SalsaHH
About the studio
SalsaHH is one of Hamburg's longest-running Latin dance schools, founded in 2002 by Rene Zambrana and Aleksandra Ostrowska, who had already been teaching salsa in the city since 2000. The school is based in Hamburg-Ottensen at Hohenesch 13-17, less than 500 metres from Bahnhof Altona, and operates three large dance halls (80, 80 and 90 sqm) with sprung floors, mirrored walls, ballet barres, sound systems and changing rooms with showers. Its core programme covers Salsa New York Style on1 and on2, Salsa Cubana, Rueda de Casino (Miami Style), Bachata (traditional, Dominican shines and sensual), plus Pachanga and Cha-Cha-Cha as workshops. Classes run as fixed 8-week beginner and improver cycles, weekend crash courses for absolute beginners, and open weekly intermediate and advanced classes - with private lessons and gift vouchers also available. Pricing is transparent and German-style: 84-92 EUR for a beginner crash course, 112-120 EUR for an 8-week course, 14 EUR drop-in from intermediate up, and Gold (12-month, 62 EUR/month) or Silver (3-month, 80 EUR/month) flatrates, with a 10% discount for pupils, students and trainees. Single registrants are placed with a partner by the school, which keeps the atmosphere warm and community-driven. The school does not host its own social nights or festivals on a regular basis, but its founding teachers - Rene, Alex and Jojo Marg - are festival-tested instructors who also lead salsa and bachata trips to Mallorca, Malaga and Barcelona via partner viaDanza.
SalsaHH was officially founded in 2002 by Rene Raul Soares Zambrana and Aleksandra (Alex) Ostrowska, although Rene had already been teaching salsa in Hamburg since 2000. Rene grew up in Sao Paulo and started salsa in Hamburg in 1992 through Colombian friends; Alex began salsa in Vienna in 1998, became Poland's first local salsa and Rueda teacher, then moved to Hamburg in 2000, where she met Rene. Johanna 'Jojo' Marg joined the teaching team in 2005 after training in Cuba, Barcelona, New York and Boston. The studio at Hohenesch 13-17 in Hamburg-Ottensen has remained the school's home and is also rented out to other movement disciplines (yoga, tai chi, pilates, etc.). As of 2026 the business is run under the name 'SalsaHH - die Tanzschule' with Aleksandra Ostrowska as the trading name holder.
Styles & levels
All levels
All levels
Weekly schedule 17 classes
Pricing
Crash courses and workshops are NOT included in flatrates. All prices include VAT. Flatrate notice 4 weeks to end of term. Single registrants need a partner placed by the school.
Instructors
Born in Sao Paulo to a Bolivian father and Brazilian mother, Rene moved to Hamburg in 1990 to study and started Salsa in 1992 with Colombian friends. He is the founder and owner of SalsaHH and one of Hamburg's best-known salsa teachers, with three decades of intensive practice and training under masters such as Super Mario, Leon Rose, Frankie Martinez, Juan Matos, Tomas Guerrero, Seaon Bristol, Ismael Otero, Rafael Munoz and Rene Gueits. He has taught and performed at the Irish Congress in Dublin, Hamburg Salsa Festival, the Congresso Mundial de Salsa, Zouk, Samba and Tango in Sao Paulo, and in Westport (Ireland), Luebeck, Oldenburg and Lueneburg. His teaching focuses on breaking figures down into their building blocks so students can build their own combinations. Beyond salsa he dances Brazilian Zouk and Argentine Tango and holds a 2nd dan in Aikido.
Polish-born co-owner of SalsaHH who fell in love with salsa in Vienna on 6 June 1998 and went on to become the first local salsa and Rueda de Casino teacher in Poland and a co-founder of the El Encuentro association in Warsaw. She moved to Hamburg in 2000 for a voluntary service, met Rene there and has co-run and co-taught at SalsaHH since 2002. With a classical-music background (violin, piano, music theory and history), she is known for an analytical, system-driven approach to figures and music interpretation. Today she teaches all salsa styles - with a personal preference for New York Style on2 - and additionally Cha-Cha-Cha, Pachanga, Bachata, Merengue, Samba de Gafieira, Brazilian Zouk and Kizomba, plus ballet, charleston and standard fundamentals. She is equally strong leading and following and has taught and performed in Sao Paulo, Dublin, Warsaw, Berlin, Bremen, Dresden, Hannover, Lueneburg, Kiel, Oldenburg and Schwerin.
Started her dance journey in 1993 with Jazz and Modern Dance and discovered salsa in Bremen in 1998. Trained as a Fitness Manager at Hamburg's Meridian Academy (2000-2002), she developed the partner-free 'Salsa Dance' fitness concept (a Zumba-style mix of salsa, reggaeton, merengue and bachata) and trained other instructors in it. She studied salsa, son and rumba in Havana, took L.A.-style salsa workshops in Italy and Barcelona, and trained in New York with Frankie Martinez and at Santo Rico, plus a week of daily private lessons in Boston with Burju (Hacha y Machete). She has been teaching New York Style Salsa, Brazilian Zouk and Ladies Styling at SalsaHH together with Rene since 2005 and also works as a Pilates and Zen Gymnastik instructor and as a dance-trip leader for viaDanza (Barcelona, Malaga, Mallorca). She holds a degree in cultural studies from Leuphana University Lueneburg.
What dancers say 4.6 on Google
"Three months ago, we attended a weekend Bachata crash course here with absolutely no prior experience, and then immediately joined the beginner's course. René is not only a fantastic teacher, but his humorous approach makes his classes a joy! This weekend, we surprised our wedd"
"I signed up two months ago for the end of November. As a woman who's 185 cm tall, I was told they might not have a dance partner for me. We agreed that they'd look around and I'd see who was available. I then asked among my friends and a friend who had danced at la Macumba for 10"
"I sent an inquiry about a dance course but received no reply – and after following up, I still haven't received a response. I sent the inquiry in June... it's September now, and the course was supposed to start this month."
The studio
