Amanda Gonzales turned to salsa dancing as a way to meet people.
Not only did she make some new friends, she met her future husband, joined a performance team and became an instructor.
Her latest coup cutting a rug is opening her first studio, Madison Dance Studio, in Minglewood Hall’s business plaza.
Partnering with Edgar Mendez, her first instructor and owner of Downtown’s salsa nightclub, the Rumba Room, the two held their first class on the first Monday of the new year.
Gonzales says their studio covers a lot of ground.
“We’re offering some different things, not just your usual run-of-the-mill dance classes,” said the 26-year-old English-as-a-second-language teacher.
In addition to varying levels of salsa classes, the business duo are offering hip-hop classes, capoeira, belly dance, cardio ballet, Zumba and Pilates. Also, Gonzales is offering a women’s hip-hop class, called Hip-Hop in Heels.
“We play Rihanna and Beyonce, and mix sexy salsa with hip-hop. It’s a fun and different way to do hip-hop,” she said.
Offering a bundle of dance styles along with fitness classes was part of Mendez’s initial vision when he first approached Gonzales.
“I didn’t want to have a place where we just teach salsa. I wanted to offer different kinds of dances, and combine fitness with it,” said Mendez, who also runs the dance company Salsa Memphis.
“Things like capoeira, you have to really dig in to find it in Memphis,” he said. “We’re excited to have it.”
They hope to unveil their children’s program in February, which will mimic most of the adult classes and incorporate the kids version of Zumba, “Zumbatomic.”
“I’ve always wanted to do a kids program, but I didn’t have the experience. Amanda is a teacher, so she does,” Mendez said. “When I decided to go out on my own, I thought of Amanda immediately. She loves dancing as much I as do.”
“It was an honor even to be asked if I wanted to partner with him,” Gonzales said.
Previously, Mendez and Gonzales had used the Rumba Room and rented various spaces around town to conduct their lessons and practice with their performance teams.
With one central location, they look forward to nurturing the already growing dance community.
“We didn’t have a home,” she said. “Now we hope to have a place where we can provide the same atmosphere that we have as a group — friendly and accepting and just having fun.”
They worked very hard to carry that atmosphere over into the studio’s appearance as well: Filling in holes to the basement, building walls to separate the studio from the church next door, and sanding, refinishing and polyurethaning the hardwood floors several times.
“We probably spent 20 hours on the floors,” Gonzales said.
With the modern sofas, the wall hangings and the string lights hung across the beamed ceilings, Mendez believes it was worth the extra elbow grease.
“We wanted to make it feel more like a lounge where people are comfortable and it’s just cool, or if you wanted to throw a party here,” he said.
The two have already broken the space in for a fiesta.
They held their housewarming party Dec. 29.
“We had over 100 people here. We probably danced until 1:30 in the morning,” Mendez said.
The neighbors don’t seem to mind.
The dance studio shares a space with music venue Minglewood Hall; local pub 1884 Lounge; Revive, a breakfast and oxygen bar; Ink, a tattoo parlor; Oasis, a hookah lounge; and Christ City Church.
“Anybody that comes in the building is going to be into the arts and appreciate what we’re doing. We already have people stopping to watch us practice and ask what we do,” Gonzales said.
“We’re very excited to have them here,” said the building’s co-owner, Sandra DeHart. “There’s a buzz now. Everybody is talking about it in the building.”
The business partners have an open-doors policy.
“We are open for anybody who wants to teach. We had a call (the other day) from the Hula Hoopers who were really interested. That would be great,” Mendez said. “We really hope to grow the next generation of dancers in Memphis,” Gonzales said.
Madison Dance Studio
Owners: Amanda Gonzales and Edgar Mendez
Address: 1555 Madison, in Minglewood Hall’s business plaza
Phone: (901) 620-8657 or (901) 484-6999
Online: madisondancestudios.com
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