The Best Places To Go Salsa Dancing in Dallas

The façade of Stratos on Northwest Highway is unmistakably Greek. Blue-and-white columns intend to transport visitors to a picturesque town high above the Aegean Sea. But on Wednesday nights, the inside of the Dallas acropolis transforms into a high-energy, passion-filled, heart-pumping dance floor, where salsa and bachata reign supreme. Dancers, novice and master alike, come from all over town to move their hips and pivot their feet in the glow of flashing lights and a disco ball under the tutelage of internationally renowned performer and instructor Jay Styles, who has toured and danced for 17 years, 11 of those at Stratos. After Styles leads a quick tutorial, the DJ cranks up the music. For the rest of the evening, hundreds of dancers pack the floor, twirling elbow to elbow well into the night. Some dress up, some wear jeans, but it’s not about flashy outfits. “Stratos is for dancers or people learning to be dancers,” Styles says, noting that even world champions perform in the space. “Compared to the rest of Dallas, it’s underground. Here, technique rules everything.” That, and the rhythm.