Photo Credit: CNN.com
Michael Jackson, proclaimed “King of Pop” and undoubtedly the greatest performer and entertainer of the eras, has died of cardiac arrest this afternoon. He was one of the world’s most renowned dancers, performers and entertainers - quite possibly of all time. While I am sure there will be many tributes paid to Michael Jackson during the next few weeks, I would like to personally acknowledge that he was one of my inspirations for dancing. I grew up with a lot of Michael Jackson’s music and videos - which inspired me to someday learn to dance and learn to innovate in entertaining audiences. After being in the ’salsa scene’ for several years, I can attest that he has also influenced many modern salsa dance moves and choreographies that I have seen from many salsa dance companies througout the world. To Michael Jackson, may he rest in peace and his legacy live on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un3-Hb9wF9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex30DYwQlHU
If anyone out there is wondering, “what can I do to improve that doesn’t involve the natural process of getting good over time,” I have some answers for you. Using body language (one of the main ways people communicate), you can improve how you look when you dance simply by remembering these easy tips. Look at it this way…for dancers who are taking classes or doing what they can to improve their dancing over time, these tips will help you look good while you are in the process of learning. Often, when a dancer is learning something new, the basics are thrown out the window. What ends up happening is that the body language suffers, so while you may have a great new footwork pattern, you’ve sacrificed some important basics. While you learn, keep these tips in mind, and you’ll always look great!
1. Chin Up
The saying, “chin up” is popular for a reason! With your chin down you come across as self-conscious or sad, hence describing personalities as generally “down” or “up.” When dancers learn something new or lack confidence in what they are doing, the chin tends to go straight down subconsciously. By reminding yourself to keep your chin up every once in a while, you will give off the perception that you are confident and happy with the dance. An additional benefit is that keeping your chin up enables you to literally “look up to” your partner as you dance, which will be understood as a sign of respect. Continue reading ‘Quick Salsa Styling Tips for Ladies’
I just came across a beautiful performance by Masacote Dance Company from Boston, MA that I wanted to share with everyone. This performance has so many levels to it; it is truly a work of art. Rarely do we see symbolism in salsa choreography, and rarely do we see music written specifically for the choreography. I love the creativity in this performance, and especially the interplay between the dancers and the musicians. Great musicality is my weak spot - I think it really embodies what dance is. I hope you all enjoy it, and thanks to Dany J. (ScarletMambo) for posting this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8lpMhcPHKU
Every now and then we ask our members to help get the word out on our podcast so that future salsa generations can learn how to dance salsa. For those who many not know, our latest salsa dance video podcast episodes are always available for download on the iTunes Store (for FREE). If you are one of our current subscribers and use iTunes for our podcast, we’d like to ask you to remember to rate our podcast so that we and others know how we are doing. We highly appreciate if you leave a review and feedback - trust me, we read them! Thanks!
[More on iTunes]
As Salsa dancers, it is important to be well-versed in the other Latin rhythms that are played in the clubs, even if we are addicts who dedicate a majority of the time to salsa. Here is a video I found inspiring of a bachata choreography, danced by Ataca Jorgie & Tanja (La Alemana) at a dance social. I really appreciated the musicality and integration of rhythm with passion…I hope you all enjoy it as well!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiUxmHa6p8Y
Our friends over at RitmoBello have posted a video of one of our favorite local San Diego salsa dancers and her commercial with Serena Williams for the “Everyday Athlete” campaign from Gatorade G2. Gatorade and Serena Williams were looking to find an athlete named ‘Serena’ (for ‘Serena’ Williams) for their new promotional ad. Serena Cuevas was chosen as the winner by a panel consisting of representatives from Shape magazine, Gatorade G2, and ReRe. Our salsera won the contest and is now on national TV spreading the message that dance is a tough sport that also requires high levels of electrolytes - G2-baby!!!!.
We are extremely excited for Serena Cuevas and thank her for the awareness that salsa dancing will get, due to her contribution. She is definitely one of the brightest rising stars in the San Diego salsa scene, and has come a long way to take dancing to a much larger stage. Serena grew up having the desire (‘deseo’) to be a dancer, but was sidetracked by a horrific accident when she was 17-years old. According to her, doctors told her she would never dance again, but Serena fought through that obstacle and built her own highly acclaimed dance company, Deseo Dance, as well as rising to compete in national and international salsa dance competitions.
Addicted2Salsa would like to congratulate Serena and her team for the contributions they bring to salsa and look forward to Serena’s next set of surprises! 
My hopes are to see her compete in “So You Think You Can Dance“.
Here is the Gatorade G2 ad: (looks like an episode of the movie Flashdance )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNGpB8zxQlg
and here is the wonderful Serena dancing with Juan Two Three at a local event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJgZw76y3HI
[More at RitmoBello]
Alex Da Silva, well known Los Angeles Latin dancer and choreographer for the Fox Television show “So You Think You Can Dance”, was arrested Saturday on accusations of sexually assaulting students in his two homes in the San Fernando Valley. Because he was accused of sexual assault in 2003, 2004 and again in 2005, the previous cases were re-opened once a fourth accuser pressed charges on March 28th, 2009. All four accounts were found to be similar, despite the fact that the women did not know one another. He is currently being held on $3.8 million bail for allegedly raping four female students over the past six years. Detectives believe there may have been more victims and hope they come forward with information. He was arrested 20 minutes before the end of a class he was teaching Saturday at the EDGE Performing Arts Center in Hollywood, said Det. John Eum of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Alex Da Silva, now 41 years, started salsa dancing when he was 20. Many dances in the salsa scene credit him for introducing the “LA Style” of salsa dancing. He has won numerous World Salsa Dancing Championships and is well known in the Los Angeles salsa dance scene.
[Update 4-7-08] The court date was today and no charges were filed against Alex Da Silva given that new victims have come forward and the prosecution still has to interview them.
“Los Angeles County prosecutors declined today to file criminal charges against salsa dancer and choreographer Alex Da Silva of the Fox television show “So You Think You Can Dance,” saying further investigation was needed into allegations that he sexually assaulted four of his students… [...] Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office, said prosecutors wanted police to conduct more investigation before charges are considered. She also said more alleged victims have come forward, and they still needed to be interviewed. “
Sources:
[Read from Associated Content]
[Read from L.A. Times]
[Read from New York Times]
[Read from NBC LA]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22rWNpBU8M
Happy April Fools Day everyone! Today only, you can watch our salsa videos in a brand new perspective on YouTube! (everything is flipped). All you have to do is find a salsa lesson or social dancing video, and in the URL field of your browser add a &flip=1 at the end. I’m looking forward to your funny comments below.
Salsa Flips on YouTube
You are leading her through your best turn patterns, you seem to have a great connection, and she is smiling and laughing. That means she’s having a great time right? But then how do we reconcile these comments… (taken from our discussion board)
- “When a guy makes a mistake I try to smile to give him encouragement.”
- “I always smile, even when the guy isn’t very fun to dance with. You never know what other guys are watching…”
- “Sometimes when a guy doesn’t lead me correctly I laugh it off - it’s best to have a sense of humor about our mistakes, right?”
Now you might be saying:
“AAAAhhhhhh but wait! I thought that smiling and laughing meant that my combos made her happy and she liked them and me…you mean to tell me she’s been FAKING IT??”
While we are sure all of our visitors are great dancers, it is understood that we all should be polite to all dancer levels (beginners - advanced) in the salsa scene. However, to provide you with a more clear perspective on your performance, here are some surefire ways to tell that a follow really enjoys dancing with you whether it’s for your combos, or just because she enjoys floor time with you, and isn’t just pretending to have fun:
Continue reading ‘How do you know if she’s faking it on the dance floor?’
For the first time ever, Dancing with the Stars is featuring SALSA as a dance category!!!
It is exciting to see salsa being incorporated into mainstream shows about dancing. DWTS has featured mambo in the past, but this season the stars will be attempting salsa as well. Tonight half of the stars did quickstep, and the other half danced salsa. While the judges declared Melissa and Tony’s dance “the salsa of the night”, my personal favorite was Shawn Johnson (USA Gymnast) with her partner, Mark Ballas. I found Shawn and Mark’s dance to be the most faithful to the salsa dance genre with great style to top it off.
I encourage everyone in the salsa community to check out the show on Mondays 8/7c and Tuesdays 9/8c on ABC, and share your opinions in the comments below!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKqRMQzVsAw
Social Comments