Welcome to Salsa International!

We think that you’ve made a great choice to take your classes with us, but we recognize that you had many choices and humbly thank you for choosing us. We’ve provided some information and answers to frequently asked questions for you, so please read on.

Our Program: Here we’ve included a guideline for you to gauge your travels through the levels should you continue your salsa career with us. This is highly subjective depending on whether you are a leader or a follower and if you attend once a week or every day and if you practice and your inherent natural talent, etc. etc. etc… but most students should expect to fall within the below range.

Basic (typically 1 session)
Level I (1 to 3 sessions)
Level II phase 1 (2 to 6 sessions)
Level II phase 2 (2 to 6 sessions)
Level III (varies)
Advanced (indefinitely)

Please contact us before you enter a new level, for your benefit and that of your fellow students. You will not all move through the levels at the same pace. Everyone learns differently based upon various factors like prior experience or other dance training, knowledge of the music, frequency of attendance, etc. This is normal and good. The beauty of our program is that you can tailor your participation to suit your own needs and availability, and that your instructors know that anyone can learn this dance. Remember that it’s not a race, and as long as you continue to dance and study and learn, you will achieve the level that you wish to be. The question is only how long will it take you specifically?

On that... advanced means advanced. Really. If you have been dancing 6 months, odds are, you are not advanced (unless you came to us as a professional dancer in another genre and perhaps not even then). So again, please check in with your current instructors before changing levels. Core classes (Basic, Level I, and some Level II as noted) are classes that teach a specific syllabus in rotation. Please e-mail us if you have a question about the cycle of rotation for these courses or ask an appropriate instructor. Rueda classes are also on a rotational syllabus – please direct questions regarding the Rueda levels to the program director, Chris Rogicki.

Your Comfort: The most frequently asked question by new clients is hands down ‘What should I wear?’ Since most people come directly from work, wearing any version of a suit, business casual attire or jeans is perfectly fine. Workout clothes are not encouraged, look nice, but you may want to have a light shirt or tank top with you in the event that you heat up. Wear comfortable shoes that slide a little. If you choose not to wear a dance shoe, try for a dress shoe with a leather sole. Sneakers and thick, rubber soles will hamper your progress. Ladies: for your safety, please be sure to wear a shoe that stays with the foot – no mules or dangly sandals. Make sure that your heels support your weight comfortably – thin heels are lovely, but more of a challenge when you first start your classes. No stilettos please. SI students get a discount at the Capezio nearby, and at the Bloch (women only) on the upper west side – please ask us for a card if you would like to purchase dance shoes.

Please note that heavy black rubber soles will mark and scuff our dance floors, and stilettos will do damage. These will not be permitted, so plan accordingly. Sneakers are less than ideal for turning.

Civilized Salsa: Please do not instruct your classmates during group class. Not only is it in poor taste, but whether or not you are qualified to help, the student may neither have asked for nor appreciate your wisdom. We will address learning challenges as we see fit, bearing the good of the entire group in mind.

Talk/Dance ratio – lots of talking during class = not so much dancing. Please help us keep things moving by being attentive – class will be faster-paced and more fun as a result. The practice session is an appropriate venue to socialize and work through things together, so please be sure to join us then!

A sweet smelling partner is a favorite partner. Please come to class bathed, in fresh clothing and with yummy breath. We will do all that we can to provide a cool and comfortable studio, but there are a lot of you. Feel free to bring deodorant or powder, and a clean lightweight shirt or a towel if you need one. We reserve the right to remove any student unable to comply with a high standard of both conduct and hygiene. Yes folks, we expect you to attend classes sober… even during the holidays!

Make-up Classes: Our classes cycle in 4-week sessions. It is important to remember when you register that we determine the beginning and ending of each 4-week cycle. You have options to take drop-in classes or to save money by registering for a package but we stress that the packages are finite and expire at the end of the session. If you choose to join us mid-session, please factor this into your registration. You can register for 1 course (4 hours-$80) and take all of the hours in one week if you like, but what you cannot do is carry purchased classes over into a new session. You also cannot contact us after a session is over (or at the tail end of it) and tell us that your life got busy and that you would like to take your classes now. It is your responsibility to be realistic about your registration. If there is a true, verifiable emergency of some kind, please contact us immediately (definitely not after the fact) and we will try to make some sort of accommodation on a future registration for you.

There is no carryover of unlimited packages ever – it is a time based purchase whether you will miss a week or not. Newer students should be aware that all weeks are not interchangeable as the courses are progressive. If you are registered in the Basic program, please talk to us if you expect to miss an entire week so that we can advise you of your options. If you purchased a 4, 8 or 12-hour package and you missed a make-up, you may re-activate ONE class hour during the first week of the following session for a $10 fee.

*The expiration date on your online purchase means that you have 60 days to activate your purchase. However upon activation (first visit), ALL course purchases must by completed during that session. The classes in that package expire on the last day of class.

Practice Sessions: The practice sessions and Rueda reviews are free to current registered SI students and $5 for past/future students and the general public. Practicing familiar material is the only way to become adept in any social dance environment, and the weekly practice session is an opportunity to ask questions and develop your skills in a safe and friendly atmosphere. It’s also an opportunity to get to know each other without getting yelled at for disrupting class. Yippee! Staff is always on-hand, available to help you review, and we recommend that you take advantage of some of the more advanced students’ knowledge as well. Dancing with the students at a different point in their development can be very good for yours – this works in both directions, so mix! Also, please bring treats to share every now and then. We like cookies.

Loyalty & Dedication: The L & D program is our way of rewarding the folks that make SI their home for a significant period of time. Any student who is fully registered for 16 months with us is entitled to a special discounted rate on unlimited classes. The months of registration do not need to be consecutive, however skipped months do not count toward your time with us. Neither do ‘pay-per-class’ months. We will keep track of your registered months, but if you want to make our lives easy, you may too. Please give us a few weeks warning as you suspect that you are nearing your eligible time to begin L & D for us to verify your attendance.

Please exit Pearl Studios by 10:55 pm. Please be respectful and quiet in the hallways. Other Pearl clients are working and may be distracted by our particular brand of happy.

If you have questions regarding class cancellations due to weather, holidays, or national emergencies, please check the website – www.salsainternational.net or contact us via e-mail or phone (admin@worldsalsa.net / 212-229-8348). Generally, we will put an auto-reply on the e-mail account if we are on holiday or if something unexpected occurs.

Complete policies and info are available in the studio. Yep, there's more!
In the meantime... dance well and often! Gina / Salsa International