Mirjam vd Heijden

💃 Why I Teach Salsation

I started to dance when I was 14 years old with latin and ballroom dancing. As a teenager, I completely fell for the elegance, rhythm, and connection. But I was shy, so I liked ballroom better.

Then, at 17, I met my now husband a real Latin man. Through him, I learned to open up, to express my emotions through movement, and I discovered how wonderful it feels to dance freely. We even competed for a while and later switched to salsa, until family life took priority and we didn’t want to keep asking others to babysit every week just so we could dance.

Still, the urge to dance never left me even if my husband no longer shared it. So I started searching and came across Zumba. I threw myself into it with full enthusiasm, but after a year it no longer felt complete. I wasn’t getting tired anymore, I was getting a bit bored  and believe me, I’m very passionate when I dance!

Then I met Stone, an instructor who taught Zumba but in a completely different way. He reignited my passion for dance. His teaching style full of emotion, technique, and connection was exactly what I had been missing. Now I know that, he was already teaching a bit in the Salsation way. Thanks to him, I started to really feel challenged again, both physically and mentally, and my joy and passion for dancing came fully back to life.

Unfortunately, when COVID hit, classes stopped. But I kept dancing at home with my friends even after the lockdowns ended.

As a physiotherapist, I know how important it is to move well. But I also noticed that many people were becoming stiffer, moving less naturally, and developing physical complaints because of it. People need to move more, but not everyone likes going to the gym.

When I discovered Salsation. I thought, this is exactly how I want it to be. I had also heard from many people in my area that they missed dancing, and Salsation felt like a perfect addition to my vision as a physiotherapist. Salsation combines functional training and technique with dance and emotion — exactly what I had always been looking for.

Dancing always makes me happy.
Even when I don’t feel like it, I just have to turn on some music and my energy instantly changes. Sadness, stress, or tiredness disappear as soon as the first notes start playing. Music gets me out of my head, gives me energy, and reconnects me with myself.

That energy, that joy, and that sense of freedom — that’s what I want to share with my participants.

With Salsation, I help people not only move, but also relax, laugh, and reconnect — with themselves and with others.
Because dancing isn’t just good for your body; it’s also a way to rediscover who you truly are.