#ArohaAfroLatinDance #ArohaLatinDanceClass #FlorenceSCLatinDance I was walking to my car after lunch at Top Hat Special Teas when, at the intersection of Evans and Irby, a car horn honked. I looked over and behind the wheel was one of my past dance students waving from her open window. As this student drove on, another student who was waiting at the light called out of the open window asking how I was doing and let me know they were going to call that evening about an event.

In December 2016, Aroha Latin Dance began promoting Latin Night and teaching Latin Dance lessons at Hard Rock Cafe. When I first brought my organization to Hard Rock it was after months of effort to make contact and collaborate. I knew that when the door finally opened the time was right and just as the time was right then, the time is right now for me to make an exit. I can't put my finger on anything particularly concrete but my intuition is telling me that it is time for

Be prepared for magic during the Kizomba Salsa Weekend we will be hosting in Florence, SC the weekend of February 16-18. One of the women coming is someone I absolutely adore and love like a sister. She is energy, love, grace, generosity, and groundedness personified. She is an amazing dance instructor and dancer and what she has truly shown a passion for is self-care. Taking the time to rejuvenate, replenish, love, reconnect with ourselves to be able to give to others and fo

The Florence Kizomba Bachata Weekender was a huge success!! The energy and joy created was palpable! Here are a few pictures from the weekend! A more in-depth blog will be posted soon!

What is the place of art as things begin to fall apart? Where do we go for happiness in the midst of the horrifyingly sad events happening around us? These are the questions that have stayed with me as I have planned, organized, trained, taught, and traveled to dance classes and events between Florence and Myrtle Beach. On these drives I have thought and prayed for my sister in Standing Rock, whose family led the movement that became the Water Protectors. To this day she and

I remember a time before the ever present Facebook, Websites, Blogs, and Instagram when I taught classes and students came through word of mouth. If I was lucky I got an article in a newspaper but mostly, it was based on my merits as a teacher not my "look" as a teacher. Now, a person can take pictures and post it with hashtags and make it "look" like it was the best time ever had and it is your loss that you weren't there. With the right angles and the right music, a video c

There have been moments in my life where everything I have prayed for and worked towards intersected. Never have I achieved such significant milestones alone. Most often it has been a chance conversation that led to exactly what I envisioned. I see these chance conversations as prayers answered. This is what happened with Hard Rock Cafe. I knew that an important element to fostering growth in a dance community was to have a venue that people would be drawn to. A place where c

Awww man! Today was one of those days. You know, the ones that feel like answered prayers days. One of those days that made all the hours of driving, the hours of building, the hours of working on a computer, the hours away from home and family, the cool trips I missed, the setbacks experienced, the fear and doubt I worked through - today made it all worthwhile. It has taken me a year to experience growth in Myrtle Beach. Believe me, I was ready to throw in the towel. I was t

It is a rarity to find a dance instructor who not only knows the dance they teach but can also give you cultural and historical context. All dances came from somewhere and are rooted in an authentic human experience expressed through movement. Kizomba is just that type of dance and Kimberly Nicole is just that type of instructor. The awesome thing is that she doesn't overwhelm you with all of her knowledge but rather gives it to you in small manageable increments. Cuz Kizomba

Listen. Listen well for I have a story to tell. It is a story of sadness, pain, terror, resignation, desolation, hurt, pain, anger, betrayal. It is a tale of hope, courage, resilience, faith, defiance, leaning in, love, survival, tribute, longing, victorious beauty. This is the story of Merengue, Bachata, Salsa. Birthed by ancestors who were taken from all they knew. Taken from family. Taken from home. Taken from friends. These beautiful artistic manifestations of survival we