Salsa Way at the Pier Brings Latin Dance and The Power of Human Movement

Locals Night brought salsa to the Santa Monica Pier with Salsa Way, created by co-founders Cesar Romero and Michelle Edgar, a city-wide series of community events connecting people from all walks of life together through the power of dance, while celebrating culture and community. 

The vision is to highlight the heritage of salsa in the community and inspire others to dance in their daily lives for wellness and fitness purposes. "We wanted to bring all walks of life together across generations to build an active community for people to exchange ideas and connect through music and dance," said Edgar. 

"It was an honor to launch Salsa Way on the Pier as this is where my salsa journey began  soon after immigrating to this country from Mexico.  I wanted to stay aligned with the mission of Locals Night - we spotlighted local Santa Monica instructor Nicole Gil who runs Thursday's at the Victorian and Dancer University, in addition to the best-in-class DJs Andy Lorenzo, Phillip Cohen, and Bario Fino in the salsa community."

Salsa Way brought local SAMO business' to support this initiative from Juneshine to Feat Clothing, in addition to The Chainsmokers' JaJa Tequilla. The evening kicked off in the beer garden with Jaja Tequila's tasting for guests, followed by a salsa lesson lead by Romero and Gil with over 50 people gathered in front of the carousel deck and watching from the ramp above. 

As the sunset, the momentum moved into a salsa dance party till the close of the pier. "We want to ignite the power of salsa and bring Salsa Way across Los Angeles making it accessible for everyone to enjoy and connect through the power of dance," said Edgar. ]

Join the upcoming Locals Salsa Night in front of the Carousel Deck (3rd Thursday of each month through May) April 20 and May 18.