The first of a three part series discussing the evolution of Salsa in San Diego.

Hot Tub Time Machine: Salsa Style

Hollywood has had a lot of success with time-travel movies. “Blast from the Past,” starring Brandon Fraser (The Mummy, School Ties) features a teen who grows up in a nuclear shelter, coming up top after an absence of more than 10 years - and everything has changed including music, fashion, and technology. Imagine doing the reverse, going back in time, like in the recent comedy “Hot Tube Time Machine.” What would you do without texting, Facebook and the Internet? What would you do without LA Style On-1, New York On-2, or Bachata?

Believe it or not, Salsa has been in San Diego for some time now, before the teams, the performances, the club circuit and the socials existed. Things were different, but the people, the teachers and…

LOS ANGELES, CA — A few years ago, dance teams in Los Angeles seemed to be popping out of nowhere and everyone was a dance professional or director passing out business cards all over the L.A. clubs (not that anything has changed by now), and so the quality of dancing was really deteriorating. Los Angeles dance professionals who had left L.A. for Europe would come back to visit and would be amazed at how low the quality of dancing was in Los Angeles, and how everyone seemed to be learning their dancing from intermediate dancers, promoters who now taught their classes, or even DJs who felt they were good enough to teach as well. So, it was evident in the social environment and on the dance floor when shows were presented that just about anyone was trying to make a buck in the salsa scene (and now, with the economic…

The world of Salsa dancing has an ambassador in Fox's world-famous "So You Think You Can Dance" television dance show. Her name is Cristina Santana, age 24, from San Diego, CA, and who was originally born in Mexicali, Mexico. She is one of the 11 contestants (5 girls, 6 guys) in Season 7 of the very popular and highly acclaimed SYTYCD show.

Cristina had, for a while, made her presence felt in Los Angeles and San Diego with her participation in various salsa competitions, performing at popular salsa events, and being a shining star on the social dance floor after each of those performances. Her style is on1, flashy, a bit raw and not so fluid in body movement, but what makes her stand out is her determination and assured drive, her heart, and her charisma. I remember when I first saw her competing at the Top Ladies Salsa Competition in 2008 and…

LOS ANGELES, CA (back in 2004) — It was said that out of the more than 100 salsa congresses that Albert Torres Productions put together around the globe at that time, the West Coast Salsa Congress that took place in Los Angeles, CA, was the biggest in the world! In 2004, and with the slogan of "Creating Unity Through Salsa," ATP set out to organize what seemed to be a world salsa convention and seemed grander than life for Salsa lovers. It truly was a production bigger than most events you can think of, even outside of Salsa, and of the likes of "Fiesta Broadway" in Los Angeles, CA or "Calle 8" in Miami, FL. 

Let me reiterate that again...the event was seriously massive (I mean it). I got to personally witness the work and long hours of preparation that went into it by legions of professional service workers, as…

As a dance community, we ought to pay close attention to the current issue being brought up by the media and so many other outlets, where five young girls ages 7-9 performed an overly sexualized dance routine at the 2010 World of Dance Tour Competition in Pomona, CA. The girls were wearing midriff-baring tops, short skirts and black stockings with a little red bow on them (I've seen those stockings being sold on Hollywood Blvd at stores I won't mention). The dance troupe, called Precision Dance from Orange County, certainly showcased a very well-performed dance routine with outstanding dance technique given the girls' ages, but were some of the moves and certainly the costumes really necessary?

The reason this immediately intrigued me is because it reminded me of a Salsa routine performed on-stage by Alex Da Silva, 40+ years old (choreographer of "So You Think You Can Dance?," who…

BACHATA UNIVERSE — From the perspective of someone who simply loves to dance, every style of dance is important and deserves attention when the time is right. Bachata, whether it will ever be as big as Salsa or not, is a dance that truly deserves attention as it has grown tremendously in the past few years, and SalsaHook.com has taken notice! Unity is what keeps something growing and division is what destroys it, so all those who love dance and love Bachata should unite to promote it because they love it, not because they want to get ahead of others or be called "godfathers" or "pioneers" at any cost. 

Tony Lara is a true Bachata pioneer whose image actually represents "Bachata" in many major cities, like Los Angeles. You will find him on flyers all over the city where Bachata is promoted. This is a testimony of his standing…

The Internet is changing and we are changing with it. SalsaHook.com is improving the experience that it offers to visitors and registered users by incorporating Facebook Social Plugins. Our goal is simply to provide an effective alternative in the way Salsa events, music, dancing, and culture is promoted to the world! 

With over 400 million users (as of the time this article is being written...it continues to grow!), Facebook could possibly be the one dominant web factor that even companies like Google will have to abide by in order to continue growing. With the announcement of Open Graph at the company's 2010 F8 Convention, the reality of a more social, connected, personalized, and more semantically aware web does not seem so far off anymore! It could be right around the corner! 

SalsaHook.com will continue to grow and develop new solutions that will cater to our global Salsa scene.…

The advent of widely recognizable dance TV shows, where 'the judges' happen to gain celebrity status and seem to be the center of the show, has seemed to influence the thinking patterns of dance judges at local and small competitions, where individuals appointed as judges now wish to become the center of the competition and gain some type of increased celebrity status within the dance scene. And just like in TV shows, the best way to call attention to yourself is by giving bluntly unfair, unexplicable, and often biased scores to dancers. The more controversial, the better!

In recent years, the results of many dance judges behaving like this has affected dance competitions and damaged the trust and integrity that competitors feel toward organized dance contests. Consequently, true professionals with superior levels of dancing have ceased to compete, and the level of dancing in competitions has been lowered severely—especially…

 REGISTER TODAY | EVENT WEBSITE

LAS VEGAS, NV — In the recent years, one of the most relevant west coast salsa events to attend and be a part of has been the Las Vegas Salsa Congress, which has become an absolutely do-not-miss event! It's Vegas Baby!! Organized by the popular dance troupe Sin City Salseros, which is led by Nate Strager and Virginia Cano, in association with Albert Torres Prodcutions, the Las Vegas Salsa Congress has reached new heights as they have made a true effort to bring quality acts to their event. 

The Las Vegas Salsa Congress hype began in 2008, when it was announced that Fernando Sosa and his "Tropical Gem" (Italy), the best salsa dance team in the world, would be a part of the lineup of acts presenting in Las Vegas, it became evident that the organizers had a serious approach with…

LOS ANGELES, CA — Competitions in general are designed to serve as a platform where individuals, groups, or nations, come to confront each other in a skill of a certain niche and strive for a goal that cannot be shared. In dance, competitions can pour life into a scene as they help define the norm of superior dancing and grant dance afficionados something to strive for as they seek to improve their level of dancing. In Los Angeles, a legendary name that served as a norm of L.A. salsa dancing for many years was Johnny Vazquez, who undoubtfully was THE BEST dancer at the World Mayan Salsa Championships when he competed, and subsequently won first place many years in a row. That is a prime example of when the best dancer, with the best routines, wins competitions and gives all other dancers in the scene new heights to strive for…

LOS ANGELES, CA — On Sunday, March 28th, 2010, Los Angeles came together at Stevens Steak & Seafood House for an explosive night of Live music and fluid dancing where two bands and two dancing scenes went head to head to defend and represent two different Latin styles of music and dancing: Salsa and Bachata. For a while now, in a city where Salsa has been king (or queen) for decades and its style of dancing, L.A. Style On1, has bee popularized globally throughout the years, Bachata has abruptly stepped in to seemingly take over a big portion of the appreciation and love that dancers, musicians, and djs have to give to the Latin scene. The rivalry between Salsa and Bachata could be felt and the visionary mind of Jim Philipan, owner of Stevens Steak House, conceived the idea that a duel should be arranged to finally prove which scene…

Frances Nieves was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and has been living and…

While it is a fact that Salsa dancers, just like athletes, musicians, or painters, also depend on their own natural skills to learn Salsa and become proficient at it, when a person goes out dancing 3-4 times a week, for 2-3 years in a row, and is frustrated with their dancing as they have not even become semi-proficient at dancing, it makes you wonder where lies the problem. The shortcomings can range from not knowing the timing of the music and being completely unable to step on beat, or not knowing how to work proper tension techniques, to simple leading or following abilities, amongst many others. Now, there is an argument that I respect about some people who are simply not interested in becoming proficient in dance and just go out because they like the atmosphere of salsa clubs.