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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Jazz Meets Salsa is a 24 hour (7 days a week) Salsa Radio, Rumba Buena Estereo, currently streaming via www.jazzmeetssalsa.com. This is a 100% Canadian run station where you will have the enjoyment of listening to great salsa music in the comfort of your home and with no need to worry about changing CD’s.

Our vision is to bring Salsa Music to our listeners without the need of having to login to a foreign site. In this site their is also a section where visitors will have access to listen to the bands offered, Cache amongst others.

We are only a year new, and have already accomplished one of our visions, to bring forth the first ever Latin stage to Toronto’s own Beaches International Jazz Festival in 2010 where we showcased Latin Bands, percussion workshops as well as dance lesson on a wood platform, ideal for the dancers. This new area is called, Latin Square, and our main stage is JAZZMEETSSALSA. All this conveniently located right by the boardwalk. Who said you needed to travel down south to have the Latin flavours and rhythms. We worked hard to bring it to the people in Toronto.

Feel free to take a look at some pictures of last years event at www.beachesjazz.com

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We are also interviewing Wilson about Cache’s new album which has just been released and we will be bring you this interview soon. Until then, check out jazzmeetssalsa.com and enjoy!

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We met at 6pm at Peridot Resto Lounge. It was great to finally taste some of the great food that Peridot has to offer as we always hold outings there. We enjoyed a three course meal and many of the helpers got to know one another better.

We then hustled to the AMC at Yonge & Dundas to see the movie FAME! I grew up on this tv show and was really looking forward to seeing Kerrington, a favourite of mine on SYTYCD Season 4, in her debut performance.

I definitely wish there was more dancing in the movie. The little that was seen was actually very good and I really enjoyed the Kerrington piece half way through the movie. But for a dancer it wasn`t quite enough and I think the group of us were left wanting more.

Overall a great evening though. Thanks to all the instructors, assistants and helpers who made the evening so much fun and made the summer semester a great one. Can`t wait to do this again in December!

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Here is some more info on the program as can be found on Toronto.ca`s website. Click on the City of Toronto`s website to get more info:

`The City of Toronto transfers and connects underground cultures with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) by creating a new artistic and audience platform for urban dance and music, visual art and performance art.

From August 2009 through the summer of 2010, this new program aims to bring your transit experience to life by regularly featuring the artistic creativity and culture of emerging and more seasoned young artists performing in a fluid, public living environment – subway stations, on subway cars, buses and streetcars.
Part of Toronto’s 175th anniversary celebrations, this Toronto Cultural Services initiative offers artists aged 18 to 32 (PDF) an expanded public audience and the opportunity to make money through their art by providing an honorarium and the ability to receive donations from the public like regular TTC performers. This will also be the first time that dancers and visual artists will be regularly showcased on the TTC.`

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I am always surprised at how quickly they fly through the Vegas Week which is such an interesting part of the competition. This season I believe they covered the entire week of eliminations in 3 hours. I would have loved to see more of each stage of the week and really get to know the dancers, their styles and the reason why they eliminated who they did. Most of the top 20 participants were not focused on at all so it was a surprise to see them in the top 20.

However, the first round of performances by the top 20 last week was great. Most of them are really strong dancers and I am sure we will get to know their styles as the weeks go by. I was happy to see Tony go. Apart from personality, there wasn’t much to his dancing and I really think he took the spot of someone a lot more deserving.

I was so excited to see them bring back Wade and I loved the Crash Test Dummies Choreography just like I love all his choreographies. He is truly a genius at what he does and I was glad to see the judges recognize this. One of the last times he was on the judges dug into his routine, saying they couldn’t comment on the dancers because the routine was too out there. So it is great to see him get the recognition he deserves.

I am looking forward to tonight’s episode. If you haven’t seen it yet make sure you check it out and let me know who your favourite dancers and choreographers are this season!

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Tracie Macko will be teaching a Ladies Intensive Salsa Styling & Conditioning Class on Tuesdays beginning June 9th from 7-9pm for 3 weeks at Empress Studio. This 3 week x 2 hour per class course is a great way to learn a lot of information quickly without the commitment of a full 9 week course at only $90 per person. This class is limited to women who have completed level 2 with us or with permission.

Registration is now open and is limited. Here is a description:

Whether you dance with an experienced or inexperienced dance partner, being strong in your centre and being able to use it to play and style more in your dance will make you a much better and happier dancer. Learn the basic rules of thumb for being a good follow, executing spins and turn patterns and incorporating fun and flirty styling to your dancing.

In the first hour of every class Tracie will lead you through core strength and flexibility conditioning exercises designed specifically for dancers. In hour two Tracie will lead you through technique exercises that will cover musicality and styling in both shines and partnerwork, following, spins and turn patterns. Please dress comfortably, bring a yoga mat and your dance shoes.

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It was an awesome evening – our most organized by far! We opened the doors at 6:30pm and by 7pm when the lessons began we were already starting to fill up the huge venue. Sara and Farnoosh taught the intermediate lesson on stage and Tracie and Mark taught the beginner lesson upstairs.

At 8pm DJ Efren started spinning his very high energy salsa tunes and the lights went down. By this time we had about 400 people in attendance dancing up a storm. Upstairs in the dancer’s lounge the 18 competitors were getting their makeup done professionally by Alice from Mary Kay Cosmetics who volunteered her time to spice up the competitors. A huge thank you to her and her colleague – they were amazing and did a great job!

At 9pm sharp George(eous) our host began the competition. Funny as always (and making fun of me as usual 😉 George thanked our sponsors, the judges and introduced our 18 competitors who warmed up on stage for 2 minutes. Then each competitor was introduced with their bio and performed a freestyle performance for 2 minutes. Here are the names of the competitors in no particular order:

1. Winnie Fung and Manuel Alvarez
2. Mridu Das and Elton Martins
3. Michelle Sui and Bobby Cabral
4. Karen Di Monte and John Radtke
5. Julia Brodyansky and Vincent Cheng
6. Marta Slowik and Alex Florescu
7. Stephanie Cansino and Nick Sagias
8. Eva Wen and Derek Wisniewski
9. Maysa Tani and Dan Tahirkheli

The energy of the crowd was excellent and the judges had the very difficult job of rating each couple. Once all competitors performed Sara and I ran upstairs to tally up the scores and get the names of the 5 couples with the highest scores. At the same time, the adorable kids from Latin Groove Productions performed on stage. Thanks to Oscar for bringing his group to perform – the crowd loved the group!

Finally it was time for the results. Once again, in no particular order, here are the 5 finalist couples who will be competing for the TDS Champion Title:

1. Winnie Fung and Manuel Alvarez
2. Mridu Das and Elton Martins
3. Karen Di Monte and John Radtke
4. Marta Slowik and Alex Florescu
5. Maysa Tani and Dan Tahirkheli

Everyone received an awesome gift bag with prizes like a year’s VIP pass to Six Degrees, TDS t-shirt, El Rancho VIP 4 month pass, passes to Lula Lounge, Plaza Flamingo, Baila Society classes and more. Thank you to the sponsors for the great prizes!

Overall an amazing evening. I can’t wait to experience the final round on Sunday May 31st at 7pm at Six Degrees. Hope to see you all there!

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“Ontario: Let’s Dance!

— SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA Season 2 Auditions land in Ontario with a stop in Toronto on the Victoria Day holiday Monday, May 18 –

Time to bust a move! Is Ontario home to Canada’s next Favourite Dancer? CTV announced today that auditions for SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA Season 2 will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Victoria Day holiday Monday, May 18 beginning at 8 a.m. Who will be the next dancer to make Jean Marc Genereux’s VID (Very Important Dancer) list during the Top 20? Only those who come out and audition during the holiday on May 18 will have a chance to break it down and possibly become Canada’s next Favourite Dancer, taking home the $100,000 prize. For up-to-date information and audition FAQ’s visit the series’ official website, dance.ctv.ca.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA – Toronto Auditions
Monday, May 18
Registration begins at 8 a.m.
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
John Bassett Theatre
255 Front Street West, Toronto

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA is designed to showcase and judge the talent of Canadian dancers who have roughly the same level of experience and maturity.

Among the rules and regulations that should be noted for the auditions:
* Competitors must be either a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
* All competitors must be legally eligible to work in Canada.
* Competitors must be of the age of majority in the province/territory in which they reside and no older than 30 years of age as of April 1, 2009. The age of majority is as follows: 18 years of age in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan; and 19 years of age in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut and Yukon.
* All competitors must provide two pieces of identification, including a government-issued photo ID (e.g. driver’s license or passport), at the audition.
* Competitors may bring a non-competing dance partner for purposes of the audition.
* All competitors must bring with them, along with the proper ID, the signed personal release, the completed preliminary questionnaire, and the music sheet. All will be available at the audition site and for download soon at dance.ctv.ca.
* All competitors are asked to bring with them the completed music sheet indicating the music they will use in their audition, along with the CD containing the indicated music.
* All songs must be “original” songs that are commercially available. A song must not be a re-mix of a song, a song downloaded from the Internet, or a competitor-created mix.
* Competitors will not be permitted to audition in any article of clothing with a visible designer, sports or other logo; artwork; name; photo; or other mark which may be subject to protection by copyright or trademark laws.”

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It was great to see everyone in one spot and dinner was delicious. For anyone who has a large group, Korean BBQ is a great way to get everyone eating as much as they want to in a fun, interactive environment as you get to cook your own food on small grills placed directly on the tables.

During dinner we announced the helpers who are celebrating one year of service with TDS and everyone received T-shirts. Congrats to Sandra, Anthony, Allan, Loveliza, Therese and Sadaf for being with TDS for one year!

After dinner the group walked to the Royal Alexander Theatre to watch the last Saturday night show of Dirty Dancing. It was a special treat to watch this high energy show with my fellow dancers and I think everyone enjoyed the flips, tricks and dips of the performers.

Thanks to everyone who came out. Photos are up on the events page. Now it’s time to come up with a new concept for the next outing. If you have any ideas for me, let me know!

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