ROCHESTER, N.Y. — With rhythmic feet, swaying hips and electric spins, salsa dancing is mesmerizing. Salsa is part Cuba, part Puerto Rico and part New York City.

“Just like the food, just like the dish,” said salsa instructor Darin Price, owner of the Salsero Dance Company. “When you put them all together, you have salsa.”

Price, who is Cuban and Bahamian, opened Salsero Dance Company in 2009 with his partner in dance and life Elyse Jurutka.

“We want to share that culture,” Price said. “We want to share that. And I am no cook, but I’m a dancer. And so this is my one contribution is being able to share in dance. It is just as important as the food, the language; dance is just as intertwined with our culture.”

Darin and Elyse host monthly “bailes,” or dances, in Rochester, which they say has given Hispanics a place to congregate and celebrate their culture.

“It’s really been a bridge, been a conduit for so many folks who normally wouldn’t engage with each other,” said Price.

“There’s an inherent acceptance, come as you are, which is beautiful,” said salsa instructor Elyse Jurutka. “It can be intimidating when you think about coming into an environment like that. And so often I see the relief wash over people when they do get invited to dance and they have fun.”

One of the dancers at the dance company is Alexandro Sotomayor, who moved to Rochester for work three years ago.

“I moved in the middle of February, so you can imagine the middle of winter, a Puerto Rican who had never seen snow before, literally moving here alone,” said Sotomayor.

Sotomayor says he is beyond grateful for the Salsero Dance Company. 

“I started meeting people, creating a family, I don’t know what I would have done without this activity and experiences,” said Sotomayor.

His newly found dance community has helped him create a home away from home.

“I never thought that I could consider Rochester my home,” said Sotomayor, “I never thought I was going to find this, right? This made Rochester just family, just home.”

“We’re a family,” Price said. “We’re a community. We’re a neighborhood. And it’s really special to see that shine through, through dance.”