In typical Tony fashion, I aimed for doing things a little different. While I was given a basic structure, my goal was to play some songs that aren’t typically heard. The problems I found with this is that I didn’t want a ‘weird’ sounding set so I decided to have 3-4 non- typical songs; mixing a few on1 and on2s.

Another thing I had to keep in mind is that you’re playing for your crowd, so I added some of my favourite songs from when I was a beginner. I also added a few English songs, so that people could sing along while they dance.

Rounding out the set I finally placed a few of my personal favs that would please the more intermediate/advanced dancers. Featuring higher-tempos and jazzy syncopated songs make it really fun to dance to and get the styling going.

All in all, the set seemed to go over well and it was amazing to see people really dancing! I couldn’t be happier and have even more appreciation for what Evan, Duck, Jorge and all of the great Salsa DJ’s do.

So next time you’re out having a blast, be sure to thank your dj for making great sets each and every week!

Till then,
Stay Shining Salseros!

The post The Fine Art of the DJ appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

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

*********

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!

The post Jazz Meets Salsa 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.

1) Create tension in your frame – When you instructor keeps reminding you to keep your arms 90 degrees, open the thumbs and only use you fingertips in a light pull, they are reminding you to create tension in your frame. This is because salsa is not a choreographed dance. You never know what the next move is and the leader has to communicate what the upcoming move is with the tension in their fingers. To assist in the communication process, keep your arms at a 90 degree angle with your elbows flush along the sides of you bodies. Don’t stretch your arms. This weakens your tension. Both leaders and followers should not clamp their thumbs down on your partners hands because, again, this weakens tension. Your only hold should come from your fingertips curling and pulling gently against your partners fingertips.

2) Don’t look down – Looking down is a bad move for many reasons. The first is it shows your self consciousness which affects lead and follow. Your partern can sense when you aren’t confident and they become less confident about your lead or follow. Also looking down as a leader doesn’t allow you to see around you and you can end up hurting yourself, your partner and couples around you. Same with followers who look down. You can end up traveling too far or into another couple.

3) Listen to salsa music outside the classroom – Many students worry that they don’t understand the salsa beat. This is because they only listen to salsa music for 1 hour a week in a classroom where you are busy learning new moves and it is difficult to concentrate on several things at once. Instead, take the time to listen to salsa music in your Ipod or in your car and tap out what you think is the beat 1-2-3, 5-6-7. Slowly you will start to distinguish the one of the music and be able to understand the beat. This will then translate to better, more musical dancing in the classroom and on the dance floor.

There are many more tips to discuss. I will try to provide some more over the next few days!

The post Salsa Tips to Keep In Mind appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The evening started off with a beginner lesson with Velina and Stella downstairs and an intermediate lesson upstairs with Evan and I which was really fun. The groups got the combos quickly and continued to practice the new moves throughout the evening. At 10:30pm the lights went down and the music was turned up and the dancing began. More and more people arrived, all with amazing, elaborate costumes. We saw everything from the scary costumes such as vampires and demons, to movie costumes such as the trio in the Wizard of Oz, to superhero costumes, to some very unique costumes (some I didn’t even understand).

We had a group birthday dance with Sara, Ozzy and Jennifer – happy birthday to you all!

I was the bubblicious Girl all in pink and handed out a lot of bubble gum. That was fun! Thanks to all my dances that evening – it was great to see some old students drop by as well as the United Salseros group.

Thanks to everyone who came out and made an effort with their costumes. It was a great night due to all of you!

Next outing: Friday Nov 14th at 9:30pm at Plaza Flamingo…

The post Halloween Outing appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

“Top 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Salsa Dancing Skills

What Level are You On?

Whether you are a beginning, intermediate, or advanced salsa dancer, there are certain tips and tools that will always come in handy when you want to dance at your best. It is one of the greatest things about salsa dancing. We are ALL ALWAYS learning, so that means that even the best dancers that you look up to will never know all there is to know about dancing. If we knew everything there was to know it would quite frankly get boring. Constantly challenging ourselves, as dancers, with new styles, moves and tricks is what keeps us dancing. So with that said there are certain important tips that will never die. I have been dancing socially for about 10 years now. When I feel myself getting rusty, I revert back to the ‘ol basics.

Top 5 Salsa Dancing Tips
1. COUNT 123,4,567,8, that is right…it may sound easy, but even now when I dance with experienced dancers I find myself wondering…”What beat are they dancing on?” Count silently in your head, especially when you are just starting out. I kid you not, I was counting out loud on the dance floor for the first 3 years. Not only did it help me to stay on the beat, but if your partner is observant enough, they might actually hear you and follow your lead.

2. Make salsa tension a top priority. Doesn’t matter if you are the leader or the follower. The connection between the two dancers is what makes salsa what it is. Remember the four points of contact in the closed position. The hands, the leaders hand on the followers shoulder blade, the followers hand on the front of the leaders shoulder, and the leaders and followers elbows that line up when in closed position. Remember to meet your partners tension and adjust to each individual.

3. Watch other dancers. Whether it is the class instructor you are watching, dancers in the salsa clubs, or salsa videos. Watch different styles of dancers and pick the styles you want to adapt to your own. There is no right or wrong style of salsa dancing. The more you make the style your own, the more interesting you dancing style will become. So take a little something from everyone, keep what you like and forget what you don’t.

4. Practice the basic step. This should go without saying, but it really does make the biggest difference. Practice in your kitchen, practice when you are walking around your house. The more you engrain the basic step into your muscle memory, the easier all of the other turns and patterns will become. Build a solid foundation with the basic step. It will never fail you.

5.Last, but certainly not least, listen to salsa music. You are what you eat, so to speak. If you listen to salsa music all the time, you will get more and more familiar with how the rhythm of the music progresses, and how your dancing will speed up and slow down with the music. Dancers connection to the music is really what make them amazing dancers. It is not about showing all your flashy moves, it is about letting the music move you.

The most important thing is to enjoy yourself. This may seem like a give in, but it is what salsa dancing is all about. It is natural to get nervous when you are first starting out. But we all started somewhere, so just communicate with the person you are dancing with and just remember that they were right where you are at some point in their dancing lives.”

The post Good Article About Improving Your Dance Skills appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

“FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Isaac Altman, President

LEGENDARY AFRO-CUBAN MUSICIAN LARRY HARLOW TO APPEAR IN CONCERT AT THE 7th ANNUAL WSF WORLD SALSA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MIAMI

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the World Salsa Federation, Inc., we would like to welcome everyone to the 7th Annual WSF World Professional Salsa Championships and the All-Star Dancesport Championships to be held in Miami at the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming, November 7th and 8th, 2008.

Over 2 days, competitors from around the World will have an opportunity to be World Champions in their Salsa style and category, and then go head to head for the title of Undisputed World Professional Salsa Champions. The Undisputed World Professional Salsa Champions will represent the best of Salsa competitive dancing, and will represent the WSF world-wide. Also included this year will be the World Junior and Youth Salsa Championships. The youth come to this event with unsurpassed energy and enthusiasm. Come watch them compete as these young people will be our future Salsa Stars!! Also that weekend the WSF will hold its All-Star DanceSport Championships bringing the ever popular Ballroom Dancing to Miami in its most competitive form. Competition ranges from ages 4 through adults and beginners through advanced levels.

Salsa music legend and renowned Latin-style pianist Larry Harlow comes to the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Grand Ballroom for a special performance on Saturday, November 8th, 2008 . Playing with Larry Harlow will be his Latin Legends Band offering a night of hot salsa rhythms to dance to. Larry Harlow, one of the original members of the most famous Salsa band ever, the Fania All-Stars, will be in concert for one night only. This will be his only Florida appearance before receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award one week later at the 2008 Latin Grammy Awards. General admission tickets for Saturday Night are $20 and reserve tables of 10 are $250. Ticket purchases can be made by calling 786-566-2604 or online at www.wsf.cc/saturday_evening_ticket.html

Larry Harlow is recognized by many as a revolutionary of the Latin music known today as “Salsa.” His influence in the early 70s developed the explosive trumpet and trombone sounds now familiar in contemporary salsa bands. Harlow is a graduate of the prestigious New York High School of Music and Art and holds a BA in Music from Brooklyn College and a Masters in Philosophy from the New School of Social Research in New York City . He is a gifted player of the oboe, flute, violin, bass, and, most notably, the piano. He is a three-time Grammy nominee and was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame on April 5, 2000 .

Latin musicians around the world enjoy greater recognition and rewards due to Mr. Harlow’s pioneering efforts as a Governor of the New York chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. There, Harlow helped to establish the first Latin Grammy Award. There are now 12 different Latin categories in the Grammy’s, as well as the exclusive Latin Grammy Awards.

WWW.WORLDSALSAFEDERATION.COM

WSFSALSA@YAHOO.COM “

The post World Salsa Championships appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

I just got this email from Luis Mario Ochoa who performs live salsa music around Toronto….here are some events for you to see!

“Just a quick note to inform you about my upcoming performances:

– Friday, July 11th – 9:30 PM – Luis Mario Ochoa w/ Hilario Duran (Quintet) at Harbourfront Sirius Stage – Ritmo Y Color – 235 Queens Quay West

– Saturday July 12th – 7:30 – Luis Mario Ochoa with Son Ache at Covent Garden Market – Caliente Festival Hispano London, Ontario 130 King St.

– Sunday, July 13th- 3:30 PM – Luis Mario Ochoa & Cimarron at Salsa On St. Clair Festival, Toronto

– Thursday 17th – 8:30 PM – Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet at Hotel Le Germain – 30 Mercer St. Toronto. (sold out event)

– Saturday July 19th – 3:30 PM – Luis Mario Ochoa & Cimarron at the Beaches Jazz Festival – Woodbine Stage.

– August 1st – 10 PM – Luis Mario Ochoa & Cimarron at Lula Lounge 1585 Dundas St W.

– August 5th -8 PM- Luis Mario Ochoa & Cimarron at the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival – Jubilee Pavillion – 55 Lakeview Park Ave – Oshawa

Hope to see you at one or more of my shows.

Thank you for your support, it helps me keep going!

Luis Mario
Cuban Music Productions”

The post Salsa Concerts in T.O. appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Here is some info about Luis Mario Ochoa and Cimarron who will be performing that night – hope to see you all there!

“Well known for leading a wide variety of big bands and latin jazz ensembles, for the Cuban Friday series, arranger and composer Luis Mario Ochoa has gathered a killer line up of Toronto based Cuban musicians to perform a repertoire of old school salsa music dedicated to the dancer.

Featuring Alexis Baro on trumpet, Luis Eniz on alto sax, John Johnson on tenor sax, Chris Butcher on trombone, David Virelles on piano, Yoser Rodriguez on bass, Alberto Suarez on timable, Luis Orbegoso on congas bandleader Luis Mario Ochoa on lead vocals, Cimarron will combine the foundation rhythms of Cuban son, salsa and cha cha with the New Yorkino classic salsa sounds of the 70’s.

Born, raised and educated in Havana, Cuba, Luis Mario Ochoa is a singer, composer, arranger and bandleader. In 1992 Luis Mario founded the group CIMARRÓN, named for its distinctive Afro-Cuban roots. Cimarrón, meaning wild and untamed, was the word used by the masters when referring to their runaway slaves in colonial Cuba.”

The post Outing to Lula! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Here are the rough details of the competition. We will only hold the competition if we have 10 couples interested so please let me know who is interested in competing so we can get the ball rolling.

Any current Toronto Dance Salsa student, helper or assistant who has finished level 2 is eligible to compete. If you have been paid to teach your own group salsa class or to perform salsa professionally you will not be eligible.

There will be a preliminary round where couples will not know the song being played so it is a freestyle round. The music will play for 2 minutes and couples will compete for 1 of 5 spots in the finals round.

For those who make the finals round, they will have to choreograph a 2 minute routine to their own choice of salsa music.

Prizes last year included congress passes, dance shoes and much more.

Holding the competition takes a lot of time and energy. So if you are interested in competing or assisting, please email me at info@torontodancesalsa.ca

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

The post 2nd Annual Toronto Dance Salsa Competition? appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.