Paso Dance Studio

Eduardo is a fantastic teacher and the classes are a lot of fun. In just a few lessons I learned enough to be able to go to a salsa club while on a trip and be able to dance. Highly recommended for anyone who is even mildly interested in learning salsa.

After taking group classes at Paso with various instructors off and on for about a year, I decided to take private lessons with the Director/​business owner, which I would strongly caution against. During one of these lessons, when no one else was at the studio, he got inappropriate with me. I would strongly advise my female friends not to be alone with him.

I have been taking classes with Paso for two years. I have never taken dance lessons before and have no sense of rhythm, but Eduardo and Nadia quickly moved me from being awkward and hanging on the wall at the dance club to being the one to grab a partner and open the dance floor.
In my mind three things distinguish this studio. First, they focus on developing you as a dancer. That means that you’re learning Cuban salsa moves, but you can more quickly pick up bachata, merrengue, or any other dance style that grabs your interest — and make it look good.
Second, they build their class offering so you can «zoom in» and intensely develop your skills around a single style of dance, and then augment that with fundamentals from other styles.
Third, they do not tier their pricing. The sticker price for a basic lesson is the same price you pay for an advanced lesson. Many other studios charge you more as you advance, packing in students for cheap and low-​quality intro classes and then charging students a premium to truly develop their skills. At Paso you pay a fair — not a cheap — price for the intro class, and you move up in levels as quickly as you develop as a dancer. As a student you receive as much quality instruction at the intro level as at the advanced level.
This studio is a gem in the Triangle — step out of your comfort zone, take a chance and learn something amazing.

I am a huge fan of Paso! I’ve taken dance classes before, but I’ve never believed I could be a great dancer before. Paso made me a believer, and that’s worth gold. Paso is a passion for the instructors, and they make dance a passion for their students. Eduardo clearly spends a ton of time thinking about how to teach, and he’s always trying something new and improving the Paso method, so I can promise that things will never get stale at Paso. What will always stay the same, though, is the commitment to teaching everyone to dance really well. And for Paso, everyone really means everyone — from true absolute beginners to advanced students.
I first heard about Paso years ago when I saw a group of people in Paso shirts dancing at a concert. I was really enchanted by how much they seemed to be enjoying themselves. I even went so far as to look the studio up, but it was far away from me and I was busy and the time never seemed right. The scene stuck with me, though, and a couple of years later I came back to it. I’m so glad I did, because that image I had of those students was completely right on – people at Paso really enjoy dancing!

Paso has opened up entirely new worlds for me (internally and externally) and it can for you too if you give it a try (for completely inexperienced or even experienced dancers).
Before taking classes at Paso, I had no real dance experience and even though I liked a lot of music, at parties or clubs, I always felt somewhat unsure, awkward or uncomfortable dancing (unless I had a couple beers, which temporarily swept away the thoughts of unsureness, but believe me, it DOES NOT make you a better dancer!).
I got to a point in my life where I wanted to challenge myself and this limiting belief (I can’t dance). If after time and practice, I discover that I really cannot dance, I could accept that, but I was going to try. (I’ve now learned that dance is like a language and just like we can’t land in another country today and speak their language without learning fundamentals and practicing, dance is the same way. We all can become dancers with the right teaching and practice)
The thing that jumped out to me at Paso was the great teaching style and explanations. Eduardo is not only a great dancer, but he has an amazing ability to provide the finer points of detail/​emphasis to people new to dance (or experienced) in a very constructive and supportive way to open you up and enable you to grow as a dancer. He starts with several core fundamentals that will allow your growth as a dancer to take off exponentially as you continue to dance. Also, even if you are experienced, you can always go back to these fundamentals to sharpen up your technique. (So, listen and practice!) He is aware during class and will often provide *YOU* specific feedback based on what YOU are doing (things you do well and suggestions for other areas). If you don’t quite understand something, the atmosphere is open, so just ask and he will describe and demonstrate things with more specifics. I’m convinced there isn’t anyone he can’t make into a fine dancer provided you listen, try and practice.
Eduardo and Nadia work just as hard on constantly improving their teaching style and content as they have on their dance and it shows. A lot of thought and experience has gone into the program’s content and structure (there is a rhyme and reason to the class content from week-​to-​week and it’s for your benefit and growth). I’ve been dancing for 3 years or so and it’s constantly getting better. I still go back from time-​to-​time to sharpen things up and learn new things (there are always ways to improve and grow).
Eduardo and Nadia teach a variety of classes, but I particularly enjoy the Cuban Salsa classes. I really enjoy the musicality, partner connection, lead/​follow dynamic, the free flowing movement/​expression and momentum of the dance. Even if you prefer other forms of dance (like NY style salsa), taking the Cuban Salsa classes will improve your ability with other dance forms. You really learn to isolate body movements and with more repetition of these fundamentals, your body and mind will open up to the music (all music) and you will feel it more and more and become a better dancer.
The other thing I enjoyed from classes at Paso is that Eduardo isn’t just a dancer, he can teach you things about the music, the various specific layers of percussion in salsa music (how it relates to the dance, how you can better listen/​interpret the music and be a better dancer) and the history of the salsa based dance forms and how they’ve evolved over time.
I think you’ll find that the people who make up the class make a great atmosphere. It’s a nice, welcoming community. You’ll build more confidence within yourself, have fun, meet a great group of people and enjoy music more.
Lastly, through my job, I’ve been able to travel to various major cities around the country and I always seek out other teachers, classes and socials. We’re pretty lucky to have Eduardo and Nadia here in the Triangle. Check out a class and see for yourself. You won’t regret it.

All my life I have loved dance and wanted to be a beautiful dancer. Two years ago I started weekly, private ballroom lessons toward that pursuit. I was learning a lot in terms of steps and technique, but I hadn’t been able to let my inner dancer break through. «She» was locked through years of neglect and walls of inhibition.
One evening about nine months ago, I did a random google search and discovered Paso Dance Studios. I read everything on the website. They had an Absolute Beginners Cuban Salsa class starting within two weeks. I signed up for the class, and July 31, 2012 began my journey of learning to dance.
The Paso instructors are passionate, encouraging and supportive. Each class begins with posture, a warm up to Salsa rhythm/​music, and then drilling the basics as leads pass from follow to follow while repeating the same move over and over. Then dancing that move to music, before moving to the next move. It is through this repetition and refinement of the move through feedback that Paso produces beautiful dancers.
After the first lesson, the floor was opened to social dancing. Eduardo asked me to dance and I had my first taste of what real dancing is. A communication through the body, producing a beautiful, sensual conversation. I was nowhere near being able to complete that conversation, but from that moment I had a real understanding of what my goal was, and I knew that here were the teachers who could release my inner dancer from her prison of inhibition. I still remember the night that I finally «got» the latin movement. I went from flat footed, heavy heeled and stiff kneed, to a soft, fluid movement with my weight shifting on the slow beat. Exhilaration!!!
I am now in Cuban 2 and NY Salsa 1. Additionally, I take Nadia’s styling class. It is an understatement to say, I can’t get enough of Paso. If you want to dance and dance well, Paso Dance Studios is the only place to go. It is fun, enriching and a completely positive life experience. Paso attracts diverse and interesting students too, and I have made some wonderful friendships. Swallow your fear and uncertainty, after all we are all beginners at some point, and sign up for your first class. You will not regret it.

quick-​quick-​slow, quick-​quick-​slow
For one as rhythmically challenged as myself, signing up for «Salsa for Absolute Beginners» was daunting, despite the title. You could rename the class «Salsa-​Like Lumbering for Deaf-​Mute Amputees» and I would still expect to step on toes. It didn’t help that, when I invited a couple friends to take the class with me, they killed that idea dead with cat-​quick «no“s. So then came an especially long day at work, and the idea that this was probably my first time dancing sober in, oh, 10 years, and… I’m man enough to admit… I nearly skipped the first class.
Boy am I glad I showed up. Eduardo is a great teacher. I’m not saying that he’s good at salsa, although I’m sure he is. What I mean is that he teaches really well. I teach too and I have experience with what kind of teaching works and what doesn’t. Bottom line, Eduardo knows how to teach. He strikes just the right balance of telling you what to do, putting you in a position to be successful doing it, and then showing you how you can improve, then letting you do it again, etc. He had a room full of Absolute Beginners bobbing on the 2-​beat and trading partners like a swingers convention.
As for me? I actually started feeling the rhythm. I still can’t pick out the sound of the drum slap from the rest of the exotic birdcalls and shuffles in a salsa record, but somehow my foot was tapping at the right moment, the dile-​que-​no turn felt like second nature, I had a string drawn through my spine connected to the ceiling, and I got multiple compliments on my leads. And lets just say that the follows in the class did not disappoint. I’ll certainly be back.

This is a really fun place for Salsa lessons! I bought a Groupon for Cuban Salsa. Eduardo not only is a really fun teacher, but he is Eye Candy, too! As is his partner, a young elegant woman.