salsa: Forward and back, dile que no, guapea, enchufla, with occasional embellishments and variations. This is followed by a mini social dance for class participants to practice what they have learned in a friendly and lively atmosphere, guided by us and by members of our team.
Workshop 7-9 pm & Mini Social 9-10 pm
This class is the perfect way to begin dancing, and the best introduction to our “Adult Cuban Salsa Partner/Rueda I Series” class series which begins each month on the following Wednesday at 7 pm.
Space is limited – reserve in advance! Click the dates below to reserve. This event is $15.
Monthly Dates for this Workshop:
January 7 (Free for all during open house week!)
February 4
March 4
April 1
April 29
See you on the dance floor!
Ongoing Signature Events:
“Cubanía: A Celebration of Cuban Dance Heritage” – Our annual weekender event, held during National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) each year since 2018! Our 2022 edition will be held October 7-9!
“Salsa in the Park” – Weekly free social dance event series held in beautiful downtown Anchorage in collaboration with the Anchorage Downtown Partnership. Held each summer since summer 2018!
“Salsa Saturdays” – Monthly dance class and lively social event with performances and more! Held at Main Event Grill during the fall of 2021 and at Williwaw Social during the spring and fall of 2022.
Collaborations:
“Cultivating Community and Confidence Among Young Alaskans through Social Dance” (2021) – a three month community artist project held in cooperation with the Anchorage Concert Association offering free dance classes to Anchorage School District teens.
Past Ongoing Events:
“Latin Night at Charlou” (2018-2020) – monthly event with live percussion, performances, and social dancing in Anchorage. Venue closed due to Covid-19.
“Latin Night at Koot’s” (2019-on hold) – weekly event for social dancing on Saturdays at Chilkoot Charlie’s in Anchorage. Temporarily paused due to Covid-19.
We have also previously held ongoing classes and events at Four Corners Bar & Lounge in Palmer, at Open Space in Anchorage, and at The Nave (formerly Church of Love) in Anchorage. We are also grateful to the Last Frontier Bar for hosting events with us and for supporting dance in Anchorage as well (now closed due to Covid-19).
Past Special Event Flyers:
Past Special Event photos:
For more past event photos, check out our Facebook page!
Our Past Special Event Guests:
October 2021 – “Cubania: A Celebration of Cuban Dance Heritage” (4th Annual)
Reinier and Daniela (Cuba/Mexico/USA)
Dance instructors and performers
Reinier is from Cuba and has worked as a professional dancer in both Cuba and Brazil before immigrating to the USA. Daniela is originally from Mexico and has worked both in Mexico and Canada before joining Reinier in Seattle to co-direct La Clave Cubana. Together, they teach and perform Cuban dances, organize and host the annual Seattle Cuban Dance Fest, and run touristic dance courses in Cuba.
October 2020 – “Cubanía: A Celebration of Cuban Dance Heritage” (3rd Annual)
Felix Bambury Webbe (Cuba/Alaska)
Dance instructor
Hailing from Cuba and living in Fairbanks, Felix Bambury Webbe has brought with him a lifetime of embodied knowledge. He learned many Cuban and Haitian dances in their original cultural contexts as a youth. Later, he worked for the well-known folkloric dance companies BanRarrá, a Haitian roots group from Guantanamo, and Raíces Profundas in Havana, one of the world’s most authentic performing ensembles in the Afro-Cuban Yoruba traditions (originating in West Africa).
September 2019 – “Cubanía: A Celebration of Cuban Dance Heritage” (2nd Annual)
Jorge Luis & Indira (Cuba/USA)
Dance performers and instructors
Jorge Luis Fernandez and Indira Mora Cueto are both graduates of Cuba’s National Arts Schools, specializing in Cuban dances, and they have danced in professional companies both in Cuba and abroad. Now they reside in Las Vegas where they are creating together, fusing styles with their Cuban dance roots, while also traveling as invited artists to events all over the world. They are up & coming stars of the North American salsa scene.
May 2019 – “Havana Nights” Dance Party
DJ el Samurai de Cuba (Cuba/Italy/US)
DJ and promoter of Cuban music
Ivan Alfonso Cilano is known in Italy and in the world of Latin music as “El Samurai of Cuba”, having won several national and European judo championships. Ivan is one of the most established DJs in Italy and Europe for his deep knowledge of traditional salsa and Cuban rhythms, in addition to his famous ability to thrill audiences and light up dance events with very good mixes.
Ivan was born in La Habana (Cuba) on January 10, 1968, arriving very young in Italy in 1983, where he built his professional career but never lost ties with his land.
He has worked at radio stations such as Radio Taino in Cuba, Radio Mambo, and Radio Dimensione Suono in Italy. He has achieved fame for many years traveling through Europe and participating, as a presenter or official DJ in many major salsa festivals: from the World Salsa Festival in Rome to the New York Festivals, Salsitali, Timba Tumba, Timba Congress, Cubamemucho, “Made in Cuba” congress, Salsafestival Switzerland, and many others
Among the many personalities that he has interviewed or presented at different events, there are Celia Cruz, Willy Colon, Rubén Blades, Oscar d’Leon, Juan Formell, Jose Alberto “El Canario”, Gloria Estefan, Tito Puente, La India, David Calzado, Santana, Manolito Simonet, Josè Feliciano, Manolín “El médico de la salsa”, and Jose Luis Cortez (the father of Timba). Several Cuban artists mention el Samurai within the texts of their songs.
A great anticipator of new hit artists and hit songs, Ivan el Samurai de Cuba is at the top among the top DJs of Cuban music in the world.
Check out this great mini-documentary made by Baila Conmigo TV about Ivan’s story!
September 2018 – “Cubania: A Celebration of Cuban Dance Heritage” (1st Annual)
Esteban Isnardi (Uruguay/Switzerland)
Caricaturist, writer and poet, performance artist, dance instructor and choreographer
In his own words: Esteban Isnardi has grown in the Afro music, in Uruguay, dancing Candombe in his district. This kind of cousin of the Afro Cuban rhythms brought him naturally to the Casino and Salsa world. He created his own school 18 years ago in Europe and opened a branch in Oceania in 2012. He’s one of the most invited teachers to the salsa congresses and festivals around the world (more than 250 cities of almost 70 countries in the 5 continents so far) and he’s considered one of the best instructors of Cuban Salsa today. Some people even say that no one has taught in more countries. He danced on TV for Ibrahim Ferrer, on stage with Los Van Van, Pupy, Havana D’ Primera, Revé y su Charangón and FredyClan, he won 2 podiums at the Rueda world championship, he was 4 times Swiss champion, many times choreographer and coach of international champions, he received an award as a guest of honor at the “Cubamemucho” festival and he is also an official international judge. He improved his knowledge with his friend Helio Orovio (RIP) the author of the “dictionary of the Cuban music”. He has also been elected as one of the leaders of the “Federación mundial de formación de Casino y bailes populares Cubanos”. Ambassador of the World Artistic Dance Federation, he is the prime mover of the official Rueda world championship. Esteban is also well known as a lyricist (he wrote for example the lyrics of Pedrito Calvo Junior’s last single: Casinero Sí o Sí), an author (4 books published) and an illustrator (uncountable publications in newspapers and magazines, caricaturist of Los Van Van). He currently speaks 4 languages (Spanish, French, English and Italian). His impressive CV as a dancer and dance teacher can be found here.
