Rumba Brava Dance Academy

 Salsa! It's more than just a dance. It's a way to express your spirit and food for your soul. The vibrant music and dance bring out the passion in life. Salsa is both an art form and a fun, healthy way to meet people. Our studio is a cocoon where women are transformed into salsa goddesses. Men develop the skills and confidence to lead their partner in an expression of sensual elegance. Come join us. We offer an experience where you will connect to a new and exciting movement.

Approach to teaching:

After many years of teaching experience, Rico Bravo Sr., and Samantha have learned how students benefit by focusing on proper form and technique. This emphasis gives students the tools and understanding they need to progress quickly. They have encountered many students who have spent countless hours struggling to learn salsa but became frustrated after repeating the same mistakes over and over again and copying steps without understanding the underlying technique. In sharp contrast, Rumba Brava gives students the individual attention and feedback they need to fine-tune their technique and advance as dancers. They teach students how to move as salsa dancers, which goes far beyond just teaching the steps. Once the basics have been mastered, students can easily advance to learning different combinations and execute them with confidence.

Rumba Brava Dance Academy is currently offering two separate schedules.   All classes are offered as a series of six weeks with its corresponding start and end dates. This will benefit the student to progress rapidly and to cover the essential material at the instructor’s criteria. The instructor will set the requirements and ground rules for you to advance into the next series.

Tuesday Class Schedule

Next Series: 
  April 1 - May 6               
  May 13-June 17      
  June 24-July 29
  August 5 - September 9

Salsa (basic patterning and combinations level 1):

6-Class Series

This class taught by Rico Jr. and Samantha focuses on the basic fundamentals of salsa: basic patterns, footwork, and technique (which includes proper posture, balance, and coordination) to set a strong foundation for more advanced classes. All advanced moves are an extension of the basic. If someone's fundamentals are not technically correct, the student will just learn more and more combinations incorrectly and will not progress as a dancer. Therefore, this is the most important class for anyone wishing to learn salsa.

Ladies' Styling (level 1):

Tuesdays 7:30 - 8:30

Samantha Brava teaches ladies' styling to beginning and intermediate dancers emphasizing footwork, style, and technique. Ladies' styling is the part of salsa when couples dance apart from one another in a passionate seduction between the sexes. Ladies challenge the men with no-holds-barred femininity: rolling hips, shimmying shoulders, and the tossing hair. Men draw the women back with striking footwork and dynamic combinations. In this course we not only teach you the moves, but also the techniques to set the dance floor and your partner on fire.  Classes are $10 (cash only).  Students enrolled in Basic Patterning and Combinations level 1 or 2 or the BASICS on Saturday can sign up for 6 consecutive weeks for only $50.

Salsa (basic patterning and combinations level 2):

6-Class Series

Tuesdays 8:30 - 9:30

This class taught by Johnny and Samantha is for dancers who have taken the first basic series or equivalent. It is a bridge to more difficult techniques and combinations in Intermediate Salsa.

Saturday Class Schedule

Saturdays 1:00 - 2:00

In this class you will gain an in-depth understanding of the Basics. Most classes spend between 5 minutes to an hour teaching the Basics. This is the first series given in Seattle to focus almost entirely on basic technique. It will give you the foundation you need to look good and have fun on the dance floor. Rico Sr. has even trained competition and performance level dancers on what you will learn here. Each week will build upon the previous week. Each technique will be broken down and demonstrated so the student can easily grasp it. Mastery of the basics will give you the skills and confidence needed to develop into a good dancer.

PARTNERING – I (Beginners Combinations):

6-Class Series
Saturdays 2:00 - 3:00

This is no ordinary beginner’s class. It is geared for students with a solid, comprehensive foundation in the Basics (balance, posture, upper/lower body coordination, weight transfer, cross body, etc.). If you already have an in-depth understanding of the basics you're ready for this class. At this level, you will learn lead/follow techniques, transitions, space management and develop the skills to easily learn combinations in a manner that really connects with your partner. After taking THE BASICS and this series, you will have the techniques and a repertoire of moves that will make any dancer at any level happy to dance with you.

Ladies' styling (level 2):

Saturdays 3:00 - 4:00

The Saturday class is geared towards intermediate to advanced dancers. Ladies' Styling is $10. Students enrolled in Intermediate can sign up for 6 consecutive weeks for only $50.

PARTNERING – II (Intermediate Combinations):
6-Class Series

Saturdays 4:00 - 5:00

Again, this is no ordinary intermediate class. It is geared for students with a solid foundation of the Basic Skills and Combinations (see above). During this class the student will further strengthen their leading and follow techniques. The student will learn different prepping techniques on spins and syncopated footwork. Learn the Rico conservation of energy technique on how to save time and energy regardless of the speed of the music. This is the next step in complexity, styling, and technique.

Accomplishments

Rico Sr. and Samantha are the Creative Directors of Rumba Brava Dance Academy. They are also the Managers and General Partners for the Seattle Salsa Congress. Rico Sr. is one of the top trainers on the West Coast and is regarded by others as a teacher of teachers. He has not only trained Seattle dancers but his legacy extends from Vancouver to LA, training dancers for the Mayan, ESPN, and WSF salsa competitions. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA in 1992 and works as an aerospace design engineer. Rico applies his knowledge of engineering to dance kinesiology and is able to clearly communicate the techniques involved in learning salsa.

Samantha was the first instructor in Seattle to teach ladies' styling, a favorite class for ladies. She also teaches with her husband and two sons, both of whom are championship dancers. When you watch Samantha dance, you'll understand why people call her the Queen Of Salsa. Samantha has been teaching salsa in Seattle for over 11 years.

Rico Jr. is another exhilarating dancer in the Bravo family.  He was a finalist in the 10th Annual Mayan Competition, Professional Category. The enthusiasm you see in his performance is the same spirit he brings to his classes. Rico Jr. breaks down the moves and techniques so that students can easily grasp them. His classes will challenge and inspire you. He is also Creative Director of the Rico Bravo Dancers performance team.

Johnny Bravo is a competition level dancer who loves teaching salsa students at all levels. Johnny was a finalist in the 2002 Mayan Competition, Professional Class. When you see him dance with speed, sabor, and grace, it will come as no surprise that he's a championship dancer. He has choreographed and trained dancers for competition. But most of his students just enjoy dancing socially and Johnny makes it a fun and exciting experience. He is also the Creative Director of Bravos De La Rumba performance team.

Contact - Registration

If you have a passion for salsa and desire to learn from a Master Instructor who are just as passionate about teaching, please contact Rico Bravo Sr.: 425-971-5530, or Samantha: 425-876-2635, or Larry Benjamin: 206-228-3674. Classes are highly technical and guaranteed to improve your level of salsa dancing. Partners not required. 6-week series are $75. All payments are CASH ONLY. Series registration is the first day of class at the studio. No refunds for missed classes. You can also contact Rico Sr. or Samantha to arrange for private lessons. Gift Certificates are available upon request.