La Excelencia’s first CD ‘Salsa Con Conciencia’ has sold over 9000 units without major distribution. The entire CD ‘Salsa con Conciencia’ and two singles from the CD “La Salsa y el Guaguanco” and “La Lucha” were chosen to be voted on by the Latin Grammy’s, and, The Grammy’s making it as far as the second round. La Excelencia’s music can be found on countless salsa/world music compilations, motions pictures, instructional DVDs, and can also be heard on radio stations and satellite radio both nationally and internationally.

This CD showcases the versatility of La Excelencia and the many talented artists within the orchestra. In fact there are 13 in the band and the depth and layering adds considerably to the sound.

La Excelencia is a Nuyorcian band, but do not expect pure Mambo, this is Salsa Dua with plenty of hard-core trombones and acoustic piano. They are creating a new mix style with Cuban, Colombian, Puerto Rican and African traditions in a complete and smoothly contiguous manner. Layed on top of each track, the lyrics have a cutting message and underlying story. Soneros Edwin Perez and Gilberto Velazquez certainly do the lyrics justice.

Song titles include:
La Lucha
Solo Sin Amor
Sentencia
El Tiempo en Tus Manos
La Salsa y el Guaguanco
Estoy
El Loco
Cada Dia
Hijo De Los Rumberos
Boogalu Pa’ Colombia
La Lucha (Remix) Fet: Shanny
Musicians include:
Jorge Bringas Bass
Willy Rodríguez Piano
Charles Dilone Bongo, campana, quinto
José Vázquez-Cofresi Congas, shekere
Julián Silva Timbales, maracas, tambora, catá
Ronald Prokopez Trombone
Tokunori Kajiwara Trombone
Jack Davis Trombone
Sam Hoyt Trumpet
Jonathan Powell Trumpet
Willie Oleneck Trumpet
Edwin Pérez Lead vocal, coro
Gilberto Velázquez Lead vocal, coro, guiro

Check it out and I hope to see you on the dance floor.

Louis
www.theClave.com
Supporting local Salsa Bands!
—

The post La Excelencia appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

“Media Alert

For the first time in the history ESPN2 network will Broadcast World Salsa Championships

Broadcasts will begin May 27, 2008 at 9:00pm EST.

ORLANDO, Florida, May 27 – The Salsa Seven Inc., the company producing the World Salsa Championships for the ESPN television network, today announced that the TV channel will begin broadcasting the most anticipated dance competition of the year.

What:

Broadcast of the 3rd Salsa World Championships, held last December at Walt Disney World’s(R) Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida. Dancers from 34 countries compete at this major international competition, where they put their artistic skills to the test in the following categories: Salsa Group, Salsa Individual, and Salsa Group/Cabaret. The championship’s grand prize is $80,000. Contestants from Australia, Colombia, Mexico, United States, Puerto Rico and Venezuela will be defending their titles.

Where:

On ESPN2, available nationwide in the U.S. to more than 90 million homes.

When:

Event broadcasts will begin Wednesday, May 27,at 9:00 p.m. EST (eastern standard time);6:00 p.m. Pacific time.

For the third consecutive year, the Third Annual Salsa World Championships have been produced by Rob Beiner, famed producer and winner of 12 Emmy Awards. Beiner has produced or directed more than 2,000 sports and Entertainment broadcasts for leading TV networks such as ABC Sports, CBS, NBC Sports, USA Network and ESPN. Beiner considers salsa competitions to be a new sport or “dance-sport”, due to the rigors of training and the skills the dancers must demonstrate in order to qualify for a world event he calls “the Salsa Olympics”.

For more information, go to: www.worldsalsachampionships.com.The 4th Annual World Salsa Championships will be celebrated at the Disney’s Wide World of Sports from December 3-6,2008.”

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I always say that one of the most fun dancers to get down on a salsa congress dance floor with is Super Mario. He has one of the longest line ups at congresses and women wait all night for a spin on the dance floor with him.

Recently Mario shared with me some great tips and advice for our students that I will share over the course of a few blog articles. But first, here’s his bio for you all to get to know Mario a little better…

Super Mario’s Bio from his new website called salsaclass.tv.

“For many years now, ‘Super Mario’ has been a household name on the international Salsa scene, recognised and respected by students and fellow professionals for his amazing lead, unlimited database of fantastic moves/combinations and his teaching ability. His classes and workshops have always been extremely popular both in the UK and in countries as far as Australia, Japan and the USA, specialising on technique but always maintaining an element of fun.

Mario was born in India but moved to the UK as a teenager. He settled in London, where he continued his education, taking a degree in mathematics and also qualifying as an accountant. In 1998, a friend took him to a salsa club where the teacher immediately saw his potential. Mario was hooked straight away and has never looked back since. Still based in London and travelling to teach nearly every weekend of the year, Mario specialises in cross body style, dancing on the ‘1’ or the ‘2’ and focusing mainly on moves and combinations, with special emphasis on leading techniques.

Despite no previous dancing or teaching background, he was able to observe the unnecessary power used to lead turn patterns, and began focusing on breaking down routines to understand the techniques and signals that are essential to good leading. His natural talent for both producing and executing so many imaginative moves led to an invitation to teach at the first congress that he ever attended. His big break came soon after, when asked to give workshops at the biggest salsa congress in the world in Toronto, Canada.

Mario has earned himself the title; ‘Million Moves Man’ through his ability to create any number of unique combinations, that are lead with expertise and are always comfortable to follow. His dancing style is smooth but fast, giving him and his dance partner extra freedom to improvise. His amazing presence on the dance floor sets him apart as a social dancer and his outgoing, energetic personality has also been instrumental in getting him known in the Salsa World.”

The post Super Mario is Our Guest Blogger! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.