HOOD RIVER — Every Wednesday evening in Hood River, on an otherwise typical weeknight, an entire dance social is grooving behind the scenes at Crush Cider Café. Latin music booms from the speakers, lights color the walls and dancers of all experience levels, cultures and ages pack the floor.
It’s known as Secret Salsa Society.
“Everyone is here just to enjoy dance,” said Dilafruz “Dila” Usmanova, who has attended the weekly socials for the past 10 years. “There are no professionals, no judgment — this is not a professional dance floor.”
In the winter months, the dance floor is in a speakeasy-like backroom, but in the summer, dancers spill out onto the front porch beginning early to mid-May.
Dila is often one of the first to greet newcomers with a smile. “My role is to make everyone feel welcome,” she said. Additionally, she runs the Facebook Page of the same name to share up-to-date information about the weekly salsa night.
Like the other volunteers, she wants to expand the Gorge’s dance scene.
That goal is shared by Aram Soghikian, a lead instructor. He has been part of Secret Salsa Society since 2005 and dancing since he was 21, including the Latin styles salsa, bachata, cha-cha and merengue.
“Now I’m 70,” he said. “My objective is to bring more people into the dance community and cause more dance to happen. I call it exercising your smile muscles.”
Wednesday begins with a free, 30-minute beginner partner lesson at 6:30 p.m. Soghikian, along with a rotating cast of instructors, teaches the fundamentals of leading and following, and the steps for turns and spins. The focus is on salsa and bachata.
Soghikian guaranteed that the cost will remain free, with donations optional, because they want a broad spectrum of people to join.
Once the lights are dimmed and the music starts, the social dance begins. Anyone who knows some Latin dance — whether just learning in the previous lesson or a lifelong dancer — is welcome. No partner is needed, as many dancers rotate after each song.
“Dance is a combination of exercise and connection with other people,” Soghikian said. “You have a lovely three-minute experience — the length of the song — and then you change partners.”
Juan Luna, who grew up with salsa in Mexico City and moved to The Dalles in 1995, didn’t learn about Secret Salsa Society until 2010. For him, it became more than just a place to dance.
“Our community is especially supportive. When I was going through a hard time, they supported me whether they knew me or not,” Luna said. “I am welcomed every time I’m here.”
Not only have friendships been formed at the social, but also love stories, some more successful than others. “But when they break up, they still come dance,” Luna reassured.
The origins of Secret Salsa Society began with Nancy White in the early 2000s. She wanted a local option for Latin dance that didn’t require driving to Portland.
White decided to bring dance to the Gorge with weekly socials at her factory’s downstairs space in Bingen, coining the name Secret Salsa Society. The location briefly changed to Mountain View Grange in White Salmon, until finding its current home in 2018 at Hood River’s Crush Cider Café.
“They came and asked me if I would be interested,” said Sam Bailey, one of the two bar co-owners. “I said sure, not knowing what I was getting into.”
Bailey has seen the group grow over the past eight years, from 10 people to 50 or more during the summer months, and purchased a checkered linoleum floor to create more space outside. Despite the support of Secret Salsa Society, it took time for Bailey to join the dance floor.
“I didn’t dance the first two years,” Bailey said. “I decided I wanted to learn because [the dancers] are having so much fun and they’re so graceful.”
She has since taken additional Latin dance lessons from Soghikian, as well as two other instructors who often lead at Secret Salsa Society, Johnny and Hannah Griffith.
Now, on Wednesday evenings, Bailey will quietly take breaks from working the front bar to dance for a song or two. “They’re the kind of people you want to be around,” she said.
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