Where to Dance Salsa in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Retreat Particpant, Caressa , taking her private dance class duiring our Puerto Rico Dance Retreat
by Juliette Nieves-Becker, Founder of Reaction Dance Company NYC
San Juan, Puerto Rico, After salsaing my way through Borinquen’s capital back on my first ever Puerto Rico Dance Retreat back in April, I found some really great places to take both classes and go to socials. Just thinking about them brings back memories of warm exciting nights listening to live salsa bands on one of my favoirte island’s in the carribean. All of these recommendations will give you a true authentic cultural experience of Puerto Rico.
Where to take class
1) Salsa Y Ternura- When I went to PR, I hired Amalis ( Director of ST) to give both myself and my retreat participants private lessons. We absolutely loved them. Amalis tailored each of our lessons to our individual levels and what we wanted to learn. For instance, I focused on On 1 partnerwork since I’m typically an on 2 dancer. It was super helpful to understand the difference between each of the timings so I could go out and salsa dance with confidence.
Typically, classes are held outside near your hotel or Airbnb unless it rains which then you go to her studio 388 Av. 65 de Infantería, San Juan, 00923, Puerto Rico . If you don’t want to take privates, she also teaches group classes that you can drop right into.
2) Salsa Tours PR- If you are looking for a class that is beginner friendly and with a group, I highly recommend Salsa Tours PR. Their classes are held on the beach at sunset so it can be quite picturesque. I personally didn’t take a salsa class with them , but I did take Bomba. So I can attest to their professionalism and saw a ton of great reviews about them.
3) Angelina- If you want to learn with a local dance teacher/ multitalented artist Angelina could be perfect for you. This is a beginner friendly class that takes students out to dance at local spots after the class. I actually took her class with both my husband and my dad on New Years Eve Dec 31, 2023. We had a really fun time bonding over some rum drinks and learning about the local salsa scene.
P.S She is also an Puerto Rican influencer on instagram. Her content really explains what’s truly happening on the island right now and is usually hilarious because she is also a comedian.
Want to experience this for Yourself with a Group of Like minded Women? Then come on our dance Retreat 2026
Socials
1) Salsa en El Patio at MAC $10 cover charge- Once a month the Museum of Modern art hosts a salsa night. If you want to challenge yourself this is the social for you. There are a ton of serious salsa dancers that show up to show off and enjoy the great salsa music. If you are a follow be ready to wait a little if you aren’t a local to be asked to dance. I found that leads tended to ask people in their social group first before dancing with others. A great way to be picked is to do stand up and do some salsa shines on the side. Smile when someone approaches you. One time a Bad Bunny song came on and no one asked me to dance, but I decided I was going to dance anyway. So I shined my way through half the song and then someone came over and asked if I’d like to finish the dance with them. Usually, older men ( who honestly are better dancers) typically ask first. Once you get asked by one person others will follow. If you end up waiting awhile don’t be afraid to ask someone yourself. If you are lead get yourself out there. You get to pick.
Tip- Check their instagram for the next social. They post their events more frequently on instagram rather than their website.
2) La Placita- This was my group’s favorite place that we danced. There are more casual salsa dancers that come out to dance here. There are tons of bars/restaurants playing great music so you have your pick of where you’d like to dance. Also, if you just want a night to dance with your friends you can do that here. Best nights to come are Friday and Saturday. Show up between 9:30-10:30pm to get some more space to dance because it gets more packed as the night goes on. Also, if you want musical variety this is the place for you. My group decided we wanted to listen to reggaeton at the end of the night so we parked ourselves next to a DJ and got to dance to both current and old school hits. It was truly magical.
3) La Factoria- Now I’m going to be honest this can be hit or miss. Typically, you can expect great salsa music on Saturdays and potentially a few other nights of the week. I actually had a fantastic time with leads of varying levels who asked me to dance. I got at least 6 good dances when I went back in December 2024. But it has started to get touristy attracting some people for the wrong reason and people who can’t dance. Unfortunately, some of the participants of my retreat went out on a Sunday night and encountered some obnoxious guys jumping up and down in the middle of the dance floor with no spatial awareness knocking into people around them. So if you go here have some back up dance spots ready just in case. But when you get a good night you get to dance the night away.
2025 PR Retreatees at La Placita from left me (Juliette), Gaby, Adia, Caressa
What you need to know before you go
Type of Salsa: Puerto Rican Salsa typically on 1 or on 2. Occasionally you’ll get someone dancing on 3 or 4 but that’s rare. Most of Puerto Rican style salsa is done linearly just like New York style salsa.
Now I know what you might be thinking, how can I go salsa dancing when the timing can be unpredictable? How you dance depends on if you are a follow or lead and how you feel when you dance.
If you are the follow pay attention to your lead’s feet. Do they step back on 1 and then forward on 2 kind of like a rock step? Then you dance on 1. So you get to follow their lead by stepping forward on 1 and rocking back on 2. If you your partner takes 2 steps away from you and then slides forward on 3, they are dancing on 2. You can respond by stepping forward on 1 and 2 and slide back on 3.
If you are the lead, you decide the timing you want to dance. Are you an on 2 dancer then dance on 2 or are you an on 1 dancer than dance on 1.
Pro Tip- When you get to PR ask a local where you should dance. I’ve found way more interesting spots including Salsa en El Patio because I just asked someone. Sometimes the best information on where to got to dance is found when you get here. So be ready to through some plans to the wind and be ready to go with the Caribbean flow.
Want someone to curate a salsa Dance tour in PR for you?
Then come with me next year on our second Puerto Rico Dance Retreat April 9-17 2026!
I want you to feel what we felt this sense of aliveness and connect to a culture so welcoming to those who visit the island with respect for it’s people.
Special Labor Day Discount available until Sept 5, 2025.
