Dance Spectrum

—CLOSED—
It looks like the area where Dance Spectrum was is a construction site right now. And D’Venu mentioned in another review also appears closed.
The good news is that there is a new studio: Top Dance Ballroom just opened up nearby on Bascom.

This place moved to D’Venue (see J C.‘s review), it went downhill. Now it is back with Hot Salsa Saturdays hosted by Michelle Castro, a biweekly social. So far, so good :) hopefully it will stay that way. Music is a mix of on2/​on1 good stuffs.

closed

Caveat Emptor:
Be VERY CAUTIOUS about signing up for a package of lessons through this dance stutio. My instructor left the studio and I was offered less than half of the $ 700 I had pre-​paid for lessons in refund. There are actually laws to protect students in these cases, which I wish I had read first:

DS offers a very high level of instruction as far as private lessons are concerned. The staff have always been nice and responsive, but as someone who danced there for two years 4 – 5 days a week and spent thousdands of dollars on lessons, it really left a bad taste in my mouth that my goodwill wasn’t worth a few hundred dollars to the studio.

My now husband and I took lessons from Artjom for our first dance at our wedding. He was wonderful and a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend this studio to anyone looking to take partner classes!

EDIT 2012: Hot Salsa Friday has moved to D’Venue (1300 White Oaks Road, Campbell, CA 95 008).
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Review for Hot Salsa Friday ONLY — this event occurs on the odd-​numbered Fridays of the month (1^st/​3^rd/​5^th). 4.5÷5 stars.
+Friendliness: ⁵⁄₅ — You get it all, from the troupesters to the friendly family folks. The fact that this is a dance studio and not a bar really helps with people just enjoying the dance.
+Skill level: ⁵⁄₅ — Mmm, skill level from intermediate upwards. Plenty of excellent social dancers and troupe members here.
+Music: A smattering of romantica, mambo, bachata, chacha, and merengue at first… though it segues nicely into latin jazz-​y stuff once it hits 11:30pm and later.
This is pretty much my favorite salsa venue in the Bay Area. Its got friendly people, great dancers, and (eventually) solid music as the night goes on. Heck it even has «free» Chinese food if you, like many of the goers, skipped dinner to take the lessons. (Officially the beginner’s lesson goes 7−8pm, and intermediate goes 8−9pm, but you have to +30 min to take account of dancer time.). IIRC it’s $ 10-​$ 15 to get in, depending on whether you’re a student or whatevs.
Mixed/​negative strikes for this place:
–They take their hot LITERALLY. Once this place gets going it’s like a sauna in there. I went through 3 shirts in a night just cause of the heat. And oh, the heat problem is exacerbated with the place smelling like cheap Chinese takeout due to the complementary buffet they have.
–Hour long performances, typically going from 10:30 — 11:30pm. Most people like ‘em but as a social dancer who’s there only to dance, I find it kinda jarring to be interrupted.

Great Swing dance classes and dance party on sundays by Lindy Central teachers.

I’ve only ever tried this place for Hot Salsa Friday (1^st, 3^rd, and 5^th Fridays of each month), so I can’t say much about Dance Spectrum in general, but HSF is my absolute favorite place to dance and have fun. I’ve been to this place fewer than 10 times so far, but there are already friendly, familiar faces every time I attend.
The entry fee is $ 12 for general admission, $ 10 with a student ID. Beginner’s lesson begins at 7, and intermediate’s/advanced at 8. At 9, the «free» food is served and the dance floor is open for just having fun. Lessons are slow enough, but simultaneously fast-​paced to keep things rolling. Both beginner’s and intermediate routines are fun and, more often than not, flashy. If you don’t get it, they’ll walk around after a while and help you through it. And if you don’t want their help, there are always nice people who are willing to show you the ropes.
Michelle and Ricardo, the regular instructors, are extremely personable, and wonderful at breaking down what seem to be difficult patterns. As a side note, I actually think I judge other places unfairly because my first experience with salsa spots like this was with HSF. Don’t be fooled! Go to Hot Salsa Fridays and see how others may pale in comparison! The only slightly bad thing about this place is that it gets really, really humid. Like, the-​studio-​turns-​into-​a-​vat-​of-​steam kind of humid.
And just F.Y.I., yes, there are rotations, and yes, you can stick to your own partner if you want. But stop being a hermit; meet some new people! Not all of them are creepy, promise ;D.
If you’re serious about learning some stuff, get through their lessons, and then stay behind to dance with other people. It’s the best way to learn and see what’s out there.
Now that I’ve wasted 10 years of your life, go make time to check out my FAVORITE SALSA PLACE IN THE WORLD.

Took my kid here for her first dance class. It’s a new class for kids 4 to 18 y/​o. The only complaint I have is that I wish the instructor was more attentive to everyone, not just to the youngest kids in the class. The age gap is too broad for a 4 y/​o to keep up with a teenager making it not fair. They should definitely do something about this so the people that go get their $$ worth.

The Dance Spectrum– how fun! I took dance lessons with my now husband specifically for our first dance as man and wife. We wanted to keep it a surprise but boy was It hard to keep this a secret! I wanted to run home and tell my family and friends about this place. Kye was our instructor, he was perfect for us as our personalities just clicked. We had such a blast with him! I also tried to attend the Salsa boot camp sessions, but my time constraints with work did not allow me to stay through the program. My first lesson was great, I met some pretty awesome people along the way and the instructors really know their stuff. I will definitely come back once my work schedule is steady. Our first dance was wonderful, thanks to Kye!

We went to Hot Salsa Friday this past weekend because my mom is taking a Spanish class and this acts as her extra credit. I never knew places like this existed, and I had no idea what to expect.
The beginner’s class starts at 7pm. Intermediate class starts at 8pm, and a free buffet is served at 9pm.
The class is taught by a really hot Filipina chick named Michelle and a not as hot dood. The first thing they do is split the class up into male/​female. The guy teacher takes the guys to one side of the room, and Michelle takes the chicks to the other side of the room, and we learn the basics.
Then everyone finds a partner and you make a circle around the room. You dance with your partner for about 2 minutes, and then the guys all switch down one girl… kind of like speed dating.
Pros is I got to learn a bunch of new dance moves with all of my guy partners. Cons is I’m here to learn how to dance w/​the hubby. By the time I rotated back to hubby, I was already pretty good from all the stuff all the other guys were teaching me, and hubby was still at basic, so we didn’t match very well.
It’s pretty meat markety, and the ratio of guys to girls is pretty even, with a few guys not having immediate partners. However, with the rotation, you will always eventually have a partner.
If we go again, I’d skip on the rotation, and just learn to dance w/​the hubby. Call it stuck up, call it what you want, it was just weird dancing with other men in general that I didn’t know.
I would recommend this to my single friends as a great way to have some fun and meet new people.

This review is for HSF (Hot Salsa Friday,) a salsa social every 1^st and 3^rd Friday of every month. If there is a 5^th Friday in a month they have it too and call it an Extra Hot Salsa Friday ;).
HSF is my NUMBER ONE favorite salsa place.
You have plenty of parking, room to dance, great people, great music, no bar for weirdos to get drunk and annoy you.
Right next to it you have Jack in the Box where you can get some fries after dancing, to make up for the calories you just burned ;).
I would recommend this place for all ages, types and levels of dancers. In fact, I’d recommend it to everyone that wants to have some fun.
The only negative thing that comes to mind is that in does get a bit HOT at times. There is a lot of action on the dance floor so the room temperature rises and it gets pretty stuffy in there. Good thing girls salsa outfits really aren’t a lot of clothing :)…

Great place! I love all about it! Top Bay Area dance studio!

I came here to take a belly dance class with Adrianna. The studio’s are open (yes, open to spectators) and it seems their focus is Latin and ballroom dance, at least on Thursdays. Adrianna has a nice voice, good stamina, and great knowledge of musicality and Arabic music. She focuses a lot on technique and body muscles that create effective movement in the art form. I got to sweat but I wanted to move more than I actually did.

I come here mainly for Hot Salsa Friday every other Friday, and that is so much fun! great dancers, comfortable, large room, easy to meet people, decent buffet and lessons all included in the 12 $ price.
Dance Spectrum is also great for private and group dance lessons of all sorts. I’ve taken ballroom, jazz, jazzercise and salsa lessons there.

I would give it a five star if the group session instructors were as good as the private lesson instructors. The instructors for private lessons are incredibly good at what they do. Their professional, fun, and encouraging.
The group instructors for the two sessions I attended may have been good dancers, but not good instructing a group.
If you are a very beginner, I’d highly recommend the private lessons. When you are a woman, you will learn how to follow. When you are partnered with a beginner, how can you follow? It’s very difficult. Taking private lessons, made me realize I could follow, I just needed someone that knew what they were doing to lead me. =-) When I become more advanced, an advanced group class will be more enjoyable.

My fiancé and I decided to do first dance at the last minute, and we needed to practice before the BIG day! With my friend’s recommendation, I came here requesting for some crush course lessons asap. Luckily our instructor, Kye was there the day I stopped by and he managed to squeeze us into his schedule immediately from the following day.
This place is pretty awesome! We were able to get the back private room couple of times, but the main room is pretty big too. All instructors there were very friendly, and many of them got some impressive awards and competition experiences. It was inspiring to look at other people practicing hard there.
Our first dance went perfectly as we were able to enjoy our first dance, instead of worrying about how we looked. I think it is a great idea for all the brides and grooms to take a lesson or two to get used to the idea of dancing in front of people before the big day.

Fabulous dance spot!
Very large floor is great for dance practice or lessons if you can find an instructor that suits you. It does get quite crowded during popular times (such as in the evening). The dancers who come here are quite mixed in terms of age, level, and style.
Hot Salsa Friday is awesome. It seems to be less meat-​market-​y than other dance events, there are lots of great dancers, and the floor is big. If you’re not planning to attend the lesson, you can probably arrive around 9:30 or 10 as the lessons usually run over the allotted time. It does get very hot — bring your own water bottle!

The salsa night that they hold here is a lot of fun especially if you are a salsa aficionado. I came too late for the lesson though, but I heard it was really good. And I really need to add some new moves to my arsenal.
The room isn’t that well ventilated, and it could get pretty steamy. But the AC helped– just gotta find those spots on the dance floor where the cool air is blowing.
I know it’s salsa night, but I really enjoyed when they mixed in a little bit of cha-​cha and bachata to switch things up, but the DJ only played 2 or 3 non-​salsa songs. It’s really a Costco-​sized bucket of non-​stop flowing salsa that I was salsa’d out after an hour.
And I don’t know how it’s like on other nights, but there were a lot of dudes when I went. I was dancing w/​a friend and glanced over to the side, and I see a «Usual Suspects» line up of guys waiting for the next song. I said to my friend, «Damn that’s a lotta dudes! I’m stickin’ w/​you for a couple songs.»
Great time overall. I need to come back again and check out their group lessons.

Where else can you put on your dancing shoes and quick step like Fred and Ginger for next to nothing? Instructors are patient and friendly and the professional-​level dancers don’t snicker when you trip in your petticoat (oh yes, I proudly wore mine when we practiced our wedding dance).
See, my now-​hubby thought it would be sweet to surprise me with dance lessons about two months before our wedding. Romantic? yes. Practical? no. I was a ball of nerves and there were times when hubby stepped on my feet over and over again and I wanted to wring his neck, but our instructor, Marsha, was sweet and reminded me that no one would notice my feet under my enormous ballgown so I just needed to relax. We learned a wedding foxtrot and though hubby took a wrong turn on the dance floor at our wedding, it all worked out and we finished to a standing ovation.
We’re going to sign up for more lessons in the fall since we really did have a great time.
Open practice is $ 10 and couples lessons are very affordable. They have tons of classes too.