1) When and how did Cache form?

After playing with Vibrason, led by me, for about 4 years. A replica of the Joe Cuba Sextet which was a format that did not include horn but had an exceptional chemistry with a lot of soul. These ingredients were key player for us to be able to write our own music and so, Caché was formed in 2001. Our Debut performance was at the legendary Bamboo Club on Queen And Spadina.

2) How long have you been playing together?

With Caché, with have been playing together for 10 years. As musicians some of us have been playing with various bands for 20 years.

3) What are your thoughts about the Toronto salsa scene?

I believe we have come a long way musically and now that salsa is more recognized and accepted we still lack a larger market and venues for live performances, if we were to compare it with New York with a population over18 million and a good percentage of that being Spanish speaking where the roots and percussion rhythms are instilled from an early age.

4) Can you describe your style of music?

Our style of music is a blend between vintage and new. It is not new and it is not old. We are not trying to be salsa from New York, salsa from Puerto Rico, salsa from Colombia or Cuban. We are inspired and we have been brought up listening to the old school salsa and Caribbean rhythms. Bands nowadays have become too technical. We do not want to copy or duplicate, we want to bring back what has been lost from vintage salsa and at the same time update it with our own heart and soul. This is why we like to call it Canadian Salsa.

5) What musicians have inspired you?

Musicians that have inspired me are, Papo Luca, Tito Puente, Noro Morales, and Willie Rosario just to name a few.

6) We are excited to hear about your new CD. Can you tell us a bit about the new CD and how it differs from your past two CDs?

We are very happy with the new release, “Looking from the Top” which will soon become available on iTunes just like are 2 previous CDs. You will be able to see how we have grown not only as musicians but as writers. There is not much difference as we like to maintain our trademark, so when a Caché fan hears our music they will be able to identify the sound or rhythm as a ‘Caché’ song.

7) Where can we purchase your CDs and songs?

Our CDs and songs are available in iTunes. Or you can always place an order by sending an email to wmacevedo@sympatico.ca and pay by paypal.

8) Do you have any upcoming performances that we can check out?

We will be at Lula Lounge on February 25

9) What are the band’s plans for the next year or two?

Our plans for the next year is to hopefully tour across Canada and the States as well as to get more involved with Salsa Congresses.

***********

For more information on Caché’s new CD please email Wilson at wmacevedo@sympatico.ca.  Their new songs should be available on iTunes shortly so enjoy!

The post My Interview with Wilson Acevedo from Caché appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The Congress in a nutshell:
A Salsa Congress is kind of like the Superbowl and the Oscars (but way more fun and sexy!). Salsero/as from around the world go to the hosting city and showcase their dancing skills through competitions, demonstrations, workshops and (my personal favorite) social dancing. Usually spanning over a weekend, Congresses are 1-stop shops for everything salsa-related.

Some Highlights of This Year’s Congress:
Opening Night Gala:
Featuring the Canadian Salsa Championships & amazing social dancing afterwards

Vendors:
Need new shoes? shirts? DVDs? They’re all here

Dance Performances:
Last year I saw some of the most amazing dancing performed by teams from around the world

Workshops:
From Lady’s Styling, Lifts and Tricks to Cha Cha and Sexy Salsa moves…you can learn from the best

Beginner Boot Camp:
Still new to salsa? take this day-long workshop to get your salsa steps up to par

Social Dancing:
Here you’ll find hundreds of dancers ranging in all skill levels for some of the most fun dance sessions that you’ll ever have!

Cost Factor:
There are a ton of price options from those who want to do it all to those who just want to dance the night away. Check out the Congress website for more options, one thing that’s for sure, is that the congress is THE event for all salsa dancers!

See you on the floor!
Till then,
Stay Shining Salseros!

The post October: Time for Congress and Time for Turkey! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The Detroit Salsa Congress is having their 10 Year Reunion Celebration and they are inviting Torontonians to come to Detroit and salsa dance!

On the weekend of May 7,8,9 Michigan will open it’s doors to us. Elaine, who is the organizer, has promised Toronto Dance Salsa students and friends the $150 rate in Canadian Dollars anytime.

Elaine has been very generous and is providing TDS with 10 full passes for the 10 finalists of the TDS Amateur Salsa Competition as well as 2 full passes and hotel stay for the winners of the competition for next year’s congress.

For more info on the Detroit Salsa Congress email Elaine at: elainemarrero@iwon.com or elainmarrero@ymail.com or visit the website at: http://www.troydancestudio.com/

Thanks Elaine and good luck with the congress!

The post Detroit Salsa Congress 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.

Here is the info for the Canada Salsa Congress this fall in Toronto.

The post Canada Salsa Congress appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The Miami Salsa Congress has always been a great friend and sponsor of TDS. As usual this year they are contributing passes to our first, second and third place winners of the TDS Amateur Salsa Competition and we are very appreciative.

“THE 8th MIAMI SALSA CONGRESS
July 29 – August 2, 2009
PRESENTED BY
SALSA LOVERS & MIAMI BEACH VISITOR & CONVENTION AUTHORITY

For a total of five days you will experience over 80 live spectacular showcases, dance to the music of some of the hottest Salsa disc jockeys & Live Bands in the industry and take dance workshops with the best instructors from around the world.

The Miami Salsa Congress was created in 2002 to give Floridians a chance to experience the latin culture of music and dance under one roof. It’s also an opportunity to bring salsa music and dance lovers from as far as the UK, Asia, South America and beyond to enjoy our beautiful sunny city while enjoying great Salsa music. This is why everyone calls the Miami Salsa Congress “The Ultimate Dance Vacation!”.

For more information regarding the Miami Salsa Congress, please visit:
http://www.miamisalsacongress.com/home.asp

The post Miami Salsa Congress appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

SG – “What does salsa mean to you and how has it changed your life?”

BH – “For me Salsa is the genre that has brought together all the styles of dance and movement that I am passionate about. It is where I found I can truly express myself through movement to music that has captivated me since I was a teenager. It’s changed my life because it brought Victor, my partner and fiance, into my life and together we have made this our career and life’s work. It is something we both love and can share together.”

SG – “What are some of your salsa goals for 2008?”

BH – “Some of my goals for 2008 is of course to continue to grow as a dancer personally. To evolve in style and range of movement. I also hope to really challenge myself as a choreographer by pushing myself to try different things and take risks. I hope to put new choreographies out there that really make people think and appreciate the versatility that Latin music has to offer. It’s a scary thing to put yourself out there with something different for everyone to judge, but as an artist I’m striving for different and to have an influence on the evolution of this art form.”

The post Interviewing Burju appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

What a fantastic evening Friday turned out to be! With almost 700 people in attendance the 2008 Toronto Dance Salsa Amateur Competition Finals was a smashing success. The evening started off with a beginner lesson with Velina and Jennifer and an intermediate lesson with Rob and Sonya. Despite the large crowds both classes were fun and by the end of the hour the students were able to execute the combinations.

Social dancing began immediately after the lessons until 11pm and although we had so many people in attendance there was still lots of elbow room to really dance.

At 11pm sharp George(ous) began the competition. As usual he was funny, engaging and entertaining and the crowd really enjoyed the introductions and funny stories. The judges were introduced: Teddy and Rene from United Salseros, Angus from iFreestyle, Ana Machada and Salsa Steph from Go Dance Mambo.

Then it was time for the competitors to do their warm up. All the couples warmed up on stage for 2 minutes at which time George called each couple to perform. Each couple had been working for the past 4 weeks to create a choreography to a 2 to 2.5 minute routine and the effort was evident on stage. I was really proud of everyone – most of them had been in my level 1 a year or two ago and to see them on stage in costume performing in front of hundreds of people was amazing and inspiring.

Once the competitors finished I ran to add up the scores with Sara. At this time we had 5 performances by iFreestyle, Go Dance Mambo and Mambo Mosaic. Each one was unique and very entertaining. Thank you to all the performers who took the time and energy to perform that night.

Immediately after the performances George announced the winners – it was a very exciting moment for everyone! The winners were:

1st Place – Kelly and Barry
2nd Place – Camela and Manuel
3rd Place – Therese and James
Runner Up – Marsha and John
Runner Up – Jennifer and Tyrone

Barry and Kelly won the following:
A full Canada Salsa Congress Pass for each of them, a full Miami Salsa Congress Pass for each of them with 1 night hotel stay, a full World Salsa Competition Pass for each, 3 pairs each of dance shoes from both Century Wide shoes, Gabellini Shoes and Addicted to Dance Shoes, dinner & show from Plaza Flamingo, Peridot Rest Lounge Gift Certificates, 1 year membership to Lula Lounge’s salsa Fridays, t-shirts from Shokkwear, Meet Market Adventures Gift Certificate and Trophies

Congratulations to everyone for competing. It is such a courageous thing to do and many people don’t realize the amount of work that goes into performing so I am very proud of everyone.

Thank you to everyone who made the evening rock – Evan, George, the judges, the performers, the sponsors and the competitors. Looking forward to seeing you all next year at the 2009 competition!

The post Competition Last Friday! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The competitors are as follows:
Tyrone Sterling & Jennifer Botelho
James Kalfin and Therese Maceda
Barry Ip & Kelly Elliott
John Radtke & Marsha Soefredie
Joseph Sackey & Natasha Gibson
Mildred Quinto and David Charing
Manuel Alvarez & Camela Adams
Jonathan William & Andrea Ferguson

So far the prize list is amazing! We have passes to the World Salsa Championship, the Miami Salsa Congress, the Calgary Salsa Congress, dance shoes from Addicted 2 Dance Shoes, Century Wide Shoes, Gabellini Shoes and much much more.

We also have some great judges participating including:
Teddy Olaso – United Salseros
Angus Dirnbeck – iFreestyle
Vanessa Stay – Latin Energy
Oscar Naranjo – Latin Energy
Ana Machado – Ana Machado Dance School
Salsa Steph – Go Dance Mambo

Hopefully can all join us for the prelimaries which are taking place this weekend. Here are the details:

Toronto Dance Salsa Amateur Competition
6 Degrees Nightclub – 2335 Yonge Street (North of Eglinton)
Sunday June 8th at 7pm
7-8pm lessons for beginners, level 1s and intermediates
8-9pm social dancing
9-10pm competition and performances by Latin Energy and iFreestyle
10 onwards social dancing
Cover: $12

For details on the competition click here for details.

The post The Competition is Coming! 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.