Salsa in the Corporate Environment

By: Evan Carmichael

Salsa dancing is quickly becoming a popular activity for corporate events as human resource departments are looking for ways to engage their employees in a fun environment that also creates a positive team building experience.

Last week I began one of five lessons with a group of employees who work at a major hotel chain in North America. They wanted to reward the staff members who have been working there for a number of years and have them learn and present a dance routine to their co-workers.

They brought together front line staff with managers and it was an excellent bonding experience for everyone involved. We went through Merengue and introduced the basic steps and a number of introductory patterns. They picked it up quickly and by the end of the hour were dancing full songs on their own.

It’s amazing how much confidence you can instill in people by teaching them how to dance. Most of the employees we worked with today had never taken a dance class before and were scared that they would embarrass themselves. At the end of the class they were cheering and left with a newfound confidence in themselves.

If your company is looking for a great teambuilding experience that is fun and brings people together why not suggest bringing in a dance instructor to teach them the basics and inject some excitement into the workplace!

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“Whether it involves opera or jazz singing, flamenco or salsa dancing, extreme sports or even a spot of method acting, staff across the country are being removed from their comfort zones and asked to attempt something new, and potentially embarrassing, often with dramatic results.” According to the writer, encouraging your employees to get out of their comfort zones and try something new, something physically or creatively stimulating can improve a workers morale and performance in the workplace.

Having a background in Human Resources, I remember trying to get creative in the types of activities we had our associates participate in and salsa was definitely one of them. It made people laugh and let loose, touch co-workers they normally wouldn’t and there was a real high that you would see from the team after an activity like this.

In the article, a company was profiled after a session of salsa dancing: “Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves, even though some people were slightly out of their comfort zone. Although some people were natural dancers and others less so, any embarrassment disappeared once we got going.”

When interviewed, the organizer stated that even though the results could not be measured, she thought the impact of the session was very high…morale, productivity, staff rentention, workplace relationships and teamwork were all positively influenced.

Get salsa classes happening in your corporate environment and see the difference yourself!

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