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Change Your LocationSalsa-lution San Diego: Part II
Written by Randy Kish
The Transition from Social Salsa to Team Sport
How did Salsa Become a Team Sport?
If you were reading an article and saw the words “boot camp,” “stretching,” “skill drills,” “cross-training” and “recruiting” – you might think you were reading the pre-season College Football feature in the USA Today. In fact, these activities are all part of the today’s era of “Team Salsa,” where all of these activities occur on a very different playing field. Rather than gridirons, men and women meet in a variety of studios and clubs across San Diego County to practice technique and learn routines for performance or competition. For many of us, Team Salsa offers the camaraderie, competitive spirit and sense of accomplishment we experienced growing up with a number of team sports.
Today, San Diego supports fifteen (15) active teams of various levels and styles. This concentration of teams in our small city rivals the densely populated metropolis of New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. The number of San Diego teams representing at today’s Salsa Congresses also suggests the quality of performance coming from our city is top notch. This wasn’t always the case, and has come a long way from its roots. The skill level and professionalism of San Diego Team Salsa has consistently evolved over the past 10 years.
How and When did it Start?
No one will argue that the first recognized Salsa team in the world was Salsa Brava, formed by the Vasquez Brothers in Los Angeles in the late 1990s. Hailing from Mexico City, the Vasquez Brothers brought their powerful and creative salsa style to the United States and were the first to combine choreography of multiple couples with costumes and story lines. Their performances quickly earned the praise of salsa enthusiasts worldwide. The organizational structure within the teams lead by Luis Vazquez and his siblings captured the interest of several influential San Diego salseros who attended Salsa Brava’s Team Management Workshop in 2002. There, key members of the Alvarez Brothers (Pepe Alvarez), Salsa Y Fuego (David Stein), and Salsa Suave (Angel & Tulane Rivera, Iran “Mambo Castillo”) learned how Salsa Brava successfully created, managed and marketed Team Salsa. Each of these original team directors started teaching in San Diego at Dance With Me Academy or Bravo Studio in Kearny Mesa. Their first teams were both the genesis and catalyst for the proliferation of teams in San Diego today.
Outside Influences
In an effort to create their own identity and become more competitive, San Diego salseros sought training and guidance from several outside sources. Aforementioned Salsa Brava eventually spawned into three teams, Los Rumberos, Royalty Salsa and Salsa Brava, each having their own style and all influencing different teams in San Diego. Even as San Diego salsa has been influenced by our northern neighbor, New York City had the biggest impact on the San Diego dance scene. Many team directors looked to instruction from Big Apple salsa greats such as Eddie Torres, Grisselle Ponce, Santo Rico and Edwin Rivera for dancing method and technique. The smooth shines and jazzy stylings perfected by Majesty in Motion are rooted with Seaon Stylist, a graduate of Eddie Torres’ On-2 philosophy. In San Diego, Seaon trained Salsa y Fuego, where David Stein was an original team member. Other notable New York influence includes Jerome Robbins, a Broadway choreographer. Both Tony and Maria Caligagan performed in New York under Robbins’ tutelage, an experience evident in the imaginative choreography performed by their team and competition couples from Salsa Inferno. Overall, the infusion and education from outside sources accelerated the creativity and technique of the team directors, which they passed onto their teams in choreography and to the dance community through social dancing.
Why did People Start Teams?
The most important figures in a team are the Team Directors. These individuals are the heart and soul of the team as they lead the artistic aspects of the dancing and plan the operational aspects of the organization. Starting a team provides Team Directors not only an opportunity to make a living doing something they love, but also artistic freedom and a chance to make a name for themselves in Salsa. If managed well, teams can grow to have multiple levels (Beginner, Amateur, Semi-Pro and Professional), have over 100 members, and travel to perform and compete in regional, national and worldwide events. Corporate events provide paid opportunities to dance, and some teams share earnings among the performers. Even with paid gigs, support for teams by promoters remains a critical factor in their success. Clubs and events provide venues for teams to fine tune performances and are a platform to promote themselves for new students and corporate events.
Pushing the Envelope and Leaving the Nest
The introduction of structure provided by a team setting offered dancers an opportunity to perfect technique and quickly increase their skill level. In the early days of Salsa y Fuego and later Rumba Rica, David Stein and his dancers grew quickly in skill and performance. “When you get a group of people all focused, the level of dancing just got better”. The organizational model was working, and more people joined. As the teams grew, dancers branched out to start their own teams for creative, personal, and at times political reasons. The first of these expansions occurred when Salsa Y Fuego split into Rumba Rica, Salsa Pasion and Vacillion. This was also true of Salsa Suave, from which Son Y Pasos and Mambo to Salsa were formed.
A significant second wave of expansion came out of Majesty In Motion, where current team directors from Positive Energy, Alma Latina, Salsa Divas, Deseo, Rompe y Tumba and Bachatamante all trained and performed. Good, bad or otherwise, the proliferation of teams in San Diego was facilitated by the foundation of organization, promotion and curriculum practiced by these early leaders in San Diego Team Salsa. David and Jennifer Stein were formally recognized at the 2010 Los Angeles Salsa Congress for their contributions to the salsa community. “Its rewarding,” commented David. “Some people meet their spouse; some grow as individuals and overcome shyness and social insecurities through dance.”
Stand Aside Boys!
A notable piece of San Diego Salsa history is that one of the first ladies salsa team in California, the Salsa Divas, was created in 2005 by Laura Mendoza and Annie Zendejas (now Veles). Having travelled and performed internationally with White Boy Wonders, Salsa Con Fuego (Jayson Molina) and Majesty in Motion, Laura now focuses solely on her girls. Reflecting, she shared, “My MIM days were excellent! We had such a great time, travelled all over. I’m at a very different stage in my dance life and just want to direct and instruct my Divas” Laura keeps a low profile in today’s scene, but if asked directly, you will learn that while at Majesty, she was instrumental molding the early styling techniques several of today’s leading lady dancers including Natasha Tia, Jennifer Stein, Melanie Rivera and others.
The Divas paved the way for additional ladies only teams to strut their stuff in America’s Finest City including Alma Latina Ladies, Royal Elegance (Majesty In Motion), Deseo Ladies and Ooh La La Cosabellas.
Who’s Your Daddy?
The diagram above illustrates the complex and inter-connected relationships between the teams in San Diego starting in 2001 through today. Note that active teams are in navy blue, inactive teams are dark grey and outside influences are light grey. The diagram represents only team directors, not every dancer over time. Solid lines indicate that a director for a team trained and performed with a previous team, dashed lines track outside influences, and dotted lines depict when a director of a current team moved between two teams before starting their own. This chart was based on input from team directors and dancers in San Diego. The flow is loosely chronological starting from bottom to top.
So When are the Olympics?
Team Salsa, like other organized team competitions, has grown one of our social pastimes into a mainstream sport . There are teams worldwide, performances, competitions and even a world championship. This year’s World Latin Dance Cup, hosted by Albert Torres Productions (ATP) will be in San Diego this December and targeted to broadcast on ESPN in 2011 from Las Vegas (www.worldlatindancecup.com). Several of the teams above are training hard to qualify and compete in this event. Keep a lookout for your local dancers and root hard for San Diego Salsa!
How did Salsa Become a Team Sport?
If you were reading an article and saw the words “boot camp,” “stretching,” “skill drills,” “cross-training” and “recruiting” – you might think you were reading the pre-season College Football feature in the USA Today. In fact, these activities are all part of the today’s era of “Team Salsa,” where all of these activities occur on a very different playing field. Rather than gridirons, men and women meet in a variety of studios and clubs across San Diego County to practice technique and learn routines for performance or competition. For many of us, Team Salsa offers the camaraderie, competitive spirit and sense of accomplishment we experienced growing up with a number of team sports.
Today, San Diego supports fifteen (15) active teams of various levels and styles. This concentration of teams in our small city rivals the densely populated metropolis of New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. The number of San Diego teams representing at today’s Salsa Congresses also suggests the quality of performance coming from our city is top notch. This wasn’t always the case, and has come a long way from its roots. The skill level and professionalism of San Diego Team Salsa has consistently evolved over the past 10 years.
How and When did it Start?
No one will argue that the first recognized Salsa team in the world was Salsa Brava, formed by the Vasquez Brothers in Los Angeles in the late 1990s. Hailing from Mexico City, the Vasquez Brothers brought their powerful and creative salsa style to the United States and were the first to combine choreography of multiple couples with costumes and story lines. Their performances quickly earned the praise of salsa enthusiasts worldwide. The organizational structure within the teams lead by Luis Vazquez and his siblings captured the interest of several influential San Diego salseros who attended Salsa Brava’s Team Management Workshop in 2002. There, key members of the Alvarez Brothers (Pepe Alvarez), Salsa Y Fuego (David Stein), and Salsa Suave (Angel & Tulane Rivera, Iran “Mambo Castillo”) learned how Salsa Brava successfully created, managed and marketed Team Salsa. Each of these original team directors started teaching in San Diego at Dance With Me Academy or Bravo Studio in Kearny Mesa. Their first teams were both the genesis and catalyst for the proliferation of teams in San Diego today.
Outside Influences
In an effort to create their own identity and become more competitive, San Diego salseros sought training and guidance from several outside sources. Aforementioned Salsa Brava eventually spawned into three teams, Los Rumberos, Royalty Salsa and Salsa Brava, each having their own style and all influencing different teams in San Diego. Even as San Diego salsa has been influenced by our northern neighbor, New York City had the biggest impact on the San Diego dance scene. Many team directors looked to instruction from Big Apple salsa greats such as Eddie Torres, Grisselle Ponce, Santo Rico and Edwin Rivera for dancing method and technique. The smooth shines and jazzy stylings perfected by Majesty in Motion are rooted with Seaon Stylist, a graduate of Eddie Torres’ On-2 philosophy. In San Diego, Seaon trained Salsa y Fuego, where David Stein was an original team member. Other notable New York influence includes Jerome Robbins, a Broadway choreographer. Both Tony and Maria Caligagan performed in New York under Robbins’ tutelage, an experience evident in the imaginative choreography performed by their team and competition couples from Salsa Inferno. Overall, the infusion and education from outside sources accelerated the creativity and technique of the team directors, which they passed onto their teams in choreography and to the dance community through social dancing.
Why did People Start Teams?
The most important figures in a team are the Team Directors. These individuals are the heart and soul of the team as they lead the artistic aspects of the dancing and plan the operational aspects of the organization. Starting a team provides Team Directors not only an opportunity to make a living doing something they love, but also artistic freedom and a chance to make a name for themselves in Salsa. If managed well, teams can grow to have multiple levels (Beginner, Amateur, Semi-Pro and Professional), have over 100 members, and travel to perform and compete in regional, national and worldwide events. Corporate events provide paid opportunities to dance, and some teams share earnings among the performers. Even with paid gigs, support for teams by promoters remains a critical factor in their success. Clubs and events provide venues for teams to fine tune performances and are a platform to promote themselves for new students and corporate events.
Pushing the Envelope and Leaving the Nest
The introduction of structure provided by a team setting offered dancers an opportunity to perfect technique and quickly increase their skill level. In the early days of Salsa y Fuego and later Rumba Rica, David Stein and his dancers grew quickly in skill and performance. “When you get a group of people all focused, the level of dancing just got better”. The organizational model was working, and more people joined. As the teams grew, dancers branched out to start their own teams for creative, personal, and at times political reasons. The first of these expansions occurred when Salsa Y Fuego split into Rumba Rica, Salsa Pasion and Vacillion. This was also true of Salsa Suave, from which Son Y Pasos and Mambo to Salsa were formed.
A significant second wave of expansion came out of Majesty In Motion, where current team directors from Positive Energy, Alma Latina, Salsa Divas, Deseo, Rompe y Tumba and Bachatamante all trained and performed. Good, bad or otherwise, the proliferation of teams in San Diego was facilitated by the foundation of organization, promotion and curriculum practiced by these early leaders in San Diego Team Salsa. David and Jennifer Stein were formally recognized at the 2010 Los Angeles Salsa Congress for their contributions to the salsa community. “Its rewarding,” commented David. “Some people meet their spouse; some grow as individuals and overcome shyness and social insecurities through dance.”
Stand Aside Boys!
A notable piece of San Diego Salsa history is that one of the first ladies salsa team in California, the Salsa Divas, was created in 2005 by Laura Mendoza and Annie Zendejas (now Veles). Having travelled and performed internationally with White Boy Wonders, Salsa Con Fuego (Jayson Molina) and Majesty in Motion, Laura now focuses solely on her girls. Reflecting, she shared, “My MIM days were excellent! We had such a great time, travelled all over. I’m at a very different stage in my dance life and just want to direct and instruct my Divas” Laura keeps a low profile in today’s scene, but if asked directly, you will learn that while at Majesty, she was instrumental molding the early styling techniques several of today’s leading lady dancers including Natasha Tia, Jennifer Stein, Melanie Rivera and others.
The Divas paved the way for additional ladies only teams to strut their stuff in America’s Finest City including Alma Latina Ladies, Royal Elegance (Majesty In Motion), Deseo Ladies and Ooh La La Cosabellas.
Who’s Your Daddy?
The diagram above illustrates the complex and inter-connected relationships between the teams in San Diego starting in 2001 through today. Note that active teams are in navy blue, inactive teams are dark grey and outside influences are light grey. The diagram represents only team directors, not every dancer over time. Solid lines indicate that a director for a team trained and performed with a previous team, dashed lines track outside influences, and dotted lines depict when a director of a current team moved between two teams before starting their own. This chart was based on input from team directors and dancers in San Diego. The flow is loosely chronological starting from bottom to top.
So When are the Olympics?
Team Salsa, like other organized team competitions, has grown one of our social pastimes into a mainstream sport . There are teams worldwide, performances, competitions and even a world championship. This year’s World Latin Dance Cup, hosted by Albert Torres Productions (ATP) will be in San Diego this December and targeted to broadcast on ESPN in 2011 from Las Vegas (www.worldlatindancecup.com). Several of the teams above are training hard to qualify and compete in this event. Keep a lookout for your local dancers and root hard for San Diego Salsa!
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