Preliminaries:
Sunday April 25th, 2010
Finals: Sunday June 20th, 2010
Mission
2010 Date and Location
Who
Qualifies?
Rules & Regulations
Judging Criteria
2009 Prizes and Sponsors
2009 Preliminary Round Results
The 2009 Competitors
- Bios and Photos
2009 Judges Biographies
The
2008 Final Round Results and Photos!
The 2008 Five Finalists
How to Register
The2007 Final Round Results and Photos!
The 2007 Five Finalists
SalsaTO Article About the 2007 Competition
The 2010 Toronto Dance Salsa
Amateur Competition!
Mission:
The mission of the Toronto Dance Salsa Amateur Salsa Competition is to inspire students to develop their performance skills to enhance their dance journey and showcase their dancing ability to an audience of friends and family as well as current and future salsa lovers.
Date and Location:
Preliminary Round: Sunday April 25th, 2010 at 7pm at 6 Degrees Nightclub
(Yonge & Eglinton)
Lesson: 7:00 - 8:00pm, Competition: 9:00 - 10:00pm, Social Dancing:
8:00 - 9:00pm, 10pm onwards
Final Round: Sunday June 20th, 2010 at 7pm at 6 Degrees Nightclub
(Yonge & Eglinton)
Lesson: 7:00 - 8:00pm, Competition: 9:00 -
10:00pm, Social Dancing: 8:00 - 9:00pm, 10pm onwards
Who
Qualifies?
- Competitors must be 19 years
old or over.
- Competitors must be current
Toronto Dance Salsa students in level 3 or up and/or helpers and/or
assistant instructors enrolled or assisting in the spring 2010
semester.
- This is an amateur competition.
Competitors cannot have been paid to be the main instructor in
a class or to perform salsa at any point prior to the preliminary
day (assisting with a club class or group class is permitted).
- Competitors cannot have
previously placed in first place in a prior salsa competition.
Rules &
Regulations:
- The competition will comprise
of two rounds: the preliminary round and the finals round.
The preliminary round will have a maximum of 15 couples with registration
in advance on a first come, first serve basis. The
5 couples with the top scores, as determined by the panel of judges,
will qualify to perform in the final round.
- There will be no change
of partners allowed once partners have qualified for the finals.
- All competitors will conduct
themselves appropriately demonstrating good sportsmanship and
support to all contestants and judges.
- Choreography, costumes and
music must be in good taste.
- Judges decisions are final.
- Any style of salsa dancing
is permitted.
- The event will be recorded
by camera and film which may be used for promotional purposes
without any obligation.
- Competitors will only be
allowed to start over if there has been a technical problem that
is out of competitors’ control.
Preliminary Round
- Freestyle:
- Competitors must arrive
by 8pm and sign in with the Competition Coordinator.
- All couples will be assigned
a number and a draw will determine the order of performance.
- All competitors will be
asked to warm up together to a 2 minute pre-determined unidentified
medium tempo salsa song.
- In order determined by the
draw, each couple will perform a 2 minute freestyle routine to
a pre-determined unidentified medium tempo salsa song. The song
will be the same for each couple.
- The freestyle routine has
to have a dance content of 90% salsa.
- Maximum 2 dips per routine.
- No lifts allowed in the
preliminary round.
Final Round - Choreographed:
- Competitors must arrive
by 8pm and sign in with the Competition Coordinator.
- Each couple must bring and
hand in to the DJ their own CD with only the performance song
on the CD. CD must be identified with both dancers’ names,
couple number and song title. DJ will not speed up or slow down
music - it will be played as is.
- All couples will be assigned
a number and a draw will determine the order of performance.
- All competitors will be
asked to warm up together to a 2 minute pre-determined unidentified
medium tempo salsa song.
- In order determined by the
draw, each couple will perform a choreographed routine in the
length of 2.0 minutes to 2.5 minutes (points will be deducted
if full choreography is under 2.0 minutes or exceeds 2.5 minutes)
to their own chosen song.
The choreography and song must be 90% salsa.
- Maximum 2 dips and 2 lifts
allowed per routine.
- Contestants are highly
encouraged to wear matching or themed costumes. Emphasis is placed
not on the cost of the costume but on the creativity of the costume
and how it ties in to the theme of the performance.
- Judges will determine,
using the formal judging criteria, the 3rd, 2nd and 1st place
winners.
Judging Criteria: Timing
and Musicality 20%
Consistency in timing throughout entire routine and an understanding
and interpretation of the music emphasized in the dance
Choreography/Creativity 20%
Originality and creativity of choreography, difficulty of execution,
choreography compliments the accents of the music
Partner Dynamics
10%
Leading and following techniques, unity of moves, synchronization,
partner connection and chemistry
Technique
10%
Proper execution of moves and dance practices
Styling 10%
Hand, arm, leg and body styling compliments the routine
Appearance 10%
Creativity of costume or outfit that compliments both dancers, applicability
to theme of choreography, confidence, facial expression, posture
Stage Presence 10%
Showmanship, audience reaction
Overall Presentation 10%
All categories in general, judges discretion
Deduction of Points
– up to 15%
5% - final choreography is under 2.0 minutes or exceeds 2.5 minutes
10% - not following rules such as 90% salsa dancing, lifts/dips
limitations, etc
How to Register: Please
send an email confirming your participation along with partner information
to Sharon at info@torontodancesalsa.ca.
Registration which is based on a first come first serve basis will
be limited to 15 couples. There is absolutely no cost to register
and all couples will receive prizes regardless of placement.
2009 Prizes and Sponsors:
More
prizes and sponsors coming soon!
Miami Salsa
Congress
www.miamisalsacongress.com
305-220-7115 or 1-866-69-SALSA
miamisalsacongress@yahoo.com |
|
Addicted to Dance Shoes
www.addicted2danceshoes.com
647-439-8423 or 416-508-8940
45 Brisbane Rd. Unit #7, Toronto, ON |
|
Century Wide Shoes
www.cwdanceshoes.com
416-293-3303, cell: (416) 822-8684
8 Glen Watford Dr. Unit#29, Scarborough, ON |
|
El Rancho / Plaza Flamingo
www.plazaflamingo.sites.toronto.com
416-603-8884
Bathurst/College
|
|
Lula Lounge
www.lula.ca
416-588-0307
1585 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON
|
|
Peridot Resto Lounge
www.peridotrestolounge.com
416-515-7560
81 Bloor Street East, Toronto, ON |
|
Canada Salsa Congress
www.canadasalsacongress.com
jennifer@stepsdancestudio.com
(416) 656-STEP |
 |
Meet Market Adventures
www.meetmarketadventures.com
675 King Street West, Suite 202
Toronto, ON, M5V 1M9
info@meetmarketadventures.com
(416) 203 - 3434 |
 |
Twosome Dance
www.twosomedance.com
ben@twosomedance.com
(416) 368-3006 x 2
|
 |
Alice Wong and Mary Kay
Beauty Consultants
www.marykay.ca/awong1
647.295.1211
Get a complimentary pampering session today!
|
|
BAILA Society
www.BAILASociety.com
joseph@bailasociety.com
|
|
The
2009 Finals Results:
Thank you to the 600 plus attendees
that came out to support our 5 finalist on Sunday May 31st at Six
Degrees Nightclub. The evening was an amazing one with a memorable
display of turnpatterns, dips, tricks and shines from the competitors.
A big thanks to George(ous), our host with the most that kept the
evening fun and entertaining as well as the wonderful judges and
instructors and assistants who provided a great beginner and intermediate
lesson.
Here are the results of the evening!
|
Mridu
&
Elton
1st Place |
|
| Winnie
&
Manuel
2nd Place
|
|
| Karen
&
John
3rd Place
|
|
Maysa
&
Dan
Runner Up |
|
Marta
&
Alex
Runner Up
|
|
The
2009 Competitors:
Maysa
Tani
I‘ve always loved taking dance classes since
high school, but it wasn’t until I watched a salsa performance
at the CNE that I felt the urge to try out salsa. I signed
up for a beginner’s class and caught the salsa bug,
but could not find any intermediate level classes that summer.
Over a year later, in June 2008, I found TDS, made some great
friends and was officially addicted! I love the feeling I
get when I dance! And i’m always challenging myself
to do the best that I can. Through this competition, I hope
to gain performance experience (and get over any stage fright!).
There’s just so much to learn about salsa – on2,
leading, shines, etc – I plan to be around for a long
while. :)
|
|
| Dan Tahirkheli
I first became interested in Salsa in
Feb. 2008 during my vacation in Trinidad, Cuba. I was sitting
at Casa de la Musica watching everyone dance and was captivated
by their movements. At that moment I really wished I could
dance like that too and participate with the rest of the group.
Shortly after, I started taking Casino classes with Vladimir
Aranda (I still do) and spending hours upon hours watching
youtube videos and teaching myself. I took a break from Salsa
during last 4 months of 2008 and finally decided in January
2009 to signup with TDS and take formal classes. I'm a perfectionist
so becoming a great salsa dancer is one of my goals. I've
also made some great friends along the way and I enjoy teaching
others who are interested in learning Salsa.
|
|
Eva Wen
Eva’s dance history began during her university
years. She started taking lessons to learn ballroom dancing
in her home country, China. Years later, Eva moved to Toronto
where she discovered Toronto Dance Salsa. Captivated by the
expressive and social oriented nature of Salsa, Eva took her
first class in 2008 and decided to commit to improving her
style and technique. |
|
| Derek Wisniewski
Looking for something new to challenge himself Derek found
himself at TDS. Having danced for just under a year, he's
known for his determination in refining his technique &
timing while consistently improving his shines & styling
on the dance floor. The energy of the salsa music is his driving
force and the challenges of becoming a more versatile leader
is what feeds his will-power to grow as a salsero.
|
|
Mridu Das
Mridu began to explore and adopt completely opposing forms of
dance such as hip-hop over the course of time until her university
life roused up her dance life. Her zeal for dancing drove her
to explore salsa. With years of Indian classical and hip-hop
experience blending with her 6 months of raw salsa energy on
the floor, you might wonder what inspires her?! It's the very
fact that she enjoys expressing herself with such hunger for
rhythm. If you’ve ever searched for an individual who
can shake up their core, drip sweat drops of passion and style
as if there was an electric fire then you’ve found her!
|
|
Elton Martins
Inspired through his Brazilian roots of samba and other
regional rhythms, Elton has a knack of bringing to life the
very moving sounds that salsa is known for. With over a year
of experience at TDS under his belt, he constantly strives to
be a better dancer by exploring the many realms that salsa encompasses.
A multitude of dances later into his salsa life, he tries to
create an aura of simplicity that can inspire every beginner
dancer that he helps at TDS to realize that even a small interest
in salsa can be turned into a passion.
|
|
Michelle Sui
Dance has always been one of Michelle's passions. She
was trained in ballet and Chinese folk dancing when she was
a child. In 2006, a close friend introduced her to Salsa. Although
she was captivated by the music and the movements, she didn't
start taking salsa lessons until March, 2008 from TDS. Since
then, she has caught the salsa bug and became a helper
in November, 2008. Through this competition she hopes to improve
her dancing and have lots of fun!
|
|
Bobby Cabral
Bobby always enjoyed dancing from a young age, but was embarrassed
because of his two left feet. So in late in 2006, two friends
and he decided to take a class at TDS. He has made many friends
of over the past 2 years and joined the helper team in 2008.
|
|
Winnie Fung
Winnie never knew that salsa dancing would become one
of her favourite hobbies when she took her first beginner
salsa class with TDS in 2007. Her interest in salsa dancing
grew as she advanced through the different levels at TDS.
Winnie became a helper in 2008 and joined the 3rd annual TDS
performance class, which gave her an even greater appreciation
for salsa dancing. It also left her with a desire to improve
her salsa dancing skills through more performances. Winnie
continues to find her dancer-self as she prepares for this
year’s competition, and she is looking forward to give
her best effort on stage in front of the warm and supportive
TDS community.
|
|
Manuel Alvarez
I started dancing salsa as a kid but didn't take any formal
lessons until looking for some distraction during grad school.
Upon arriving in Toronto I knew I wanted to continue doing it
so one of the first things I did was look for a salsa school
and that's how I found TDS. I've enjoyed the the lessons and
the people and and am always excited to help new students. |
|
Julia Brodyansky
Once upon a time, in a Galaxy far-far away, there were
earthlings who could dance...Only a year ago it couldn't look
farther away for Julia: her battered starship has been navigating
the outskirts of the Universe on a seemingly unapproachable
trajectory, for what seemed like light years. Through time/space
curves and cosmic challenges, deserving a story of their own,
only a third attempt to charter a correct course brought her
to a successful landing at TDS in March 2008. (Don't they
say, women can't read maps? Well, at least asking for directions
worked!). There, in salsa dancing she found and firmly staked
her own fantasyland, morphing swiftly and unobtrusively into
a proven salsa-addict. Intergalactic thanks to Sharon and
everyone at TDS! Jumping into becoming a TDS helper definitely
added to feeding the habit. Julia admits that salsa dancing,
her formerly closeted, true calling, while being an all-season
source of newfound happiness, easily combines in itself the
adrenaline rush of a black diamond run, weightless excitement
of skydiving, enough mental exercise to keep even directionally
challenged brains sharp, a mood drug of choice, and intense
workouts with effects similar to those of martial arts training:
all this - in a relaxed and friendly social setting. Oh, and
did I mention fun? This was the main reason for signing up
for a competition; as obviously, wise would not be the right
word to describe expecting mastery after only a year of classes.
But hey, as now salsa is deeply entrenched within, like a
symbiotic life form, it's high time to step out of the comfort
zone and take it up a notch - "to boldly go where one
has never gone before"! |
|
Vincent Cheng
Vincent's salsa journey started in fall of 2006 at
Seneca College as a way to meet other people and have fun.
Although he enjoyed the class out there, it wasn't until he
joined Toronto Dance Salsa in the beginning of 2007, after
a friend's recommendation that he grew a strong passion for
the dance. Toronto Dance Salsa fostered an atmosphere where
people were friendly and the instructors made the class really
fun and enjoyable. Today, he still fondly looks back on those
days, and thanks each and every one who has helped him in
his salsa journey. It brings him no greater joy when dancing
than to see a smile on the partner's face knowing that she
is enjoying as much as he is – dancing to the same music
to a move well executed.
|
|
Marta Slowik
My passion for Salsa evolved from my interest for
Latin Language and Culture. My fascination with dancing led
me to discover TDS in 2006. Since joining I quickly learned
and realized that Salsa is my true passion and identity. With
Salsa dancing came active helping ending up with the desire
of perfecting and moving up to perform at the TDS Competition.
The intense flavor of Latin music and magic of rhythmical
dancing makes me complete! At last the satisfaction of helping
others fulfills one of my inner dreams.
|
|
Alex Florescu
Before joining Toronto Dance Salsa Alex couldn't stand
any kind of latin music. He started taking lessons with TDS
last January only because a friend asked him to and because
he needed something to fill up his spare time. Slowly but
surely, the salsa beat took him over, and after a few months
he was going out salsa dancing constantly. Alex became a helper
for TDS in September and is now enjoying a solid diet of 15-20
hours of salsa dancing every week. Alex loves dancing with
newcomers to salsa. For him, the look ladies get when he leads
them into an unexpected move is priceless. |
|
Stephanie
Cansino
I am 21 years old and started salsa dancing about two months
ago and immediately fell addicted to the scene. At the time
i started salsa dancing i was working and busy with life and
realized i needed to do something that i love to do and that's
when i took up salsa dancing. I find dancing a great way for
me to express my love and passion for life.
|
|
Nick Sagias
In 2001, during a corporate outing, a co-worker pulled Nick
on the
dance floor and showed him some basic salsa steps. Nick had
so much
fun he wanted to take salsa lessons – being shy he put
off the dance
classes for the next seven years. In the winter of 2008, he
was
re-inspired when a close friend started taking lessons and
was
describing how much fun it was. Nick joined Toronto Dance
Salsa in
June 2008 and became a helper in February 2009. Realizing
it’s not as
easy as it looks, he is continually practicing and taking
lessons to
improve.
|
|
Karen
Di Monte
Karen has been salsa dancing since 2008. While studying law
overseas in Leicester, England, she enrolled in Cuban salsa
classes and was instantly hooked! Upon returning to Toronto
in June 2008, Karen was introduced to Toronto Dance Salsa
where she began taking salsa and tango lessons concurrently.
Before long, Karen was addicted to the salsa beat, and going
out salsa dancing several times a week. Since then, she has
developed passion for salsa and loves having fun on the dance
floor. Karen continues to seek new and creative ways to improve
her dancing skills and technique while attending various workshops,
congresses, socials, clubs and most recently, competing in
the TDS competition.
|
|
John Radtke
John Radtke has been with TDS for almost 4 years, and this
is his 3rd year competing in the amateur competition. Aside
from helping out in classes, John has performed with a few
amateur performance choreography groups including Toronto
Dance Helper performance class, and most recently Ifreestyle's
7th Performance class. He continues to better himself as a
dancer through lessons, workshops and congresses, and spends
much of his free time dancing the night away on the dancefloors
of Toronto's amazing Latin club scene.
|
|
2009 Judges Biographies:
|
Teddy
Olaso - United Salseros/Mambo Mosaic
Teddy Olaso started Salsa
in 1997, and along with Rene Delgado, established UnitedSalseros;
one of Canada’s finest instructional companies. He studied
and took Salsa workshops with various international instructors
and started locally with Yasmina Ramzy and Maya DaSilva of
Arabesque Dance Company, and then continued with Afro-Cuban
lessons with Ana Machado and its practical applications to
Salsa.
He has an educational
background in Office Administration, Social Work, Corporate
Communications and NLP, as well as progressive training in
internal martial arts. Furthermore, he worked for Toronto
Casting Talent Agency for 5 years and had exposure about the
arts community in general.
Teddy is credited for developing innovative, comprehensive
and challenging training program for all levels of dancers,
instructors and performers in order to develop their technical,
choreography and artistic development with a balanced vision.
He continues to be sought by students, some of whom are well-established
performers and teachers, simply by referral or from his international
congress workshop instructions.
Along with UnitedSalseros’ Assistant Instructor’s
Training Program, he also developed his pet project, Mambo
Mosaic, a professional and amateur dance company that have
had more than 300 members due to Teddy’s ability to
manage and transform students of all levels, various learning
capability, and different types of size and height into skilled
performers. Most importantly, however, be believes that beauty
of social dancing in Salsa has no equal and must be present
in both the dance floor and on stage no matter what medium
it may take and should be stressed accordingly.
|
|
Angus
Dirnbeck - iFreestyle.ca
Angus Dirnbeck is
the cofounder of iFreeStyle.ca, a Toronto based
salsa On2 dance school and performance company. He has been
dancing with his partner and iFreeStyle.ca cofounder, Caryl
Cuizon, since the spring of 2000. He has been a featured
dancer and instructor on stage, tv and film and is regularly sought
out as a competition judge. Along with Caryl, Angus is currently
choreographing for the upcoming theatre production: "The
Weeping Salsa".
|
|
Vanesa
Stay - Latin Energy
Vanesa Stay started her training at the age of five at the
best private Ballet Institute in Argentina where she trained
intensively for 7 years in Ballet, Flamenco, Jazz, Argentine
Folk and Tango. By the age of 6, she was performing in Theatres.
After moving to Canada in '89, she continued dancing as a
hobby.
Vanesa discovered salsa
dancing in January of '99 and fell in love with the dance.
She began her training with local & international professional
dance instructors such as (Tito & Tamara from Puerto Rico,
Super Mario from UK, Al & Eddie from L.A. to name a few).
After months of intense training with various local instructors
including Oscar Naranjo, Vanesa became a Professional Salsa
dancer in Dec. of '99.
She has also trained in Argentine Tango with various instructors
including Tango World Champion "Fabian Peralta"
during her yearly trip to Argentina.
Vanesa has traveled to many countries teaching, competing
and performing. With each opportunity, she continued to improve
her skills by taking lessons with world renowned instructors.
Vanesa’s life and passion is dancing but she also has
a diploma in computer science and a full time job as a web
designer / programmer analyst.
|
| |
Oscar
Naranjo - Latin Groove Productions
Oscar Naranjo started Latin Groove Productions
with a vision of a sharing his passion and love for latin
dance. Latin Groove is new, fresh, innovative dance company
using a fusion of different rhythms and movements. We thrive
on high energy and quality performances! Our dancers come
from various dance backgrounds and come together to deliver
the spirit, the groove and the rhythm of dance. Our performance
team would be happy to provide high quality entertainment
for all your private or corporate events.Oscar discovered
his passion for Latin dances when he was only 16. With each
opportunity, he continued to improve his skills by training
with world renowned dance instructors.
Oscar has been performing, teaching, and competing since 1989.
He has an extensive dance background consisting of salsa,
merengue, cumbia, bachata, tango and cha cha cha.
He has also trained with Tango World Champion "Fabian
Peralta" during his trip to Argentina in Feb. 2007.
His hard work and dedication have always paid off. He was
awarded first place in 25 salsa competitions and proudly represented
Canada in various Congresses around the world among other
important events.
Oscar’s dream is to travel the world teaching, dancing,
competing and sharing his Latin roots. With each journey he
hopes to acquire new experiences and techniques to help him
grow as a dancer, choreographer and instructor.
|
| |
Rene
Delgado - United Salseros
Bio Coming Soon! |
The
2008 Final Round Results and Photos:
What an amazing evening the finals turned out to be! We had almost 700 people in attendance to cheer on our 5 finalist couples competing for the title of 2008 TDS Amateur Competition Winners. Congratulations to Kelly Elliott and Barry Ip who won first place, Camela Adams and Manuel Alvarez who placed second, Therese Maceda and James Kalfin who placed third and Marsha Soefrieddie, John Radtke, Jennifer Botelho and Tyrone Sterling for placing as runners up.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the evening unforgettable - George(ous) our host, our genrous sponsors, the amazing judges (Teddy Olaso, Rene Delgado, Angus Dirnbeck, Ana Machado and Salsa Steph) and the creative performers (iFreestyle, Mambo Mosaic and GoDanceMambo).
Here are the winners' photos and the prizes that they won!
|
Kelly Elliott
& Barry Ip
1st Place Winners
Prizes include:
- A full Canada Salsa Congress Pass for each of them, a full Miami Salsa Congress Pass for each of them with 1 night hotel stay, a full World Salsa Competition Pass for each, 3 pairs each of dance shoes from both Century Wide shoes, Gabellini Shoes and Addicted to Dance Shoes, dinner & show from Plaza Flamingo, Peridot Rest Lounge Gift Certificates, 1 year membership to Lula Lounge's salsa Fridays, t-shirts from Shokkwear, Meet Market Adventures Gift Certificate and Trophies
|
|
Camela Adams
& Manuel Alvarez
2nd Place Winners
Prizes include:
- 2 full passes to the Calgary Salsa Congress, 2 full passes to the Miami Salsa Congress w DVD, 2 pairs of shoes each from Century Wide Shoes and Gabellini Shoes, Salsa T-shirts from Shokkwear, Gift vouchers from Addicted to Dance Shoes, Meet Market Adventures, Peridot Resto Lounge and Trophies
|
|
Therese Maceda
& James Kalfin
3rd Place Winners
Prizes Include:
- Evening passes to the Miami Salsa Congress, 2 pairs of shoes each from Century Wide Shoes and Gabellini Shoes, Salsa T-shirts from Shokkwear, Gift vouchers from Addicted to Dance Shoes, Meet Market Adventures, Peridot Resto Lounge and Trophies
|
|
Jennifer Botelho
& Tyrone Sterling
Runners Up |
|
Marsha Soefreddie
& John Radtke
Runners Up |
The 2008 Five Finalists:
Congratulations to the following five finalists who will be battling it out Friday July 4, 2008 at the Finals Round of the competition at Six Degrees Nightclub. Thank you to everyone who participated - it was an amazing evening with lots of excitement, friendships and fun! Thanks to George(ous) for being the host with the most and the judges and performance teams from iFreestyle and Latin Energy for the spectacular performances!
To view photos from the preliminaries please visit:
|
|
Tyrone Sterling
&
Jennifer Botelho |
| |
|
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John Radtke
&
Marsha Soefreddie
|
| |
|
|
|
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James Kalfin
&
Therese Maceda |
| |
|
|
|
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Manuel Alvarez
&
Camela Adams
|
| |
|
|
|
|
Barry Ip
&
Kelly Elliott |
The 2008 Competitors:
Camela Adams
Camela was born into a family that has a passion for dancing. Having a grandfather who use to teach dancing in the basement of his home back in South America, to family functions and local Caribbean Carnivals, dancing has always embraced Camela's life and family. After hitting the salsa clubs with friends a few years back, Camela feel in love with the smooth, sultry beats of salsa and was determine to learn how to dance to salsa music. Camela decided to visit a TDS class in order to see the basic steps of salsa dancing. She immediately knew that she wanted to start taking lessons. She joined TDS in June of 2007 and has been taking classes and volunteering as a helper. Camela continues to frequent the local latin clubs and TDS outings simply for the love of the music and dance.
|
|
| Manuel Alvarez
Manuel has grown up with salsa music and is always captivated by the sound. He has been a member of TDS since March 2006 and enjoys the interaction with other students. Through this competition he hopes to continue his salsa growth and just have fun.
|
|
Jennifer Botelho
Before joining Toronto Dance Salsa, Jennifer enjoyed the sounds of Latin music immensely and hitting the salsa clubs but at some point that wasn't enough. She was so eager to learn more so that she can express her passion for dancing without limitation. It was time for Jennifer to step it up and make dancing a bigger part of her life, which lead her to TDS in July of 2007. Since then Jennifer has been able to improve her dancing techniques and meet some amazing people. Regardless of the outcome of the Toronto Dance Salsa Amateur Competition, she will hold this great experience close to her heart and continue to challenge herself. This is the first of many milestones to come!
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|
Tyrone Sterling
Tyrone began dancing in April 2002. After a break Tyrone began classes at Toronto Dance Salsa in the summer of 2006 and became a helper in March 2007. It has been a great experience for him and he continues to learn and challenge himself by learning to dance on 2, joining the Toronto Dance Salsa performance group and now competing.
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Therese Maceda
Therese grew up dancing; Hawaiian and Filipino folk dancing led the way to 12 years of training and competing in tap and jazz. After an extended break from formal dance instruction, she is happy to be back in her dancing shoes once again. Therese began salsa lessons on a lark with a friend and has since re-discovered her passion for all things dance, in particular taking classes and dancing herself. While dancing, her number one goal is always to have fun, but she also enjoys the opportunity to express herself, as well as the mental and physical challenge of learning something new. One of the things about salsa that keeps her interested is that she must rely on a connection with her partner to become a better dancer and that is very different from any style of dancing she has previously learned. Therese hopes to study as many styles of dance as she can possibly squeeze into her free time and vows never to stop dancing again!
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James Kalfin
In 2000 James moved to Toronto from Montreal. He was exposed to Salsa in Montreal, but never actually built up the nerve to try it. Being a newcomer in Toronto James thought taking on salsa would be a great way to meet people and so in early 2002 he started with Toronto Dance Salsa. Since then he has met many great friends and has been loving dancing ever since.
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Mildred Quinto
Mildred's friend invited her to go out to a salsa club for the first time and she was so amazed that the people there danced so well. She became interested and searched for a dance school on the internet. She found a ballroom school and called right away, but had a terrible experience on the phone. So she tried Toronto Dance Salsaand spoke to the instructor who was so warm, nice and very accomodating. She promised to call me as soon as the new class began, and she did, and that was Sharon Galor. From there everything is history. Now Mildred says to herself, 'I am Mildred Quinto and I am a salsa addict." No regrets -because of TDS she is blessed with very nice friends and acquaintances.
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David Charing
David's salsa journey began in the spring of 2006 when he joined TDS. He progressed from Level 1 up to the Toronto Dance Salsa 2nd performance group. Today, he continues to be an active TDS helper and strives to improve his dancing by attending Salsa conventions and workshops. He has never looked back ever since Salsa saved his life last year after his plane went down in northern Muskoka where he was able to make a signal fire by Salsa moves alone.
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Natasha Gibson
A friend of Natash took her to a small salsa club in Little Italy and pulled her on stage to dance. Embarassed as she felt, she did what she could, fell in love with the music and found her natural groove. That sparked her interest in salsa and she attended her first salsa cruise summer of 2006. When Natasha saw the dancers and all their snazy combinations, tricks and dips, she had to learn the steps so she could actually dance. She did some research online and found Toronto Dance Salsa and signed up!! From then on, she's been out to various salsa clubs and is having a ball learning new combos!
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Joseph Sackey
Joseph Sackey is a stepping choreographer, entertainer,and personal life coach. He recently completed his last semester at the University of Toronto, studying Psychology. He has been a part of Toronto Dance Salsa for over two years, as a student to begin with and later as a helper. Joseph was inspired to learn salsa when he was rejected by a girl at a salsa club. From that moment on, he was determined to learn salsa. Joseph is excited about dancing with Natasha in the competition and hopes his years of dance and performance experience will contribute to their success. |
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Kelly Elliott
Bio and photo coming soon!
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Barry Ip
Barry's salsa journey began in April 2006. He was talking to a friend about salsa and from there he was introduced to TDS. Since then, he has taken most of the classes offered by TDS including the Toronto Dance Salsa 2nd Performane Class. He is also currently an active helper at TDS, and enjoys helping others learn. He continues to strive to improve himself by learning from watching other salsa dancers.
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Marsha Soefredie
Marsha has always found latin music to be so infectious - she can't help but want to dance whenever she hears it. While on vacation a few years ago, someone pulled her on the dance floor and patiently showed her the basic steps, a couple turns and a dip. She was hooked. Marsha was thrilled to finally be able to marry the salsa footwork with the latin rhythms that she so enjoyed. To build on this foundation, she started taking lessons with TDS in spring 2007 and has enjoyed every minute of it. She looks forward to continually improving her dancing as well as meeting people from all walks of life that share one common passion - salsa!
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John Radtke
John Radtke joined Toronto Dance Salsa about 2 and a half years ago, and has been a helper for about a year and a half. He was born into a musical family, and the rhythm of latin music is what has kept him dancing until now, and will for years to come. The best part is that it all started with him losing a bet to his sister who dragged him to his first class, and he's been loving it ever since. Although he has many years of experience on stage performing as a singer, last year was the first time he performed as a dancer. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and ended up placing second. He had so much fun with it last year that he's decided to give it another shot. He is very excited to be dancing with Marsha this year, and is confident that they will both enjoy their experience. He was also part of the Toronto Dance Salsa Performance group, which gave him a new perspective on choreographed dancing. He continues to push his salsa limits while attending congresses, workshops, and most recently he has begun studying ON2 Salsa, which he is becoming very passionate about.
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Andrea Ferguson
Andrea was first intoroduced to salsa when she was given a free introductory lesson and loved it! She has been taking lessons with Toronto Dance Salsa for 7 months and enjoyes showing her new moves off at the clubs. This is her first time entering a salsa competition.
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Jonathan Williams
Jonathan is a screenwriter who caught the salsa bug while traveling in Cali, Colombia. After many nights of embarrassing himself and his country on the dance floor, he came back to Canada and started lessons with Toronto Dance Salsa. Now, one year later, this gringo has learned a few things, and he looks forward to the day when he can return to the Salsateques of Cali and hold his own.
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The 2007 Competition Results - Here are the Winners!
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Nina Huang
& Alfred Kee
1st Place Winners
Prizes include:
- A full Canada Salsa Congress Pass for each of them, a full Miami Salsa Congress Pass for each of them with 1 night hotel stay, a full World Salsa Competition Pass for each, 2 pairs each of dance shoes from both Century Wide shoes and Addicted to Dance Shoes, $100 at Amaretto's Restaurant, dinner & show from Plaza Flamingo, Eggplant Restaurant Gift Certificates, an Ipod docking station and 1 year membership to Lula Lounge's salsa Fridays, t-shirts from Salstar and Trophies
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Monica Della-Quercia
& John Radtke
2nd Place Winners
Prizes include:
- Gift vouchers from Addicted to Dance Shoes and 1 pair of shoes each from Century Wide Shoes, 1 year membership to Lula Lounge Salsa Fridays, Eggplant Restaurant Gift Certificates, Dinner and show at Plaza Flamingo, Canada Salsa Congress Friday Night Passes, Miami Salsa Congress Passes and Trophies
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Tania Fertuck
& Rajeev Samuel
3rd Place WinnersPrizes Include:
- Gift vouchers from Addicted to Dance Shoes and Century Wide Shoes, 1 year membership to Lula Lounge Salsa Fridays, Eggplant Restaurant Gift Certificates, Gift Certificate for dinner at Green Bamboo, Canada Salsa Congress Thursday Night Passes, and Trophies
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Kimberly Robinson
& Mark Curtis
Runners Up |
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Stella Chan
& Steve Smith
Runners Up |
2007 Performance Groups
Latin Energy Kids |
Ifreestyle |
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Mambo Mosaic |
Contestants |
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****Photography provided by Quan Zhang ****
The 2007 Five Finalists
A big congratulations to the 5 Finalists of the Preliminary Round. The following 5 Finalists will be performing their choreographed routine in the Finals Round on May 25, 2007 at 6 Degrees.
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Tania Fertuck & Rajeev Samuel |
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Kimberly Robinson & Mark Curtis |
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Kelly Elliott & Barry Ip |
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Monica Della-Quercia & John Radtke |
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Nina Huang & Alfred Kee |
SalsaTO Article about the 2007 Competition"1st Competition in 4 Years!
The heat outside was nothing compared to the heat inside at 6 Degrees Friday as over 550 people packed the place for the first salsa competition in four years - Toronto Dance Salsa (TDS)'s 1st Amateur Salsa Competion.
Five fearless and intrepid couples - Monica & John, Tania & Rajeev, Steve & Stella, Kimberly & Barry, Nina & Alfred - took the stage to show it off to the judges and to the hundreds in the audience.
Anticipation was in the air. "She was in my Level 5 class. ..." " ... Where did they learn the dips?" Who was going to win?
Some Serious Loot
The stakes were high with the winning couple getting: 2 full Canada Salsa Congress passes, 2 full Miami Salsa Congress passes with a 1 night hotel stay, 2 full World Salsa Federation passes, 2 pairs each of dance shoes from Century Wide Dance Shoes and Addicted 2 Dance Shoes, $100 at Amaretto's Restaurant, a Plaza Flamingo Dinner & Show, Eggplant Restaurant Gift Certificates, an Ipod docking station and two 1 year Lula Lounge's Salsa Fridays membership, Tees from Salstar and Trophies. That's some serious loot!
A full evening was planned, with lessons, the competition, dancing, more dancing, three shows and the winners and a surprise.
A little something for everybody got the night going - a multi-level beginner, intermediate, advanced - lesson taught by TDS instructors with about an hour of DJ Efren's music to practice with before the main event!
MC George, whose 6' 5"+ towered over the stage and Katie's 4' 10 & 1/2" got down to business around 11:00pm. with a quickie salsa step and and Sharon's announcment on her recent engagement.
The Judges
The five judges, all experienced performers and choreographers were introduced and took their places in front of the stage. iFreestyle's Angus, United Salseros's Teddy, Latin Energy's Oscar & Vanesa and Ana Machado settled in for a challenging night.
The couples came on stage together for a two minute warm-up to get a feel for the floor, shake out any last minute jitters, get used to the lights and the buzz from the crowd. The buzz got louder as glimpses of what was to come flashed by.
Numbers from the hat set the competition order.
MC George introduced each couple with a very brief bio. The crowd could see the faces behind the names or the "couple x."
The Competitors
Kimberly & Mark drew the toughest spot, first up. Warming up the crowd - and the judges - that's really tough. MC George noted that Kimberly caught the salsa bug on a trip to Cuba and started lessons with TDS in the fall of 2005, took all six levels, and started helping Sharon with classes. The feeling of flying during spins is her biggest kick! Summer 2005 was Mark's foray into salsa. A few visits to Ba Ba Luu got him hooked. The bar was set.
Monica & John were second up. MC George mentioned that a Spanish father and an Uruguayan mother infused Monica with rhythm and soul that only salsa could bring out. A busy mom, her 8 and 11 year old girls are very proud of her. John began taking lessons with Toronto Dance Salsa in late 2005 and ran - danced through? through levels one to five.
Stella & Steve were third up. MC George told the crowd that Stella's first salsa experience was at a company salsa party. she got dipped and that was it. She wanted more! Steve caught the salsa bug from the silver screen. Patrick Swayze & Kelly Lynch's Roadhouse was the culprit and the influence on his dance. One sexy routine coming up!
Tania & Rajeev drew the fourth spot. MC George noted that Tania wanted back into dance, and ballroom was one way. She loved her ballroom. But the instructor took the summer off. So Tania took a Level 2 salsa class in May 2006 to kill time waiting for ballroom instructor to come back. Not! It's been Salsa ever since. Rajeev started dancing as it was on his "to do list" before the big three - oh. Salsa's fun factor, the music and its self-expression hooked him!
Alfred & Nina drew lucky 5 and had a warmed up crowd. Nina picked up Salsa during a year teaching down in Medellin, Columbia with her friends. Her Toronto friends started taking her to some of downtown clubs - Ba Ba Luu perhaps? That's how she met Alfred. No formal classes yet, so Nina signed up with TDS in January 2006. No looking back. Alfred's only vice coming away from a job in the notorious Amsterdam was an uncurable salsa bug.
In a blink, it was over - Five 2' to 2' 30" performances gone in a swirl of arms, legs, faces and music.
Now the judges had to retire and thrash out amongst themselves the winners.
Three Shows
How to keep the crowd distracted? Shows! Why Not?
Oscar & Vanessa's Latin Energy Kids filled the stage with their own magic that was seen at the 4th Salsa Congress and the 2nd Winter Salsa Carnival. Little Bria is not so little now, having been performing for several years.
iFreestyle.ca's performance group showed 'em what the ON2 crowd can do - to a Western theme.
United Salseros' Mambo Mosiac mixed a little tango with their salsa to give the crowd a spicy treat.
The Winners
MC George got everyone's attention again and it was time... The moment everyone in the place was waiting for. Everyone had put in months of practice; finding a partner, choosing music, practicing, practicing, practicing. ... Who won?
Here is the list - in order. Nina & Alfred - 1st; Monica & John 2nd; Tania & Rajeev - 3rd; Runners up Steve & Stella; Kimberly & Mark.
Everyone came away a winner. It takes guts to compete, to put one's dance before the world to see and be judged.
The evening ended with a huge birthday circle for Evan - even George gave him a spin!
The Toronto Dance Salsa gang can look forward to a second salsa competition. If the first one was any indication, a second one will be beyond belief. Start getting in some of those performance classes in now and hunt down some music. If you think the salsa bug is bad, the competition and performance bug is worse...
Sponsors included: Canada Salsa Congress, Miami Salsa Congress, World Salsa Federation, § Century Wide Dance Shoes, Addicted to Dance Shoes, Super Latin Music, Lula Lounge, Plaza Flamingo, Eggplant Restaurant, Amaretto's Restaurant, Plaza flamingo, Super Latin Music, Salstar T-shirts.
People who made the night a succes include: Katie, Nicole, Kimberly, Nina, Anthony, Christianne, Evan, George and more.
Article and Photos Provide by SalsaTO
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