This article was inpsired by a Facebook post disussing the potential success and shortcomings of dating in the salsa scene.  Its an attempt to capture many of the opinions expressed in a debate which sparked a stream of over 50 comments.

 

The dynamics of dating in Salsa include aspects that both facilitate and hinder individuals from taking their on-floor connection to the next level - dating.  A recent blog post by Edie “the Salsa Freak” presented a perspective that dating in salsa is pointless and won’t work.  Yet, as you look around the scene, especially in San Diego, there are an increasing number salsa couples openly dating, becoming engaged and even getting married.  You also see successful relationships between dedicated dancers and non-dancers.  

 

Like anything worth working for, its not easy.  There are both missteps and pitfalls salseros and salseras encounter when mixing their dancing with dating.  At…

Sunday, the seventh day, a day for rest?  San Diegans must be impatient. Seriously, who wants to go out after an action-packed Friday and Saturday night, followed by football, church and family time? Apparently this addiction to Salsa so many embrace crosses all boundaries.   There is no need to drive hours to the infamous Sunday night festivities at Steven's Steakhouse to get a fix, as San Diego now offers not just one, but three alternatives for dancing on Sunday nights.

 

Longstanding options include Queen Bee in North Park, resurgent from its days as Hot Monkey Love.  Hosted by Alma Rodriguez and Michael Saltus, Queen Bee features music by local favorite Iran "DJ Mambo" Castillo, a pristine large dance floor, and a fluorescent bachata room.  As an all ages club, Queen Bee attracts students from SDSU, which bolsters the lesson attendance and provides a consistently flow of new faces.…

San Diego and Los Angeles Underground Dances Thriving

 

What is it about a Social?  

 

Seriously, a Social lacks all of the nightlife glitz and glamour.  There’s no red rope entrances, bouncers, velour couches, fancy lights, high fashion or bottle service. You want a reserved table?  You’re lucky to find some folding chairs.

 

Yet around the country, Socials continue to draw dance enthusiasts from great distances who get lost in their salsa “addiction” by dancing and enjoying the music. In Southern California, the popularity of Socials, and the attendance at these events have shown the model works and has a strong following.  Socials offer a relaxed night of dancing and an escape from the hype inherent with clubs.  

 

Often held at dance studios, these events offer something for every level of dancer at any age.  Not only do they bring out the top dance professionals…

Backstage everything seemed fine. Suddenly, your heart is racing, palms sweating, mouth is dry and muscles tense. It's time. You've rehearsed countless hours over months and it all comes down to the next three minutes. A teammate smiles and says "See you on the other side," while another shows a clenched fist, gives a confident nod mouths "Fuerte!" Your team is announced - "Go, go go!" - you climb the stairs onto the stage.

 

Your thoughts are jumping "Why does the stage look smaller?" "Cross left leg first," "I hope we can hear the song cue over the crowd," and "Watch steps left right, left." You struggle to look forward. "Damn it's bright!" The stage lights, off during Tech Rehearsal are blinding. "Stay away from the edge, it's quite a drop." Friends shout your name as you focus on the entrance steps learned just an hour earlier. "Stop, spin,…

Improvements in 2011, new date and location, makes the 6th Annual event a premier destination for 2012

This year's 5th Annual San Diego Salsa Bachata Festival will be remembered as an overall hit by the close to 2,500 who attended.  As the third major salsa event in the past two years held at Mission Valley's scenic Town and Country Resort, the 2011 event, held Sept 17-19th, offered those on hand a revamped show format, live music, and top notch workshops which exceeded expectations.

 

The events co-promoters, Albert Torres and Rivera Entertainment planned carefully to make the changes which not only would deliver on pre-event promises, but also bolster local attendance.  New concepts were introduced including a Fania 70's themed party on Friday night and a “Pro Salsa Footwork Showdown” on Sunday.  Both added flare and kicked off the post-show social dancing with good energy.   Friday’s theme was strongly…

Party like a rock star 72 hours straight and live to tell about it

 

SAN DIEGO | Triathlons test an athlete’s endurance, strength and will.  The average “Iron Man” participant burns over 10,000 calories enduring a 26.2 mile run, 112 mile bike ride, and 2.4 mile swim. Salsa has its own version of the triathlon, the Salsa Congress.  Seventy-two hours of workshops, performances, social dancing and after parties stretch the most vigorous to their limits.  Like any other athlete, salseros need stamina, conditioning, determination and a strategy to survive a Salsa Congress.

 

It’s a big weekend approaching in San Diego, when on September 15-18th, Salseros from around the world will converge on the Town and Country resort in Mission Valley.  The 5th Annual San Diego Salsa and Bachata Festival represents the 2011 Congress Season’s final warm-weather event in the Western United States.  A lot of anticipation, hype…

Tips to getting the most out of your experience and the best value for your money

 

Attending a regional festival or congress is much like a vacation. For most, we save and scrap for months to have enough money to attend these grand events.  Its not much different for performers, who incur team dues or studio fees months prior.  Then for ladies, there’s the lavish costumes, makeup and hair.  Yet the euphoria experienced sparks a buzz of “where are we going next?” even before the current event ends.

 

What would you sacrifice to squeeze in a trip to San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Miami, New York or Zurich?  Would you eat sleep on the floor, eat Top Ramen, or (gasp!) curtail your nights of social dancing?  The lengths some go to borderline urban legend.

 

With careful planning and smart spending, you don’t have to sacrifice by staying at…

World's biggest salsa promoter shows "Unity Through Salsa" by helping local charity raise funds for San Diego youth in need

 

SAN DIEGO | In a recent surge of support, Dancers for Humanity has gained a key sponsor in Albert Torres Productions (ATP).  In addition to integrating the Dancers for Humanity fundraising efforts with the San Diego Salsa and Bachata Festival, an ATP event, ATP has donated full-passes to the 2012 Los Angeles and The Las Vegas Salsa Congresses as prizes which will be featured and given away during the festival.  This contribution brings the total of goods and services raised for prizes at this event to over $5,700.

 

Mr. Torres himself orchestrated this gift while travelling between New York, Los Angeles and  Argentina.  “Its great what ATP is doing for Dancers for Humanity in helping us raise funds for San Diego Youth Services StoreFront Shelter,” shared Dennis Bermeo,…

A perpetual spark drives "Salsa Susie" to make her dreams a reality

 

SAN DIEGO, CA | Texas?  Really?  It’s hard to believe, but its true that the Director of Ooh La La Dance Company, Susie Nguyen, a.k.a. “Salsa Susie” started her path to La Jolla, California from the Lone Star State.  One of four children to parents who met at a Vietnamese refugee camp, she has consistently broken through barriers to live her dream.  She can’t help it - it runs in her blood.  

 

“Entrepreneurship runs in my family, my parents ran a Mom & Pop convenience store, the most successful in our small Texas county.  They sold it and moved us to Monterrey, CA.” It was in this sleepy Northern California town that Susie battled her parents’ traditional Asian culture, moving out in her early teens so she could participate in high school cheer, becoming…

Alma Latina forges ahead in the face of darkness

 

SAN DIEGO, CA | Miles until empty, it says “7”, we should be OK.  Traffic is backed up on the 5 South, but there’s hope as the 52 on-ramp is flowing, maybe we’ll make it. Racing across the 52, the gauge is dropping quickly. Crap, it’s down to 4 already!  My mind is turning “Must have been the parking lot on the 5 caused by cars flooding the roadways all at once."  Everyone is trying to head home as San Diego and most of the southwest shut down when power blacked out at 3:30pm.  

 

At this point, the situation is desperate and I'm cursing for a Prius.

 

Miles until empty is “1” as I pull off to the Convoy station.  The line to the pump is five deep, people are camped out, and it looks like a scene…

Just how did we get here?

PUERTO NUEVO, MEXICO | It’s Sunday night, close to midnight and I still can’t wipe the smile from my face while scanning photos from the weekend.  It didn’t matter that we just crossed the US/Mexico International Border on foot, and were waiting an extra 30 minutes for a teammate to clear customs without a Passport.  A lack of sleep from consecutive nights of non-stop action and an early Monday morning workday didn’t phase my euphoric feeling either.  In the face what is has been coined as PCW (“Post-Congress Withdrawal”), I was fulfilled.   

 

Luckily, in mid-July I made a decision to attend the Rosarito Salsa and Bachata Retreat, hosted by Alma Latina Dance Company.  

 

 

 

Now, behavior psychologists will tell you that satisfaction is the intersection of your expectations and actual experience. For instance, when you attend Salsa Congress or…

SAN DIEGO, CA | Where do you start with a woman like Yolanda Selene Walther-Meade?  Well it better be early, as her day kicks off at 5:00am at Barry’s Boot Camp.  One of twenty finalists in San Diego Magazine’s “Woman of the Year 2011”, she remains grounded and focused. “Its enough for me just to be included in the company of these extraordinary women” shared Yolanda in a recent interview. Extraordinary is quite fitting yet vigorous might be better.  

 

You’d need a quick-step to keep up with her, leaving bootcamp to make breakfast for her two children and taxi them to Francis Parker College-Preparatory School. “My kids are priority and dictate what I do” she says with pride.  Even so, she juggles responsibilities as Chief Marketing Officer at the Gomez Law Firm in San Diego, cross-border volunteering for Dos Aguilas Bi-National Charity, and Hostess of the…

Entrepreneur Gladys Franco is a rising star in salsa dance footwear.

 

SAN DIEGO, CA - At some point in our lives, we've all thought, “Ugh, who designed this? They obviously didn’t have my tastes in mind.”  Today, we have more avenues to inform our favorite brands what we like, and if they don’t change, we simply go to our next best option.

 

That is of course, if there is one.

 

Two years ago a local dancer, just a year into the salsa scene, was unhappy about having to switch from her highly fashionable footwear into her salsa shoes.  “I’m fashion conscious, it was a downer when I went to the club and had to change into shoes that weren’t as fashionable as those I was wearing, but it was the only thing available” explains Glayds Franco, founder of G. Franco Dance Shoes.  In her case, she did something most…

Selfless group lead by local salsero raises money and donations for San Diego homeless 

 

SAN DIEGO, CA | Last night the Citrus Nightclub, a.k.a. Salsa Jam, had a special aura.   It was no ordinary night as a local non-profit organization, Dancers for Humanity, hosted their second event in as many months to raise money and collect goods for San Diego Youth Services’ Storefront Shelter. Storefront is an emergency shelter for homeless street youth.

The efforts of Dancers for Humanity, working with club promoters, local businesses, and dance companies have now produced consecutive events strongly supported by the salsa community.  The nights both served the selfless purpose of helping those less fortunate.

 

Dancers for Humanity is a collaborative effort of local salseros whose mission is to bring together the salsa community to support San Diego homeless through collecting multiple essential items needed to survive on…

September 20, 2010. Over the past weekend, over 2,000 people attended three nights of dance performances at The 4th Annual San Diego Salsa and Bachata Festival.  The shows included a range of performers from North America and Europe, from Amateurs to World Champions, all sharing a desire to express their love for dance through imaginative choreography and high energy music.  Witnessing such an event can inspire a social dancer to improve their skills and can be one of several avenues that lead dancers to team-oriented Salsa.

   Why Do Dancers Join Teams?  Joining a team is a commitment of both time and money.   Most teams have more than one practice a week and require some amount of dues or tuition.  The reasons individuals join teams vary, and usually fall within one or a combination of the following: Social.  Teams offer new dancers an instant facility to meet a large number…