Owners and lead instructors
About Rodrigo and Wendy Jimenez
They own RW Latin Dance, teach most of its classes themselves, and now do it at The Dance Loft CLT on Tyvola Road. Two dance degrees, a stack of stage miles, and a habit of breaking every step down until it makes sense.
Who they are
Two teachers who also happen to be performers.
Rodrigo and Wendy Jimenez are the owners and lead instructors of RW Latin Dance. Their studio home is now The Dance Loft CLT at 756 Tyvola Rd, a wood-floored room with full-length mirrors where they run salsa On2, bachata and Argentine tango. They describe their own style as International Fusión, and you can feel it in the way a class moves from clean technique to music that makes people want to keep going.
They publish one figure about their experience, and we will repeat it as they state it: over 15 years of experience. One student goes further in a Google review and says they started building the Latin dance scene in Charlotte over 20 years ago, but that is a customer talking, so it stays in the reviews and not here as a date on a plaque.
Academic training
A dance degree behind every count.
Both Rodrigo and Wendy hold a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and both serve as adjunct faculty in UNC Charlotte's Dance Department. That academic grounding is why a beginner class here has a syllabus: the weeks build on each other, each cycle starts from the first step, and nobody is expected to arrive with a partner or a background.
They are also teaching artists for the NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and the NC Dance Theatre, which puts their teaching in front of audiences well beyond a single studio. The same approach carries into the Loft on a Monday night: technique explained clearly, then pointed at salsa and bachata.
Salsa On2 breaks on the 2. So do we.
Competition and stage
From Tokyo to Madrid, and back to Tyvola Road.
Their published results include 1st place at the Liberty Dance Championship, 1st place at the SABA World Dance Competition and 2nd place at the World Salsa Summit. They have shared the stage with Willie Colón and Gilberto SantaRosa, and they have performed and taught in Spain, Thailand, Vietnam, and Chile, on stages from Tokyo to Madrid.
Bachelor of Arts in Dance
Both Rodrigo and Wendy earned the degree at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Adjunct faculty
Both teach in UNC Charlotte's Dance Department.
Teaching artists
For the NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and the NC Dance Theatre.
1st place, Liberty Dance Championship
Listed among the accolades Rodrigo and Wendy publish themselves.
1st place, SABA World Dance Competition
A second first-place result on their published list.
2nd place, World Salsa Summit
Second place, also from their published accolades.
On stage with Willie Colón and Gilberto SantaRosa
Two artists they name among the performers they have shared a stage with.
Two fusions of their own
The travel shows up in the room. Rodrigo and Wendy are known for ‘SALSATANGO’ and ‘BACHATANGO’, which blend salsa and bachata with Argentine tango. Tango also has its own Thursday drop-in on the class schedule.
How they teach
Rodrigo and Wendy in the room, not just on the flyer.
A school that puts two decorated performers on the poster and then sends someone else to teach would be easy to build. That is not what students describe. Cheng Su writes that Rodrigo and Wendy “teach most of the classes themselves and their classes are always top notch quality.”
“They have a great way of breaking down each step so it’s easy to understand, while still keeping the classes energetic and engaging.”
Breaking steps down is the whole job. In an 8-week cycle you start on the first day, build week on week from a set syllabus, and need no partner. If you want that attention one-on-one, the same two teachers take private lessons, and they choreograph quinceañeras and wedding dances too.
Ready to see for yourself? Book a spot in the next cycle on the live class calendar, or read what other students say on the reviews page, where the studio holds a 5.0 on Google from 122 reviews.