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!

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Ring in 2010 in salsa style at our first annual New Year’s Eve Black & White Ball at Acrobat Lounge on Thursday, December 31st, 2009.

Tickets:
Tickets can be purchased in advance for $45 each or at the door for $50. Helpers receive a special $35 rate. Tickets are available by calling Acrobat Lounge at 416-489-1105 or by visiting Acrobat Lounge on Friday evenings or during our outing on Sat Dec 19th. Feel free to bring as many people as you like. Must be 19+ years old. There are only 230 tickets being sold so get yours early!

Dress Code:
Dress to impress in semi-formal black and/or white. A good example of semi-formal would be suits for men and dress for women.

What is included?
The evening will begin with a beginner and intermediate lesson from 9-10pm. Social dancing will commence after the lesson. Hors D’oeuvres will be served as well as a champagne toast at midnight. There will be special performances throughout the evening and a fun checkerboard game to get you dancing and winning prizes.

Directions: Parking lots can be found north and south of the club and there is free metered parking on Yonge Street after 9pm. By subway, it is only a 5 minute walk north from the Eglinton subway station on the Yonge line.

We can’t wait to celebrate New Year’s Eve with you all!

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Tracie, our Zumba Guru, showed Leah some fun Reggaeton steps alongside some students and helpers. Leah caught on extremely fast and very quickly the group was shaking it to some exciting Zumba beats.

More photos are available on our website under “events”. The segment airs January 6th on CTV.

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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

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Just a reminder there are 2 more socials left this year: Sunday Dec 7th and 14th from 5:30-8:30pm at Empress. After that we will take a break and start the socials again Sun Jan 11th from 6-9pm which will be the new time for 2009. Our last class is on Dec 17th at which point our studios close until 2nd week of January.

If you have any registration questions in December we will not be available through voicemail. Instead email us your questions at info@torontodancesalsa.ca and we will try to respond within 48hrs.

Wishing you all a safe and memorable holiday and a rockin’ salsa new year!

Sharon

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A huge congratulations to Alfred and Nina who got engaged on New Year’s Eve in B.C. Alfred and Nina met at Acrobat Lounge salsa dancing a couple of years ago. Another salsa couple ties the knot – it is so great to hear!

Obviously the topic of salsa always comes up and I enjoyed listening to the ladies talking about their new years salsa goals for 2008. From body movement, to learning to lead to styling to performing, there were lots of goals for the ladies.

Hopefully you have thought about your salsa goals for 2008. Is it to lead or follow better, to go dancing more, to be more musical, rhythmical, to style more, to perform, to compete? Let us know your salsa goals.

My goals include another competition for 2008 for our students, to use salsa for good (a salsa fundraiser) and to find new dance venues for our students. If anyone knows of a great club or space for us to use for classes or for outings, we would LOVE to hear your suggestions so let us know!

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I think this is interesting because after I started salsa dancing I became more creative in other parts of my life. I was an extremely practical person and could not really do anything artistic or creative, as much as I wanted to. It is almost as if salsa makes you more creative which puts you in a confident state about your creative self and you can do more with the artistic part of your life that is not even dance related.

I now have the knowledge that being artistic doesn’t always have to be a natural talent. With hard work and interest, you can turn a new hobby into something wonderful in your life. With that in mind, I am taking an introductory painting course and woodworking course in the new year to dabble in other artistic areas of my life. I hope everyone nourishes their artistic side with lessons in dance, art, music and more in 2008! Share your stories with us!

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First of all, the Performance Choreography Class is for helpers only. Many students ask why this is so and the main answer is that the helpers deserve their own class that caters to their own development. They are always volunteering their time and helping others so Caryl and I want to do something special for the helpers. That is why we offer a discounted rate to them and why Caryl spends so much time and effort to create a wonderful choreography and teach our helpers to become performers.

Here are the details for the helpers. There will approximately 12 couples and 1 or 2 couples as the understudies if needed. Caryl will choreography a full routine that will be approximately 2.5 minutes. Classes begin Wed Oct 10th from 9:15-10:45pm for 1.5 hours for each session. This will last for 9 weeks and there will be one or two additional rehearsals before the group performs their routine at our pre-New Year’s outing which will be a large event. If necessary, we may do a second performance.

Performance classes can really transform your dancing. You become aware of your styling and movement, your facial expressions and non-verbal body cues. For those who learn better by repeating each move until there is muscle memory, a performance class is excellent as you tend to remember everything you learn way after the performance is finished.

For the helpers, this class will sell out so if you really want to do it reserve the spot now because I have a feeling there will be a few disappointed people.

Let me know if you have any questions – can’t wait to see how it turns out!

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