About
DANCIN’ MOTION SCHOOL OF THE ARTS PROVIDES THE TAMPA BAY REGION GROUP AND PRIVATE CLASSES IN SALSA, BACHATA, MERENGUE, GUAJIRA, CHA CHA CHA, BELLYDANCE AND KIZOMBA FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN.
Founded in November of 2010 by Maria Espinoza, DMSA is located in the heart of Tampa. We offer our students a non-intimidating, fun, value enriched environment for students to learn and improve their dance skills.
Our beautiful Tampa location is a very spacious 2300 square feet studio with wood flooring, fully mirrored walls, A/C, 2 bathrooms,
We are located in the Horizon Park Shopping Center with plenty of outside parking available. Socials are offered at this location every Friday.
Maria Espinoza
Owner
Lead Instructor & Choreographer
Maria has been dancing for over 40 years and teaching for over 20 years. Born to a Puerto Rican mother and a Peruvian father in New York, she has always been intrigued with the arts. Dance has always been a part of her life - Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Freestyle, Hip Hop, Reggae, and more. In elementary school, she started taking Ballet and Tap Classes. As she got older, she began to use her talent in creating dance patterns and became captain of her dance team crew, who participated in many local events including the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
As the years passed by, "life" and it's many responsibilities forced Maria to put her love of dance aside, but she never lost her passion. In 2002, she relocated to Florida and decided to get back to what she loved doing. Maria began training with several local dance schools and later become an instructor.
After many years of being an instructor, Maria decided it was time to live out her own dream of opening a school of the arts. She opened Dancin' Motion School of the Arts in 2010 where she has taught over 5000 students of different ages, ethnicities, and walks of life!
Being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2003, Maria realized that dancing has saved her life! "The feeling inside of you when you are able to free yourself and be you is beyond words. It is a way of healing yourself in which I feel no other medicine can do for you." Maria wants to be able to share this passion with the rest of the world and make others aware of how important and beautiful it is for a person to find whatever it is that frees them!
dmsa staff & instructors
Rosario 'Rosie' Feal
Lead Assistant Instructor | Salsa & Bachata
DMSA Graduate
Maria's Sister
Rosie was born and raised in New York in a Hispanic household where every family gathering consisted of music and dancing. She started ballet and tap classes at 6 years old and later expanded her skills to also include hip-hop and freestyle, as well as acting and singing. As she got older, her focus turned more to her family, however once her children were grown she decided to start dancing again and hasn't looked back. Rosie has graduated as both a Salsa Follow and Lead at DMSA. She enjoys sharing her love and passion with both adults and children.
Advice for a New Dancer: Be persistent and practice!
Fun Fact: Rosie loves roller coasters, and she is passionate about Broadway Musicals!
Ruel Forbes
Assistant Instructor "Salsa"
DMSA Graduate
I was born and raised in Brooklyn NY, to a Trinidadian family. I didn’t party or dance much when I was young, being raised in a churchy family, but I was encouraged to learn music and have been a pianist, and multi instrumentalist since age 6. I was always mesmerized by dancing. All us kids popped and locked and breakdanced back in my day but that was pretty much all I personally knew of dancing I got into salsa because of a Sean Combs and Jennifer Lopez dance scene in the middle of the 90’s “Been Around The World” hip hop music video. When I saw how beautiful she looked dancing “salsa” I was hooked. Back in 2008, I started out learning “ballroom salsa” On 2 in New York NY at Tony Meridith and Melanie LaPatin’s Dance Times Square school, but didn’t get very far until I moved from NYC to Tampa in June of 2014, and a coworker, also from NY, re-inspired me during the next 18 months, because she and her husband were so amazing at salsa. In early 2016, Groupon did the rest, and here we are! My graduation from DMSA was in the fall of 2017. After that I studied with other teachers but I always came back home to DMSA, the school that taught me “if I can walk, I can dance.”
Fun fact about me? I may be a smart grown up man, but I have the whimsical and curious mind of a child. (Think Gummy Bears and Adult animated TV shows)
Tips for new dancers: Become comfortable with difficulty and jump right into it. When you feel frustration over your dancing, do not run away from it. Take a breath, be grateful for what you have, and come back to the present moment. Those feelings of frustration simply let you know that you Care deeply about this. You will get better over time by always approaching and embracing that which is the most difficult.
Kassandra Torres
Kids Latin Dance Instructor
DMSA Graduate & Performer
Kassie is a Tampa Bay native, born and raised in Brandon, FL. Go BUCS!
Kassie's family is of Puerto Rican descent, so her love for dance and music came naturally. It's in her blood! Her dance story began at home, watching her parents, friends, and family dance at get-togethers. Her technical training all started with a ballet class...because...every pretty princess wants to be a ballerina, of course! Ballet was the floodgate for all the different styles of dance she would go on to study and learn! In elementary school, she was a member of Performers for Peace where she performed Belly Dancing as well as a traditional Maori Stick Game. This is where her love of performing began.
In middle school, she studied Swing Dance and a little bit of Cha-Cha. She was also a member of Thespians and competed in the group ensemble division. In her 8th-grade year she joined the Color Guard Team which inspired her to audition for the Jefferson High School Dragoneras Dance Team, for her 9th-grade year. Go BIG BLUE! She was 1 of only 2 Freshmen to make the team! She went on to be a member of the dance team through her Sophomore and Junior years. After high school, dance took a backseat to life, but her passion and love for dance always remained.
As an adult, she always wanted to take a Salsa class, but for one reason or another never did. In 2022 her life changed forever, becoming a mother to the cutest and sweetest Salsera and Bachatera in the making. In March of 2022, "Uncle Ray" invited her to take a Salsa class with him.... because you guessed it.... he found a Groupon!!!
Kassie walked into DMSA not ever thinking past that first 6-week session. Not ever knowing that DMSA would become her home away from home and saving grace. Her passion and love for dance came back like a burning force. She went on to become a DMSA graduate for Salsa in 2023. Graduation is one of the life accomplishments that she holds very dear to her heart! While participating in graduation, she joined the DMSA Bachata team, En Fuego. The following year, she was a member of both DMSA dance teams, En Fuego and Raices. She is now participating in her 3rd season with En Fuego and her 2nd season with Raices.
Kassie is extremely excited to be part of the DMSA family and forever grateful for that Groupon.
Advice for a NEW Dancer: Practice makes perfect! Dance Like no one is watching!
Fun Fact: I'm afraid of the dark
