FAQ

We recommend checking out our full schedule page for the class schedule. We have beginner classes (101 level) for both Salsa and Bachata multiple times a week. www.aatmadance.com/schedule

No, you don’t have to schedule your classes ahead. We support both signing into classes online, or just coming in and checking in with the front desk. Even if you sign in online, please stop by at the front desk to check-in.

If you have a Groupon, the first sign-up needs to be done in person. You can just bring your Groupon and sign up at the desk. Please come 15 mins early to do this!

Please visit our dedicated page for details about levels – Our Levels – Aatma Dance

No. You do not need to come with a partner. Majority of students come individually to our class, so we make sure we rotate our partners during the partner-work section of our classes. Most classes have an even number of leads and followers, and everyone gets a chance to dance with everyone.

We recommend you wear workout clothes to our beginner classes. We will be moving and sweating a lot. Wear something you would wear to the gym.

Comfortable shoes will work for our beginner classes. Our dance floor is very beginner friendly and is slippery enough with sneakers. Stay away from very high platform heels, or work boots.

As you progress to more intermediate and advanced levels, you can invest in proper dance shoes with suede bottoms.

Everyone learns at a different pace, so the below are rough estimations based on our experience with thousands of students –

Salsa: Salsa is faster and has more basic concepts, so it takes longer (when compared to Bachata) to master the basics. Here’s a rough average from our experience. Please note that your experience might be slightly different and this estimation is simply intended to give you a starting point. Once you are past the beginner level (101), progress is more dependent on how frequently you go out to dance socials and practice. As we like to say “You cannot learn to swim by watching YouTube videos”.

Salsa 101 – 5 visits
Salsa 102 – 2 months + 20 hours of social dancing
Salsa 201 – 6 months – 1 year + going out social dancing once a month
Salsa 301 – 1 year +

Bachata: Bachata is slower than Salsa and has fewer basic concepts.

Bachata 101 – 3 visits
Bachata 102 – 2 months + 20 hours of social dancing
Bachata 201 – 6 months – 1 year + going out social dancing once a month
Bachata 301 – 1 year +

Salsa is a popular Latin social dance with roots in Cuban ‘son’ and other Afro-Cuban dance styles. It is danced around the world in several styles; LA style, NY style, Casino, Cuban style, Cali style etc.

All our weekly classes will focus on LA Style on1.

Bachata is a music/dance from the Dominican Republic, which is very popular in the Latin dance scene. It is generally danced closer to your partner than Salsa.

If you plan to go our social dancing, roughly 50% of the music will be Bachata music, so we recommend learning both Salsa & Bachata. The styles are very complimentary, and learning one will help you learn the other faster.

Majority of our students start out with the 5-class card. Salsa is not skill you can learn in just one class and will take months to master. Our students try out our weekly beginner 101 classes using our 5-class card, and majority of them go on to become Tribe members where they pay our monthly Tribe membership fees and take unlimited classes.

If you are not sure whether Salsa is for you, and you want to try out just one class, we offer single drop-in classes as well. If you like the class, you can always buy a 5 or 10-class card package.

If you are joining as a couple, we offer a few couples packages as well. After you sign-up, you will be able to look at all the packages we offer on our online store.

Yes, class cards have an expiration date. 5-class cards expire 60 days after the first visit. 10-class cards expire 90 days after the first visit. We recommend buying drop-in classes if you are not certain about being able to use up all your classes within the expiration window. We will not be able to re-activate expired classes if you did not use up all your classes.

Almost everything you need to get started is available online. Click on our ‘Login/Register’ link, where you can sign-up for an account. The screens are slightly different depending on your platform (desktop, phone, tablet). Over the computer/tablet, you will be able to see options on the top tab to buy Class Cards. We use the Mindbody platform, which is used by dance and health studios around the world, to manage our students and payments. You can buy class cards using any debit/credit card after registering online.

If you are signing up on a phone, you will be presented with an option to download the Mindbody app. After downloading the app and signing up, you will be able to purchase classes to our studio over the app.