West Hollywood Gets Its Groove

At Balliamos, the mission is to get everyone in West Hollywood dancing. Whether you're looking to tango, salsa, free style or jive, the dance studio on the corner of Robertson and Santa Monica boulevards offers something to get you moving.

Opened by Suzanne Saperstein just over a year ago, Balliamos is a one-room studio with beautiful hardwood floors, mirrors around the entire room and ballroom chandeliers to give dancers an authentic ambience.

The studio offers classes six days a week for all ages and levels. The students are offered a variety of dances to learn with a new step or challenge each week.

"There are no borders in dance, so someone who is not Latin can learn to move their hips as well as someone who grew up in Cuba. There is no generation gap. Dancing leaves no walls," instructor Juanita Romano said.

On Thursday nights, Romano and Jared Marquez teach Salsa I for beginners. The class is a progression of steps and pieces of a routine that are performed as a group at the end of the class. The male and female instructors collaborate and prepare a routine.

Romano was a professional dancer in a company in New Mexico before she began teaching. She lives in West Hollywood and says the studio would be a good fit for anyone in the area.

"It represents L.A. We have every single ethnicity, every single age. It's dance, it's universal, it's artistic," she said. "A lot of people are so busy. The traffic is so crazy here, it just gives people a chance to get away from everything."

In addition to group classes, Balliamos also offers private lessons for one-on-one attention. For weddings or other special occasions, instructors can create personalized routines, work on steps or teach choreography.