Meet Salsa Connection Dance Company | Best Latin Dance Studio | 2020
Meet Salsa Connection Dance Company
Best Latin Dance Studio
Dancers of RVA
For over five years and counting, the members of Salsa Connection Dance Company, LLC (“Salsa Connection”) continue to provide quality instruction and performances to the Richmond community. Initially teaching and performing as a continuation of Latin Vintage Dance Company under the guidance of Julissa Cruz, co-owners Carey Mitchell, Candice Deisher, Crystal Bullock and Rudy St. Julien first offered instruction out of the Ezibu Muntu dance studio before permanently locating their classes to Dogtown Dance Theatre (“Dogtown”)!
In 2019, we incorporated under the name Salsa Connection because it aptly encompasses our mission: (1) to remain connected to the Salsa community through our continued training and performances; (2) to connect new dancers to Latin dance through classes and personal instruction; and (3) to maintain personal connections with fellow dancers in the RVA community through social events and community outreach. We strive to provide quality training that gives our students the technique and tools to be proficient leads and follows anywhere in the world. Because much of what makes Latin dance enjoyable is social dancing and community, we want to ensure our students are well-equipped to enjoy social dancing wherever they may be!
Salsa Connection regularly offers weekly classes in both Salsa and Bachata. We also offer specialty classes, workshops, and boot camps throughout the year. In 2019-2020, Salsa Connection’s student base continued to grow and we offered a student performance challenge that provided some of our students with the opportunity to push their training. The performance challenge was four months long, one hour per week, and students learned a choreography that culminated in live performances at Dogtown’s Mardi Gras and at a local dance social. Seeing our students’ growth was incredibly rewarding for us as instructors!
Salsa Connection had many opportunities to share Latin dance with the Richmond community during 2019-2020. We were asked and provided curriculum and instruction for: at-risk students at John Marshall HS (8 weeks); Hispanic students in the after-school program at Huguenot HS; ESL students in the YMCA program at Quiocassin Middle School; and the West End Academy of Dance’s summer intensives. We also had the opportunity to perform and teach at the Ft. Lee Army Base’s Hispanic Heritage celebration, Virginia State University, the Valentine Museum and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Before the pandemic, Salsa Connection also taught monthly at New Kent Winery’s Salsa Night. Because we want our classes to be both educational and FUN, we were ecstatic that all of these events experienced an elevated level of participation!
As dancers ourselves, we continue our own growth and training by traveling to dance conventions/congresses (Atlanta, DC, Boston, etc) and by bringing in world-class instructors and choreographers. In 2019, Candice and Rudy put RVA on the map as they competed at the World Salsa Summit in Miami.
Salsa Connection is excited to see what the future holds as we navigate the challenges of the pandemic. We appreciate the herculean efforts of Dogtown to provide a safe space to offer socially distanced classes as well as the technology to also reach students virtually.
We are so excited to introduce our featured dancers for the upcoming 2nd annual RVA Dance Awards. The 2020 RVA Dance Awards is a live show that celebrates creativity, leadership and innovation by recognizing excellence within our Central Virginia dance community. This event will be held December 2nd virtually.