FIVE YEARS AGO SOMEONE TOLD ME: "RELATIONSHIPS IN SALSA ARE NOT RELATIONSHIPS, THEY ARE COMPLICATIONS." I LAUGHED, BUT I KNEW WHAT SHE MEANT AND IT MADE ME THINK OF WHERE I WAS HEADING IN LIFE. 

SALSA UNIVERSE — A great majority of all dancers in every salsa scene in the world once attended a Salsa lesson or nightclub because they wanted to meet people and/or find a potential mate in the midst of all that sexy dancing. Very few land into the salsa that we know today because they loved music, or dance, or it was part of their culture, or their parents dragged them out to the clubs (oh yes, that happens). So, in a scene where most newcomers are open to meeting new people and starting new relationships, is it viable to think that before they know it there will be lots of switching around, heartbreaks, and…

LOS ANGELES, CA // ALEX DA SILVA - Reports surfacing early February of this year state that Alex Da Silva's court trial preliminary hearings have commenced after more than a year of confinement in the LA County Men's Central Jail. Alex has been unable to meet a 2 million dollar bail (a harsh bail imposed because as a Brazilian national he was considered a 'flight-risk'). His next court date is scheduled for February 25, 2011. 

[ June 23, 2011 UPDATES TO THIS ARTICLE // Alex Da Silva Case Information ]

[ ARTICLE by STACY DA SILVA on SalsaHook.com // Alex Da Silva's Sister ]

Conditions inside the jail are said to be harsh for Da Silva (Booking#:2024149), who in late 2010 was admitted to the Men's Central Jail's medical wing as he suffered from severe dehydration that resulted in kidney stones. Water provisions are…

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…

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…

In the current era of Salsa promotion, Social Media Technology is playing a big part of what happens or does not happen in the Salsa scene across the globe. Before, only people willing to invest in flyers, business cards, and do the "leg-work" happened to be promoters of Salsa and events. Today, anyone with a Facebook or Myspace account can be a promoter and maybe take away from old-school promoters who have paid their dues. 

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. 

In the world of Salsa, there are very few cities that have generated a global impact by the styles of dance that they are accredited for creating, mantaining, and promoting. Los Angeles is one of these cities, and the short phrase "L.A. Style" is something that makes sense to salsa dancers all over the world. That phrase, if mentioned to salseros(as) dancing in Florida, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Japan, Korea, China or pretty much anywhere in the world where Salsa is widely popular, would instantly remind people of a specific style, specific names of popular salsa figures, or specific dance teams that showcase it in their routines. The name of our city, "Los Angeles", is globally recognized as one of the cities that has produced some of the best dancers in the world, some of the most popular dance teams in the world, and some of the greatest salsa events…