We all met at Swordplayers Fencing Academy in Toronto for a Fencing lesson and tournament. The team learned foot work and attack and defense strategies before gearing up in full fencing gear including masks, chest plates and jackets. They used electronic swords that were able to keep track of their scores which made the one on one practice sessions more interesting. All in all, a very interesting sport!

We then regrouped at Empress walk for dinner and announcements. It was a great time to recognize all the helpers who had been with us for a year or longer with helper T-Shirts as well as announce the Spring Helper of the Semester. George Reichert is our recipient this semester for all his energy, enthusiasm and assistance all these years as a helper as well as for his contributions to the annual competition. Don`t forget to congratulate George if you see him around!

Finally Teddy Olaso and his amazing group of instructors and assistants arrived at Empress for a 1.5hr workshop specifically for the helpers. They learned some sexy turn patterns and styling and had a chance to practice the moves after.

Thanks to everyone for their participation and I look forward to next semester`s outing!

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We started at 5:30pm at Extreme Fitness downtown for a styling workshop with Oscar and Vanessa of Latin Energy. They led the group through a 1.5 hours workshop on sexy styling and a great turn pattern that was easy to follow and fun to execute.

What I liked about the workshop and what the helpers really appreciated, is that the styling was do-able which is not always the case. Sometimes you are taught styling and it is just overwhelming. It is too fast and too much and it ends up being forgotten. Vanessa made it easy for the ladies to understand and remember and Oscar made the learnings fun and enjoyable.

From there we moved on to dinner and dancing at Cayo Coco Tapas Supper Club. It is a very small 3 story restaurant with dancing on the first floor and food on the second and third.

We ate a tapas type dinner with lots of appetizer-type dishes and a main paella dish. The food was good although I don’t think they really could handle a group of our size well.

We then retired downstairs for some salsa. The space was tiny and definitely not built for dancers. The DJ was supposed to start at 10pm but he only arrived at 10:45pm which was disappointing as many people didn’t want to wait and it killed some of our dancing vibes. Many people did stick around though and hopefully they had a great time.

Overall it was a great evening and I hope everyone enjoyed it. Next outing will definitely be more adventurous though so get ready for it!!

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We were a little worried because 60 people responded that they were coming and while our new home is quite spacious, 60 people may be cutting it close.

Well all 60 people did end up coming and within a couple of hours the tables and sofas were moved and the salsa addicts had turned our home into a salsa club! The non-salsa friends watched in wonder as the salsa helpers danced their way through song after song. Evan and I through in the towel and started dancing too although socks and hardwood floor makes for one slippery dance. The good news is that our floors have never been so shiny!

It is funny to watch salsa dancers. We have a hard time sitting still when salsa music is on. I put on salsa music throughout dinner and everyone couldn’t wait to push the tables aside to bust out the moves.

Hope everyone had a great time. We’ll be sure to do it again!

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Yesterday I spoke of some great benefits when it comes to attending a congress. The moral of yesterday’s blog entry was to attend congresses regardless of what level you are in and attend as many workshops as possible and always record what you learn.

Now let’s discuss the social dancing. This is the heart of where the learning is! I can remember several successful congresses full of great social dancing that transformed my salsa skills and gave me more confidence and creativity when I returned to my usual salsa haunts.

Don’t be afraid to ask others to dance. They will likely accept and if they don’t it is not about you. What is amazing about a congress is that you can dance with some of the best dancers in the world and it is usually a very exciting experience. Remember though that if you are a beginner you want to dance with someone who is slightly more advanced then you so that you can learn from them without feeling like you are burdening them with your dancing.

My first congress I barely danced. I mostly watched in wonder at all the amazing social dancing I was seeing. I must admit I thought about giving up dancing in a weak moment but a moment later I felt very inspired and was ready to learn more and advance so that one day I could dance like the women I had seen.

Don’t lose the chance of social dancing at a congress – it is the best training you can get and is the reason why you learned to dance.

Many Toronto Dance Salsa students are heading to Miami in August for their annual congress. They are offering us a full congress pass for $150 which is a great price. Good luck to everyone and hope you all have a great time!

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