Here is a list of the new classes:

Cuban Style Salsa Level 1
Learn the original Cuban Salsa Style, a fun and highly interactive style of salsa dancing characterized for its playfulness and unique turn patterns. In this course you will learn the basics steps of the dance, musicality, lead and follow, meaning and execution of moves such Guapea, Paseala por el parque, setenta, and much more! At the end of every class learn to dance these moves in a Casino Rueda style wheel.

Student Performance Class – Salsa Threesome!
Interested in taking your salsa dancing to the next level? Join the TDS Fall 2011 Student Performance Class: Salsa Threesome Edition! This class is for Level 3 and higher dancers who are interested in developing their salsa partnerwork, styling and shine skills as well as going through the performance and training experience of a performance dance team. Students will be taught and rehearse a choreographed partner and shines routine, and perform as a group before live audiences around the GTA. The Fall 2011 routine will be the fun and challenging “2-on-1” style salsa (two follows and one lead). Each class is 1.5 hours in length over 9 weeks.

MTV Video Star – Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson
Do you ever wish you could just rock out that awesome choreography from your favourite dance music video? Well now you can! Join Tracie in the MTV Video Star class where she will teach you routines from some of the most popular dance music videos. Choreographies will be built-up each week in this 9-week course: dance moves will be added each week to build a full routine; time will be given to perfect and perform the steps just like in the video, right down to the rockstar attitude! This semester will feature the choreographies from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”. No experience necessary!

Ladies Styling
Learn how to incorporate styling into your salsa dancing. Tracie will show you how to add that extra “oomph” and flair to your basic steps and the combos that you already know and love so that you can start adding styling to your dancing right away. Each class will focus on the fundamental elements of building styling into your dancing: body rhythm, timing, follow technique, musicality and the essentials of clean footwork in turn patterns and spins. Each class will introduce more advanced styling techniques to add as your dancing progresses. For those who have completed a minimum of Level 2 and up.

Open Shines
Shines are an integral part of salsa dancing – it is one of the things that bridges the gap from being a student to a dancer. This class will focus on the body isolation and movement techniques essential for fluid shines and open the dancer’s mind and body to the essential element of shines in salsa dancing as well as develop a dancer’s overall musicality skills. Every week students will learn fun and challenging shine sequences (suitable for both men and women) that will be used to build an overall routine; there will also be some focus on shines improvisation. For dancers who have completed TDS Level 2 and up.

Argentine Tango Level 1
Argentine tango has been thrilling dancers for more than 100 years. Tango is loved by dancers and audiences for its beauty, passion, drama and excitement. The essence of Argentine tango is about life and, especially, about the relationship between a man and a woman. This 9-week course is intended for absolute beginners and will focus on the fundamentals of lead and follow technique, the Tango walk, close embrace, musicality and etiquette. Learn simple floor patterns that you will be able to use in a milonga (tango social).

Bachata Intermediate 9 Week Program
Learn the finer points of the body movement, lead and follow technique and musicality of the sensual and romantic dance of Bachata. New turn patterns will be introduced each class with a focus on styling, body rhythm, timing and execution. Some time will also be spent on developing musicality and learning where and how to add accents, dips and holds to spice up the dance. Completion of Salsa level 2 or assessment required.

Bollywood Flash Mob
Ever wanted to surprise your friends with a Bollywood performance? Now is your chance! Join this Bollywood Flash Mob dance class and learn how to perform a choreographed Bollywood routine, but shhh… the details are a surprise! Referred to the genre of dance emanating from the Hindi cinema industry, Bollywood dancing is a fusion of traditional South Asian dances like Bhangra with Hip Hop as well as Latin & Arab influences. In this 9-week course you will learn to move like a Bollywood movie star, building on your performance quality, and feeling the rhythm of the Bollywood beat. This course will teach you a fun and easy choreographed routine, which will be performed at a time and location known only to the performers and instructor. Get ready to surprise the audience ‘Jai Ho’ style!
Fridays 6-7pm starting Sep 30th with Sadaf

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Searching for a different way to improve your Salsa dancing? Ask any experienced dancer and they will tell you that learning the fundamental techniques of another dance form helps improve your skills as a dancer overall. In this class Tracie will lead you through technique exercises used by Argentine Tango dancers to develop their centre, poise, isolations and body awareness and show you how to apply those fundamentals to your salsa dancing. Also learn how to add sexy Tango leg styling within the structures of your on-1 salsa footwork. This class is also suitable for Argentine Tango dancers wishing to develop their Tango fundamental techniques of posture, balance, disassociation and execution. For dancers who have completed Level 2 salsa or higher. Also suitable for dancers who have just completed Level 1 or 2 Argentine Tango.

Brazilian Samba
with Tracie Yee
Starting April 29th 6pm for 9 weeks at $117 plus HST at Empress

Samba, the national dance of Brazil, is perhaps one of the most energetic and exhilarating South American dances! Learn the basics of Samba no pe, the style of samba most associated with Rio de Janeiro’s carnival. This class is suitable for female dancers with no experience with Brazilian samba, or those wanting to further develop their basic samba footwork, body movement, rhythm and styling. Improve coordination, core and leg strength and learn a fun, new (and easy) Brazilian samba routine. Join Tracie to dance and sweat to some of the most fun music on the planet! No prior dance experience necessary. This is a solo female dance class, no partners necessary. Please note that this class will be conducted in bare feet.

Reggaeton Funk
with Tracie Yee
Starting May 1st 11am for 9 weeks at $117 plus HST at Empress

Ever get seized with the overwhelming desire to flee the dance floor when Reggaeton comes on at the club? Well, flee no more! Learn how to get your funk on with this fun new dance class that blends the grooves of hip hop, funk and Jamaican dancehall. In this non-partnering dance class for both men and women, Tracie will focus on rhythm, body isolations, execution, styling and coordination. Once you’re done with this course you’ll have no reason to sit out the reggaeton music sets at the club!

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5 Things I wish I would have known when I started salsa dancing.

1.  Its OK to go alone.
90% (completely unscientific stat) of the people who go to salsa nights are there to just dance.  Many of us go alone and leave alone.  Heading to the club was something I kept putting off because I had no one to go with, but after my first time I saw how may people come alone and it was out almost every night afterward.  Always try to do the club lesson to meet all the other people who are new to dancing and start building your “salsa friend” base.

2.  Latin Nights and Salsa Nights are different.
While both are lots of fun I made the mistake of going to Latino Nights expecting to salsa dance and barely hearing salsa.  Latino nights are more like club nights with not just salsa but also reggaton, merengue, reggaton, bachata, reggaton and other varieties of latin music like…reggaton.  These nights are great fun, but are different from salsa nights in both the crowds that come out and the vibe you will feel.  If you are not sure what kind of a night it is ask your teacher, call the promoter and ask what kind of music they will play.  If they say reggaton its probably a latin night, but this can vary depending on your location.

3  Its OK to say No.
This applies a lot to ladies, but once in a while to guys too.  If you don’t want to dance with someone its OK to say no, my feet are tired, sorry I am a bit dizzy or anything like that as long as its done nicely.  I have had it happen to me and its hard to not take it personally.  There are a lot of reasons why, but as a beginner its can be deflating.  Try to keep this in mind.  Salsa is a scene and the ‘dancers’ tend to recognize one another and while new faces are welcome people might need to see you dancing a few times before they realize that you are a ‘dancer’ as well and not just trying to pick up.  Ladies if you do say yes and half way through the song you feel uncomfortable (your are dancing with the 10% see point one) don’t be afraid to use one of the above excuses to detach from the dance.

4.  Be prepared,
Salsa is high energy, you almost have to think of it as a workout.  In all my time of dancing I have consistently heard complaints about breath, sweating and odor.  Make some rules for yourself.  Here are mine.  I always add extra deodorant under the arms (double up), bring deodorant with you and keep it in your bag or the car, every two songs new gum or mint, hydrate – most bad breath comes from dehydration and no amount of breath stuff can help if you have mouth pasties.  Lastly if you are a sweater like me bring some extra shirts or take a break every 3rd song.

5.  Be the fun one
I must admit to always feeling a bit of jealousy when I talk to girls who rave about how fun someone was even though they didn’t have a lot of moves.  If you are dancing, try to add some funny little bits to your repertoire of styling. Personally I love adding a little shimmy, butt shake or cheeky grin at the end of moves, but that is my style.  Observe yourself in other situations when you are being funny and see if you can put that on the dance floor.  Be the fun one to dance with.

Article by Ivan (Salsero)  Ruiz
Ivan is a local dancer and instructor in Vancouver.  He is one of the organizers of the Vancouver International Salsafestival and has a blog called SalsaMe.  You can contact him or find out more about him at his blog:  http://salsame.tumblr.com/

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“Although I only began learning salsa six months ago, joining Toronto Dance Salsa I already feel like I’m part of a welcoming and exciting community. I have enjoyed all the classes I have taken so far, with Sara in Level 1 and Sharon for Levels 2 and 3. The atmosphere in the classes is always friendly and fun, and the material is taught at the perfect pace, with lots of opportunities to practice. And I love dancing with and hearing the advice of helpers, who really are helpful. Having said all that, it comes as no surprise that I’m developing a salsa addiction, the benefits of which are incredible. In the last few months I have met so many interesting people and got to dance with many of them at the Sunday Socials (at which I am now a regular) and some of the outings. And, it seems like the salsa addiction sparked by TDS is contagious, because I’ve already got several friends as enamored with it as I am. All in all, I am excited for my salsa journey to continue!”

– Nina Gheihman, Level 3, Toronto Dance Salsa Testimonial

Keep the feedback coming our way – email me at info@torontodancesalsa.ca with your comments!

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Don’t hesitate to be specific.  Telling your partner you love a specific move or styling that they use is great feedback as well as a positive lift to the dance.  I always try to tell my dance partners that I enjoy dancing with what I enjoyed about the dance.  Whether it is the smoothness of the lead, the lightness of their follow, the energy they demonstrate or the shines they use, compliment, compliment, compliment.  It will brighten up someone’s day.

This is especially great when you see improvements in your partner.  You see the hard work that they have been putting towards developing the dance technique with additional salsa classes or salsa practices.  When you point out their improvements all that hard work will have been worth it for them and you will inspire them to continue to develop.

You never know when someone is feeling down about their salsa progress and these compliments are a great boost.  Whenever a student tells me about a compliment they received they are so affected by it that it makes me realize how important a little positive reinforcement can be on the dance floor.  So go out dancing and let the compliments begin!

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Hopefully you all had a great holiday and are ready to get back into the swing of things. If you haven’t registered for a TDS class yet here are some great classes for our winter 2011 semester:

Salsa Nightclub Level 1 to Level 6
Argentine Tango Level 1 and 2
Zumba for Fitness
Cabaret Salsa Performance Class – Sold out
Helper Only Performance Class
Ladies Styling
Latin Belly Dance Fusion
Reggaeton Funk – Sold out
Bachata
Belly Dance Bootcamp

Please note due to the popularity of Belly Dancing we just opened an all new class with Christina on Saturdays at 4pm at Empress called Latin Belly Fusion which takes the fun hip shaking steps of Latin Dancing with the sensual moves of belly dancing and fuses them together in fun mini choreographies.

If you are looking to get out and practice we have our regular Sunday Social every Sunday from 6-9pm at Empress Studio. As long as you have had your first salsa class you are welcome to attend and practice your moves in a comfortable, friendly setting.

We also have another outing to Acrobat Lounge scheduled for Saturday January 29th at 8:45pm. Beginner and intermediate salsa lessons will be taught from 9-10pm. Come out and meet new people.

Hope to see you salsa dancing this semester!

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1) Outings and Socials – we still have a few events in the next week for you to go and practice your moves and learn some new moves.  Our big TDS Holiday Party takes place this Saturday Dec 18th at 8:45pm at Acrobat Lounge.  A beginner and intermediate lessons are available from 9-10pm where you will learn fun new combinations and meet new people. There will be performances by the TDS Pro Team, the TDS Student Team and the TDS Reggaeton Student Team to get you motivated and inspire you.  We also have our last social of the year on Sunday Dec 19th at Empress from 6-9pm.  We will then be off for 2 weeks and resume socials on Jan 9th.

2) Salsa clubs and practices – there is a salsa club open every night of the week.  Some of them even offer free lessons at around 9pm before the crowds get there so take advantage.  My favourite clubs are Babaluus in Yorkville, Lula Lounge for live music, Acrobat and Alley Katz.  There is also a Toronto Salsa Practice every Saturday at a downtown church so take advantage of these great events and dance, dance, dance.

3) Record yourself – before you forget all the moves you learn take a camera and record yourself doing these moves.  That way you can play it back and remember how to execute the moves.

4) Watch youtube videos – youtube salsa videos are super inspiring and, while it is difficult to learn from a small clip, it will still get you listening to music, watching dance moves and thinking about salsa

5) Practice on your own or with a friend/partner – practice at home if you are not yet comfortable going out.  You can practice your basics, turns, cross body leads, shines, body movement, styling and musicality.  You can also purchase our beginner DVD and work on your moves with the DVD.

Hope you keep dancing during the holidays!

The post How to stay dancing after classes end. appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Thanks to over 200 people who came out to enjoy the evening.  Olivier and Elise taught the beginner salsa class and Evan and I taught the intermediate salsa lesson.  Ladies, we needed you!  There were at least 5 men who could have used a partner so ladies, come early to the outings so you can enjoy the workshop and get to meet some great dance partners.

There were tons of new faces and dancers of all levels.  As well, it was great to see some old friends and those who have been out of the salsa scene for a while.   Thanks to all my great dances including Rob, Teddy, Bryan and of course Evan and all the new dance partners I met.

Our next outing is the last one of 2010 and it is our TDS Christmas Party at Acrobat on Dec 18th, 2010 at 8:45pm.  There will be performances by the TDS Pro Team, the TDS Students Team and the TDS Reggaeton Team.  Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

The post Saturday at Acrobat! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

I know we have benches at Empress but if you are looking to dance, a word of warning: don’t sit on the benches! When you sit on the benches it tells other dancers that you want to rest and you don’t want to dance so you won’t get approached as often. So if you are looking to dance, be up and about, make eye contact with dancers you would like to dance with, and most of all, ask yourself! Both women and men can ask each other to dance. Once you have asked someone to dance, they will be a lot more likely to reciprocate in the future.

There are some helpers at the social wearing name tags. Feel free to ask them to dance – they will be more than happy to do so.

If you continue to come to the socials, very soon you will be making friends and the first feelings of awkwardness will disappear, leaving you very comfortable and excited to see the gang.

Hopefully this helps you go out dancing. Say hi and introduce yourselves to me at the socials – I am usually at the door until 7:30pm!
_________________
Sharon

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Thanks to Maria and the Reggaeton class gang for their great idea of having a Reggaeton Performance Class – this class is just for you guys!

To see a description of these classes or to register for a class, please click on our Fall Dance Schedule.

S.T.U.D. (Salsero Training for Unique Development) for Men
Sundays 9:15-10:15pm starting Sep 12th at Empress

Afro Cuban Movement and Styling
Sunday 12-1pm starting Oct 17th at Empress

Zumba Latin Cardio – 6 weeks $84
Tuesday 6-7pm starting Sep 14th at Empress
Wednesday 6-7pm starting Sep 15th at Empress
Thursday 6-7pm starting Sep 16th at Empress

Argentine Tango
Friday 8-9pm starting Oct 15th at Empress – Level 1
Friday 9-10pm starting Oct 15th at Empress – Level 2
Friday 10-11pm Tango Practice Session (Milonga) Empress $5 drop in

Belly Dance – Combos and Musicality for all Levels
Monday 6-7pm starting Sept 13th at Empress

Student Performance Class – Partnerwork
Saturdays 12:30 – 2pm starting Sep 18th at Empress
Reggaeton Performance Class
Sunday 11:00 – 12:00pm starting Oct 17th at Empress
Ladies Salsa Technique Bootcamp – $84 for 4 wks x 1.5hrs
Wednesday 6:30 – 8:00pm starting Aug 18th at Empress

Brazilian Samba – Variations
Friday 6:00 – 7:00pm starting Oct 15th at Empress

Salsa Styling & Choreography Building – Condensed 4wks x 2hrs
Saturday 2:00 – 4:00pm starting Sept 11th at Empress

Salsa Technique Building – Condensed 4wks x 2hrs
Saturday 4:30 – 6:30pm starting Sept 11th at Empress

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