Hot Salsa Saturday
Overview:
Salsa lessons and dancing every 1st Saturday of the month at Dance Boulevard in San Jose. Beginner & intermediate salsa lessons by world salsa champion Michelle Castro and Orlando Felix from 8-10pm, followed by dancing until 2am. Music by DJ BoriQua.
Details:
| Event: | Beginner Lesson, Intermediate Lesson, Dance Party |
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| Date: | Every 1st Saturday of the month | |
| Time: | 8:00pm - Beginner Salsa Lesson 9:00pm - Intermediate Salsa Lesson 10pm-2am Dancing |
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| Cost: | $20 at the door, $15 in advance | |
| Instructors: | Michelle Castro & Orlando Felix | |
| Address: | Dance Boulevard 1824 Hillsdale Ave San Jose, California 95124 Get Directions via Google Maps  |
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| Contact: | (408) 265-3774 sfcongress@gmail.com  Event Facebook Page |
Important: Event times are subject to change. Always double check with the event organizer before making plans.
Our Review:
The evening starts off with salsa lessons by World Salsa Champion Michelle Castro, who is a world-class dancer and co-director of Mambonova dance company. After the lessons, dinner is served (usually Chinese food). Hot Salsa Saturday is one of the few salsa places that I know of that serves food, and it's a nice way to relax and get to know people after the lesson, as well as provide much needed fuel for the dancing which goes on until the wee hours of the morning.
Unlike many other dance socials, HSS is held in a dance studio rather than a bar, which means it's open to dancers of all ages. The venue is quite spacious with a great dance floor, and the large parking lot offers plenty of parking.
Hot Salsa Saturday is held every 1st, 3rd, and 5th Saturday of the month, and it's a great spot to hit if you live in the South Bay.
User Reviews:
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5 people found this review helpful
This social is for serious dancers and tends to attract performers from local dance teams. The level of talent here is high and you will have as much fun watching as you will dancing. I really enjoyed the people at this event.
3 people found this review helpful
Clicky. Good dancers. Lousey, horrible, bad salsa music. If you like to dance salsa to jazz music then this place is for you.
2 people found this review helpful
This is one of my favorite socials in the South Bay! Michelle is a great instructor and really teaches you about ladies styling & footwork. The crowd is pretty big, and is a mix of both beginners and advanced dancers, although most of the beginners tend to come early in the evening and the crowd starts thinning out around 1am.
Minus half a star because this place really does get hot! Other than that, this is a great social!
1 person found this review helpful
Nice social. The place is spacious. The dancers are good but tend to dance and hang out with their own groups. I dance here from time to time. The music is the only thing that drags this place down. Salsa dancers are a diverse group. Salsa music, by the nature of the word, is diverse in itself. Perhaps a change in music format is needed. For good socials with great music, look to socials in the City, Oakland and other parts of the North Bay.
1 person found this review helpful
HSS is very much like the old HSF event with a similar crowd of beginning-advanced local bay area dancers. The studio is quite roomy, has a large and very well kept smooth wooden dance floor, is decently ventilated, and has seating/tables surrounding the floor. There is an upstairs room as well that I’ve seen used as a bachata/kizomba room for other socials.
There is a ($2) student discount, lessons, a buffet dinner, and social dancing till 2am! Lots of free parking as well. The crowd is diverse with all ages, but I would have enjoyed having a larger group to dance with the few times I have gone. This is a fun relaxed social event and my favorite part is the spacious and smooth dance floor. Never have a problem running into other dancers on the floor here.
1 person found this review helpful
I’ve tried coming a couple times for lessons and those were enough to convince me to not stick around for the dancing. If you’re a guy looking to take the lesson, bring a partner. They may rotate but the men outnumber the women and it’s cliquish enough that going alone is daunting.
The class size is big enough with just Michele and Orlando teaching that once you’re lost, you can try to persevere but it’s not a great environment to try and learn, especially with this being a once a month event.
I agree!! Dancing is an expression of joy and comnection with the music and your partner. Its a sublime experience when you are in the zone!
Came here on a Saturday around 10pm. There were 20 guys and maybe 3 or 4 girls. I left around 11 and very little had changed. The ballroom is spacious but the music and system were not that good. I would give a lower revue but this was my first visit.
Great place for social Salsa dancing. Discovered it on Dance Boulevard calendar.Just tried it for two times and love it. Michelle and Orlando-are good teachers.They have classes for Beginners and Intermediate levels.Dance Party starts at 10 pm.
Big crowd for lessons,varies in ages. Advanced dancers come later and more people after 10pm.DJ plays only Salsa music.I wish they played some Cumbia,Bachata or Merengue music too. If you wanna go to the Dance Party as a Beginner I would suggest to learn some basic steps and have your partner. I learn a lot from Michelle’s classes.And during the Party I practice a lot.Just don’t be shy,and invite a partner. The guys shouldn’t complain about lack of ladies. Some of them were watching the dancers and ladies were sitting . No food is served,water is on the first floor.So better to bring your own bottle of water.
Hot Salsa Saturdays Party is on the 1st Saturday of the month. But no party in June,next HSS Party is in July.
Come and give it a try!
Higher quality of dancers than most of San Jose.
Lessons break down pattern nicely.
Could use accessible water.
Love this event! Spacious venue with lots of free parking. Fun lesson and good social dancing afterwards. One of my favorite salsa events to attend in San Jose.