*Click here* to read the reviews.

........................................................................

Vera's 2013 Schedule
No Partner Necessary!

SPRING 2013:

......................................................................

Private Salsa Lessons...
$80/hr (one to eight people), $5 additional person/hr
$150/hr non-profit group
$250/hr large groups (20+), weddings, parties, etc.

........................................................................

The Reviews

"Thank you for having that energy to teach Salsa! You really are my "Salsa Queen." Because of you, I have a lot of enthusiasm to learn this beautiful art. I started to learn SALSA to lose weight, but now I'm enjoying all the benefits of this experience such as working out while having fun, meeting new friends in a great enviroment, and going to new places in our beautiful Bay Area, breaking race, gender, status, age, and other barriers while working as a team. Thank you Vera!"

Tony F.

.......................................................................

Vera,
You are an old soul and you have touched many lives without even knowing.

The energy you share is priceless.

Sincerely,
Esmeralda Melgoza

.......................................................................

Dear Vera,
I am so very glad I was introduced to salsa through your classes, for your style of teaching is special and it connects with people in a way I wish more instructors had.

Bethanie Kuller

.......................................................................

I have been dancing salsa for about 5 years. My first salsa instructor was Vera Quijano at Cañada College in Redwood City, CA. Shortly after I started to dance, I became her assistant. She inspired me to keep on dancing and respect other dancers no matter what level they are. I now encourage my salsa students to the same, that way EVERYBODY GETS A DANCE WITH EVERYBODY!

Sergio Barajas

.......................................................................

Vera,
One of my main reasons for signing up for your class is that I really like your style of teaching. I have taken other salsa classes and the teachers are not as effective.

Consuelo

.......................................................................

What does it mean to Be Sexy?

Sexiness, to me, has always been about feeling comfortable in my own skin—about taking risks, and doing what both thrills and scares me. I’ve always admired people with passion for what they do, no matter what it is, because the joy they radiate in doing it is contagious. Their enthusiasm fuels my curiosity and inspires me to pursue what fascinates me.

Salsa has intrigued me ever since I took a Latin American music course at UCLA, but I’d never considered myself much of a dancer, mostly because I’d long felt too shy and embarrassed to try it. Self-consciousness would freeze me, and I’d cringe at the mere mention of parties and clubs. Eventually I got into the habit of saying I just wasn’t into dancing, but secretly, some part of me longed to feel the same ease and abandon I’d witnessed in great dancers. That part of me wanted to lose myself in the music and just dance for sheer joy, and somehow the rhythms of salsa crashed through those walls of reserve and fed right into that longing. I vowed then that someday I’d take salsa dance lessons.

I didn’t feel quite ready—and, in fact, didn’t have the chance—to realize that goal, though, until I found a job and moved to the Bay Area last summer. Several months before that, I’d returned from a two-year stint teaching English as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine, an experience which, among other things, tested me dearly but also taught me a lot about myself. I found myself overcoming challenges that made me think, “If I can do that, maybe I can do this,” and with those experiences I think I acquired the strength and confidence that have allowed me to explore facets of life I’d previously thought I couldn’t handle. So when I read about the salsa classes Vera was giving at the College of San Mateo and Redwood Shores this fall, I signed up right away.

Vera’s salsa classes were the first I’d ever taken, as well as the first dance instruction I’d ever had. I came away from the first class exhilarated, and though I’m not a great dancer by any means, still I’ve enjoyed those moments when I can relax in my partner’s arms and follow the rhythm without worrying about every step. And I love the searing joy I feel at watching skilled salsa dancers who love the art form and just look like they’re having a great time. To me, the music and the dance seem infused with all the exuberance I feel for what makes life worth living, and I find that incredibly alluring. Nothing is sexier than the passion, the confidence and pure joy so rife in salsa.

Trina Enriquez

Trina Enriquez earned a B.A. in communication studies from UCLA, where she served first as a reporter and then as Life & Trends editor for the UCLA Daily Bruin. She also worked as an associate editor for Chicken Soup for the Traveler’s Soul in West Hollywood. After graduation she interned at National Geographic magazine in Washington, D.C. before joining the Peace Corps in Ukraine. Currently she works as an editorial assistant for the communication studies discipline at Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, a higher education publisher in Belmont.

.......................................................................

The question: Does salsa make you feel sexy?

The answer: My friends and I laugh a lot about this subject. We call salsa, “safe sex”.

What do I mean by this? Well, the dance begins by teaching you how to move your body to the beat, after awhile your soul begins to move to the music. Pretty darn soon the two connect together and you have a very sensual woman on the dance floor.

At first I was very concerned about learning the right steps, the right moves, the right responses. What I love most about Vera’s class is that she teaches you to fly. Your way is the right way because it’s coming from your heart and it is uniquely your own creation. Yes, it does take time to learn the basics, and yes it is important to practice, practice, practice, but in the process something magical happens, your sensuality begins to emerge. Salsa unlocks your heart, your soul and your sensuality. It is sometimes hard to find ways to express one’s self in this crazy world. We often shut down for a number of reasons. Salsa opens the door to a whole new exciting way to look at life.

I started salsa this summer and I have danced with hundreds of different partners. Two of these men have been able to unlock this sensual creature I am creating within myself. Wow! It is so exciting to have this happen to you out on the dance floor. The first time it happened I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I didn’t want to wake up! I did have to snap myself back into reality, but o what a feeling.

I am so inspired to keep going with this dance. I look forward to creating “Lola”, my uninhibited flamenco/salsa queen! She is my inner sensuality, my inner soul.

Thank you Vera,
Lola

.......................................................................

Stepping into Salsa

My two left feet have newfound freedom and joy. After years of competitive tennis, volleyball, ice hockey and one broken ankle, golf seemed like my only hope left.

I found the door to the world of dance through a salsa-intoxicated friend. Her delirium spoke volumes, so I took her up on her offer. During the first weeks of class, I found myself a helpless insomniac. After dancing, I was too charged to fall asleep. The salsa world is a dynamic one - the music is fast, the movements sexy, the people kind, warm and inviting. Watching our instructor, Vera, dance with other experienced dancers can make your heart beat an extra beat or two.

At first glance, I thought the process was simply to learn my steps, listen to the music, and follow my partner’s lead. As an independent self-employed working woman, I had to stop my tendency to take the initiative, get the job done, and lead, lead, lead. I had to surrender my will and wholeheartedly listen to what my partner was communicating to me. If I did, the movements flowed from one to another. If I didn’t, I found myself cross-checking my partner as if a ruthless opponent on ice. In a few short weeks, I had more penalty points racked up than in my many seasons of ice hockey.

I had realized that salsa dancing is a form of open communication and movement between two people. The subtlest shift of the leader’s hand can guide the follower into the next move. As a beginning student, I’ve had the privilege and joys of dancing with intermediate and advanced leaders. As a dancer’s confidence and experience grows, movements
evolve - the touch is softer, the signals are clearer.

As an artist, I’ve learned that the most wonderful moments happen between brushstrokes and between your thoughts. Salsa is of the same glorious substance. When the steps become a part of you, movements flow, the pulse of the music becomes the beat of your heart. In the grander scheme of things, it’s a spirit to spirit connection, made in joy and for the love of dance. It is the place where magic happens.

K.C.


back to top