2006 Chicago Salsa Congress Returns

Update Again:
Check out the day pass options which are $115.00 for the full day or just $75.00 for the workshops.

The Heatwave Returns February 16-19
I was going to wait to post this blog for next week, but after navigating though the Chicago Salsa Congress website and noticing that their early bird discount for admission will expire on January 9 (They move the date from Jan 6 to Jan 9), I wanted to give everyone the heads up ASAP.

What is a Salsa Congress and why would I want to waste my valuable time and money going?

If you wish to grow as a dancer, I would highly recommend attending a few congresses from time to time. If you are content with your level, a congress may not be your cup of tea.

Salsa Congresses provide:
Salsa workshops taught by some of the best salsa dancers around the world.
Live dance performances every evening.
Social dancing every night on a huge dance floor with live bands.
Meeting and dancing with a lot of salsa dancers!!!

Ok, if I have sparked your interest, here are the details. Sign up before January 6 for the entire package (February 16-19) for $200. The price will inflate to $300 when the early bird discount expires. There are also day passes provided. If you do not want to head to the congress alone, give me an email, - a handful of us from IndySalsa will be attending the congress.

If you are still not convinced about going to a salsa congress, check out the salsa video clips from the 2005 Chicago Congress - we had a great time last year.

IntoSalsa Night is Back!

It has been over 2 months sense we had a Saturday night salsa venue. To pass the time on our Saturday nights most of us just stayed in, caught up on sleep or even worst, dare I say, go to a non-Latin nightclub! It is with great pleasure to announce that IntoSalsa’s Saturday night salsa venue is back! After taking a 2 month break and a change in venues, IntoSalsa Night is now back, bigger, better and badder! Every Saturday IntoSalsa Night will be held at the Vault in downtown Indianapolis. DJ Taz and Jimmie Jim will be spinning our favorite Latin and international beats. It was about 2 years ago when I was learning how to dance and IntoSalsa Night was held at a small Italian restaurant called IL Gargano. Even though their dance floor held only a handful of dancers we all had a great time and friendships were made. A lot has changed in the last 2 years with the introduction of Havana Night on Fridays and now the return of IntoSalsa Night. Let’s continue supporting our Latin venues, they give us so much and ask for so little in return. The social bonds and pleasurable experiences I have made though salsa dancing keeps me coming back for more. Until next time Indy, see you on the dance floor.

Orquesta Tropicoso Visits Indy!!!

Last Friday, IndySalsa, AlexAlex Events and EscapeLatino brought us Orquesta Tropicoso to Havana Night. Over 200 Latin dancers showed up to dance to Cincinnati's premier Latin ensemble. Everyone was very please with Tropicoso, they played Salsa, Merengue and Cha Cha (their own songs and a few covers) which kept the dance floor full on night long. The event reminded me of my experiences in Cincinnati while checking out Salsa Caliente, another premier Latin ensemble. El Master Franco, Indy's own Reggaeton artist performed during the Band’s intermission. Franco filled the dance floor with Reggaeton enthusiasts. He sings very fast and I wonder how he was able to take a breath thought out his songs. Overall it was a fantastic night; there is something special and unique that only a live band can provide to a Latin night. Look forward to seeing future bands at the Havana Night parties. I am still working on posting the pictures on IndySalsa, but for now here are a few teaser pictures.

Update, I have posted the pictures! You will be able to find them in the IndySalsa photo gallery.

Update on a Dancer's Recovery from Knee Surgery

It has been 2 months since my knee surgery. On week three I started to dance again, but I over did it and my knee got inflamed. It was nothing major, but a reminder that I am still not in the clear. My therapist suggested that I increase my level of dancing gradually. I follow their advice and I feel that I am on road to a 100% recovery. Was knee surgery worth the trouble? It is still to early to tell. I am able to dance, but my knees are a little soar the morning after. The real test will be when I resume practicing with my lovely dance partner Sonja and give 100% on the dance floor. It is hard to hold back, especially when one of my favorite songs is playing, but I will not expect anything less than full recovery. For now I will keep up with my strengthening exercises and take it easy on the dance floor for a few more weeks.

Side note, there were a few occasions where a Salsera approach me and ask for a dance and I declined. I only declined because I needed to take a one to two song break so that I do not inflame my knee. I love dancing with everyone here in Indy and I would not want to give a false impression that I was not interested in dancing with someone.

Music Mill an Upcoming Latin Venue

Look out Indy, we have another Latin promoter in town! Las Americas Entertainment gives us Noche Pa' Rumeros at the Music Mill. The Music Mill has over 3600 square feet of dance space, which makes it an ideal venue for salsa dancers. Currently Las Americas has hosted two Latin parties at the Music Mill. The last party was a pre-Thanksgiving Party (November 23). With the support of IndySalsa and Las America s' promotional effort, the Music Mill's huge dance floor was filled with energetic dancers. While I am still recovering from my knee surgery, I was able to dance for a handful of songs with some of my favorite dancers. Near the later half of the night , DJ Cisco from Chicago was spinning less salsa than I was accustom ed to; hopefully in future parties their DJs will keep the frequency of salsa high throughout out the night. The Music Mill has potential; will it be Indy's next Latin hit? We will have to wait and see. Here are the pictures from the pre-Thanksgiving party.

Blue Cactus No More???

Remember the Blue Cactus? I revisited Blue Cactus to discover that they were closed! For the last two Saturdays (11/26 and 11/19) their doors were locked and the lights turned off. I have attempted to contact them in the last 2 weeks via email and phone to get an update, but with no luck. Is this permanent or temporary? I do not know, but will keep everyone informed of any new information that I receive. Here is a picture of the Blue Cactus yesterday night, Saturday, Nov 26. The place looks dead, maybe I will save my bar money for another night ;).

Random thought, if you are an American Idol junkie here is a site that might interests you. Check it out.

Category: [IndySalsero-news]

WanderingSalsero, a Worthy Blog

A couple months ago I ran across a blog site called the WanderingSalsero. The blogger is Art Williams, a Salsa addict in Houston, TX. His blog inspired me to start the IndySalsa Blog. What I really liked about his blog was the rich content and pictures. Art has even met and danced with Edie the Salsa Freak! Art does not only talk about Salsa dancing, but provides useful information like how to put your video on your blog or website (Web 2.0 is here!) and how to get out of a speeding ticket.

Salsa Dancing and Street Fighter

What happens when you mix Street Fighter (a video game), Salsa dancing and some humor? You get a salsa dance clip worthy of watching over and over again.

Category: [IndySalsero-videos]

Smoking at Havana Night

IndySalsa's Havana Night at the Savoy will not longer be a non-smoking venue.

Category: [IndySalsero-news]

Where Are The Salseros?

I have written a new article about Indy's shortage of male dancers (salseros). I have received a lot of positive feedback on the article, so I decided to give the article a blog shout out. Jenn posted a copy of the article on her blog site, which stirred up some discussion. In the article I provide some helpful advice on encouraging men to give Salsa dancing a try. Trust me guys, dancing with sexy salseras all night is not as bad as you think ;).

Jack and Jill Dance Competition Week 1

IndySalsa, with the support of the Salsa Purdue Club, kicked off the Jack and Jill dance competition last Friday at Havana Night. I ran the contest while AlexAlex emceed from the DJ booth. At first the dancers were reluctant, but when the first 2 brave dancers stepped on the dance floor, 5 more couples followed! The couples were randomly paired and danced to the salsa beats of Maraca for about 1 minute. Some highlights were Ron Leong’s eye-catching patterns and Donna Nkonga's sexy T-stance moves. Everyone that evening gave a great performance and deserves a pat on the back; it is not easy dancing in front of an audience. Ron Leong and Sonja Kuhnau took first place that evening, and were each awarded $25, a free month membership at IndySalsa dance studio, and free passes to Havana Night. Future dates of the Jack and Jill competition are 11/18 (this Friday!), 12/2 and 12/9 (finals). See you there!

Special thanks to Mariya Omelicheva, the President of the Salsa Purdue Club, for suggesting the competition, promoting the event to her club, and making the drive from West Lafayette to support the kickoff.

We also celebrated Wyndi’s birthday, cake anyone?


‘Til next time, keep dancing.

Adriane is going to India!

If you have been in Indy's Latin dancing community for some time, you would have seen or met Adriane. I first saw Adriane at a salsa party hosted by Sylvain. Her jet black hair, style and warm smile got my attention. I cannot recall if I asked for a dance that night; during that time my dance partner and girlfriend was Erin and I spent most of the night dancing with her. A couple of months later Erin and I broke up; we tried to remain as dance partners, but that too shortly ended. One night at the Blue Cactus, I was dancing with Adriane she told me, "I like your style and I have a proposition for you and it is not sex!". If it was not sex, what could be? Oh wait - there is this dancing thing that we both like to do. Adriane and I became dance partners, and she introduced me to trick patterns like neckdrops and flips. We practiced every week in a racquetball court at the Indy Gym. We would dance together at various salsa venues and demo our tricks on the dance floor. I cannot find the words to describe the excitement of performing eye catching dips and flips. There is a bond that is developed between dance partners that is more than a friendship, but not as serious as a relationship.

Back to the topic of this blog - Adriane will be heading to India soon. While not a permanent move, she will be away from Indy for at least a year or more. She is about to embark on another chapter in her life and I would personally like to wish her the best. I will miss you; in the last few months will have drifted away from each other as dance partners because of my demand of running the dance studio and your recent marriage to Salvador. If you do not fall in love with India and decide to come back to Indy, you will be welcomed back and perhaps we can bring the fire and excitement we had back to the dance floor.

'As I take your hand and I'll lead you to the dance floor' - Careless Whispers (Salsa Re-mix, On Fire)

Category: [IndySalsero-news]

A Dancer's Recovery from a Knee Scope

Now that the introduction is out of the way, let's start blogging! Some of you may have known that I have been having some minor knee problems. I have tried natural supplements and physical therapy, both of which gave minor improvement. I decided to go the surgery route. Last Monday, I had a knee arthroscopy (knee scope) done on my left knee. During the knee scope, a crack was found on my bone, which was then shaved smooth. It has been 6 days since the surgery and I am slowly regaining my strength. I have included a picture of the crack that was found on my knee. It will be a month or two before I can determine if the knee scope helped relieve the issues I have been having. Look for an updated post in the next few weeks.

I cannot wait to get back on the dance floor, I miss you all!!!

Category: [IndySalsero-myself]

About Myself

Welcome to IndySalsa's public blog. To give a small introduction of myself, my name is Marques and I am an active salsa dancer in my mid 20s. I have been dancing salsa for around 2 years and have been in love with it ever since I first began. I moved from Detroit to Indianapolis about 3 years ago for my career. I was bored out of my mind; hanging out in the bars was fun, but I always felt like something was missing. It was not until I found salsa that I really felt at home in Indianapolis. In a city where diversity can be somewhat rare, the salsa community is a wealth of cultures, dialects and colors. I have made many friends in this community and even found love a couple of times.

As with all hobbies, I have a tendency to take things to the next level. I currently teach salsa lessons and own a dance studio called IndySalsa Latin Dance Studio in downtown Indy. The studio was formerlly known as the Red Brick Dance Studio and was owned by a guy named Tee. Tee left Indy about a year ago and the studio was then closed. A small handful of salsa dancers decided to re-open and remodel the studio. It has been over 9 months sinse we opened the studio, and it has been a great experience. I want to give a big thanks to Adriane, Thomas, Mathias, Patrick and Jean for making all of this possible.

I also help run IndySalsa.com, a website for Salsa and Latin dancing in Indianapolis. There are also salsa video clips, tons of photos and Latin music samples.

There you have it! See you on the dance floor.

Category: [IndySalsero-myself]