We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julissa Cruz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julissa below.

Julissa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

” The passionate pursuit of the Arts, Community and Self ” This mission statement is more of a personal mission and since I’m a single member LLC, everything I do in the business is woven out of who I am as a person. Through the 20 years of teaching others, from kids to adults, we all move towards the Arts as a form of Self discovery. The Arts, especially dance, gives a freedom in choice that regular things in life don’t; and as we grow older, that freedom to exist without overthinking is so important. Movement does that for a lot of my students. When we partner dance, we need empathy to communicate non verbally to others on that same journey to make connection on the dance floor. Community is a huge part of that. We need to engage within the community and build relationships in order to unlock connection, and thus unlock our freedom. So at Latin Vintage, the goal is to ignite that passion for our students .

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been dancing for as long as I can remember, and once I joined a formal Dance School, I knew this would be something I would do long term. My training in my Childhood Dance studio really set the tone for how I hear music, how I teach and train, and how important community is for me. Im forever grateful for the life lessons I learned there and the Teachers that believed in me.

I started dancing Salsa formally in 2003 at 19 years old when I was discovered at a Latin Night Club by Andres Echevarria, who would become my first dance partner. It was then that I discovered that the Latin dances I grew up with had a lot of the same techniques all dances did, and I was hooked. My leadership skills and ability to learn quickly, made me the director of a professional Dance Company the following year. I would travel to teach, perform, compete and choreograph until I went off on my own as a solo couple and artist with my dance partner of 7 years, Gordon Neil.

Fast forward to 2009, I moved to Virginia as a newlywed and saw a need for community and dance there. That’s when I created Latin Vintage, to build community and to teach people how to train and dance together. It was a huge learning experience as I never really dreamed of being a business owner. All I knew was how dance could improve a wide range of things in the lives of people and I started there. Latin Vintage was a huge success in Richmond, VA because I focused on people and how dance, especially partner dancing, could build relationships and ultimately, Community.

I am now on my 15th year of owning Latin Vintage and I am so proud of the people we have inspired to dance, as well as the spaces we created through classes and events, that encouraged community and integrity in the Arts. We currently have Salsa basics classes that give you the tools to get out on the dance floors, as well as several performance teams to build confidence in working towards the goal of getting on stage. We offer various workshops throughout the year, and host our annual socials that bring in the entire community in the DMV to share their love of Dance.

My long term hope is that people will continue to turn to the Arts, specifically dance, to connect with themselves and others way past the time they spent with me and Latin Vintage.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what has helped my reputation the most has been my consistency to training not only myself, but all my dancers. I carry a lot of integrity when it comes to movement in the sense of what I put on stage, how I teach and treat my students, and how I formulate and run my business for consumers. The most important thing any Leader can and should do, is to mean what you say and execute with consistency, empathy and integrity.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think the Pandemic was a season of constant pivoting. I was one of the only Salsa Studios in my area to continue teaching throughout the pandemic. It was nothing short of a miracle as I also had my family at home all day everyday. I had to pour into my kids, as well as create new ways to continue a sense of community for my students in a time where connection was scarce.

I had to invent new ways to teach virtually and still foster the improvement in my students that I was most known for helping them achieve. I went from focusing on partner dancing, to focusing on the individual dancer and building the confidence there. I created a completely other form of ‘community’ for Solo dancers, primarily Women, and I grew so much as a leader during that first year of the pandemic.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.latinvintage.com
• Instagram: @_latinvintage
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/LatinVintage
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/LatinVintage

Image Credits
Orlando Tielves – Instant Vintage Photography Michael Mabbo – Da Media Team