MILWAUKEE — In the heart of Silver City is a dance studio that’s celebrating Hispanic culture, one salsa at a time.
“Anything you can think of Latin rhythm-wise, we got it” Salsabrositas Team Captain, Natalia Beans explains.
Beans is just 18 years old and she is a true leader at Salsabrositas in Milwaukee. She can be found leading classes and teaching many forms of Latin dance.
Her mother, Jenn Sarda, started the studio in 2012 when she noticed her daughter taking an interest in Latin dance. She wanted to make dance accessible for everyone.
“We decided to become Salsabrositas and establish this non-profit organization to kind of help kids um from lower backgrounds have affordable dancing and also pay for competitions,” Beans explains.
Salsabrositas is home to Milwaukee’s youngest Latin dance team led by Sarda and Daniel Balderas.
Dancers start as young as five years old and some travel all over the world.
“We’ve been to Puerto Rico, Columbia, London, Guatemala, Mexico, a lot of different places, Miami for the Salsa World Championships,” Beans explains.
The team has brought back many first-place trophies. However, winning isn’t everything.
“I think it’s very important to kind of go back into the roots of not only the roots of the Cuban culture but the African roots that come with it. Seeing how I am Afro-Latina, it kinda meshes very well with the whole salsa thing, and teaching kids where they come from, and their roots is important too.”
Roots that are bringing Milwaukee’s younger Hispanic generation together with every Samba, Salsa, and Bachata rehearsal.
“This community is already small in Milwaukee, and I feel like we have a center where people can go and really find other people a part of that community and grow that community even bigger,” says dancer, Antonio Del Valle.
Beans says it’s important to carry on tradition within the Hispanic community.
“The older generation did this for us. You know it was supposed to be a legacy. And keeping that legacy on is very very important.”
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