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

The post Fall Classes Just Posted! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

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!

The post Welcome 2011! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

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

The post Sunday Social Advice to New Attendees! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Thank you for all the interest in our competition. We now have 11 confirmed couples, more than ever! I will be closing the entrance to the competition now so I can focus on collecting awesome prizes. In addition to all our usual sponsors, the Detroit Salsa Congress will be sponsoring us this year with lots of full congress passes and much much more.

If you know of a company that can donate prizes, big or small, let me know. It is always an overwhelming task to get prizes.

Please save April 25th as the Preliminary date to come out and support our competitors and watch some great performances from schools such as Go Dance Mambo, Latin Energy and, of course, the TDS Helper Team and the TDS Pro Team with their sexy new Cha Cha Routine.

Can’t wait for the big night 🙂

The post Closing the Competition to Competitors! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The time has come to battle it out on the dance floor for the champion title at our Fourth Annual Toronto Dance Salsa Amateur Competition. Last year we had some amazing couples compete for some serious loot and the results were fantastic!

Both rounds are confirmed to take place at Six Degrees Nightclub at Yonge & Eglinton on the following dates:

Preliminary Round – Sunday April 25th at 7pm
Final Round – Sunday June 20th at 7pm

If you are a level 3 and up student, helper or assistant registered or assisting in the spring 2010 semester at TDS who has not been paid to teach your own salsa class or perform, then you qualify! Don’t get discouraged that you are still in the learning phase – everyone else will be in that phase also and remember that a competition will increase your confidence, showmanship and skills tenfold.

The preliminaries are freestyle which means you do not have to choreograph the performance as you won’t know the song you are performing to although you can practice together, decide on how you will enter and exit, and what dips and tricks you will add to the dance, etc.

To assist you Evan Carmichael has offered a free private lesson to each couple who enters the competition to assist them in preparation! Five couples will move on to the finals where the finalists will choreograph a 2.5 minute routine to their song choice.

More details can be found on our website. Please email us if you are interested in participating at info@torontodancesalsa.ca. We will accept up to 15 couples.

We are also looking for companies who would like to sponsor the event. Gift certificates, dance shoes, music, travel vouchers, congress passes, lessons, cash prizes, restaurant certificates and much more are needed – please let us know if you can sponsor a prize or collect prizes.

We will be sending an official Anyvite with evening details closer to April 25th so just save the dates.

Email us with any questions and good luck to all the competitors!!

The post The 4th Annual TDS Amateur Competition! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Friday, December 4th – OUTING TO PLAZA FLAMINGO – (423 College St) – OPEN TO EVERYONE! Beginner and intermediate lesson available from 9:30 – 10:30pm. Cover is $10 and includes lessons. 200 people expected.

Saturday, December 19th – OUTING TO ACROBAT LOUNGE- (2464 Yonge St just North of Eglinton) – OPEN TO EVERYONE! Beginner and intermediate lesson available from 9:00 to 10:00pm. Cover is $10 and includes lessons. 250ppl expected.

Thursday, December 31st – NEW YEAR’s EVE BLACK & WHITE PARTY AT ACROBAT LOUNGE- (2464 Yonge St just North of Eglinton) – OPEN TO EVERYONE! Special evening filled with lessons, performances, give-away and more. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased through Acrobat on Friday evenings or buy calling Acrobat at 416-489-1105. Only 230 tickets available!

Socials for December: Sunday Dec 6th, 13th, 20th from 6-9pm at Empress

The post Upcoming Outings and Socials for December appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

We have just posted a new Helper Only Performance Choreography class! This is your chance to take your dancing to another level by learning a professional choreography and performing it as a team in full costume at the completion of the course.

The course is 10 weeks long at 1.5 hrs per class. In addition to the class will be 5 hours of rehearsals before performance night. It begins Jan 9th to Mar 13th on Saturdays from 12:30pm – 2:00pm at Empress. The class is led by Tracie Yee.

Registration is open and we hope you take advantage of this fun opportunity to grow as a salsero!
_________________
Sharon
Toronto Dance Salsa
http://torontodancesalsa.ca
Toronto Salsa Lessons / Toronto Salsa Classes

The post Helper Only Performance Class appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Friday, September 25th – OUTING TO PERIDOT LOUNGE – (81 Bloor Street East) – OPEN TO EVERYONE! Beginner and intermediate lesson available from 10:00 – 10:30pm. Cover is $10 and includes lessons. 250 people expected.

Saturday, October 17th – OUTING TO ACROBAT LOUNGE- (2464 Yonge St just North of Eglinton) – OPEN TO EVERYONE! Beginner and intermediate lesson available from 9:00 to 10:00pm. Cover is $10 and includes lessons. 250ppl expected.

Saturday, October 31st – SPECIAL HALLOWEEN DRESS UP PARTY AT ACROBAT LOUNGE– (2464 Yonge St just North of Eglinton) – OPEN TO EVERYONE! Beginner and intermediate lesson available from 9:00 to 10:00pm. Cover is $10 and includes lessons. 250ppl expected. Prizes for best costumes!!

Sunday, Sept 27th, Oct 4th, Oct 18th and Oct 25th anytime from 6:00 – 9:00pm SUNDAY SALSA SOCIAL AT EMPRESS WALK STUDIO! OPEN TO EVERYONE! These fun and comfortable practice sessions take place every Sunday. Come with or without a partner. Helpers around to dance with and answer questions. Cover is $7 with water. Over 100 people expected every week. NO SOCIAL Oct 11th!

The post Upcoming Outings appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.