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…

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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…

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

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. 

The Floor Improv Night is a live jam session with musicians and dancers of all genres. Carolina Cerisola and Sascha Escandon have successfully created an event night that, as their goal was in creating it, fills a void in Los Angeles, CA. 

I happened to be dancing at Stevens Steak House, a local nightclub in Los Angeles, when I heard a tune coming out of the speakers that really made me want to dance! Quickly, I grabbed (asked kindly) a girl who I knew could feel the music the way I did and we headed to the dance floor. As the song progressed my enthusiasm about it grew and I just had to stop dancing to ask the DJ what was the name of the song! The DJ of the night, Martin 'El Travieso', replied: "Beautiful"... My reply to him was: "Yes, I know it's beautiful, but what's the name of the song?" He laughed and replied again: "the name is 'Beautiful'!" 

If you are driving a vehicle with passengers and you get into an accident, it is your fault, even if the person to your side was distracting you. You are the person at the wheel and you should have kept your eyes on the road. But it would naturally be easier to blame someone else for your driving error, right? 

If you are a person who loves Salsa dancing and music and happen to live or be visiting Los Angeles, CA, you are sure to have one of the biggest variety of venues to choose from that can be found in any city around the world. On any given night, a number of promoters compete against each other to cater to the local salsa scene. Some of them bring in live entertainment and others just dj music. Some venues offer salsa lessons before the dancing starts and others are just to go dancing. Some of them are attended by a very high quality of dancers and others are crowded by people who are barely learning how to dance or who simply don't have an affinity for the dancing as most people in L.A. seem to do. All in all, the variety is great and there's something for everyone's likes almost…