Dance Is Our Passion
About Pasión Project
Key West has long boasted dance centers - at least since the late 1800’s when a double-turreted, wooden dance pavilion called ‘La Brisa’ graced the Southernmost Point, attracting crowds of eager social dancers. Women in long, flouncy dresses mingled coquettishly with men in crisp white shirts as they lined up outside to buy tickets for the evening dance. Two hundred years later - in keeping with the mounting appetite among snowbirds visitors and certain locals for then-voguish movement classes such as aerobics, step classes, ballet and jazz - small commercial studios began to open. Key West’s Latino population demanded dance venues for Latin partner dancing (salsa, merengue bachata and cha cha cha), and created the popularity of bars and restaurants such as Virgilios (attached to La Tratoria on Duval Street) and Meson di Pepe at Mallory Square. Cowboy Bill’s sponsored weekly line-dancing, and until April this year when we all had to quarantine our dance-floor moves to our living rooms, there were at least four places to study dance in Key West - Kari’s Dance Factory and Coffee Mill’s two studios catered for adults and children, there was adult partner dancing at Paradise Fitness, while a relative new-comer upstairs at the Key West Theater offered contemporary dance forms. But now we are entering a new era in dance. Due to the nature of Covid 19, and the need to maintain social distancing - the future of these establishments - and many others throughout the country - is uncertain. At least two of them are now permanently closed.
The newest studio owner in town - former New Yorker Pamela Connolly who moved to Key West five years ago - has found a way to provide safe dance lessons for adults of all abilities, and is opening Pasión Studio on Southard Street in early July. Unable to realize her plans for a live studio that was supposed to open in May, Pamela has converted Pasión into a state-of-the-art virtual dance studio, able to include students from Key West and further afield. She installed a fully professional, sprung dance floor, and hired Key West designer Marky Pierson to create thrilling lighting, a technically unparalleled Zoom studio and a colorful mural. The result is an exceptionally vibrant ambiance, ready to inspire amateur and professional dancers - virtually at first, but eventually in vivo. Pamela has hired top dance instructors - eight of whom are now based in Key West - to teach an exciting range of dances. The star Instructor at Pasión studio is world-renowned Master Braz Dos Santos. In the past three years, this Brazilian motivational dynamo has been teaching select groups of students who have flown in to Key West to take his rigorous ‘Master Braz 50-hour Certificate Courses’. Lambada is a thrilling dance from the 80’s that has developed into urban, contemporary forms, and the dance in various styles is are growing rapidly throughout the world. “Master Braz is widely acknowledged to be the best and most celebrated Lambada dancer in the world,” says Pamela. “We are extremely lucky and honored to have him leading our faculty.”
Monroe County Library Collection
Monroe County Library Collection
Cuban comparsa dancers in Key West. Monroe County Library Collection.
The Comprass Dancers of the Latin Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Clint Giese from the L.P. Artman Jr. Collection
Master Braz will teach Lambada and Axe (pronounced ‘Ashay’ - fun aerobic Brazilian dance moves for everyone). The rest of the faculty is an eclectic group - highly experienced New York teacher Tybaldt Ulrich will teach Argentine Tango, Swing, Carolina Shag, Bachata, Hustle and all ballroom styles. Jade Whitley will engage all cowboys and cowgirls with Line Dance and Country Swing, Texan Brad Meccia will steam up the studio with Sensual Bachata, Brazilian Zouk and Lambada. Amber La Bomba (also the studio manager) will teach salsa shines and other Latin dances. Miami teacher Jorge Enrique Valero offers Urban Bachata, Sensual Bachata and Salsa on 1 and 2, while fellow Floridian Jeff Mumford will teach West Coast Swing and also offer mobility classes. “I am thrilled to be able to offer such an exciting dance curriculum in Key West with such terrific professional instructors” says Pamela. “And we are also offering a stretch & flexibility program taught by Taylor Tarn, as well as Physio-based injury-prevention classes taught by expert physiotherapist Dr Michelle Gibson. There’s something for everyone… and at affordable prices.”
Dance has been Pamela Connolly’s passion since she was five years old. After studying ballet for a few years and performing regularly on stage and TV, she entered the Arts Educational theater school in London, UK, and began to perform professionally from the age of 12, including with London’s Festival Ballet Company. She eventually graduated from drama school and became an actor and comedian, but frequently performed dance as well. After a celebrated international stage, television and film career, she became a cast member on Saturday Night Live which brought her to the East Coast. “Dance was my first career,” she says, “and my first passion! It was always my escape…” In 2011 and 2012 she ‘escaped’ again for a long stint on the hit BBC TV show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ - the British (and original) version of ‘Dancing With The Stars’. Following that, with Harley Medcalf (producer of ‘Burn The Floor’) she created ‘Brazouka’ an international stage dance show plus two international dance festivals and a local dance company based in Brazil. After moving to Key West she created a professional dance group ‘Key West Dancers’ - and as a choreographer with ‘Pasión Project dancers’ she won ‘Best in Entertainment’ at last year’s Fantasy Fest Parade. ‘Pasión Studio is a natural progression’, says Pamela ‘It is my pleasure now to support the dance aspirations of others.”
“All our Instructors are highly-capable virtual teachers,” says Pamela. “It’s necessary at this time.They will all offer private lessons as well. When opening up the studio to live students begins to be safe, we will offer small, socially-distanced classes as well as Zoom instruction. Once we can be fully open we will be functioning live, and able to hold dance practices and parties too… but like most business owners viewing the future as uncertain, we will always retain a virtual element, including library of dance instruction videos available 24 hours per day. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Keys residents and visitors will enjoy and support this ‘keysstrong’ local business!”