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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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!

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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!

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The time has come to battle it out on the dance floor for the champion title at our Fourth Annual Toronto Dance Salsa Amateur Competition. Last year we had some amazing couples compete for some serious loot and the results were fantastic!

Both rounds are confirmed to take place at Six Degrees Nightclub at Yonge & Eglinton on the following dates:

Preliminary Round – Sunday April 25th at 7pm
Final Round – Sunday June 20th at 7pm

If you are a level 3 and up student, helper or assistant registered or assisting in the spring 2010 semester at TDS who has not been paid to teach your own salsa class or perform, then you qualify! Don’t get discouraged that you are still in the learning phase – everyone else will be in that phase also and remember that a competition will increase your confidence, showmanship and skills tenfold.

The preliminaries are freestyle which means you do not have to choreograph the performance as you won’t know the song you are performing to although you can practice together, decide on how you will enter and exit, and what dips and tricks you will add to the dance, etc.

To assist you Evan Carmichael has offered a free private lesson to each couple who enters the competition to assist them in preparation! Five couples will move on to the finals where the finalists will choreograph a 2.5 minute routine to their song choice.

More details can be found on our website. Please email us if you are interested in participating at info@torontodancesalsa.ca. We will accept up to 15 couples.

We are also looking for companies who would like to sponsor the event. Gift certificates, dance shoes, music, travel vouchers, congress passes, lessons, cash prizes, restaurant certificates and much more are needed – please let us know if you can sponsor a prize or collect prizes.

We will be sending an official Anyvite with evening details closer to April 25th so just save the dates.

Email us with any questions and good luck to all the competitors!!

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A huge thanks to Evan, Sara, Tracie and Mark who joined me at the studio for a fun morning of jokes, laughter, stories (it was a long car ride!) and salsa of course.

For those of you who have never seen the show, Real Life host Sharon Caddy and co-host Tanya Prokomenko keep us up-to-date on what’s going on in the world of entertainment, fashion and beauty tips, home decor, fitness, nutrition and family fun. Visit the Real Life website at: www.reallifeoncts.com

The 3 part segment will be aired on November 17th from 4:30 – 5:30pm so check it out!

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We have just posted a new Helper Only Performance Choreography class! This is your chance to take your dancing to another level by learning a professional choreography and performing it as a team in full costume at the completion of the course.

The course is 10 weeks long at 1.5 hrs per class. In addition to the class will be 5 hours of rehearsals before performance night. It begins Jan 9th to Mar 13th on Saturdays from 12:30pm – 2:00pm at Empress. The class is led by Tracie Yee.

Registration is open and we hope you take advantage of this fun opportunity to grow as a salsero!
_________________
Sharon
Toronto Dance Salsa
http://torontodancesalsa.ca
Toronto Salsa Lessons / Toronto Salsa Classes

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http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/learn/article/273564–local-schools-make-it-easy-to-put-on-your-dancing-shoes

Local schools make it easy to put on your dancing shoes
LEYLA EMORY
FOR METRO CANADA
August 05, 2009 2:13 a.m.

Thanks to the onslaught of reality TV dance shows, the answer to So You Think You Can Dance? is ‘Yes.’

“A lot of people have always wanted to learn how to dance but didn’t feel it was right for them,” says Sharon Galor, owner of Toronto Dance Salsa Inc. “Then they see it on TV and think, why not?”

Specializing in beginners, Toronto Dance Salsa has grown from 300 to 1,500 students a semester within the past five years. Galor is particularly thankful to Dancing with the Stars. “You’re taking someone who’s never danced before and within a few weeks you’re seeing them progress. It’s really inspiring to watch.”

It’s a progression she tries to emulate in the nine-week course. “You start off as an absolute beginner, meaning you don’t even know the basic steps. We go through teaching basic steps into basic turns into combinations and by the end of the month, you can feel comfortable going out to a salsa club or a social event and being able to actually dance to the songs.”

Classes are made up of 40 people and can be taken in a couple or as an individual.
Ilona Kamecki, owner and teacher of Dance District, agrees that group dances are a lot of fun but offers a more individual approach. “I prefer people to have at least three or four private lessons before they go to any clubs,” says Kamecki. “First, they need to learn about themselves and who they are on the dance floor, (and) what kind of mistakes they’re making and how to correct them.”

But the bottom line is having fun. Like most dance schools in the city, both Toronto Dance Salsa and Dance District have dance parties anywhere from once a week to once a month, where their students can put their moves into play.

“People don’t realize how much dancing can give them,” says Kamecki. “The opportunity to dance with someone and be close and talk is a very important part of our lives.”

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It was an awesome evening – our most organized by far! We opened the doors at 6:30pm and by 7pm when the lessons began we were already starting to fill up the huge venue. Sara and Farnoosh taught the intermediate lesson on stage and Tracie and Mark taught the beginner lesson upstairs.

At 8pm DJ Efren started spinning his very high energy salsa tunes and the lights went down. By this time we had about 400 people in attendance dancing up a storm. Upstairs in the dancer’s lounge the 18 competitors were getting their makeup done professionally by Alice from Mary Kay Cosmetics who volunteered her time to spice up the competitors. A huge thank you to her and her colleague – they were amazing and did a great job!

At 9pm sharp George(eous) our host began the competition. Funny as always (and making fun of me as usual 😉 George thanked our sponsors, the judges and introduced our 18 competitors who warmed up on stage for 2 minutes. Then each competitor was introduced with their bio and performed a freestyle performance for 2 minutes. Here are the names of the competitors in no particular order:

1. Winnie Fung and Manuel Alvarez
2. Mridu Das and Elton Martins
3. Michelle Sui and Bobby Cabral
4. Karen Di Monte and John Radtke
5. Julia Brodyansky and Vincent Cheng
6. Marta Slowik and Alex Florescu
7. Stephanie Cansino and Nick Sagias
8. Eva Wen and Derek Wisniewski
9. Maysa Tani and Dan Tahirkheli

The energy of the crowd was excellent and the judges had the very difficult job of rating each couple. Once all competitors performed Sara and I ran upstairs to tally up the scores and get the names of the 5 couples with the highest scores. At the same time, the adorable kids from Latin Groove Productions performed on stage. Thanks to Oscar for bringing his group to perform – the crowd loved the group!

Finally it was time for the results. Once again, in no particular order, here are the 5 finalist couples who will be competing for the TDS Champion Title:

1. Winnie Fung and Manuel Alvarez
2. Mridu Das and Elton Martins
3. Karen Di Monte and John Radtke
4. Marta Slowik and Alex Florescu
5. Maysa Tani and Dan Tahirkheli

Everyone received an awesome gift bag with prizes like a year’s VIP pass to Six Degrees, TDS t-shirt, El Rancho VIP 4 month pass, passes to Lula Lounge, Plaza Flamingo, Baila Society classes and more. Thank you to the sponsors for the great prizes!

Overall an amazing evening. I can’t wait to experience the final round on Sunday May 31st at 7pm at Six Degrees. Hope to see you all there!

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Welcome to all our new students and welcome back to our returning students. It is great to see and feel the excitement of students back in class, meeting new friends, getting a great workout and really feeling the fun and joy of dancing. For me, I really missed dancing as I have been also away from it for a couple of months spending time in Hawaii and trying to get through the first trimester of my pregnancy. I feel so much better on the dance floor physically and mentally and I know everyone feels similarly after a low key holiday season.

Our first outing of 2009 is this Friday, January 23rd at 9:30pm at Plaza Flamingo. Get there a bit early so that you can check your coat and be ready for the lesson from 9:30pm – 10:30pm. Velina and Mark will be teaching the absolute beginners lesson and Evan and I will be teaching the intermediate class. As a special treat our Toronto Dance Salsa Helpers Performance Class will be performing their choreographed routine that they have been working on for the past few months at 11:15pm so come out to support them!

The Sunday Social time has changed to 6-9pm. Every Sunday (excluding long weekends) we dance the Sunday evening away at Empress Walk. Over 100 students and friends come out weekly and it is a ton of fun and very comfortable.

We also have non-salsa classes available at Empress including Zumba which is an amazing fun workout on Wednesdays with Tracie, Belly Dance level 1 and 2 with Ece, Hip Hop with Ece (Sold out), Yoga with Pamela and Pilates with Elizabeth. Check out details on the Class Schedule Page.

I have been asked where students can buy our new Toronto Dance Salsa sloganed T-Shirts. They are available every Sunday at the social. You can also email us and we can try to bring you a shirt to your own class. T-shirts are only $20 taxes included.

That is about all the news for now. See you on Friday at the outing!

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For those who have never been to Lula Lounge, there are great live bands there and a really fun feeling to the club. The club is at the Dufferin and Dundas area. 1585 Dundas St. W., west of Dufferin 416 588 0307.

Here are some upcoming salsa events!

Friday, 21 November 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cafe Cubano
With their potent blend of dance-floor friendly salsa and high-energy showmanship, Cafe Cubano evoke the spirit of the legendary dance clubs of Havana. Afrolatino Dance Company

Saturday, 22 November 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cache
Toronto’s Fiercest Salsa Band, Caché delivers hardcore dance music inspired by the vintage salsa sound of the 1970s.

Friday, 28 November 2008
Luis Mario Ochoa Latin Jazz Duo (8pm) and Cimarrón (10 pm)
Luis Mario Ochoa and Cimarron bring their 100% Salsa show to Lula Lounge for a night dedicated to the dancer. This is Buena Vista Social Club night at Lula with give-aways of the Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall, 8pm latin jazz duo and dance lesson by Dance to Live!

Saturday, 29 November 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cafe Cubano
With their potent blend of dance-floor friendly salsa and high-energy showmanship, Cafe Cubano evoke the spirit of the legendary dance clubs of Havana.
More Info / Reserve

Friday, 05 December 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cafe Cubano
With their potent blend of dance-floor friendly salsa and high-energy showmanship, Cafe Cubano evoke the spirit of the legendary dance clubs of Havana. With dance lesson by Bailaboogaloo!

Saturday, 06 December 2008
Salsa Dance Party with Lady Son Y Articulo Veinte
The fabulous Lady Son (Yeti Ajasin) takes the stage with her powerful voice and muy caliente Afro-Cuban rumba/ son band.

Friday, 12 December 2008
The Son Ache Party with DJ Billy Bryans
One of Toronto’s most popular Cuban music groups, Son Ache performs their patented blend of high-energy son montuno that has been packing dance-floors for many years.

Saturday, 13 December 2008
Alberto Alberto y su Orquesta
Fresh off his latest tour with Cuban bandleader Maraca, vocalist extraordinaire Alberto Alberto debuts his new salsa band with original material from his newly released solo album Traigo de Todo.

Saturday, 20 December 2008
Salsa Saturday w Ricky Franco
Dynamic frontman Ricky Franco brings his powerhouse P-Crew Orchestra for a night of hard-core salsa with an R&B edge.

Saturday, 27 December 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cache
Toronto’s Fiercest Salsa Band, Caché delivers hardcore dance music inspired by the vintage salsa sound of the 1970s.

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