Chicago workshops, dancing, and slight amounts of chaos.

The last salsa road trip of 2007 commenced Sunday, December 9th 2007. We (Marques and I, Ketura and Job) left early Sunday morning. It happened to be pretty bad weather and the road conditions were not in our favor. It was raining ice the entire way, and it was to our benefit that Marques had just gotten new tires.

Despite the bad weather, we reached Chicago early, and after locating Latin Street Dance (the studio that was hosting the workshops), we found some close parking and hung out in what has to be the most interesting Mc Donalds that I have ever been to. It was two stories, and mostly windows, with escalator and upstairs "café" (or Mc Donalds version of a cafe, none of us had the desire to test their products at that time).



The workshops started around 1:30 and lasted until about 8pm. They were taught by By Marina & Ibi, from Sweden,
who placed 2nd at The World Salsa Championships 2006 in Las Vegas. There were four workshops: ChaChaCha (All levels), Intermediate Salsa, Advanced Salsa, and Competition Salsa. Ketura, Job, and I took all four workshops, and Marques took all but the Intermediate Salsa. They were really great instructors, and were able to teach a workshop that actively engaged the entire class. They added styling and "sabor" to all of the patterns they taught, and I really felt that the workshops were of great quality. The Competition Salsa was a tricks class... they showed us 3 similar tricks, all of which looked simple and ended up being much more difficult.

By the end, we were all completely exhausted (but in a good way)! We walked to a nearby restaurant, which didn't seem so nearby after the long cold walk. The restaurant is Roy's, which had expensive but very good food. It doesn't seem or feel like a chain restaurant, but there are Roy's in other major cities as well. We would like to thank Marques' friend DeAnna for giving us a gift certificate.

Anyway, our last stop of the day was the Buzz. The boys decided to be nice and try to find closer parking, even though we could have walked, because it was very cold. They let Ketura and I off at the door. I had a great time, and danced with a few really great dancers. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the advanced dancers were at another party, but we still had an amazing time.

There was an unexpected competition, which Marques and I decided to enter on some kind of spur of the moment whim. Turned out there was only one other couple, and it was one of many qualifying rounds for a huge upcoming final. Even though the other couple had matching nice clothes on, and had a routine, and we were just in street clothes and improving, the audience still decided they liked us better, and we received a bottle of champaign for the night. That was nice :-) Both of us qualified for the finals, though.

The slight bit of chaos started after our great night at the Buzz... Marques' car got towed, and we were very tired. We also hit a deer on the way home, luckily it was pretty minor. We ended up reaching home probably about 7 in the morning, and we learned our lesson!!! From now on, we will always book a hotel room and stay over night!

Reminder 2007 World Salsa Championships

I would like to remind everyone that the 2007 ESPN World Salsa Champions will be Dec.12-16, 2007 in Orlando, Florida. I am not planning on flying out there, but I will be waiting for the videos to appear on the internet.

For those who do not have any knowledge of this event please checkout my collection of videos from last years championships and my blog post talking about last years competition.

It is great to see the mainstream media (ESPN) sponsoring and promoting salsa!

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!!!

2 weeks ago, IntoSalsa posted information for their second annual salsa competition. Chimere and I competed last year, which was a fun experience. There is a video clip of us that I posted on YouTube and mySpace. There were a few discrepancies that occurred in last year's dance competition (during qualifications and the finals) that did not rub me the right way. I addressed these issues to the promoters and hopefully this year’s competition will be more consistent.

I really like that they have created both a professional and amateur division. One issue that we had last year was the that non-pro dancers did not want to compete against the more advanced level dancers. I really think the pro and amateur division is going to increase participation. Also, the promoter has given the dancers early notice of the competition (about 3 months!). Last year we were given about 2 or 3 weeks, which was very stressful when attempting to put a routine together.

I have decided that I will compete this year. I have learned a great deal from last year’s competition and would like to raise the level of my performance. My dance partner will be Jennifer; a music major from Indiana University. She is an excellent dancer who has a passion for dance. We should make a good team and give Indy a good show.

There is one minor issue, which I will have to overcome. I am recovering from a rotator cuff injury. The pain was gone for awhile, but has returned. I think the reason is because I have stopped all my physical therapy exercise (due to the stress of a new project I have been working on). So if I want to survive the training for the competition, I better get back into the gym.

I would encourage all dancers to go out and find a partner and give the dance competition a try. It is not about winning, but giving it your best and showing off the video clip of your performance to your friends and posting it on your mySpace homepage!

For those who want to compete, but do not know where to start, myself and few other freelance dancers are willing to coach (for a fee) those who plan to compete in the amateur division. Contact information can be found on my salsa lessons page at SalsaIndy.com

See you in the preliminaries!

2006 Fiesta Indianapolis - Where's my taco?

Last Saturday people filled the grounds at Military Park for La Plaza's Fiesta Indianapolis. I attended Fiesta Indy last year and was very excited for this year's fiesta. While this year's fiesta was fun, it did not meet my expectations.

I understand how difficult it is to organize and manage large events such as Fiesta Indy and La Plaza did an excellent job. As I walked around, everything looked well organized and the live music started on time with little to no interruptions.

So how did this year's Fiesta fall short? Well for me, I went to the fiesta for 3 reasons: the authentic Mexican food, live salsa bands and the people. As for the food, there was only one vendor selling tacos. I waited in line for over an hour and a half. Typically, I would give up and find something else to eat, but I remembered how much I loved eating the tacos last year, so I decided to wait it out. Due to the long wait I missed the Rueda performance from OpenSourceSalsa, which I was planning on seeing. When I finally got my tacos, I was shocked! They Americanized my ‘authentic’ Mexican tacos! Authentic tacos are made with a soft shell, meat, pico de gallo and are served with lime. What they gave me was an undercooked soft shell, meat, and cheese with store-bought salsa on top. I could barely stomach it. I would have tossed the food, but after waiting for over an hour and a half, I could not. I will do the vendor a huge favor and not mention their name.

Now, what about the live music? I was only interested in the salsa bands and will not comment on the other bands. The first salsa band was Salsa & Company, an Indianapolis salsa band. Due to a private group class that I was teaching, I missed them, so I cannot give comment on their performance. I have attended venues where they have played in the past and have been very pleased with their work. The second band was Orquesta Iluziones located in Valparaiso, Indiana. I was given their demo CD in the past and they sounded good, but when I heard them live, they sounded much better. While their band’s performance was excellent, I did not like the vocals of their lead female singer. Her voice did not harmonize with the band. It would have also been nice if there was a big headliner salsa band like they had last year by bringing in Puerto Rican Power!

While 2006 Fiesta Indy fell short by my standards, it was still a great success. The attendance was strong throughout the day, everyone was having a good time (expect for us poor saps in the taco line) and there was lots of salsa dancing in the streets. If someone from La Plaza happens to come across this blog, please don't take offense, and take my comments as constructive criticism for next year's planning.

Condo Warming Party Saturday, July 29

I will be having a Condo Warming Party on Saturday July 29th. I will supply drinks and bottle water. Feel free to bring your favorite drinks. There will be dancing (70% salsa, 30% everything else). I have over 270 sq ft of dance space (laminate hardwood) and common areas to socialize. My condo is a New York style loft with lots of character (exposed brick, duct work, steal beams, you name it!). Most of my friends already know where I live, but if you do not please send me an email (indysalsero@gmail.com) and I will give you my address.

The party will start around 9pm.

Category: [IndySalsero-events]

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.

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.

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.

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.