At 6 p.m. on Friday nights, you can find Jorge Dorribo, 24, giving salsa dancing lessons at Just Coffee.
Dorribo came to America from Spain in late August of 2004. Originally, he was sent here when he joined a student exchange program, but what attracted him to stay here was the Department of Computer Science at ETSU. Currently he is pursuing his master’s degree.
Dorribo has loved to dance ever since he was a young child, but he didn’t start taking salsa lessons until he was 16. He took salsa lessons four days a week. He has also taken ballroom dancing lessons, but he didn’t care for that as much, he said.
“In ballroom dancing, you can spend a month just on making sure your arm is in the correct position,” said Dorribo.
He has also found that salsa dancing leaves more room for improvisation than does ballroom dancing.
Dorribo said that he has been a salsa instructor for three or four years and that he sticks to simple steps at first because he wants his students to have the chance to “feel the rhythm” before they move on to more complicated steps. He said he also believes that it’s important for his students to learn how to dance in a group and has them change partners frequently.
“I’ve met people who don’t want to dance with anyone other than their wife or their girlfriend,” said Dorribo. “But if you dance with the same person all of the time, you don’t learn to adjust to other dancing partners.”
What does Dorribo think that a person can get out of salsa lessons? “Mostly salsa lessons are a good way to have a good time,” he said.
They are also a good way to meet people and to get some exercise. Salsa lessons will also benefit you if you ever go to a club where people salsa dance. Like any type of dancing, salsa also improves one’s overall body coordination.
Lessons are held at Just Coffee in the basement of Watauga Avenue Presbyterian Church, which is at 610 Watauga Ave. For directions and for more information about Just Coffee, call 926-7942.

Author