The Knoxville
Salsa-Bachata-cumbia Weekender
(KSBCW)

Waldo y Jacqui Solano are the owners of Salsa Knoxville Dance Company, a dance studio based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Originally founded in 2009, Salsa Knoxville has pioneered Salsa, Bachata, Cumbia, Merengue, and Ladies Styling in and around Knoxville, TN.  

Waldo Solano, originally from Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, grew up dancing to tropical music, cumbia, and salsa in Mexico City. He has been dancing since 6 years old.  He has been part of dance teams, instructor programs, and has traveled around the USA performing and instructing for the past 20 years.  He is passionate about teaching people how to grow and find their purpose inside or outside the dance floor.  He is an established life and business coach with many different programs that help people on different parts of their journey: whether they are learning to dance, starting a business, or trying to scale, Waldo brings his holistic ideas of mindset, business and health together to help anyone grow.  

Jacqui Solano, born in Trenton, NJ, has been dancing, instructing, and performing Salsa, Bachata, Cumbia and Merengue for the past 15 years in and around the USA.  She is deeply passionate about coaching women in the Latin Dance Community, whether it be through her teams, ladies styling classes, partner work classes, global online workshops or events.  She wants to spread her love of health, dance, mindset inspiration to the next generation of women because she believes that "dance is a voice of the soul and an expression of the body and mind connected."

Salsa Knoxville Dance Company offers group and private lessons in salsa, bachata, Merengue, cha-cha, cumbia, and Salsa Rueda for adults. The company has been established since 2008 and is known for its dedication to promoting Latin dance styles in the Knoxville area.

Krystal is the director of Bailemos Bachata Knoxville, a new dance company here in Knoxville, TN. Her Latin dance journey began in 2018 in the Northern VA/DC area and later blossomed to become an instructor at Baila Marcelo Dance Company. After moving back home to TN, she pursued her own dance company with goals to ignite a passion in the area to learn and enjoy dancing all styles of bachata (Traditional, Modern, and Sensual), to make learning Bachata accessible to any prospective or current student, and to share with Knoxville area residents the joy and friendships fostered from being a member of the dance scene.

She has a passion for Bachata, especially how to respectfully incorporate each of the three styles while dancing to a variety of Bachata music. As a former long-time gymnast and gymnastics instructor, she is no stranger to the importance of technique and careful breakdown of skills when teaching students, and she loves sharing her knowledge acquired through her training and experience.

She is thrilled to spread her love of Bachata here in Knoxville, TN, and Salsa Knoxville is excited to collaborate with her at this next Knoxville Salsa Bachata Weekender. Krystal is a team player by nature, values continuous learning and growth for all levels of dancers and dance instructors, and is excited to share her knowledge, learn, and grow with the Knoxville dance community.