Your idea of taking a combination of group classes and private lessons is excellent. That, plus practicing on your own and going social dancing, is a good way to get yourself started.

As far as private teachers go, you might want to see if Tytus Bergstrom (Allegro Ballroom - www.allegroballroom.com) is available. Another person in San Francisco to try would be Sune Ivanov (Metronome Ballroom - www.metronomeballroom.com).

Another good competitive Latin teacher who would take a single private student is located further out of town, for instance Stefan Krauel (Imperial Dance Club - www.imperialdance.com).

If you're willing to go to the South Bay, there's Steve Vasco and also Robert Kacsparzac (www.thedancespectrum.com).

There are other latin teachers in the area, hopefully someone else reading this will chip in with their suggestions. I've been dancing Standard and a bit of Smooth all these years, so I'm not as hooked in to the Latin scene as with the Ballroom scene.

Hope this helps....