Hi Mea, the best way for you to find shoe shops in Budapest would be to either do a search on www.google.com and type in "Budapest dance shoes" or if they have a yellow pages, look for dance school supplies; and if that doesn't work, contact any ballroom school instructors and ask where they buy their shoes and which ones they recommend

Hi Richard, I guess you don't know about www.google.com where you can put Orquesta Maracay CD album and get all the results from that cause I found one album that you can get the song, but no one seems to have the album... in my quickie search...

http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/music/B00004YBY6/402-1511012-3473708

I'll post it on the site and see if anyone responds...
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year -- Rose Knows

Dear Kristen, unfortunately, I couldn't go that night and I haven't had any feedback..

Dear Sandy, sorry, I'm not familiar with that name, but maybe one of our Readers can shed some light...

Dear Ken, thanks for sharing your favourites -- you can access all my favourite dance song lists from the home page under the Hot CD Release section or our new latin music section.

Dear Sara, my goodness, everyone seems to be shopping for shoes in Toronto! If you look at the email below for November 21st, I've already listed some places in Toronto to shop... Rose Knows

A note from DJ Billy Bryans: very different latin groups with similar sounding names Son Aché are a son and son montuno (ie Cuban) group who do a Friday night residency at Cervezaria near the corner of College and Ossington. Con Caché are a new salsa and descarga (ie Nuyorkian) group with members from Vibrason who debut at The Bamboo on Dec 15th. Both are excellent.

Dear Cedric, what a nice surprise to hear from someone in India. At this time, I'm not aware of any videos on tumbas. You may want to try the search engines and see if there are any dance websites that may list them -- Rose
On 11/28, one reader wrote: Take a look at Descarga.com. They have
probably at least two dozen instructional videos on Afro-Cuban drumming.

Dear Amanda, the places where you can try on and buy dance shoes are Kleen Air at Yonge & Wellesley, Dance Plus or Stardust Dance Shoes (you'll probably need a car to get there).

If you are interested in dance sneakers, then try Malabar Dance Supplies downtown. They are located at 14 McCaul St. (just north of Queen, west of University Ave.), 416-598-2581. The more popular styles are by Blochs and Capezio. Another store is Toronto Dancewear Centre near Hwy. 401 and Wilson.

Jan. 17 - "My Escape" featuring Rose Knows on Rogers Cable 54 - Global Prime Network at 7:30 and 11:30 pm, and again on Sunday, January 20, 2002 at 10 am.

Dear Alfie, I totally understand where you're coming from now that I've visited other salsa cities and have started to ask what are those great songs being played by many of the artists you have mentioned and more. personally don't think our music totally sucks as I happen to also like DLG and other commercial or romantic Salsa, along with the old and new classic salsa, such as El Gran Combo, Ray Barretto, etc. Being Puerto Rican and having grown up with the music, you are exposed to it and live it and breathe it. To those of us who are not as fortunate to be born to salsa music, we have to find out the hard way and can only be exposed to what's available in our nightclubs.

Dear Chris, that's partially why I started the Hot CD Releases page, many of the CD's I'm recommending have alot of great salsa already on one CD. When I've caught up on some of my backlog, I'll recommend some other CD's which you may enjoy collecting, but I also highly recommend going to a latin store and listen to "compilations" or the greatest hits of various artists. In many cases, the type of salsa you may enjoy dancing to may not be exactly the same as what I recommend as I enjoy dancing to various salsa, Sonora Carruseles, a much faster tempo, versus Marc Anthony, who is more Romantica... Rose Knows

Dear Steve, thanks for sharing this info as I unfortunately could not attend as I was already in Ottawa that evening. I also had a chance to talk to Billy Bryans who organized the event and he was very happy with the turnout and the Media. Apparently, they were a success! Can't wait to catch them the next time around... Rose Knows

Dear Maura, we did a quick search and found the following information which might help you...

(1) http://www.mergetel.com/~sbrewer/DanceNiagara.htm

(2) Niagara Falls Couples
If you are interested in Latin Dancing in the Buffalo/ Niagara Area. I believe a club in downtown Buffalo called La Luna offers courses on Sat. at 9PM.

(3) La Conga Loca, 1412 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 883-2300 www.wendellrivera.com
"Bienvenido"… Welcome to an enchanting Latin experience of dining, dancing and romancing.
Our menu is a mouth-watering compendium of some of the best family recipes that have traveled from one generation to another. All of our meals are prepared here daily with only the best ingredients.
Enjoy live musical performances by top Salsa and Latin jazz bands throughout the evening. Buffalo's own Wendell Rivera and his Latin Jazz All-Star cast will keep you dancing with his latest variety of music selections. Our unmatched Puerto Rican flavor and the best in entertainment complete your Latin experience.
Buen Provecho!!…please, enjoy yourself!

Dear Sonia, you can try www.salsafolie.com or www.montrealconsabor.com. The more popular ones I keep hearing about in Montreal usually is Cubanos and Salsatheque -- Rose Know

THE PAST
My complaint is that I wish everyone stopped teaching and came back to the clubs as normal guys and gals. It was so much fun about 2 years back, although I am happy that I caught the tail end of it because it seems like it will never be the same again. Everybody teaches now or performs. It has become work. When I discovered Salsa music, it was like waking up on Christmas morning when I was 8. Then to be able to go to a club and find people who felt the same way as I did and dance until I got blisters was euphoric.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing anyone. This influx of incredible teachers/performers is only going to get Toronto noticed even more and develop the careers of some very talented people, but sighhhhhh. I can remember Circus. It all happened so fast. Where did the time go? Well hey at least i'm only 24, half you guys are in your 30's so hopefully i'll catch a second wind because I still have many years to go. I mean look at Oscar! Thanks for reading -- Darrylllll

Dear Malcolm, unfortunately, I'm not aware of any clubs in Brampton.

Dear B, if you mean ballroom dance shoes, the places where you can try on and buy dance shoes are Kleen Air at Yonge & Wellesley, Dance Plus or Stardust Dance Shoes (you'll probably need a car to get there). If you mean dance sneakers, then try Malabar Dance Supplies downtown.

Dear Mike, unfortunately, we don't have any salsa contacts in Winnipeg, but I did manage to do a quick search and found this email address for a Winnipeg salsa forum. You might also try calling some ballroom dance schools or some latin restaurants and asking for info.

Dear Sarah, I did a quick search and it seems I'm the only website with a photo gallery at the moment -- Rose Knows

Dear TOsalsa, I read your review this past week about It Nightclub and decided to check it out on Thursday night. This is the most incredible Latin venue that I have been to in the city. For the serious salsa dancer, I can't imagine a better place to spend the evening. Downstairs has a very warm feeling when you walk into the lounge area, candle-light, fireplace, nice decor, etc. They even had some hors d'ouevres when I arrived which was a really nice touch.

I wasn't even aware of upstairs where the main club is until I started to see people moving through the hallway. As I reached the top of the stairs, I couldn't believe the size of the dance floor (all hardwood by the way) and the high ceilings make you feel like there is so much space. During the entire evening, I heard nothing but salsa and Alvaro has to be one of the best DJ's in the city. On top of all of this, there were no flashing laser lights to confuse you while you are dancing. The lighting changed a couple of times throughout the evening but only to go from a really nice reddish background to a funky blue colour. For anyone who hasn't been there yet, I would recommend it highly as a club that has it all for a great night of salsa dancing.

Thanks and keep up the good work with the website -- Matthew
PS They even had a couple of live conga players on the stage for most of the evening

Dear Hisako and Steve, please check our Travel Diaires for Hawaii, and luckily for you, we also have some friends who are going very soon and will hopefully bring lots of great info back!
October 26, 2001
Sure! If anyone is heading out here to Hawaii, feel free to send them my way. I'd be glad to meet them at the clubs, introduce them around, and make sure that they know the local spots to visit while they are on the island. Edie just sent a couple from chicago out here, and now they know everyone in the scene ;) -- Rob

Dear Ann, unfortunately there really isn't a good store for ballroom shoes downtown, but you could try Kleen Air at Yonge & Wellesley or also try Dance Plus or Stardust Dance Shoes who are further out. Regarding long black or red dresses... I would suggest checking out a mall with lots of women's clothing as long black party dresses will be in full force for the holiday season. I've even found small stores on Yonge Street near Wellesley that sometimes have great dresses or clothes for dancing. Good luck in your search... Rose Knows

Dear Readers, please email us if you have any information.

Dear Readers, please email us if you have any information.

Dear Emanuel, thanks for emailing us with this info and I'm really surprised that they do this because they have always let me in for free on Fridays when I've gotten there before 10:30 pm. (that's usually the only night I go to El Rancho or Plaza Flamingo) -- very strange; but didn't your friends know you can also print off this coupon which is also on our site?

Maybe print out a copy of this page from the toronto.com website to take with you...
Maybe your friends should possibly phone ahead and double-check in case it's an evening they don't allow anyone in for free, such as the long weekends possibly; and don't forget, we can't always guarantee that the club info is always accurate as clubs change their policies all the time. We rely on word-of-mouth for much of our up-to-date info. But thanks for writing and letting us know.

Dear Readers, please email us if you have any information.

Dear Clara, if you're looking for ballroom shoes, I suggest Dance Plus or Stardust Dance Shoes. If it's just regular street shoes, then you will have to go store to store and look for thin-soled leather shoes that will support your ankles, but they will wear out quicker than ballroom shoes. With ballroom shoes, they fit like a glove but you shouldn't wear them outside as they have a suede bottom. Hope this helps.

Dear Bing, you can get music and some videos from Super Latin Music in Toronto or try visiting any of your local music stores and look for the latin section.

Dear Alain, you can check out our Club Hangouts and What's Happening section on the right of our homepage as it has all the latest info on favourite clubs and salsa events in the City.

Good Day. I am a TV Producer in Dallas Texas, putting together a Salsa/Mambo related show for Dallas Community TV, a not for profit, non commercial, volunteer organization. This Volunteer production geared to introducing the North Texas community to our culture, Music, Dance, and way of life. The Salsa/ Mambo movement is Hot here in Dallas, as transplants from East and West coasts bring a variety of styles and moves to our growing community. This show is strictly voluntary and I will be sending copies to Community Television studios nationwide. Our people believe in this production and have put a lot of their free time into each segment of the show. We have had many obstacles to overcome, but we keep on moving forward.

We are looking for new talent in Music, Dance, and other related entertainment. If you or anyone you know would like to send a demo, please email me.

Thanks, Palante & Salsa forever
Tony Pacheco, Producer/Director

Instructor's list
In spite of your lengthy explanation why only some instructors are listed, it is totally unclear why some of the decidedly best instructors are not there: Vladimir Aranda of La Fregata and Spanish Center, Ana Machado and Gordon of Plaza Flamingo and El Rancho respectively, Guillermo Baez of Latin Fever, Martin...

It is NOT the matter of advertizing their classes, prices and so on. They are simply not listed. Having a site like this is a responsibility. Your comments about the instructors that teach or not teach at the night clubs seem to indicate that teaching at the night clubs is inferior. That is however how it all started with Josie Neglia teaching at Berlin and later teaching at the Mayan in LA with Francisco and Johny Vazques teaching at the night clubs all over LA, Luis and Joby teaching at La Conga, etc.

Of course it is your site and your choice, your preferences are your preferences. Simple honesty would be to just come out and say it as it is -- Rayuelo