Amaya Dance

Amaya Dance is founded by Salomon Amaya, a twelve-year veteran in the Houston salsa and dance community. Salomon has become a YouTube salsa sensation with millions of people around the world watching his creative style of dance. He has travelled the world teaching salsa and dance to eager students, and his passion for dancing and choreography has led him to form his dance company, Xango, which has quickly become one of the top salsa companies in Texas.

The studio's teaching staff includes Kanosky "K" Muñoz Alvarez, who was born and raised in Maracaibo, Venezuela and trained from age five in classical ballet, Folklor venezolano, jazz and flamenco. She was a dancer for Victor Manuelle at the Latin Grammy Awards and received the "Outstanding Dancer of the Year" Award at the Houston Salsa Congress in 2012 after teaching at Houston's legendary Melody Club from 2004 to 2013. Daisy Aguilar holds a B.A. in Dance Studies from Texas Woman's University and a Master of Arts in Teaching with a Dance Emphasis. She studied ballet, jazz, modern, hip-hop, flamenco, and contemporary dance at George Washington High School, and is a member of the Amaya Dance Semi Pro-Team while teaching salsa and bachata.

Amaya Dance offers group classes structured by level: Salsa Beginner 1, Salsa Beginner 2, Salsa Improvers, Salsa Intermediate, Bachata Ladies Styling, Salsa Techniques Intermediate, and Rotating Bootcamps. Classes run Tuesday through Thursday from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., with additional Monday ladies classes and dance team practices. Your first class is free. The studio also runs private lessons, which are scheduled at your convenience and priced at $100 per hour with a $10 fee per additional person. One private lesson is described as equivalent to taking five group lessons at once.

Beyond classes, Amaya Dance hosts Salsa Sunday Funday, one of Houston's favorite salsa social parties where you can put your dance skills to use. The studio operates multiple dance teams, offering students the chance to perform on stage, train under Houston's elite dance instructors, and travel to different cities and events. Salomon opens up his dance team to the public once a year for aspiring new dancers to train and perform side by side with him and his team. Daisy works with the Rice Salseros, a university-based organization at Rice University, and has co-created Team Double D's and the DD Team Project with Daniel Hernandez, which emphasizes the fusion of contemporary dance and bachata.

While the studio specializes in salsa, it also offers dance boot camps in bachata, cha-cha-cha, mambo and other styles to expand students' dance knowledge. Online classes are available at $20 for access to 4 live classes a week streamed on Facebook Wednesday and Thursday. The studio operates on a flex package system where classes not used during the purchased month roll over to the next month, with a strict 24-hour cancellation policy.

Classes are reservation-only with limited attendance. Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled class time to check in via the Amaya Dance app. You'll need to wear a mask inside the building, remove it once on the dance floor, and wear dance shoes before entering the studio space. Partner rotation is optional; you do not need to bring a partner. Beginners can wear street shoes or dress shoes with ankle straps and medium-height heels, or flat-bottom shoes—avoid thick rubber soles like sneakers or boots.

Salomon Amaya is the founder and lead instructor, a twelve-year veteran and YouTube salsa sensation with a dance company called Xango, one of Texas's top salsa companies. Kanosky "K" Muñoz Alvarez trained from age five in classical ballet, Folklor venezolano, jazz and flamenco, performed at the Latin Grammy Awards, and won the "Outstanding Dancer of the Year" Award at the Houston Salsa Congress in 2012. Daisy Aguilar holds a B.A. in Dance Studies and a Master of Arts in Teaching with a Dance Emphasis from Texas Woman's University, and is a member of the Amaya Dance Semi Pro-Team.

Previous dance experience is not required for Absolute Beginner or Level 1 classes; new students are suggested to join at the beginning of a cycle, preferably the first week but the second week is also acceptable.