Salsa Dance Classes with Tianne Frias

Tianne is the best salsa instructor period! I’m from Miami and know what good Salsa looks like, she makes you look good and in no time! She is an absolute joy to work with and hands down the most efficient salsa instructor. If you want to learn salsa well and fast, you need her to teach you. Thanks again Tianne for making our little salsa classes so much fun!!!

Tianne and her staff of instructors are good humored and patient — a must have quality for folks dealing with room full of people with two left feet! There is a good crowd and the room usually gets full for her drop in classes, but it’s a non-​intimidating, casual environment for someone brand new to Salsa to learn and have fun. Definitely worth checking out.

After living in Latin America for several years and learning some salsa dancing there, I wanted to learn salsa again here in San Francisco. I read some Unilocal reviews about Tianne and decided to take some private lessons from her. I am glad I made that decision. Tianne is an awesome instructor. She stresses fundamentals and timing before more complex patterns. If you can’t get fundamentals and timing down, your salsa dancing will suffer and it will show. My salsa dancing has improved dramatically since my first private lesson with her. Highly recommended!

Great class! There are usually a lot of people and a relaxed vibe. Tianne is very approachable and takes the time to break down the steps. Often in partner classes there is more focus on the leaders and they get more out of a class than a follower. This is also somewhat true of Tianne’s classes, but less so than some other classes I’ve been to, so for followers it’s great. Another positive is that the people aren’t uppity or into showing off as they are in some salsa classes so it’s easier to feel at ease if you are a beginner or tend to be self-​conscious.

i wanted to get back into formal ballroom dancing again and i searched for anything available in the bay. i found this one since my friend was only available for sunday. it worked out better for the both of us. anyways… i had such an amazing time. i dropped in half way through the intermediate and stayed for the last hour of class. i believe that was the advance class but they were all accommodating. shes a great instructor. she is very thorough with each move. so calls people out so beware lol. she called me out! it was funny because she said that i needed to suck in my partner and i just stared at her and laughed. ok im rambling… everyone there was having so much fun. the students were extremely friendly and i think that is what made it so easy for me. i know enough of salsa but not at the level they were. fortunately i have been ballroom dancing for 10 years so i was able to pick up on what they were all doing. i was the new guy i guess? there was one person who i felt was not happy with me because of my skill level. i felt bad because i didnt want to waste her time so really tried hard every time i was with her. other than that all the followers was so fun to dance with. we all joked and laughed. i cant wait to go again!

Stumbled on this class about a year back via Groupon and havent left since. What can i say, Tianne is that good :). My wife and I have been working with Tianne for over a year and i can tell u i have come a long long way — from the basic step to some cool moves i didnt know i could do :).
Tianne is very professional and gives some really good pointers which would definitely help improve your dancing. The class is very progressive and very well constructed with different levels, so u can gradually make your way from the beginers to the intermediate level within a few months. I would highly recommend this class to people of any level.

I took a series of beginner classes with Tianne, as well as a limited series (10 leader, 10 follower) class. Tianne is a great teacher and focusses on proper technique. Her commitment to students improvement is very clear. She insists that we rotate among partners to learn the nuances of reading people, which is key in social dancing.
Beginner classes: These are drop-​in classes and could get crowded and have a collection of people at all levels. But if you want to try out Salsa dancing for the first time, these are a good idea. I started off here and immediately knew I wanted to learn more.
Limited leader/​follower classes: These were the most fun for me. Tianne and Ricardo conduct these for the same set of people for 4 (or 6 or 8) weeks, and by the end of the 1^st series, I felt much more confident in my basic steps and turns.
Tianne’s class gave me confidence to go to salsa clubs and try it out in the real world. I’m planning to go back for more this year.

After going to about a half dozen places in San Francisco and Oakland, I visited Tianne’s class. I immediately sensed the seriousness of her teaching and her emphasis on understanding the style and musicality of the dance.
A lot of places will teach you some spin moves and other fancy patterns but they won’t spend time helping you refine your style and become a good dancer. Tianne has a passion for the dance and she wants to see excellence in all her students. She’s not the type to just be content with making money and not having a positive impact on the salsa scene in San Francisco.
Her classes can be challenging at first but I encourage you to stick it out. It becomes very enjoyable and the more experienced dancers will begin to reach out more.
Additionally, some Unilocalers mentioned they didn’t have fun after one class. I think really enjoying the dance takes time and at least a dozen classes. If you think you can just walk in, pay $ 15 dollars, and walk out an hour later as a smooth salsero, you’re sorely mistaken.
Also while there may be more men at times, there is a healthy non-​homophobic culture that encourages the more experienced men to play the role of follower (traditionally the women’s role in the dance). I actually really appreciate this practice because the more experienced men can give you more precise advice since they know the challenges of being a leader.
Also Ricardo, Tianne’s dance partner, teaches with her on Monday nights. He’s quite the character and does the funniest caricatures of bad dancing. He’s always cracking me up.

Tianne Frias is the best salsa teacher in the Bay Area. She has a gift for both dancing and teaching. Not everybody is ready to learn social dancing. The classes are full of bright, talented, creative people who enthusiastically learn how to hold a frame, and find the beat. She us inspires to engage with our partners and to dance with a sense of magic.

Ive taken a lot of dance classes in the city and Tianne is definitely my top female instructor. She has a strong and diverse dance background and is patient and humorous. She has a lot of students but still finds the time to give you individual attention. I highly recommend her classes for any level of dancer. Have fun!

Loved the class, the instruction and the people! Tianne is awesome!

I’ve been doing salsa classes on and off for quite some time. Wherever my ship takes me I look for classes at that port. I’m now here in the Bay area, Tianna & Ricardo opened up my eyes to a whole new way of teaching salsa. I’m still working on my basics, but my biggest downfall is leading. «In order to be a good lead, one must learn how to follow.» So that being said, for the first time i danced with a man. Ackward at first, but the students and instructors definately showed me the meaning of the proverb in salsa. Tianne & Ricardo is very detailed, patient and technical. A student is the reflection of the instructor. And after observing the advance salsa class, the students were amazing. Very friendly atmosphere, both instructors and students. I highly recommend her as your salsa instructor if you want to learn or hone your salsa dancing.

I have been attending Tianne’s salsa lessons consistently for the last 8 months and I am really proud of the progress I have made since I started. I was an absolute beginner when I started and now I have a good arsenal of techniques, thanks to Tianne!
Tianne classes are really fun and energetic. She organizes training sessions and workshops periodically that I think is totally worth taking for all levels. All the dancers (code named Puppies and Kittens) are fun to be around and have passion for dancing which is really motivating.
I will strongly recommend taking her classes if you are thinking about learning Salsa, if you are beginner or even an advanced dancer who just wants to polish your moves.

Tianne is great! My friend and I went salsa dancing one night at Cocomo, and decided that we should probably take lessons (yeah, we weren’t that great). We started going to Tianne’s Sunday classes, and have loved it every week!
She has different levels of classes for the most beginning through advanced. She’s very attentive to all of her students, and very patient and considerate if you’re new to a certain move. Even in a class of 50 people, and I think she’s not watching me, she’ll have a helpful pointer directly for me, which is great.
The times she offers classes are also amazingly perfect. I work long hours during the week, but always have Sunday nights off, so I can be consistent, which is key in getting better. I don’t have any other teachers to compare her to, because I’ve never taken salsa lessons before, but I love these classes, so I hope I never have to!
You also don’t have to go to class with a partner, and even if you do go to class with a partner (like my friend and I), you rotate throughout the whole class, so you dance with everyone anyway. Lessons are also reasonably priced, especially if you buy the dance card in advance.

Tianne is definitely the best teacher in the Bay Area I found so far. Her classes are very well organized and structured, she really gets to the point quickly and there is no standing around waiting. She knows how to lead her class! She provides direct feedback and is attentive with her students.
The variety of levels and format of the class are very helpful as well.
And of course, she is a gorgeous dancer anyone can look up too!
Thank you!

I’d been going to other salsa classes for a few years on and off and I always felt like while I’d pick things up fairly quickly in class, when I’d go out dancing socially I’d find it very hard to lead people who were not used to dancing with me. As soon as I started taking Tianne’s classes, I quickly understood what had been happening.
Tianne, along with her fantastic partners Ricardo and Derek, is highly focused on the small but incredibly important details that ensure a connection is formed between leader and follower. This building block approach is something I’ve never seen tackled with such detail — from hand and arm placement to posture to mirroring your partner’s position and much more — and it’s amazing how these nuances make all the difference in a social setting. Tianne takes the long view — rather than teach a bunch of new intricate movements each week that will make you feel great in class but frustrated on the dance floor with someone who hasn’t danced with you before, she takes things one step at a time, focusing just on a handful of key concepts each month via weekly classes that build on one another.
The result is you being able to step onto a dance floor in any environment and confidently dance through one song and the next — not getting caught up in trying to repeat specific combinations you learned in class, but rather seamlessly putting together a piece of this, a piece of that, trusting your instincts that are now rooted in solid fundamentals.
Finally, on top of being a world-​class performer and salsa instructor, Tianne is a warm, funny, genuine person who exudes incredible passion for dance and for her students. As a result, the whole experience seems a bit family-​like, with new students being warmly welcomed by everyone and soon finding themselves to be yet another smiling, familiar face in the class.

If you’re ready to move up from drop in salsa classes in salsa clubs/​socials, and understand where all the patterns/​moves are coming from, then you should go to Tianne’s salsa classes.
The classes focus on the basics, such as basic weight transfer, basic body movement, and basic lead/​follow mechanics. These basics, in my opinion, are crucial. You can’t learn what a square root is if you can’t add and multiply.
The classes are progressive, and always puts together the basics to form something elaborate. Once you understand the basics, and practice them regularly, you will begin to notice that 90% of the patterns that you see in salsa drop in classes in clubs/​socials are basics put together in different order. What I think is especially exciting, is that you find out what you need to learn and practice to make even a simple right turn look and feel better than a poorly executed pattern.
Stick with Tianne and you can’t go wrong.

Salsa with Tianne Frias — Methodical, artistic, creative, passionate, challenging, attentive, goal oriented, detail oriented, enthusiastic, motivating, encouraging, positive, always a blast… PERFECT!
Gene K.

I’ve been dancing salsa and ballroom for several years and Tianne is one of the best instructors in the Bay Area. She brings a very unique sense of style to dancing and choreography. She also focuses on the fundamentals of salsa dancing — it’s not all about fancy moves but understanding the basics and connection with your partner in order to be able to eventually pull off those more complicated patterns.
Tianne is well versed in several dance disciplines which also contributes to her originality and flawless technique. She has been a great instructor and I’ve learn a lot from her classes. I’d recommend a class whether you’re a beginner or more advanced dancer.

Moving to the city I looked for Salsa lessons. In the past I was discouraged by teachers who did not seem to give attention to detail. So I was lucky to find Tianne — she is the most friendly and fun instructor! She has patience to break down every move to small parts so you get the whole picture. Classes are 20 – 30 participants with good balance of follower/​leaders.
After classes many times members organize parties and events. So even if you have don’t believe you have what it takes — come and try it out, you will enjoy the experience.