Salsa and the City Knoxville Tennessee, U.S.A.

Article written for OnlineSalsa.com by Alex Fleury

Rocky Top that is. There is more to do in East Tennessee now than watch Big Orange Football in the Fall and Lady Vols Basketball in the Winter.
 
I saw an ad in the local entertainment paper in June of 2009 and found that Sarita Atiles and Waldo Solano were teaching basic Salsa and Bachata on Friday nights at La Rumba, a Honduran Cuisine restaurant.

So out of curiosity I went one Friday night and stumbled over my own feet trying to learn how to do a basic right turn. One year and a few dozen classes later I can do a little better.

But there are lots of good Salsa dancers here in East Tennessee due largely to the efforts of the wonderful instructors of the SalsaKnox Dance Company. And now Waldo has partnered with Ian Orr to bring Brazilian Zouk to the Knoxville area. This beautiful and sensual dance can now be seen in Knoxville and the surrounding area anywhere that evoZouk dancers to get together.

Sarita Atiles comes from a Puerto Rican family and she started her Salsa career by forming the First Salsa Dance Company in the Tri-Cities of Upper East Tennessee called "Salsa Ardiente." Upon transferring to UT, she then hosted the 1st Salsa Bash Fundraiser at La Rumba. Sarita and Waldo then collaborated their efforts to form the 1st Latin Dance School of Knoxville, the SalsaKnox Dance Company.

Waldo Solano came to Knoxville Tennessee in 2008 and has taught Salsa and other Latin dances to hundreds of dancers here in East Tennessee. Waldo is originally from Acapulco and grew up dancing in Mexico. He first danced LA style Salsa in Atlanta in 2003 with Salsambo Dance Company. Waldo became an instructor and choreographer with Salsambo before moving to Knoxville. He and his current dance partner Jaqui Sellers, along with the SalsaKnox Performance Team have been featured at Salsa events all over the Southeast, and they continue to teach Latin classes in Knoxville. You can join them (and me) at Margaritas on Kingston Pike on Friday nights. Classes are offered each week and the dancing continues until the wee hours. More information is available at SalsaKnox.com

Ian Orr is a Zouk instructor and performer in Knoxville with his partner Kendra Haynes. Ian and Kendra had both been dancers for many years before they fell in love with this exotic dance. They have studied with some of the leading instructors in the world including Willem Engel, Fabiano "Nyx" Trofino, Lais Lopes, Kim Rottier and Luciana Guinle. In November 2009 Ian and Kendra, in partnership with SalsaKnox, organized the Modern Latin Dance Weekend. It was the first festival in the U.S. to feature Zouk. Ian and Kendra founded evoZouk in 2010. In only five months, evoZouk has blossomed into one of the largest Zouk groups in the United States. Learn more about them and Zouk at evozouk.com
 
Suzanne Devan formed Ballroom Mania at the University of Tennessee to teach Latin, Ballroom and Swing dances to UT students and people of Knoxville. Suzanne has now graduated from UT and moved on to a career in art. But Ballroom Mania continues to grow and serve the student population and community.

The Latin dance scene is still growing in East Tennessee. But with the efforts of Sarita, Ian and Waldo we will continue to have a great atmosphere for Salsa to prosper. If you dance and are visiting the area, be sure to check the SalsaKnox website and their Facebook page.


About the author:

Alex Fleury is 59 years old and hadn't danced in years when he started taking Salsa lessons in Knoxville, Tennessee (U.S.A.) in 2009.