Erika is an excellent teacher. She breaks things down in a very understandable manner and seems to have an endless reserve of patience. I cant wait until the next lesson.
Erika Espinosa (aka “Erika Caliente”) is the founder and owner of Salsa Caliente Dance Studio in Tampa, FL. Since opening the studio in July of 2000, she has taught thousands of students and trained some incredible instructors, most notably Jorge “Ataca” Burgos and Juan “TaTo” Paredes. Her salsa and bachata instructional videos on eHow.com and YouTube have collectively received millions of views and given her international recognition. She has taught workshops at salsa congresses all over the US, including New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Atlanta, Miami, and Orlando, and was a judge at the Texas Salsa Classic. She was a regular dancer on the TV show Caliente (Univision) for 4 years, and in 2007, she received the Miami Salsa Congress’s “Alex Award” for her instrumental role in the creation and development of the Tampa salsa scene.
In addition to salsa and bachata, her dance background includes extensive training in ballet and jazz. As an instructor, Erika places a heavy emphasis on technique, rather than just teaching steps and patterns. She masterfully executes and explains both the lead and follow and is equally skilled at teaching and dancing either “on 1” or “on 2.” Her specialties include lead/follow technique, timing, body movement, turning/spinning technique, shines, styling, and musicality.
