Sidewalk Salsa
Every Thursday from 730-930p.m. Break out your clave and burn the pavement at the corner of Bloor and Spadina! Nothing
beats dancing outdoors with the great people who never miss this event!

Salsa on St. Clair
While this event just passed us by; it’s one of the best! Bands, schools and dancers put on one of the most fun Salsa street parties in the world!

The Beaches Jazz Fest
Get a tan and dance the weekend away! A dedicated Latin stage means the Salsa, Merengue and Bachata will accompany you while you get that perfect tan!

Wasaga Beach Party
A somewhat more informal party, people usually put together a great beach b.b.q. and dancing on one of the nicest beaches in Ontario. Think bikinis and bachata! Woot!

VIP Thursdays
Check out our very own, D.J. Duck and Romantico as they heat up the newest Salsa hotspot on Thursday nights.

Lula Lounge
One of the greatest clubs to see live bands from across the globe! When you walk in, you’ll swear you’re in Cuba and when you hit the floor, you’ll know it!

Acrobat Fridays & Tds Saturdays
A serious dancers’ favourite, Friday nights feature performances, instruction from many teachers and just amazing dancers. Come dance on the special Saturdays when Tds hosts their outing as it’s more relaxed, but still really fun!

Plaza and El Rancho
Two of my fav places year-round as the music is a great mix (even playing Reggaeton) and the people come out to just have fun. Be sure to check out the special Brazilian nights as you can dance Samba, Zouk and Lambada (that’s the forbidden dance!)

Babaluus
A Toronto standard in the heart of Yorkville. Great dancers and new dancers take to the floor in this more upscale club. Be sure to check out the On2 and Cuban nights.

6 Degrees Salsa Tuesdays
Put on your finest dancing gear as this club features some of the best and dressiest dancers in the city. Be sure to check out their special long weekend salsa parties, with the amazing ‘White Party’ coming soon!

Tds and Dovercourt Sunday Socials
While I’m biased towards the Tds social, both events feature new and advanced dancers having a blast, dancing the weekend away! Whether you missed asking that cutie to dance on the Friday night, be sure to not miss your chance at these Sunday parties!

I love dancing in the summer and whether you’re outside or indoors; be sure to keep dancing as it’ll help you get closer to having that beach-body ready!

Till then,
Stay Shining Salseros!

The post Summer Salsa Fun appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Yes, learning to dance can be somewhat difficult but just like an new activity a little time and persistence goes a long way. And remember, it is FUN work – not the boring kind! The hardest part to learning to dance is surviving level 1. Once you’ve done this it gets a lot easier and with some practice every semester becomes easier and more fun.

I always tell my students the same story of my first few months learning salsa. I was a terrible dancer. I hadn’t taken any lessons and just decided to go out dancing at Babaluus with some girlfriends. When I finally got up the nerve to accept a dance I was mortified as to how bad I actually was and there were no improvements for a few months. My girlfriends got better and better and I struggled, not even knowing the difference between salsa, merengue and bachata.

Of course looking back I can see I handled it all wrong. If I had just taken some lessons I could have avoided subjecting myself and my partners to fairly awful dancing. However I learned salsa on the dance floor and after a few months of struggling the light finally came on and all the hard work (and embarrassment) paid off. I finally started to follow properly, move my body and begin to look and feel like a dancer. That first year I danced almost every night of the week and by the end of the year I was already entering my first competition.

If you are a student you are already leaps and bounds ahead of where I was. Just keep at it, practice at home, visualize the moves and go out to practices and outings and soon you will see why it is such an addictive pastime!

Enjoy your salsa journey!!

The post Who thought it would be so hard? appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Here is a very short bio on Ana as found on her website:

“Ana trained in folklórico, the traditional dance form of her Mexican culture, starting at the young age of 5. At the age of 15, she set foot for the first time in a salsa/merengue nightclub where she was exposed to what is known as “cumbia-style” salsa. She instantly fell in love with the dance, and it quickly became her passion.

Dance and education have always been intertwined in Ana’s life. After attending the 2nd Annual West Coast Salsa Congress, Ana found a new appreciation for the dance as an artform and was inspired to take it beyond a hobby, but not before she finished school.

During the fall of 2000, she moved from Dallas, TX to Boston, MA, where she majored in business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. That fall she joined the MIT Casino Rueda performance group and remained with the group for the next 2 years. She also took a brief period of classes with the MIT Movements in Time Dance Company, a modern ballet and jazz group and has taken a periodic private with various mambo instructors to work on her salsa technique.

In November, Ana met Anara Frank, the director of a non-profit kid and adult dance organization called JAM’NASTICS, Inc. She joined the staff as a salsa instructor in January of 2001, teaching both children and adult classes.

Ana left JAM’NASTICS In 2003 when she moved for 6 months to Okinawa, Japan. There she co-founded Masacote Entertainment, a music, dance, and multimedia company, with her husband, Joel.

She has since graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in Management Science and has devoted herself full time to the entertainment company and dancing as a profession.

Ana dances and teaches both Salsa On 1 and Mambo On 2. She is excited to continue to challenge herself both mentally and physically in music and dance through working with the team at Masacote Entertainment.”

Over the next few weeks we will feature excerpts of our interview with Ana and provide advice and guidance for students learning to dance!

The post Ana Tinajero Massicot’s Interview With Me! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

So about 40 helpers headed to snowy Horseshoe Resort just past Barrie on Saturday. We met at 6pm at the Fireside Lounge for some hot chocolate and catching up. It was great to see teams of helpers arriving together – some that didn’t know each other but by the end of the night were instant friends.

Once everyone arrived we headed to the snow tubing hill. It is always a little scary the first time and there were some nervous helpers looking a little green on the first run but very soon everyone was an expert and the instead of telling the attendant to be gentle we were begging for fast, mega-spinning rides. Because the hill was so icy we were going faster then last time and at times we thought we may go through the final barrier but we always stopped just in time.

At 9pm everyone changed and met at Silks Dining Room which was their fine dining restaurant for a 3 course meal. It was a great meal with lots of conversation and laughter.

At the end of the meal the best part of the evening began. We moved to the lounge where last year’s entertainer was there singing some great oldies. He remembered our group and stuck around for an extra hour playing songs for us. We danced salsa, merengue and cha cha to his oldies which was a lot of fun and ad libbed the other songs with lots of cheesy fun dance moves and even the electric slide!

John Radke, one of our very talented helpers, even joined the entertainer for a song and he was amazing!

This was by far the best helper outing. I know I always say that but it gets better and better! Horseshoe may well be an annual event now. Visit the “events” page for the photos.

Thank you to all the helpers for an amazing night but, more importantly, all that you do to make Toronto Dance Salsa such a fun and successful organization. Lots of love and hugs to you all!!

The post The Amazing Helper Outing! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Instead of doing this myself I stumbled upon a great website that lists Latin dance movies by genre…it is an awesome list and spans from 1930 – 2005.

The website is LatinDancePro.com and here is their amazing list:

Tango Films

1972 – Last Tango in Paris
1983 – Tango
1987 – Tango: Our Dance
1988 – Tango Bar
1991 – Danzon
1991 – Naked Tango
1992 – Scent of a Woman
1992 – Tango Argentino
1997 – The Tango Lesson
1998 – Tango: The Obsession
1999 – Tango Passion
2002 – Assassination Tango
2002 – Tango Kabaree
2002 – Tangos Fly
2003 – Assassination Tango
2004 – Chicago
2005 – Shall We Dance

Cha cha cha Films
1934 – Caravan
1955 – Bailando Cha cha cha
1955 – Que lindo Cha cha cha
1956 – Cha-cha-cha-Boom
1957 – Bambalinas
1959 – Girls for the Mambo Bar
Lambada Films
1990 – Lambada
Pachanga Films
1981 – La Pachanga

Mambo/ Salsa Films
1941 – Al Son De La Macumba
1950 – Al Son Del Mambo
1950 – Mambo Madness
1951 – Una Gallega Baila Mambo
1951 – Que Rico El Mambo
1954 – Mambo (Robert Rossen)
1960 – La Dolce Vita
1987 – Dirty Dancing
1988 – Salsa
1992 – Mambo Kings
1998 – Dance With Me
1998 – Mad About Mambo
2000 – Mambo Cafe
2004 – Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights

Paso Doble Films
1984 – Paso Doble
1993 – Strictly Ballroom

Merengue Films
1995 – Manhattan Merengue

Bolero Films
1934 – Bolero
1949 – La Faraona
1952 – Bolero
1958 – Bolero Immortal
1970 – Bolero de Amor
2002 – Bolero

Samba Films

1933 – Flying Down to Rio
1941 – That Night in Rio
1942 – Springtime in The Rockies
1948 – Samba Mania
1948 – Samba Rhythm
1950 – Nancy Goes to Rio
1960 – Black Orpheus
1965 – Samba
1977 – Beat of The Heart: Samba of Brazil
1979 – Bye Bye Brazil
1980 – Brazil
1982 – Spirit of Samba
1999 – Samba Master
2001 – Samba Riachao
2004 – Samba in Mettmann

Rumba/ Son Films

1931 – The Cuban Love Song
1933 – When Yuba Plays the Rumba on the Tuba
1939 – Rumba Land
1941 – Cuban Rhythm
1942 – Harlem Rhumba
1945 – Rhythm of the Rumba
1946 – Let’s Rhumba
1952 – Rumba Caliente
1982 – Rumba
1987 – La Rumba
1989 – Last Rumba in Paris
1990 – Rumba

The post Dance Movies – Who Knew? appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Each class was so enjoyable and the time just flew by. With about 40 people in each class plus 8 awesome helpers, there was great energy and enthusiasm. The level 1 class was a bit worried in the first few minutes but within 15 minutes they were Merengue dancing and meeting new people. It is really great to start with Merengue because there is little pressure to coordinate. Even if students don’t get the hip/knee movement they can still start to understand rhythm and start to memorize choreography of turn patterns. I was so proud of the group. They got the moves easily, executed well and made it a blast.

With my level 2s and 3s, I noticed they were really worried that they had been off for so long and had forgotten some of the syllabus. Not to worry if you are in this situation. I always say it takes 2 classes to get back on track. The first class back you may feel a little forgetful and self-conscious but the review makes a big difference and so when you come in to class #2 you are ready to learn and feeling much stronger. By the end of class #2 you are back on track!

By the way we have confirmed our first outing for Friday January 18th at 9:15pm at Plaza Flamingo and will email the evite tomorrow.

Can’t wait to see more new students tonight at Eastminster!

The post Classes Started! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The Salsa for Singles class is geared towards single people between the ages of 20-35yrs who want to meet other singles in their age range. It is not just for the point of meeting a potential romance. It is also to make new friends and enlarge your social network. The syllabus (what you learn) is exactly the same as our level 1 class. However, with this class everyone rotates so you get to dance with everyone in the class and it is a more social setting. Many students will form groups after class and go dancing on their own.

The 7 week salsa class that we have available occasionally is just salsa so it doesn’t have the Merengue and Bachata classes that the 9 week class has. The salsa syllabus is exactly the same but it is missing the other two dances.

Hope that helps clarify your questions!

The post Singles Class Vs Regular Level 1 appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Salsa in the Corporate Environment

By: Evan Carmichael

Salsa dancing is quickly becoming a popular activity for corporate events as human resource departments are looking for ways to engage their employees in a fun environment that also creates a positive team building experience.

Last week I began one of five lessons with a group of employees who work at a major hotel chain in North America. They wanted to reward the staff members who have been working there for a number of years and have them learn and present a dance routine to their co-workers.

They brought together front line staff with managers and it was an excellent bonding experience for everyone involved. We went through Merengue and introduced the basic steps and a number of introductory patterns. They picked it up quickly and by the end of the hour were dancing full songs on their own.

It’s amazing how much confidence you can instill in people by teaching them how to dance. Most of the employees we worked with today had never taken a dance class before and were scared that they would embarrass themselves. At the end of the class they were cheering and left with a newfound confidence in themselves.

If your company is looking for a great teambuilding experience that is fun and brings people together why not suggest bringing in a dance instructor to teach them the basics and inject some excitement into the workplace!

The post Evan’s Corporate Experience appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

I think cardio salsa classes are great. They are a great, fun workout that incorporate great merengue, salsa, cha cha and other latin rhythms. It introduces students to fast footwork, step choreography, musicality and body movement. For those looking to get healthy, lose weight, have fun, and dance it is a great step to take.

The thing that these classes don’t teach is how to dance with a partner and that is the essence of salsa dancing. Leading and following turnpatterns is the key to dancing salsa. So what you get in a cardio class is a good workout and fun steps but it really doesn’t have much to do with the partnerwork, turnpatterns and feel of the dance.

So if you have taken cardio classes like Zumba, it will help you learn footwork better in class but it won’t help you skip levels because you have to learn how to lead or follow and that is the difficult part of dancing.

If you take cardio salsa in conjunction with regular salsa classes you will definitely see the benefit though as you can last longer, learn footsteps faster, have a sharper memory due to the choreography and speed of the class. So the moral of the story is everything helps but nothing can replace a good salsa partnerwork class!

The post Cardio Salsa appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

So we created a 2 hour double DVD set that goes through everything we cover in level 1 salsa (no merengue and bachata though – that would take another hour!). From body movement exercises to basics to turns and turnpattern combination, the DVD covers it all. We also include drills and exercises after every new move so you can practice along side us as well as on your own to solidify the muscle memory.

The DVD is available for purchase on our website at a discounted rate for our students for $23 taxes included. We can bring it to class for you or you can have it shipped to your home for a nominal fee.

Thanks to Rob, Sara, Mark and Kimberly for their assistance on the DVD as well as Cache who provided us with Canadian salsa music. We hope you enjoy the DVD!

The post Our New DVD! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.