Foundations Course: Intro to Cross Body Salsa

Suitable for complete Beginners in Salsa, people wanting to try a new role, or new style

A 4-week progressive Introduction to Crossbody Salsa course, covering footwork, body movement & partner-work. Your purchase covers the full 4 full sessions.

📅 Dates: 4 Wednesdays in September – 3.09, 10.09, 17.09, 24.09
🕗 Time: 19:00–20:00
📍 Location: Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4QH
🔗 Google Maps. 

💸 Reduced Cost Spots at £35 and Free Spots

We have a small number of reduced-cost spots prioritised for:

• Queer Latinx people

• People on Universal Credit (or similar benefits)

• Those on minimum wage or low income

And up to 2 free spots for:

• People seeking asylum or living in precarious situations without access to public funds

Spots are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
💌 Contact us: hello@queersalsa.co.uk

🩷 About the foundations series

We’re rethinking what progression means, for both students and teachers.

Rather than rushing into complex moves, we focus on musicality, connection, and depth. Salsa is a rich, expressive form, and we aim to explore it in ways that are both deep and accessible.

The Foundations course is designed to give you a strong base in Salsa, especially in Crossbody style. After around 3 months of weekly classes, you’ll likely feel ready to move into our other development courses, which focus more on building variations and don’t need to be taken in order.

This course structure supports our growing collective of queer dance teachers and honours the Afro-Latin roots of Salsa. We recognise Salsa as an ongoing story of resistance to oppression, erasure and displacement, shaped by many cultural influences, places and people. We aim to reflect that richness in how we teach, and create space for queer dancers to bring in their own interests and approaches.

🩷 What we mean by “suitable for Complete Beginners”

We’re moving away from strict level labels, but everyone starts somewhere, and this is the course for that.

It’s also great if you’re returning to Salsa after a break, coming from a different style of Salsa or Afro-Latin dance and want to build solid foundations in Crossbody, or if you’re trying out a new dance role.

We will talk through the roles of Following and Leading in the first class and ask you to pick which one you want to try for the rest of the course.

🩷 Different styles of Salsa and Crossbody

Salsa dancing began in the streets, shaped by many communities across Latin America and the diaspora. Over time, shared styles developed so people could dance together, each one shaped by its own history, music, and context.

Crossbody Salsa, also known as En Línea, developed in LA and New York, where Latin American and Caribbean diasporic communities were influenced by local dance styles like Swing, Hustle, and Ballroom. It’s danced in a line, with partners facing each other and switching places back and forth. In contrast, Cuban and Cali styles are danced in more circular movements.

We teach Crossbody because it’s the style most of us have trained in here in the UK, and because it offers a clear structure to help people build confidence and technique in Salsa more broadly.

That said, we’re not fixed on it. We believe that learning across all styles of Salsa and other Afro-Latin dance, makes you a stronger, more connected dancer. That kind of depth takes time, and we think starting with one style can help.

We value the many ways people dance and connect to Salsa, especially if you’ve grown up with it in family or community spaces. If your experience is different from Crossbody, feel free to get in touch. We’re always learning and adapting through our teachers and student community.

🩷 What’s covered this month

September is a complete introduction to Crossbody Salsa.

We’ll be building the very foundations in Salsa technique, footwork, body movement, and partner work.

What this will look like is:

• Holding your frame and tension in partner-work

• Understanding Salsa rhythms, instruments and timing

• Leading and following the basic step, crossbody step, right & left turns

🩷 Welfare & Accessibility 

At each class there will be a dedicated Welfare Team Member. They will be around to support everyone participate in the class and feel comfy in the space. 

At most classes we have volunteer Guardian Dancers, who are more experienced dancers from the community that join the classes to give extra 1:1 support on moves and be a point of contact for any welfare issues. They wear a pink band on their wrist and will actively take part in your class.

There is steps-free access and accessible toilets. PA’s can always come for free, just let a member of the team know on the day.

We are actively working on making our courses as safe and inclusive as possible. Please get in contact with any needs you might have that would make it better work for you.