This past Saturday afternoon, Salsa in Review decided to check out North Toronto’s Saturday Practices at Yonge and Shepperd. It is about a 5 minute walk just south of Shepperd. Look for the Coffee Time building. Enter through the law office entrance and take the stairs to the second level.
Their practice format is usually a workshop or salsa lesson from 4-5pm. Then, from 5-7pm, practice dancing for salsa, cha-cha-cha, and bachata. The entry fee is $5 per person for the salsa practice and sometimes includes the lesson/workshop held by their resident instructors. They often bring in guest instructors where there is a separate charge, so check their website to be sure.
We arrived near 5:15 for the salsa practice and there was a little over a dozen people in the studio. The studio space was nice and bright. The dance floor being new, very clean, and just perfect to spin on. The crowd was more on the mature side and everyone was there to practice dancing. There was a club cha-cha-cha workshop that preceded the practice given by Stephanie from Mambo Tribe. The music during the practice was mainly salsa with cha-cha-cha and some bachata here and there. For me, I would have preferred more salsa. From what we saw, there was a mix of beginners and intermediate dancers. A few people were teaching and learning steps together. The atmosphere was very relaxed. And there’s lots of lighting in the room.
If you’re looking for a nice crowd to practice your dancing on a Saturday afternoon, you can check this place out. It is not too crowded and there’s plenty of space to dance. See you on the dancefloor!
North Toronto’s Saturday Practices
4578 Yonge St. Suite #200, Toronto, ON
Entry Fee: $5
Dancing: Saturdays (4-5pm Workshop, 5-7pm Salsa Practice)
Our Ratings
Dancefloor: 5
Ambiance: 2.5
Music: 2.5
Dancers: 3
Fun Factor: 2
Overall: 15 (out of 25)