by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 27 January 2016
The backhoes and dump trucks demo-ing the former Fremont Electric buildings on North 34th may, temporarily, mask the rise in energy and the faster beat recently relocated to West Fremont.
Last fall, Salsa Con Todo (SCT) shifted their dance studio from a brick storefront formerly on N 34th (also known as Patches Place) to newly remodeled, breathtakingly beautiful, copper-covered digs at 211 N 36th St. This building previously housed a Diamond Machine Works warehouse, storing industrial materials and doing little to draw the attention of passers-by.
Now, expect feet to be pounding a path to this newest attraction in West Fremont, drawn by opportunities for dance and music. Salsa Con Todo is welcoming everyone to step inside, for a class, social dance and private parties. “We make dance very accessible,” invited Vassili, SCT’s founder, “We provide a safe haven; a much more comforting environment.”
From The Living Room
Vassili started Salsa Con Todo “about 12 years ago,” he recently recalled. “At the time, I was touring much of the time,” he said, with the band, The Children Of The Revolution, “and teaching on the side.” At first he taught in rooms in the International District, then he moved into his own living room in Wallingford, where they used blocks of ice to cool the space in summer.
As Salsa Con Todo developed into a full school, he rented rooms from the City of Seattle in the University Heights Center building. In time, he was able to sign a two-year lease for use of a large basement room. He completely remodeled it into a dance studio, covering the concrete floor, installing mirrors and painting.
Near the end of the lease, they lost the space. “I was on tour for four or five months,” Vassili recalled, “and I came back and found we had one month to vacate. It seemed impossible.” A friend, a Flamenco dancer, recommended a recently vacated retail space in Fremont. “I looked in and could tell it was perfect,” Vassili reported, especially when he called the number on the ‘For Lease’ sign and a cell phone rang a few feet away. The landlord happened to be on-sight, and right away they worked out the details of the lease and another remodel.
To Split-Level Studios
The area around the SCT studio took some time to grow. “There was not a lot of [foot] traffic, when we moved in,” Vassili observed, “it’s been wonderful to see that area gain so much vitality.” However, the vitality brought so much interest that, after nearly five years there, Vassili got word early in 2015 that SCT would once again have to move. The former Fremont Electric buildings were being redeveloped into a new five story office/retail building, and Vassili would have to find another new space.
“I looked all over the city,” Vassili explained, “I wanted something with character.” He’d enjoyed the N 34th location, but the shared wall with Café Turko and sharing restrooms with Dragonfly Holistic Healing, had difficulties. This time he looked for something more free-standing.
His landlord also showed him three spaces, and ultimately Vassili leased one that at first he said, “it looked awful.” Still, “one of my favorite things is to walk in and visualize,” and he saw the potential in the warehouse. Potential he feels they’ve nearly realized – and everyone interested in dancing can stop by and see for themselves.
The new Salsa Con Todo studios used reclaimed 100-year-old fir wood for covering the walls and ceiling. Rustic fixtures, with L.E.D. lights, and skylights throughout, give the space a bright, yet natural luminescence. A professional, sprung dance floor makes this a perfect place for dancing.
Best of all, the old warehouse sits on a slight slope, allowing the build-out of two studios, the main and the speakeasy, that sits a level down and opens straight off the back alley. With an additional two small practice rooms, SCT has been able to nearly double its offering of classes and events. Right now, plywood separates the two studios, but in March a wall of glass will be installed that can be rolled away to join the rooms for bigger parties.
A Dance Community…
“This is about giving people a place where they can come,” Vassili said of SCT, “it’s entirely geared towards ‘Come one, Come all.’” Certainly, Salsa Con Todo draws in a variety of ages, and backgrounds. “It’s a broad range of people,” he observed.
“One of the main perks of partner dancing is that it brings large groups of adults together. It creates community,” Vassili observed, “We’re geared towards creating community.” The community at Salsa Con Todo has proven to be very cohesive – one of the very first students who started with the school twelve years ago still attends classes today, and a few students have inter-married.
“We try to take the flash and ego out of learning to dance,” Vassili said, of the classes. “I don’t teach a ton,” he explained. Instead, SCT uses teachers who have gone through rigorous training in this school, and nationally-acclaimed teachers from out-of-town who, “fit our style.” For Vassili, it is important that teachers understand the importance of creating and maintaining a safe, warm environment. Vassili values communication with students, done “in a warm, friendly way.”
…For Dancing
In addition to the long list of classes and public social dances at SCT, the studios are also available for rental. Vassili plans to obtain a beer & wine license so that they can host wedding receptions and parties that might serve alcohol to guests, yet, “this space will never have a focus on beer and wine,” he explained.
A dramatic yet oft-overlooked difference between dancing at Salsa Con Todo and nightclubs is the lack of alcohol and other stimulants. “We’re very strict about who we let in,” Vassili observed, “if someone is drinking or inebriated in any way, and can’t dance, they can’t stay. Most of our community likes to dance.”
“By and large, in the dance world,” Vassili explained, “establishments want to sell alcohol, but dancers don’t drink.” The new studios have some seating, for students to sit and change shoes, rest briefly, or nurse a sore toe or ankle, but this isn’t a place for gawking or hanging out, nursing a beer. SCT collects a small fee from dancers at the door (approximately $7) for its social dances, which are open to everyone, rather than relying on liquor receipts.
Instead, students and other dancers can step inside SCT and find great sounds and space for Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba, Zouk, Afro/Cuban, Rumba, Oaxia and Argentine Tango.
West Fremont Continues To Grow
“There is a lot of stress involved in relocating,” Vassili allowed, but “instinctively, I felt it would be for the best. I feel good about it. This has been awesome!” And Vassili has heard a great response from students. “They like the space,” he observed, “we’ve had really nice crowds,” and, “I’ve definitely noticed an increase in foot traffic.”
That increase is likely to continue. With another neighbor (formerly Bikram Yoga, now SeaLevel Hot Yoga) also moved over, two doors down, a pizza place being built next door to Pomerol, and rumors of a bar/event space going into the former Chili’s Paste, West Fremont grows and grows. “I love this area,” he said, of West Fremont and the neighborhood in general, “with all the water, the proximity to a lot of things. It’s very lively!”
Vassili has also looked at investing further in the area, by considering converting the empty space next door (between SCT and SeaLevel) into a coffee shop/shared office space. He envisions a juice bar that sells savories, and some local crafts, and offers quiet, work areas for rent for $5 an hour. Users would get tables, lighting, wifi, and outlets, and more calm and quiet than provided in the average coffee shop. “I like going to coffee shops,” Vassili explained, “I love the coffee shop life,” but he’s noted that it can be tricky to find a workspace, and get something done among the distractions.
In the meantime, everyone is invited to step down to West Fremont to learn to dance, practice your steps, or look at renting the lovely studio space. For more information, and the long list of classes, visit the Salsa Con Todo website.
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