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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Velina and I, who both share the SYTYCD addiction, did a sushi and SYTYCD night. Nothing beats sushi and dancing! What was great about it was the Velina had the previous night’s 2hr show taped and we were able to see all the performances again before the elimination round which was brilliant. You do tend to forget and I find the second time watching you see completely different things.

I have a tendency to always look at the female dancers the first time. But with the second viewing I was able to watch the men, the dancers as a unit, their facial expressions and all the other small details that really make the dance. I guess I shouldn’t have thrown out my VCR because taping the show really makes a difference.

We probably watched the Work-A-Holic Hip Hop routine 4 times – it is such a great routine that gets better and better for me. The samba and the rumba were super hot also and the jailbird hip hop routine was a lot of fun.

So it was no surprise when the bottom three turned out to be the quickstep (which was by far the worst routine), the modern African piece (which had potential to be awesome but they couldn’t get enough power in their movements) and the contemporary routine with Kourtni and Matt.

I thought Kourtni and Matt’s solos were excellent. They were saved and that was great news. Comfort and Thayne were also saved although I think they may be going home very soon. But it was Chelsea and Chris who went home and I think this was the best decision.

Let me know your thoughts…I am still cheering for Will but he needs to get a new partner!

The post So You Think You Can Dance Update 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.

Red Violin is located at Danforth & Broadview. They are a Brazilian Steakhouse and offered a upscale buffet full of Brazilian meats. Servers with skewers of beef, chicken, pork and more approach your table and you get to cut the meat right off the skewer…very yummy! You definitely need to bring your appetite but the good news is their live band is Latin (Cuban I believe but don’t quote me) and they play several sets throughout the evening so you can dance off all the food you eat. At 10pm there is s small show with a couple of female samba dancers which gets the crowd going.

The band wasn’t a salsa band but we did hear salsa-like beats, Cha Cha and Rumba. They had a nice sound to them and they weren’t too distracting if you came to have some great conversation like we had.

Prices are definitely on the high side but if you are looking for a fun special evening check out Red Violin!

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“I rented the movie Mad Hot Ballroom this past weekend and it’s definitely something I think all of you should see.

It’s a 2005 documentary about three New York City public schools learning how to ballroom dance. The film focuses mostly on the fifth graders at P.S. 115 in Washington Heights. The school has a 97% poverty rate. The ballroom dance program is free to the students and at the end of the school sessions, the kids get a chance to compete in the American Ballroom Theater Manhattan dance competition. It’s a huge deal to the kids and one even said “I like dance because everyone is nice regardless of what country they are from”.

The film starts eight weeks before the competition and shows the joys and struggles that the kids face as they make their way to the finals. The kids learn how to dance merengue, foxtrot, swing, tango and the rumba and I was amazed at how well they danced and how much drive and passion they had. It was nice to see under-privileged kids get the opportunity to participate in something as wonderful as dance. One kid said that dancing brought relationships and friendships closer. I think that’s true…I myself found that I’ve made some great friends in my class.

In the film, the male instructor was a positive influence on the students and he himself had said that he wanted the kids to see that men could be dancers too and there was nothing wrong with that. I liked that there were many positive messages in the film…hard work pays off, you can do anything you put your mind to and men and women can be good at the same things. But most of all, the film showcased that dance can be a great distraction…dance can make you happy. No matter what bad things are going on in your life, once you hit the dance floor, your worries tend to fade away. One teacher said that dance isn’t just about physical education, it’s about etiquette, other cultures and life. I couldn’t agree more.

I won’t tell you who won the competition in the end…but I will tell you that there were tears and cheers. Some of the kids who won silver in the quarterfinals didn’t make it to the semis and seeing the kids cry made me so sad. But seeing them persevere and believe in themselves made this movie worth watching. I really think you will all benefit from seeing Mad Hot Ballroom.”

Written by Reshma Ramjattan

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“Miami Salsa Congress 2007…thoughts by Linda Domenichini!

Friday:
Our first class was with Miguel & Darija from Germany, who taught a fun Cuban style turn pattern, but I was really looking forward to Cha Cha Cha class with Franklin Ayala (N.Y). After going over the basics, he kicked it into high gear with a difficult shines combo. At first, I thought I wouldn’t be able to pick it up, but I was proud that I was able to catch on to the choreography. Our next workshop of the day was a shines combo with Salsa Heat (Orlando). It was a familiar set of moves, but a fun combo that gave me the chance to work on my technique and ability to pick up choreography. Andres Echevarria was a fantastic instructor who really encouraged us to excel. The excitement kept building with an Afro-Cuban rumba class, taught by Neri Torres (Cuba), which was by far one of the most interesting and challenging body movement classes I’ve ever taken. Next on the list: shines and styling with Hooked On2 (Miami). Once again, the class consisted of another challenging combo, especially since I just started learning On2. When our instructor Ivette started styling, you knew right away that she was a pro. That ended my day of classes, although I heard that the styling on2 class by Sheila De Jesus (Puerto Rico) was a great experience. I enjoyed some sunshine by the pool and was off to the get ready for the evening performances.

A jam-packed list of top international salsa performers took the stage during the weekend. I had so many favorites, but the most notable Friday night performances included: Energy One’s Nelson Gaston Vidarte (Miami); Jayson Molina (Puerto Rico); Joby Brava & Omar Muñoz (L.A.); and Alessalsa Style (Italy). By midnight, I was too tired to social dance. I missed out on a live concert by one of Florida’s most sought after bands, Potencia Latina, but I knew that I needed some rest to make it through another day of workshops. I dreamed of swift feet and salsa beats that night!”

Part 3 tomorrow!

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There are several venues for the festival. The Parti Gras part (kind of like the pre-party) is taking place this weekend at the Distillery July 20th – July 22nd. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of salsa but is still worth checking out.

The main event is in the beaches area next weekend. The main stage at Kew Garden has Son Ache playing on July 28th at 12:30pm. They are an excellent Toronto band with up to 11 artists. I saw them at the beaches festival last year and they were wonderful as usual. It is great fun as people are dancing on the grass and in the park. There are plenty of other bands too playing from 11:30pm-5:00pm on both Saturday and Sunday July 28th/29th.

The most fun part of the festival is the evening portion – also known as the Streetfest which takes place from July 26-28th. Every evening from 7pm-11pm the entire strip is closed off and there is an abundance of artists, music, food and goods on display. Cache will be playing during one of these evenings (not sure of the time – let me know if you do) as well as Samba Squad and Gypsy which is a Rumba/Flamenco band. Lots of great options to choose from during this weekend.

For more info click here. Hopefully you will all take advantage of this wonderful event – one of the best festivals in Toronto. Happy listening!

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