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BBS In the News!! http://m.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/03/18/1241709#_=_ Tonya Outlaw's students have earned White Belts in their training. But they didn't do so by learning blocks, kicks and offensive moves associated with martial arts. Instead, they have learned basic Salsa steps and turns in Black Belt Salsa, a new method of teaching Salsa developed by "Edie the Salsa Freak," a world-renowned salsa instructor based in Colorado. Students follow a curriculum for each belt level and earn belts as they master salsa techniques. Belts range from the white belt - mastering right turns, left turns, core and dips - to green belt - adding complexity and creativity to the core moves. Students can test to be an instructor after mastering the highest belt. For the past year, Outlaw and other instructors at Baile con Sazon Studio on North Reilly Road have followed the program. "We are a test pilot for the Black Belt Salsa program," Outlaw said. "Anything the program can do better is tested out here." Baile con Sazon Studio began the program in February 2012 and is one of two certified Black Belt Salsa programs in the state. The other is in Charlotte. The Black Belt Salsa program helps students learn social salsa dancing with an emphasis on technique, Outlaw said. Within each color level of belt, there are degrees, or sub-steps to master before reaching the next level. "Students are very receptive to the style of learning," said Reginald Santiago, a co-owner and instructor. "There is a syllabus for each degree." The program also looks at the psychology of salsa, including the roles of men and women in the dance. For example, the instructors using an analogy of a rock and water to explain the man's role as the lead and the woman's role to follow. "We have something called water and rock, where the man is the rock and the woman is the water flowing around the rock," Santiago explained. "The woman later becomes the stream." The group, which includes Willie McIntosh, once operated BailaCante. They taught weekly beginner and intermediate courses at VIA 216 Bar & Grill in Tallywood Shopping Center. Needing more room, they opened a studio on North Reilly Road. Their studio operates as a Salsa Academy. On a recent Monday, Sara Mitchell sat underneath wooden markers on the wall that indicated each students' belt level. Willie Colon's "Sin Poderte Hablar " played on the stereo as she waited for the start of the class. Mitchell has risen in the ranks of belts. She is now an apprentice baby blue belt, an instructor in training. She helps with the white belts in the beginner classes. Mitchell, 26, has been taking classes since November. "I like the structure of it," she said. "You know where you stand in your performance level. The next belt gives you a goal, something to strive for." Jerry Pruitt, 58, likes the methodical approach of the class. "What I like about the class is that you are able to progress and you learn the steps," said Pruitt, a second-degree white belt. "I also like the environment." Outlaw has noticed a higher retention rate of students continuing lessons since starting Black Belt Salsa. "They feel like they are achieving something," she said. "It makes them want to progress and learn more. It gives them something to strive for instead of just going to class." Outlaw, who started dancing in the late 1990s, is excited about the studio's role with the Black Belt Salsa program. "I love it that we are helping it to grow and that we are growing dancers," she said. Staff writer Venita Jenkins can be reached at jenkinsv@fayobserver.com or 486-3511.