Learn to Dance
Salsa or Bachata

. Whichever inspires you the most right now! ​While salsa is a bit more technical and bachata is a bit easier, you really can learn either first. We have students who learn salsa first and students who learn bachata first, and students who learn both at the same time. The good news is that since they are both latin partner dancers, they share many similarities and learning either one will help you with the other! Since salsa & bachata music are played together in clubs, you'll probably eventually learn both.

. While both are latin partner dances, salsa tends to be faster, more technical and more energetic, and bachata is slower, closer contact with your partner, easier, and more sexy/sensual. BOTH salsa and bachata are played together in night clubs, which is why Movers & Shakers Dance Academy specializes in these two dances together (and only these two dances). ​ Salsa has it's roots in Cuba (and arguably Africa), while bachata comes from the Dominican Republic.

. In short, bachata has gained popularity more recently than salsa. Until the past decade, bachata was mostly only danced in the Dominican Republic. It has now, however, exploded in popularity around the globe. The "history of salsa & bachata" section below has more information on why. These days people often find videos on social media of modern, sensual style bachata and are hooked right away. A few years ago when we asked people on the phone if they'd like to learn salsa or bachata, they would typically respond, "What's bachata?" These days however, many people call asking specifically for bachata.

. Salsa ​ Salsa has deep roots in the Caribbean, influenced by traditional African dances. Salsa can be traced back to the dawn of the 20th century, where it was established in Eastern Cuba. At the time, the musical flavor of salsa along with the developing dance became an integral part of Cuban culture. It wasn't until the early 1950’s when the dance reached Havana that it continued to develop into the kind of dance that most people are familiar with today. The tide turned for Salsa when it was integrated with American Jazz music — hence, becoming an in-demand main-stay on the dance floors of the hottest joints in Havana at the time. After the Cuban revolution, immigrants came into the United States and brought with them the dance. In the 1960’s, Fania Records, which mostly signed Latin musicians, became the home of a great deal of salsa music and other music. This makes Fania Records almost wholly responsible for spreading Salsa in America. Bachata ​ While Salsa originated in Cuba, Bachata comes from the Dominican Republic. Unlike Salsa however, Bachata has some European Influences which sets it apart. In the 1950’s Bachata was considered a low form of entertainment since it was prevalent in brothels and places of entertainment frequented by lower class citizens at the time. Bachata does not just pertain to the dance, but it also refers to a type of music — and this is considered as the Latin version of the “blues.” Though Bachata may be considered a romantic and sensual type of dance today, it used to convey a wider range of emotion — heartbreak, romance, and sadness. The man largely credited with bringing bachata to the United States is Juan Luis Guerra. From there, the music transformed with a more urban feel as modern artists emerged such as Romeo Santos, Prince Royce, Bachata Heightz, Xtreme, Toby Love, and Aventura. This could be the second major phase in the evolution of bachata music. ​The third phase in the evolution of bachata music started when DJ's began to layer bachata rhythms on top of already mega popular R&B and pop music. This sound created mass appeal and helped it to spread around the globe like wildfire. The most prolific DJ of such remixes is DJ Soltrix. The dance evolved with the music into what is now called Modern, Urban, Sensual, or Romantic Bachata, which is what is taught at Movers and Shakers Dance Academy.

. Traditionally, in salsa and bachata, men are the leaders and ladies are the followers. The leader is the dancer who's deciding what patterns to do next and the follower's role is to go along with what's being led. We use the terms "leaders" and "followers" instead of "ladies" and "gent's" because sometimes these days people like to choose their role. In short, if you're not sure, you'll be a leader if you identify as male and a follower if you identify as female.

. Yes! There is free, unlimited parking on site at all Movers and Shakers locations.

. Come solo or with a partner - either is great! In class we rotate so you’ll get to dance with everyone.

. Yes! Thanks to having the same students through the programs, we tend to do a very good job of balancing leads and follows! Although perfect balance is never a guarantee, and if students don't show up to class it can cause an imbalance, overall you can be confident that we are well aware of the importance of a close balance and we do a great job balancing the programs.

. If this is your first time taking salsa or bachata classes, start with level 101 (beginner). Even when students grow up dancing in their families/culture/community, on day 1 in class they realize that there are so many details that they’re learning for the first time. Starting from the beginning we'll serve you the best. The goal is to give you rock solid foundations that will make your dancing amazing and clean for the rest of your life. If you have taken fewer than 20 hours of class, probably level 101 (beginner) will still serve you the best. If you excelled in your classes, or took more class, or have more experience social dancing, call us and our academy director can help you determine the best level. Sometimes he’ll even do a dance with you and within 30 seconds will know exactly what will help you the most.

. All programs are approximately $20 / hour.

. Spots are secured when payment is completed. Sometimes students would like to come try a class first. We definitely support that! However, programs often fill, or nearly fill, with paid students before the first day. In this case, after the first class of the season, we open remaining spots to people in the order that they registered. So, if you're not sure yet about completing the payment to secure your spot, complete the registration without the payment, contact us, and we'll take it from there.

. Westwood, the location of the Movers and Shakers Dance salsa dance programs and bachata dance programs, is in the heart of West Los Angeles. It's near UCLA and many areas you may have heard of: Santa Monica, Malibu, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Mar Vista, Sawtelle (little Tokyo / Osaka), Culver City, Marina Del Rey and Century City. To the east is West Hollywood, Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles and to the north is The San Fernando Valley, with Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood and more. Although these are the nearby areas, students drive from ALL over for Movers and Shakers salsa dance classes and bachata dance classes. Every week students come from Orange County, East Los Angeles, Burbank, and they've even come from as far as Bakersfield and Santa Barbara! ​Come join the over 1,000 Movers and Shakers. We are a big and welcoming family where you will find many friends and many dance partners to go out with and explore the Los Angeles salsa and bachata dance scene.

. Only you can be the judge of that, but we certainly strive to be the best in Los Angeles! We feel that we've found a serious pain point in the latin dance community, which is lack of structure in learning, and created the solution. The program structure actually developed organically to meet the needs of the students. We realized that the drop in classes we were teaching at night clubs were just not able to get the students what they needed, so we built structured curriculums and launched them at the studio. ​As the programs evolved, we saw that there was still a big gap between level 1 and 2, so we created level 1.5. There was still a gap, so then we added level 1.75! Later these were renamed to levels 101, 102, 103, and 104. With tremendous attention to detail and dancing 1 on 1 with students in every class, a lot of students report to us that they've never experienced so much focus on details in a dance class. With that feedback, we stuck with it and the programs grew more and more. We are especially excited for students who enter our level 101 salsa or bachata class for beginners with no experience because we get to give you all the info correctly from the start, with no bad habits, and watch you grow!