1999 – 2024

SalsaNor was the first non-profit organization in Norway with the purpose of spreading the music and dance of salsa, established in 1999. But as salsa means sauce composed of ingredients, SalsaNor also works to promote many more Latin American and Afro-Caribbean genres. Today, SalsaNor can look back on 25 years of operation, and is currently established with local associations in Trondheim and Oslo, in addition to running a number of national and international projects.

Some of the projects SalsaNor is working on outside of local dance school operations in Oslo and Trondheim are:

SalsaNor’s vision is to open up a new world of Latin American dance, music and joie de vivre for our audience. By following this vision, and constantly seeking to offer high-quality events, we want to make the organization a preferred cultural player both locally, nationally and internationally.

SalsaNor has meant and continues to mean a great deal to thousands of people who, for shorter or longer periods, have spent large parts of their free time with us, found new friends, got into better physical and/or mental shape, experienced an increased zest for life, discovered Latin America and been inspired by its infectious energy and warmth, or simply got a new start in life. The testimonials are many, and they are also the driving force for the next 20 years, to create new, good and joyful events for thousands of new people who discover a new world with us.

SalsaNor’s vision of opening a new world also includes opening a new world for professional artists, dancers and musicians with a Latin American background. We create a significant amount of work opportunities throughout the year offered to highly skilled artists who have emigrated from Latin America to Europe. Furthermore, we have established several projects in Cuba motivated by helping others or giving something back.

The local course operation still constitutes the organization’s grassroots activity, and the organization has from the start been based on volunteerism and a strong desire to spread the joy of dance. This is still the most important driving force in SalsaNor, which is and will remain a non-profit organization that contributes to a multicultural and inclusive environment, both here in Norway and at our international events. In order to maintain a high qualitative and professional level that can compete internationally, the organization has attached key personnel and professionals, partly voluntary and partly paid, who run these projects.

In addition to running courses, SalsaNor has in recent years significantly professionalized its international projects, such as the annual festivals SalsaNor Rueda Congress and Oslo Caribbean Feeling, the World Championship in Rueda de Casino, and the cultural trip to Cuba. In addition, since September 2018, we have operated the professional instructional video channel rueda.casino on Vimeo, as well as being the most important concert organizer for Latin American and Afro-Caribbean music in Norway, with concerts at venues such as RIksscenen and Cosmopolite in Oslo, Folken in Stavanger, USF Verftet in Bergen and Dokkhuset in Trondheim.

Meet SalsaNor’s executive board and project managers: