I love going salsa dancing and seeing beginners on the floor. True, there have been times where I have not been so fond of some of the dancefloor crimes they commit. All in all, new dancers belong on the floor and there’s a lot to learn as a more skilled salsero.

Have fun
I think I really get caught up in taking myself too seriously. Sometimes it’s because I’m forcing myself to work on certain moves or other times where i feel like I need to be 100% all of the time. Having fun is what salsa is about.

Being Courageous
Newer dancers are some of the most courageous people out there. Even having danced for a little while now, I find that there are some days where I’m not brave enough to take the floor and dance it up. I love seeing small groups of people from various classes come out and try the handful of moves that they know. Salsa can be quite intimidating and seeing new dancers out there makes me smile.

Keeping it Flirty
Salseros build up an arsenal of flirty moves and while they usually look great, I find sometimes the flirtatious factor can fade as it can feel forced. New dancers can really heat up a floor as they’re still in the “rose-tinted glasses” phase and out to meet people and live the salsa dream.

I still remember really monumental dances where I had my first dance with a certain teAcher, great dancer or that really cute Chica from my level 1 class. Don’t get me wrong, as I try to have one great dance per outing. I think that sometimes, we let our studies/ advancement get in our way of truly enjoying salsa for what it is… A fun and sexy dance.

One of the best things about getting into Salsa and other Latin musical styles is that you discover literally decades of great music. While it’s easy to get lost in the Salsa of yester-year, I’d like to do a quick post of some hot tracks that are currently flooding the airwaves in 2010…

Jose Alberto (El Canario) – Que me lo cuente

While ‘The Canary’ has been around for a long time and made many of the tracks you hear while out dancing, it’s amazing to see that he’s still got it! The guitars really hooked me and love how dynamic the song is!

India – Estupida

While I wasn’t able to catch the Luminato show a few weeks ago, apparently India rocked Toronto! I just love the desparation and frustration in her voice for this track.

Enrique Iglesias feat. Juan Luis Guerra – Cuando Me Enamoro

A modern take on bachata, Enrique teams up with one of my favourite Bachata singers to make a nice contribution to the Dominican Music.

While I personally love the Latin music of the 70s, 2010 has been a great year for new music and hopefully you get to explore more of the people who are making great tracks this year!

Till then,

Stay Shining Salseros!

Do you ever get taken aback and remember why you fell in love with something, or someone? One day you’re rushing to work and then a bird flies past you and you just stop and watch it in all of it’s beauty. Perhaps your partner is sleeping in, yet again and then you spend a few moments watching them sleep and seeing them so peaceful brings everything into perspective. Last night at the TDS competition I fell in love with Salsa… again.

Perhaps I never fell out of love, but there have been rough patches. Last night energized me as everything thats’ amazing about Salsa was present, in full-force!

The Joys of Beginning…
It was apparent as soon as I walked in that it was going to be a special night as everyone in the Beginner class were smiling and having a blast! If you’re ever in a slump, take the beginners’ class and you’ll find a sea of smiles. Seeing people connect for the first time on the dance floor is a sacred thing.

Seeing Old Friends, Making New Ones…
I almost immediately ran into a Salsera who had taken a break of roughly 8 months. It was so nice to see her radiating and dancing up a storm! I remember having a really bad night a while back and she made me feel like a million bucks with a really great dance.

I also ran into 3 people I had the pleasure of helping in their level 1 class last term. It was truly amazing to see them on the dance floor all night and having a blast! I don’t think I had the guts when I first started out and am almost certain that within a few months that they’ll be salsa addicts.

At Least One Great Dance…
One of my personal goals is to try to have 1 great dance each time I go out. Last night I had about 6! I guess the stars were aligned, but something was in the air and it all came together. Mind you, I did a few bad ones and apologize for those.

Community…
One of the greatest things about the TDS Competition is that you get to see students, teachers and performances from many of the dance schools in Toronto. I love how all of the schools in Toronto are so supportive of each other big events like last night are always a blast because diversity in dance makes us all better dancers.

Mind-Blowing Performances…
9 performances and all of them were rock-solid and unique! From the flawless United Salseros to the Show-Stopping iFreeStyle teams and Passionate GoDance team! I also have to say that the pre-teen champions of Latin Energy blew me away!

Pretty in Pink…
The TDS Ladies brought the house down in fine form! With amazing formations, shines and an insane amount of pink sparkles; they made all of us proud!

Clash of the Titans…
As I watched each of the five couples I found different elements of salsa that helped reignite my salsa passions. Joanna and Orlando’s routine was spicy hot, from the flamenco-esque entrance to the heart-stopping lifts they were elegance personified.

Omid and Maysa’s routine was all about the powerful sex appeal of Salsa. Featuring insane-acrobatics and some serious show-boating; I was loving every second of it!

Steve and Jamie were so synched and tight watching their routine reminded me of ‘Burn the Floor’ as their steps were perfect and movements were stunning.

Miro and Julia’s performance was Salsa in it’s purest form. Who could forget Julia’s amazing floor spin?! A flawless ending to boot!

Last but not least, Olivier and Elise’s routine was a perfect combination of shines, tight movements, stunning tricks and brilliant costumes! Something really special happened on stage and I was really happy to witness it. Congrats to all of you as it was a most amazing night.

All I can say is thank you to everyone who made the night so amazing! I can’t wait till next year!!!

Till then,
Stay Shining Salseros!

Sorry it’s been a little while since my last blog, but seeing the new TDS site and now you know why. With much effort, patience and love Sharon, Evan and I have launched the new TDS site! I’m really happy with the final result, and hope that you like it both aesthetically and functionally.

Onto the subject at hand… Last week at our outing, I found that while the energy/vibe was really great; many etiquette rules were being broken. In order for all of us to have great outings and more importantly safe outings, we need to follow these simple, common sense guides to keep our salsa from going sour.

A small list of things I noticed that made me a sad panda:

People walking through the dance floor, not around it
Seriously, this is not only super dangerous for the people dancing, but if you’re walking through dancers, you’re going to get hurt.

Massive moves on crowded floors
Unless you’re quite experienced and can pull off big moves in tiny space, then keep them to a minimum when the dance floor gets packed. If you find that you and your partner are taking up a lot of space, here are a few suggestions:
-take smaller steps (seems simple, but many people don’t do this!)
-when you break-back, dont fully extend your arms. I always try to keep my arms around the 90 degree mark to keep the moves tight and small
-if you’re dancing with someone who takes massive steps, do moves that don’t require much travelling OR, leaders keep your frames a bit stronger, so she gets the hint that she has to stay within the boundries you set

Polite People Dance Most
Always be polite about asking someone to dance. There’s nothing worse than someone who’s pushy or a little on the creepy side. All it takes is a simple, ‘Would you like to dance?’ If the person refuses, don’t be upset as chances are they need to rest or a little tired. On that note, please try to only refuse a dance when you’re tired, need to use the washroom or feel that the person asking is being rude.

Don’t Just Stand There
One of my biggest pet peeves are people who stand on the dance floor. I find that this is worse than people who walk through the floor as they are becoming a permanent fixture getting into everyone’s line of dance. Speaking of which…

Stay On Line
On a few occasions I had different Salseros do moves that led their women onto my line of dance, forcing a dangerous course-correction. Not only can serious injuries occur, but you throw all of the hard work of becoming a precise and great lead out the window. Did I mention that it drives me insane? There’s nothing worse than having to end a dance early because the guy beside you launched his partner into your line and onto your partner’s foot!

Always Give Your Partner One Song
So let’s say that the lovely person you’ve asked to dance is way below your level and not really staying on time. The best and coolest thing you can do is to try to follow/lead them as well as possible for one whole song. We were all there at one time and you’d be surprised at how quickly someone can go from novice to advanced!

Sadie Had it Right
Some nights I’ll see ladies sit at the side of the dance floor and wait to be asked. I say, wait no longer ladies as us Gents love love love to be asked to dance! Not only will you get to dance more but you’ll make a guy’s night!

So while I saw a fair amount of Salsa No-No’s, I did have a wonderful time last outing and was so happy to see many new Salsero/as out on the floor! Hopefully, with these thoughts as a bit of guidance, your next salsa outing will be a bit more civil and much more fun!

Till then,
Stay Shining Salseros!

I rarely hear people make complaints about their experiences with Salsa Dancing, but nine times out of ten it has to do with personal hygiene. While it’s easy to assume that most of the odour offenders are Salseros; I’ve heard just as many complaints from men about the fairer-sex. Whether you’re a guy or a girl, one thing is for sure; unpleasant odours make for an unpleasant dancing experience.

So what should a dancer do? Here are a few tips that I’ve discovered during my dancing experience that has kept everything in check:

Put the following in your shoe bag:
deodorant, body spray, breath mints/gum/melts, hand towel – with these items in your shoe bag, you’ll be reminded to freshen up each time you put on your dancing shoes.

Refrain from smoking right before or during dancing:
As someone who’s really sensitive to cigarette smoke, it’s very hard to enjoy a dance when it’s hard to breathe.

Try to have breath-friendly meals before dancing:
If you do partake in that oh-so-tempting garlic spinach dip, be sure to brush your teeth or breath mint it up before dancing.

Bonus Tip:
One item that I find keeps me smelling good is sun tan lotion. Not only will it keep your from getting sun-burned; but you’ll also smell like the beach: in my opinion, the greatest smell of all time!

On a final note:
Salsa is a sweaty, calorie-burning affair and if you don’t keep on track with your personal hygiene; you’re going to lose out on a lot of great dance opportunities. Hopefully with a few of these tips in mind, you’ll be smelling and dancing great at all of your outings, classes and performances!

Till then,
Stay Shining Salseros!

Well, it’s official, the Salsa Addiction Centre has hit it’s 100th post! From Nina and Alfred to Manuel, it’s been a fun journey this far and I hope to continue the great tradition of providing great salsa info to you all! Here’s to 100 more!


So the Helper Team’s first performance was this past Sunday and we thought we’d give you a little treat by posting the video taken to give you a sample of what to expect when we do it again on April 25th, when we, and many other great performers hit 6 Degrees for the Annual TDS Competition!


I hope you like the video and that it inspires you to take the stage whether its performing or competing!


Till then,
Stay Shining Salseros!

Performing a salsa routine is like riding the scariest roller coaster of your life. The whole time that you’re waiting to go on you’re over-thinking all of dips, drops and safety but then when you get on, feel the rush and hear the cheers all you want to do when you’re done is get back on for another go.

I don’t know if I have ever been as nervous as I was last night, waiting for our team to go on at Dovercourt house. With a packed house featuring some of the greatest dancers in the city we took the stage and really nailed it! The funny thing is that once you take the stage, all of your nerves, worries and counts seem to melt away to just having one of the best experiences of your life.

Trust me, as of today there are 4 spots left on the student performance team… sign up, you will not regret it.

Here are a few more tracks to check out while you’re practicing for the Salsa Competition or warming up for Sunday night’s performance from the Helper Team at Dovercourt!

At the last outing, I was asked by a reader of the blog to write about why people get into salsa. Hearing the dancer’s interesting back-story (which shall stay in the vault), it inspired me to ask a ton of people for their own backstories. It wasn’t too long before I started to see some common themes so I thought I’d list a few stories as well as some of the more common themes.

Sharon’s Story:

“I got into salsa by accident.  I walked into Babaluu with some girlfriends one night and completely fell in love with the dancing and the salsa scene but I was too scared to dance  I watched 3 or 4 separate nights without dancing before I accepted a dance with someone, not even knowing my basic step.  It was awful (I was awful!).  I tried it a few more times and was going to give up, thinking I was a terrible dancer, when my friends encouraged me to dance with someone who was a good lead.  I danced with him and completely changed my mind about giving up.  I started going out every night of the week to Babaluu, El Rancho and other clubs that were popular at the time and within a year I started competing and teaching.”

“I fell in love with the freedom, excitement and fun factor.  Nothing that I have ever tried has allowed me to meet so many people so quickly, gather a whole network of new friends, let me exercise my body and spirit until 2am every morning, keep me in shape, keep me de-stressed and so much more.  It was a real high!”

Sarah’s Story:

“I got into salsa because I wanted to do something other than science (Which is what I did when I was doing my masters) while I was doing my PhD. I told myself, I need to be active and social, to complement the brain work and quiet time in the lab work during my PhD, to make the experience of graduate school more pleasant the second time around. The rest was history!”

Chris’ Story:

“I signed up originally to learn some merengue then got hooked on salsa and realized most of the moves could be transferred over to merengue…so in a way it was a bonus i guess”

My Story:
I was really considering about getting into capoeira when I had a nasty, wrist-breaking fall. Unable to do capoeira, my friend Neel had suggested that I get into salsa as it would help my balance, flexibility and most of all, meet tons of new people. Since I’ve started, I’ve lost close to 30lbs, have met so many great people and have found myself hooked beyond belief.

Here are some quick quotes that represent a lot of people who get into salsa:

“I was getting over a bad breakup and didn’t meet anyone worthwhile using i-dating”
“I really wanted to get fit without spending hours on a boring treadmill”

“I’ve always loved the music…it’s so romantic”
“My friends dragged me to a salsa club and I’ve been hooked since!”
“Thanks to salsa I have one less, left-foot”

There are so many intriguing salsa origin stories out there. If you ever get tired at a club, just ask anyone about their reasons for learning how to dance and you’ve got yourself a great conversation!

So, why did you get into salsa? I’d love to hear about it…

Till then,
Stay Shining Salseros!