LA'S TOP MALE SOLO SALSA COMPETITION — On Sunday, December 4th, 2011, those willing to compete against each other in order to prove that they are the Top Male Salsa Dancer in Los Angeles, went head to head at Steven's Steak House in the now highly acclaimed: Steven's Steak House LA's Top Male Solo Salsa Competition.

And then, after the winners were announced on both categories, pro and semi-pro, salsa dancers all over began voicing their deep displeasure with the results all over social networks within the court of public opinion. The problem is that while some understand that the culprits of the wildly disliked results were the judges, some opted to blame the venue and its ownership. 

You who are doing that got it all wrong. 

Do not blame the venue and its ownership. All the venue did was put an event together and sought to give out some prize money, while entertaining all of its patrons who love salsa dancing and music. Then, the venue put all its trust on selected professional judges that would do their job, objectively and without predujice, and select the most appropriate winners. 

This is not the first time something like this has happened in Los Angeles, and it won't be the last. This hasn't just happened at Stevens Steak House, but in almost every Salsa venue in Los Angeles who ever organized a Salsa dance competition: the Mayan, Conga Room, Granada, Sportsmen's Lodge, Sachi, Monsoon, etc, etc, etc. 

Sometimes, judges dislike certain competitors or favor others, and thus, give their points or take away points accordingly. Take it from someone who competed in Los Angeles and who was handed score cards of ALL competitors, and who noticed how directors of dance companies who judged the competition, gave couples in their dance teams higher scores and blew away other competitors who were sure threats to their preferred dancers. Oh, those days! 

So, we all wanted Cristian Oviedo to win the pro division, and when you look at the videos, you can clearly tell that he should have won. But he didn't. And this is not the venue's fault, but the judges fault. 

So, what's the solution to this problem? There's none. 

Some of the same competitors who have been screwed in competitions, have sometimes been judges in other competitions and screwed other people as well, which creates a pattern where everyone is out to get each other at some point. 

The only real possibility of changing this would be what the Mayan tried to do after they had their share of very unfair results when they held their World Salsa Competitions, which was, bring in judges who do not frequent salsa clubs, who are not related to salsa, who would not know the names or faces of those competing, and who are highly trained in DANCE, not just salsa. 

This worked out pretty well for the Mayan, until they began, once again, allowing "guest judges" or "audience judges" to come in, but the selected such 'guest or audience' individuals clearly had a stake in the results of the competition. What I mean is that if you are a director of a dance company and you have a couple competing in semi-pro or pro, and if they win it is likely that your classes will go up and your income will increase, then you will certainly be more prone to giving your couple the prize money and title. 

So, my only contention is that you should not blame the people organizing and promoting great events for the Los Angeles Salsa Community. Stevens, especially, has done a great job in their promotion and advancing of Salsa and Latin Dance in Los Angeles.

It is the very ownership of Stevens who has put some of the best Salsa dance events in Los Angeles in the last couple of years. They are king of the Battle of the Bands events, cater to dancers and promote live music, pretty much own every no-work-Monday Holiday dates, and have Salsa and Latin dancing almost every night of the week. Come on people, gain some perspective here! 

But if you are upset, blame the judges and leave the venue alone.