Dance Company

Salseros 828 performs at Festivals, Fundraisers, Parties, Theatrical Shows, Cabarets, Concerts, Schools, and at your special event. We can help you organize your party by finding you the right band, offering world-class Instruction and performance or just consulting you on how to make your event a success. We can furnish a full resume of our past performances if requested.

We perform and teach many Latin Dances: Merengue, Bachata, Cha Cha Cha, Cuban Casino Salsa, "On 1" LA Salsa, "On 2" NY Mambo, Brazilian Samba, Cumbia (Mexico City style!), Folkloric Cuban Dance (Rumba, Yoruban, Comparsa Carnival Dances), and we teach specialty workshops such as Sexy Moves, Lifts and Tricks and Aerials, Performance Classes, Spins, Body Movement and Isolations, and much more...check our Class Schedule and Calendar for current offerings.

To be a dancer/performer with Salseros 828, just show up to the classes! You will start in Student Group (see below) as a performer-in-training and work your way into the professional group. As a member of Salseros 828, you also have the chance to be a teacher in training.

For Dance Company pricing and booking please contact Maria.

Maria "la guajira" Voisin has been dancing Salsa for over 11 years. Her background is in Ballet and Classical music, but her summers were spent as a youth in the Dominican Republic. The Caribbean rhythms would eventually draw her back, as she discovered while a DJ at WTUL New Orleans (1992-1996). Her music programs became more and more Latin until she finally followed her interest to Cuba in 1999 to study at the The National School of the Arts (ENA) in Havana. There she focused on the history of Salsa, studying the dances which contributed to the development of modern Salsa and the Rueda de Casino. She returned to Cuba several times for more study and most importantly to dance in the clubs from Havana to Guantanamo. She returns to Cuba frequently to continue her studies.

In 1999, Maria taught Salsa in Asheville clubs and studios and formed her first dance troupe, as well as Asheville's first Salsa Dance troupe, 'Estilo Cubano'. Drawn again to the Caribbean, she worked and traveled (and kept studying) for 2.5 years in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, and South Florida. She returned to Asheville in autumn of 2002 and founded Salseros 828 Dance Company in the winter of the same year. She has continued her studies on trips to Los Angeles for the International Salsa Congress, and in workshops with Ismael Otero, Al "Liquid Silver" Espinoza, Ana Masicote, Eddie Torres, Franklin Diaz, Frankie Martinez, Baba Richard Gonzales, and other world-reknown Instructors.

Maria teaches L.A.(on 1), Cuban Son (contra-tiempo), and New York (on 2) Salsa, and her first love, Caribbean style Latin Dance, with an emphasis on Modern Cuban Rueda de Casino. She leads workshops in Merengue, Bachata, Cha Cha Cha, Cuban Mambo, Son Cubano, Afro-Cuban Movement, Danzon, Comparsa, and Brazilian Samba as well. Authenticity, respect for tradition, and a deep understanding of the cultural history of the dances are Maria's guiding principles. Appreciating the history and cultural relevance of Salsa widens the student's understanding of the importance of Salsa to the wellbeing of its culture. Maria's aim is to impart this social function along with the steps. Realizing there is always more to learn keeps her humble and inspired. She hopes to spread the joy of Salsa throughout Western Carolina and to make this dance accessible and enduring for all who enjoy it.

"When [Maria] sees her students loosen up, have fun and get the rhythm, she also knows that through their bodies they are truly understanding another culture" Carolyn Brooks, Co-op Scoop.

Hector Gutierrez is a native of Mexico City who has lived in Hendersonville, North Carolina for the last seven years. He saw salsa dancing the first time as a young child, sneaking behind his older cousins to a dance party. He peeked through the fence, watched them dance all night, and has been infatuated ever since. He has now been dancing for over twenty years, first advancing as a chilango dancer in parties and clubs in Mexico City.

When Hector first came to the United States, he sought out places to continue dancing salsa. He finally found a home dancing, studying under, and teaching with Salseros 828 and Maria "la guajira" Voisin in 2001. Since then he has studied and excelled in Cuban-style salsa, Son, and Salsa Casino de Rueda. He is at present mesmerized by the L.A. Style of slot dancing, and he enjoys learning all styles, having had the opportunity to take workshops with great dancers such as Ismael Otero, Al "Liquid Silver" Espinoza, Jimmy Rumba, and all the fantastic dancers/teachers at the Atlanta Salsa Congress 2005.

Hector has performed and taught with Salseros 828 at the Lake Eden Arts Fesitval for two years in a row, The Orange Peel, and the University of North Carolina at Asheville. He and his dance partner Maria were contributors to the "Nightmare" Cabaret Modern at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, and have performed at many nightclubs, parties, and educational centers. Hector's heart, mind, and understanding of the dance continue to expand as he brings his charismatic Mexico City footwork, Cuban styling, and his own natural elegance to all of the genres he studies, and of course, to the nightclubs!

As a student of Salseros 828, you have the chance to train for performance. You are qualified for the student performance group simply by attending 2 classes weekly (one LA style, one Cuban Casino), and by committing to one rehearsal weekly. You must have completed the first level of Cuban and LA style to qualify. You will have the chance to add polish to your dancing, to work with a team, and to feel accomplished at what you love to do, dance! Student group accepts new dancers twice a year, fall and spring semesters. Applications are always available.

Children ages 8-12 who participate in the after school classes will be able to dance as a team and perform together at festivals, recitals, socials, and much more. Kids who take the classes are not required to perform. Classes will start in Fall 2007. Subscribe to the email list to receive updates on schedules.

For pricing and booking please contact Maria.