Our popular beginners-intermediate Salsa, Bachata & Merengue dance class series is back at La Peña for 4-weeks, starting Tues. June 7th, 2022!
Join us and explore the possibilities of your body and how to communicate with others through dance, rhythm and flavor! Partners are not necessary!
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Beginners – Intermediate Class Series (4 Weeks) Tuesdays at 6:15pm-7:15pm, June 7 – June 28
This is a 4-week series designed for beginner-intermediate students to learn and enjoy three popular Latin dance styles: Salsa, Bachata and Merengue!
Classes are taught by Venezuelan dance instructor Juliana Mendonca (she/her).
Juliana’s teaching style is not a traditional ballroom style latin dance class. She first teaches her students to connect to their body and to connect to the rhythms before getting to the steps and turns. This foundation will help you loosen up your hips, knees, shoulders and arms to allow each student to get their own authentic feel for each genre and its unique rhythm.
SERIES SCHEDULE (4 weeks) 6/7/22 – 6/28/22
- Tuesday, June 7, 2022, 6:15pm-7:15pm
- Tuesday, June 14, 2022, 6:15pm-7:15pm
- Tuesday, June 21, 2022, 6:15pm-7:15pm
- Tuesday, June 28, 2022, 6:15pm-7:15pm
Series Tuition Cost: $94 for entire series .
BONUS PERK! Students get a FREE ticket to an upcoming BAILA! party at La Peña (June 17 or July 15). (Promo code will be emailed after first day of class.)
Please note: Drop-ins to this series are NOT available.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR Juliana Mendonca (she/her) is a dance performer, choreographer and teacher. She graduated with a degree in dance from University Institute of Caracas, Venezuela in 2005, she also served as an instructor at the Performing Arts Department of the University of the Andes in Mérida, Venezuela (2012-2015). Juliana co-founded Raíz de Agua, a music and dance company. Juliana currently lives in Oakland, California with her husband and daughter, working as a dancer, choreographer and teacher.
*COVID-19 POLICY: This class series will not require vaccinations and masks will be optional. However, if City of Berkeley health policies change at any given moment, we will be adhering to those requirements. If the class cannot be held in person due to new mandates, the class will be held online. Thank you for your understanding!
La Peña Community Agreements:
Classes are the most fun when everyone feels safe! We invite you to participate in creating a community culture in which we support and hold each other accountable for making La Peña a safe and inclusive space that we can all enjoy.
- Treat everyone with respect.
- Practice thoughtful communication and language.
- Practice consent.
- Honor everyone’s gender identity and preferred pronouns.
- Be self-aware.
- Take care of yourself and each other.
- Practice active listening.
Iluminado “Yaya” Maldonado, also known as Baba Yaya, was a beloved master musician, culture bearer, artist, rumbero and educator who was born in Puerto Rico and lived most of his life between New York and the Bay Area. Among countless other contributions, he established, organized and sustained the Afro-Cuban/Puerto Rican Rumba Jams at La Peña Cultural Center for decades, which are one of the main Rumba gatherings in the East Bay that have preserved this traditional folkloric music along with many other styles of Afro-Cuban religious and secular rhythms, dance, and celebration.