As a growing bachata dancer who is also a full-time nomad traveling around the world, I now arrange my itineraries according to dance scenes and the digital nomad community. Medellin is one of the newest digital nomad hotspots thanks to its spring-like weather year-round, affordable cost of living, and good infrastructure. As one of Colombia’s major cities, Medellin also boasts a lively, daily dance scene. In this article, I will discuss the best places to dance salsa and bachata in Medellin.
I have ranked them in order of my favorites, with the first being my top favorite. This is one of my “best places to dance bachata in the world” series, where you can find detailed guides to personally tested salsa bachata socials around the world.
1. The Grand Social
The Grand Social is one of Medellin’s top dance socials, which happens several times a week in a spacious venue called The Church Club. There are salsa and bachata nights, which they mainly announce on Instagram. Bachata night is usually on Thursday and on Saturday night, they tend to do a blend of salsa and bachata.
Advanced dancers often frequent this social. It has one of the biggest venues to dance in Latin America, which feels great as I’ve danced in many small venues that feel restrictive.
Classes are always fun at the Grand Social. They divide learners into basic and intermediate levels. What stood out is sometimes classes focus on one special technique that a lot of people are weak in, which is different from most places where you are taught a series of patterns that involve many techniques.
The Grand Social is no doubt one of the best places to dance salsa and bachata in Medellin.
Class Schedules
7:30 pm every Thursday for bachata; Fridays and Saturdays (sometimes Wednesdays as well) with either salsa or bachata class. Check their Instagram account for the most updated schedules for each week.
Locations
The Church Club, Cra. 50 #36-51, La Candelaria, Medellín, La Candelaria, Medellín, Antioquia
2. Bachata Al Parque
Bachata Al Parque is a weekly bachata class and social in Parques del Rio, a beautiful and relaxing urban park. Classes are divided into beginner and intermediate. There is a convenient ATM right next to the location of the class, which is very convenient as they only accept cash.
There is no DJ for the social, only a speaker with playlists, which is fine most of the time, but sometimes there are small technical glitches where the speaker disconnects from the music.
Also expect plenty of park disturbances because this is a free public space. Sometimes there are lots of kids running around; other times random people would join in and dance by themselves, which can be fun. Occasionally, a group of hip-hop dancers would place their speakers right next to this social and practice there, which can make it a bit tricky to focus.
The teachers have great techniques and teach generally pretty well. They would also come down to answer questions and correct movements, which is very helpful. Advanced dancers also frequent this social.
If you don’t mind no DJ and occasional park disturbance, Bachata al Parque is one of the best places to dance bachata in Medellin.
Class Schedules
Every Monday night, 7:00pm beginner and 8:00pm intermediate. Please stay connected to their Instagram since class start time has changed over time and not always the same.
Locations
Parques del Rio. Auto. S, Laureles – Estadio, Medellín, Laureles, Medellín, Antioquia.
The map they provided on their Instagram can be confusing. I was confused the first time I prepared to go there, but in reality, you only need to enter the name of the park in your ride-share app and navigate right there. You will not miss it as they blast music – the instructors also use a loud mic. It is the space right in front of the river with all the lights (during the holidays at least).
3. Nueva Guardia Dance Club
Nueva Guardian Dance Club offers a wide variety of classes in different dance styles, which include salsa, bachata, tango etc. They have a class pretty much every day. So in the class schedule section, I will list only salsa and bachata as they are my preferred genres.
The venue is relatively spacious, but sometimes the turnout is so big, it can be challenging to dance.
Their classes tend to be open levels rather than divided by levels, but sometimes they do offer classes by specific levels, so stay tuned for their Instagram announcements.
Many advanced dancers also frequent this social, although you can always count on some beginners as well.
You will see familiar faces of teachers who teach with other dance companies and groups here.
Nueva Guardia has such range and depth, along with frequent advanced dancers. It is definitely one of the best places to dance salsa and bachata in Medellin.
Class Schedules
Tuesday evenings for bachata at 7:30pm; Thursday evenings for salsa at 7:30pm. Please stay updated with the latest class schedule by checking their Instagram.
Location
Nueva Guardia Dance Club. Cra. 69 #43-55, Laureles – Estadio, Medellín, Laureles, Medellín, Antioquia
4. DanceFree
DanceFree is a famous dance school in Medellin that’s very popular among the expat community. I’d say the vast majority of students here are foreigners, so much so they host language exchange events right before classes.
DanceFree is also the most tech-advanced, with a seamless booking system that easily lets you pay online and reminds you of classes. I wish every dance venue was like this, but unfortunately, most of them are still cash-based and rely on social media to announce changes.
DanceFree also has an abundance of teachers who can teach private classes. From my experience, if you are a beginner, it’s a good idea to get started here as their classes tend to gear towards basics.
I’d say their private classes aren’t as satisfying as I had hoped, but the rate is very competitive – averaging around $17 USD per class (as of 2025), which is the price of a social in the US.
One big perk of paying for some private classes, besides improving your techniques, is that they also come with free group classes and socials for a month, which is a great deal!
DanceFree has group and private classes in salsa and bachata every single day. It’s definitely a very busy venue. On Friday nights, the group class can get very crowded, with people standing all the way to the door.
Advanced dancers may or may not frequent DanceFree. Some nights, I was able to dance with some advanced dancers while on other nights, mostly intermediate or beginner dancers showed up.
Class Schedules
Every single day – there is a class. Salsa classes tend to be on Mondays and Wednesdays, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, there are bachata classes. On Saturdays, there are salsa classes.
Social usually happens on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays nights after class. Like Bachata Al Parque, there is no DJ but a running playlist for the socials.
Location
DanceFree, Cl 10A #40-27, El Poblado, Medellín, El Poblado, Medellín, Antioquia
5. Majao Social
Majao Social would have come up a little higher on my list if they had chosen a more spacious venue. The classes are very fun, with a focus on bachata and zouk. I was able to learn some very fun choreography that I never learned anywhere else.
The venue for Majao Social is located inside a restaurant, but the dance floor is very small, which makes is very hard to dance and difficult to spot people or catch their attention for another dance. The class space is on the lower floor and social space is on the higher floor, but are small and cramped.
The teachers are amazing, however. If you are a bachata lover, I would take their bachata and zouk classes, especially if you are also curious to learn about choreography.
Class Schedules
They have classes 6 days of the week (Monday to Saturday), so please make sure to check their most updated schedule on Instagram. Classes are by levels, with the lower level starting at 6:30pm and higher level at 7:30pm. On Saturday, classes start at 3pm.
Location
BARCELONA: bar & smart restaurant, Cra. 69a #42-45, Laureles – Estadio, Medellín, Laureles, Medellín, Antioquia
If you do not mind dancing in small spaces, Majao Social is still one of the best places to dance salsa and bachata in Medellin thanks to the fun classes and decent amount of advanced dancers.
6. Casa Ritmo Latino
Casa Ritmo Latino is a dance school with classes in salsa, bachata, and zouk. It is affiliated with the Majao Social. Class space can be a little small. They have a Friday night social happening at the same time as the social at DanceFree, so it depends on which one you choose to go. Luckily, both schools are literally around the corner of each other, so you can technically hit both if you want.
Class Schedules
They have classes on several nights of the week, featuring different dance styles. The best way is to stay connected to their Instagram account.
Location
Casa Ritmo Latino, Cra. 41a #10 – 04, El Poblado, Medellín, El Poblado, Medellín, Antioquia
Join Medellin Dance WhatsApp Group
The fact is there are so many dance schools and events in Medellin – it is impossible to list them all. The venues and classes listed in this article represent some of the best that I have personally tested. Stay in the know of all dance events in Medellin by joining this big WhatsApp group that all schools and organizers use to promote so you never miss out on one.
This group is created by a large network of groups for expats, organized by MDE Community. Save this one just in case the WhatsApp join link changes, which can happen. It is also beneficial to join their other groups to stay updated with the abundance of events happening in Medellin every single day for expats and digital nomads.
