Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriela Gonzalez.
Hi Gabriela, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Gabriela is co-founder and co-organizer of the annual Atlanta Salsa Bachata Festival, which welcomes over 1500 dancers every year from all over the US and the world, and its main mission is to inspire through dance… just like she was inspired by a similar event 19 years ago.
“It happened by accident… a friend suggested that we should take a road trip and go to this “little Salsa thing” going down in Los Angeles, CA.
I had no idea what I was walking into…
What I saw and experienced mesmerized me and solidified my love of dancing forever.
This was back in 2003 at the legendary Los Angeles Salsa Congress (had never heard of such an event before).
There was what it seemed like an endless sea of amazing dancers (they all seemed like professionals to me at the time) dancing to one of Oscar de Leon’s greatest hits, Lloraras, who was singing LIVE!
To say that I was star struck is an understatement (but by the dancers, lol, although Oscar de Leon was great too ;)).
I remember being so intimidated that I did not want to step out onto dance floor, not even one little toe, lol.
I just wanted to watch and admire all the dancers, especially all the beautiful ladies who looked so confident and sexy.
But what impressed me the most were the shows.
The performers who had come from all over the United States and the World to perform live on stage. I loved the costumes, the beautiful dancers, the choreography and tricks.
I remember thinking to myself “I want to do that too, I want to be on that stage performing someday.”
So I became obsessed with Salsa dancing, and this is how my dance journey started.
But I had just graduated from college with my Engineering degree, so I started working as an Engineer, and I began my training as a dancer. I was dancing as much as I could when I wasn’t working.
But after fifteen years of straddling both worlds, it led to serious burnout and exhaustion. My body was giving me clear signs that I could no longer do both.
So I took a leap of faith, I quit my Engineering career and decided to pursue dance full time.
And I’m so glad that I did!”
Gabriela is now the Owner and Director of Baila Huntsville (bailahuntsville.com), a Salsa and Bachata dance academy, and has been dancing and teaching in the Madison/Huntsville, AL area for over ten years.
Aside from all the physical and mental health benefits, dance creates a sense of community and inclusion, and Gabriela loves how much joy it can bring into peoples’ lives.
Through her classes and events, she’s witnessed first-hand the birth of countless of new friendships and even individuals finding the loves of their lives through dance.
And now through her story and journey she hopes it will inspire and encourage everyone she meets to pursue what they truly love and are passionate about.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There’s definitely been many challenges along the way.
The first one being overcoming the belief that I could not make a living from Salsa dancing. That’s why I had stayed in Engineering for so long because I had no clue if I would be able to make enough money to support myself.
And I always get asked, “is dancing all you do?” I think when people ask that they still have a picture of the starving artist in mind.
And it’s definitely taken some time and planning and odd part-time jobs here and there and becoming a bit more frugal, but I have managed to support myself. And my business is still growing.
And then of course there’s all the challenges that come with operating and running a business. And not to mention covid had a devastating and transformative effect on the dance industry as a whole.
But even through all of that, I’m still so glad that I decided to pursue dance. It’s been an amazing journey. And I’ve learned so much and have become so much more resilient because of it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our event, the Atlanta Salsa Bachata Festival is a three-day dance conference. It’s grown to be one of the biggest Salsa events in the southeast. Our mission is to inspire and to create a welcoming community and environment for everyone.
And right now, we’re in the middle of preparations for our next one coming up at the end of February, February 24 to 27 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Atlanta.
We bring in top professional artists from and all over the US and the world to teach workshops and to perform on stage. Each day there’s about 8hrs of workshops to choose from in different dance styles and levels.
Each night we have shows done by our top dance professionals as well as amateur dancers that come from all around to learn and dance.
And of course, we’ve got social dancing every night that goes well into the morning. It’s so much fun.
And I’m so excited to be training my own performance team of amateur Salsa dancers through my Salsa Dance Academy, Baila Huntsville, and they will be debuting their routine at our event in Atlanta.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
It’s never too late to start dancing or to go after anything you’re passionate about.
The best thing to do is to just get going. Take that first step.
Challenges will arise along the way but so will the solution to overcome them.
When covid hit, I had to shift from teaching in person classes to teaching online classes. And I created an online dance membership website for Ladies called SalsaBossLady.com.
This gave me an opportunity to keep doing what I loved to do.
Contact Info:
- Email: support@salsabosslady.com
- Website: www.atlantasbf.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ATLSBF/
- Other: www.bailahuntsville.com
