#SATORI SPOKANE FREE#

Smith says there are no basic steps to Argentine tango. He has also studied tango from dozens of Argentine instructors, flamenco in Spain and New Mexico, and salsa with Cubans, he says.Įight years ago, he returned to Spokane to care for his elderly mother, which he continues to do today as a full-time job. He is a student of a dizzying array of languages including Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin, and Italian. Smith has lived and taught dance and language all over the world, including in Avignon, France Milan, Italy and Mexico City. Private lessons, which run about $40 per hour, are also available for both tango and salsa dancing. “We top out at 49,” he says adding the studio has only seen that number once or twice.

Smith instills, demonstrates, coaches, and shows about 20 to 30 people at a time the Argentine tango, a dance he’s taught for more than 20 years in what he calls tango practicas. He adds that it’s good exercise and “it’s usually cheaper than what people spend to go out to dinner.”

We hold dances where students of diverse languages converse and share,” he says. “The back-and-forth of a conversation is different than parroting a memorized routine. Smith says his goal is to make a safe space to try out studying Spanish or salsa or French or tango, where the goal is communication rather than a rehearsed recital or performance.

#SATORI SPOKANE FREE#

To that end, Satori hosts free language cafés three days a week in French, Spanish, and Italian. “Exposure to the music often leads to an interest in the language and other cultural elements that can be hard to find elsewhere in Spokane,” Smith says. Satori students are couples as well as singles who come-sometimes several times a week Smith says-to cultivate an interest in the music and the language behind the Latin dance styles. Open six days a week, mostly in the afternoon and evenings, the roughly 800-square-foot studio is home to lessons and a gathering place for people who are passionate about other cultures. He offers private and group classes in Argentine tango, while his business partner, David Diaz, who moved to Spokane from Tokyo last year, teaches various forms of salsa at the studio Smith opened about a year ago.

When one achieves fluency in a language, it feels much like when one becomes fluid at tango,” Smith says. “Satori refers to a moment of understanding, of learning or realizing. It is an experience one can have only in the physical encounter while dancing the dance, he contends. Monroe, and those aha moments are what he hopes people will experience when they dance the salsa and Argentine tango-two of the most popular Latin dance styles. Smith owns Satori Dance Studios at 122 S. She has thoroughly enjoyed sharing her passion while teaching at her studio and dance festivals in the USA and Mexico.Satori is a Zen Buddhism term meaning sudden enlightenment, or one of those “aha moments,” although there is no literal English translation for the word, says Victor Smith. Breeun’s vision is to bring connection and movement to the masses, in a fun, playful, and engaging way. She has had intensive training, privates and weekend intensives with some of the most renowned international instructors such as Lucia Nogueira, Eliza Sala, Eddy Vents, and Bri Jones, and Alex Morel, and she continues to learn from her mentors Lucia Nogueira (Kizomba) and Bri Jones (Bachata).

Her teaching style is playful and energetic with a focus on concise teaching of proper technique, as well as connection to music, partner, and self. Forever a student, Breeun’s training and learning will never cease. She teaches both Kizomba and Bachata. Breeun is excited to share her passion for connection and dance around the world. Breeun began training in Tango, Salsa, Bachata, and Kizomba in 2017. Breeun is the owner and head instructor at Satori Dance.