If the words merengue and salsa just make you hungry, you may be missing out on a spicier side of life that has nothing to do with food. Latin dance is hotter than ever, and it’s easier than ever to learn it, practice it, and even stay in shape while you’re doing it.
Salsa dancers are swiveling their way into local clubs. Couples tango past the tables Friday nights at El Gaucho restaurant. And hordes of local women (and men) are trading in step aerobics for the spicy dance steps of Zumba.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a trend,” says Gina Ake, a dance instructor at Care to Dance? in Delano. “Once something takes hold, it stays around.”
A year and a half ago, Ake was the first certified Zumba fitness instructor in Wichita; now there are at least ten in the area. Zumba — a loose slang term for “move fast, have fun” — blends steps from traditional dances such as salsa, bolero, cha cha, mambo, and others to create a fitness class that’s more like a dance party. It’s what drew Ake back to dancing and teaching.
Ake started as a Fred Astaire Studio teacher in the 1980s. At the time, she was looking for a part-time job where she could use her lifelong dance experience. She wound up competing professionally for the next four years. “Back then, dance studios were filled with the older generation — more mature people. Now it’s shifted. There are more young people learning how to dance. They’re drawn to the spicier type of dancing, like cha cha and salsa.
“I saw a video clip of it and I said, ‘I have to do that, and I have to bring it to Wichita,’” Ake says. “Whether you realize it or not, you’re learning dance steps.”
First, instructors lay the foundation with repetition and core moves; then they encourage everyone to find their own groove. “It’s like cooking,” Ake says. “You can make baked chicken, but then you add your own flavor to it.”
Zumba fans and teachers alike say it’s easy to pick up – and hard to put down. Ake has seen several students catch the dancing bug and cross over to traditional dance lessons once they’ve sampled the steps in Zumba. Fortunately, now those afflicted with dance fever in Wichita have a lot of options.
At El Gaucho, a South American steakhouse on the city’s northwest side, diners are treated to a tango dinner show the last Wednesday of the month. Afterward, they can take a tango lesson and come back every Wednesday to show off their moves. Friday nights are for salsa and merengue dancing.
Saturday is salsa night at America’s Pub in Old Town, which offers two separate dance floors, each with its own DJ. General manager Reco Bonds says the salsa side of the club is usually hopping, and soon Latin music will be spinning on Fridays, too. Dance instructors even bring whole classes to the club. “The first week we advertised, we had 350 people. You knew they were here for salsa and we were packed. It has tapered to where we’re comfortable. People can dance or they can sit and watch what’s going on.”
Don’t expect to sit still if you attend the monthly dance party at Care to Dance?. Every fourth Saturday of the month, the studio’s instructors turn out for an evening of open dance, where students can practice what they’ve learned in class and anyone can check out the appeal of countless styles of dancing. Even “Latin” is a catchall for nearly a dozen distinct dances including rumba, bolero, cumbia, cha cha, and tango. The event, Ake says, is “a chance to practice in a nonthreatening environment because anybody you ask to dance here is going to say 'Yes.'”
So stop moving the coffee table aside to go "Dancing with the Stars" and remember that Gloria Estefan warned you – the rhythm is going to get you, even in Wichita.
~ ERIN PERRY O’DONNELL
