The evening began with 3 different lessons.  Lisa and Eunjoo provided the absolute beginner dancers with a fun intro to salsa class.  Sara and Roger taught the beginner/intermediates a sexy combination.  By the way, this was Sara’s last time teaching a club class.  Sara has completed her PhD and will be moving into a full time role in her field.  We will sorely miss her and I know she had a great time teaching the class.  May and I taught the intermediate class up on stage with a huge crowd and that was fun (almost lost my voice!).

Social dancing began at 8pm while the competitors, judges and performers prepared.  Winnie Fung was our Stage Manager and did a fantastic job organizing the evening.  The judges arrived and were briefed, we drew numbers to see the order of the competitors and everyone was getting their makeup done professionally by the fabulous ladies from Mary Kay.

At 9pm sharp, the awesome Tracie Yee in her gorgeous orange dress started the night.  She was truly an amazing emcee – engaging, entertaining and natural.  She kept the evening flowing beautifully and allowed enough time for the judges to tally up their scores.

Our judges for this round were Teddy and Rene from United Salseros, Angus from iFreestyle, Jennifer from Steps and Oscar from Latin Groove Productions.  Thank you so much judges for your input and support!

We had 8 couples compete:  Nina and Branco, Ileana and Martin, Monique and Joseph, Alexandra and Yuri, Anny and Tony, Sandra and Vig, Stephanie and John and Sanaz and Khemara.  Each couple was fantastic – you could really see the effort that was put in for the freestyle round which is difficult to do without knowing the song that is coming up.

While I tabulated the judges’ scores we had six amazing performance by the TDS Cabaret Team, Latin Grove Productions, TDS Reggaeton Team, Sumeet and Crystal from United Salseros, Daniel and Sandra’s Argentine Tango performance for TDS and the amazing TDS Pro Team debut performance with Jessica and Olivier.  A huge thank you to everyone who performed – you should all be so proud!

It was finally time for Tracie to announce the 5 couples who will be moving on to the finals and in no particular order they are:  Nina and Branco, Ileana and Martin, Anny and Tony, Sandra and Vig and Sanaz and Khemara.

Thanks to DJ Suave for the great tunes, Evan for keeping the evening running so smoothly and everyone else who made the night so memorable for almost 400 participants.  I can’t wait for the finals on Sunday June 26th at 6:45pm at Six Degrees Nightclub!!

The post TDS Amateur Competition Preliminary Round! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Searching for a different way to improve your Salsa dancing? Ask any experienced dancer and they will tell you that learning the fundamental techniques of another dance form helps improve your skills as a dancer overall. In this class Tracie will lead you through technique exercises used by Argentine Tango dancers to develop their centre, poise, isolations and body awareness and show you how to apply those fundamentals to your salsa dancing. Also learn how to add sexy Tango leg styling within the structures of your on-1 salsa footwork. This class is also suitable for Argentine Tango dancers wishing to develop their Tango fundamental techniques of posture, balance, disassociation and execution. For dancers who have completed Level 2 salsa or higher. Also suitable for dancers who have just completed Level 1 or 2 Argentine Tango.

Brazilian Samba
with Tracie Yee
Starting April 29th 6pm for 9 weeks at $117 plus HST at Empress

Samba, the national dance of Brazil, is perhaps one of the most energetic and exhilarating South American dances! Learn the basics of Samba no pe, the style of samba most associated with Rio de Janeiro’s carnival. This class is suitable for female dancers with no experience with Brazilian samba, or those wanting to further develop their basic samba footwork, body movement, rhythm and styling. Improve coordination, core and leg strength and learn a fun, new (and easy) Brazilian samba routine. Join Tracie to dance and sweat to some of the most fun music on the planet! No prior dance experience necessary. This is a solo female dance class, no partners necessary. Please note that this class will be conducted in bare feet.

Reggaeton Funk
with Tracie Yee
Starting May 1st 11am for 9 weeks at $117 plus HST at Empress

Ever get seized with the overwhelming desire to flee the dance floor when Reggaeton comes on at the club? Well, flee no more! Learn how to get your funk on with this fun new dance class that blends the grooves of hip hop, funk and Jamaican dancehall. In this non-partnering dance class for both men and women, Tracie will focus on rhythm, body isolations, execution, styling and coordination. Once you’re done with this course you’ll have no reason to sit out the reggaeton music sets at the club!

The post New Ladies Styling and Technique class and more starting soon! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

5 Things I wish I would have known when I started salsa dancing.

1.  Its OK to go alone.
90% (completely unscientific stat) of the people who go to salsa nights are there to just dance.  Many of us go alone and leave alone.  Heading to the club was something I kept putting off because I had no one to go with, but after my first time I saw how may people come alone and it was out almost every night afterward.  Always try to do the club lesson to meet all the other people who are new to dancing and start building your “salsa friend” base.

2.  Latin Nights and Salsa Nights are different.
While both are lots of fun I made the mistake of going to Latino Nights expecting to salsa dance and barely hearing salsa.  Latino nights are more like club nights with not just salsa but also reggaton, merengue, reggaton, bachata, reggaton and other varieties of latin music like…reggaton.  These nights are great fun, but are different from salsa nights in both the crowds that come out and the vibe you will feel.  If you are not sure what kind of a night it is ask your teacher, call the promoter and ask what kind of music they will play.  If they say reggaton its probably a latin night, but this can vary depending on your location.

3  Its OK to say No.
This applies a lot to ladies, but once in a while to guys too.  If you don’t want to dance with someone its OK to say no, my feet are tired, sorry I am a bit dizzy or anything like that as long as its done nicely.  I have had it happen to me and its hard to not take it personally.  There are a lot of reasons why, but as a beginner its can be deflating.  Try to keep this in mind.  Salsa is a scene and the ‘dancers’ tend to recognize one another and while new faces are welcome people might need to see you dancing a few times before they realize that you are a ‘dancer’ as well and not just trying to pick up.  Ladies if you do say yes and half way through the song you feel uncomfortable (your are dancing with the 10% see point one) don’t be afraid to use one of the above excuses to detach from the dance.

4.  Be prepared,
Salsa is high energy, you almost have to think of it as a workout.  In all my time of dancing I have consistently heard complaints about breath, sweating and odor.  Make some rules for yourself.  Here are mine.  I always add extra deodorant under the arms (double up), bring deodorant with you and keep it in your bag or the car, every two songs new gum or mint, hydrate – most bad breath comes from dehydration and no amount of breath stuff can help if you have mouth pasties.  Lastly if you are a sweater like me bring some extra shirts or take a break every 3rd song.

5.  Be the fun one
I must admit to always feeling a bit of jealousy when I talk to girls who rave about how fun someone was even though they didn’t have a lot of moves.  If you are dancing, try to add some funny little bits to your repertoire of styling. Personally I love adding a little shimmy, butt shake or cheeky grin at the end of moves, but that is my style.  Observe yourself in other situations when you are being funny and see if you can put that on the dance floor.  Be the fun one to dance with.

Article by Ivan (Salsero)  Ruiz
Ivan is a local dancer and instructor in Vancouver.  He is one of the organizers of the Vancouver International Salsafestival and has a blog called SalsaMe.  You can contact him or find out more about him at his blog:  http://salsame.tumblr.com/

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Don’t hesitate to be specific.  Telling your partner you love a specific move or styling that they use is great feedback as well as a positive lift to the dance.  I always try to tell my dance partners that I enjoy dancing with what I enjoyed about the dance.  Whether it is the smoothness of the lead, the lightness of their follow, the energy they demonstrate or the shines they use, compliment, compliment, compliment.  It will brighten up someone’s day.

This is especially great when you see improvements in your partner.  You see the hard work that they have been putting towards developing the dance technique with additional salsa classes or salsa practices.  When you point out their improvements all that hard work will have been worth it for them and you will inspire them to continue to develop.

You never know when someone is feeling down about their salsa progress and these compliments are a great boost.  Whenever a student tells me about a compliment they received they are so affected by it that it makes me realize how important a little positive reinforcement can be on the dance floor.  So go out dancing and let the compliments begin!

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“Casino Rueda: My Latin dance journey started with Casino Rueda.  During my college days in India, we performed a Casino Rueda choreography for our college cultural function, it was an epic success and we got a lot of appreciation. Later we were even invited as guest performers in other colleges. That is how I fell in love with Casino Rueda and this was long before my girlfriend introduced me to the world of Salsa.

Later in Toronto, in the midst of my Salsa journey, I happened to see “Casino Rueda lessons by Tracie and Daniel” posted on the TDS website and thought I would give it a shot. I am so glad I took that course. It was totally different from a choreography class because we had to remember the Spanish names of the moves and we had to execute it when the circle leader calls for it. Some of my favorite moves were; Enchufla El Pulpo, Festival de Pelota, Setenta complicado, Toma Electrica, Sombrero (hat), La Flor (the flower).

The class was so lively with non stop dancing and it was a faster pace than a regular salsa class, at least for a non Spanish speaker like me!  Every class was so much fun and so full of laughter that it made my day brighter and I would always long for the next week’s class.  It  became very addictive on me.

If you would ask me to chose either Salsa Dancing with a partner or Casino Rueda in a circle, I’d opt for Casino and I wish it was just as popular. But even now, I would add my Casino moves like Enchufla, Sombrero(hat), etc into my Salsa social dancing which will always impress my partners. I feel that the Cuban body movement is very stylish, and I always tend to adapt them into my Salsa dancing. Guys you have my word, no one will ever regret taking a Casino class, especially with Tracie and Daniel, as they are the best… :)”

For more information on the Casino Rueda Class we are offering please see the Student Performance Team class on our Spring 2011 semester schedule.

The post Vignesh’s Casino Testimonial appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Dips and Tricks Workshop:
Want to kick your dancing up a notch by adding a few fancy dips and tricks? This workshop will teach you how to use your core to execute and balance dips and tricks effortlessly on the dance floor. For dancers who have completed Level 3 or higher. Sat Feb 26th 12:30 – 200pm. $35 for one workshop, $60 for both. $25 for helpers.

Shines & Styling for Men and Women Workshop
Learn new ways to get your feet moving to the salsa beat as well as how to use your body to interpret the music through styling. You will learn a fun and challenging shine routine (suitable for both men and women) and how to style the routine in different ways so that it sensual and feminine for women and strong and masculine for men. For dancers who have completed Salsa Level 2 and up or have passed an assessment. Sat Mar 5 12:30 – 200pm. $35 for one workshop, $60 for both. $25 for helpers.

The post New Workshops 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.

Whether you are too young to get into the salsa clubs or are just not ready confidence/skill wise to make that leap, Sunday Salsa Socials are a great alternative. There is a weekly DJ playing great music, the lights are turned down to make dancing less stressful and add to the ambiance and there are plenty of helpers to dance with everyone.

If you are a more advanced dancer then come out too! We had plenty of instructors, helpers and senior students who come out and would love the challenge.

If you would like to be a guest DJ for an hour for the socials, let us know also!

Our next Sunday Social will be after the long weekend on Sunday August 10th from 5:30 – 8:30pm. Remember there are no socials scheduled on long weekends.

Here are the photos from this Sunday’s outing where we had about 100 people dancing up a storm. See you at the next outing!

PS the office is closed Thursday July 31st to Tuesday Aug 5th. Email us and we will do our best to get back to you. Classes on Friday and Saturday are on as usual and Sunday and Monday are off for the stat. Have a great wekend!

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