October 16, 2003 - Congresses

Dear S;
I know what you feel it can really be intimidating to see all the advanced dancers going at it on the congress dancefloor but I can tell you from experience that even the advanced dancers (the really good ones) will take a couple of minutes to watch YOU dance because they know that even they have something to learn and as one of my teachers told me "No one can do it quite like you do it". A few years ago I started going to congresses and was pleasantly surprised to see some of my "beginner" moves apearing in professional routines the year after. -- Francisco

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October 18, 2003 -- Canada Salsa Congress

I liked the congress, especially the workshops. My friend from the U.S. was extremely surprised that the best workshops he encountered where the ones from Canada. She told me that the Toronto instructors, especially, were good at giving very clear instructions, and she was extremely impressed with the Cuban styling class with Anna Matchado and the breakdown detail that made it easy to learn. I was not particularly happy when I took the class with Giovannie, Stephanie and Mark and Teddy and his teaching partner because the room was so packed and so damn small! Yet, I have to say that most of them made the most out of it and did an extremely fine job. It's funny, when I showed some of my friends here and the U.S. some of the patterns I learned, they automatically assumed I learned it from the New York instructors when most of them I learned in home grown soil! In the performance arena, I must be objective and say that Toronto still has a lot of catching up to do although I would not necessarily say that the performances were bad. In addition, what's up with all these weird "alternative intros" with other dance forms. Is there anything in Salsa as is that can be considered beautiful without all the special effects? Anyway, that's just my opinion, and I don't have to be right. -- Manuel

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October 24, 2003 -- Canada Salsa Congress

Hello 'S'

Thank you for initiating a forum to discuss the TO Congress. I agree with some of your sentiments. But first, thank you Jen for bringing the Congress to Toronto.

As someone who has only been taking a couple group lessons each week for the past 8 months I was unsure if the Congress would be worthwhile for me. But I am so glad I went for I had a terrific time.

The highlights for me were the shows (wasn’t that 10 yo couple from NY terrific), Face-Off with Eddie and Al, talking with top-notch instructors / dancers, watching and observing truly good instructors at work.

Although most of the workshops were too advanced for me (reflecting my level – or lack thereof), it was good to see how the top instructors instruct and how much they pack in one hour of instruction. I wonder if there are many (any?) instructors in TO who have the energy of the instructors we saw at the congress and can impart the amount and quality of instruction these folks did.

One thing that struck me was how the really good dancers danced rather than what turn patterns / routine they did. At least on a few occasions I could see leaders doing routines that were not particularly complex but looked very appealing.

Overall, the Congress was both humbling and inspiring. If the energy, quality of instruction and collection of talented dancers does not inspire a salsa enthusiast, what can? -- SC

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October 26, 2003 -- salsa congress

well, i loved watching the social dancing, i got bored of the performances after a while cause after the first 19 it kinda got repititive, they really should limit how many performances they have, at the end of the night nobody was saying "yes papa mc, aiihhht" they were like "shutup and lets dance already"!!!!! Mind u, the samba dance at the end woke me up quick like!!!!(saturday night)

Anyways, my main gripe is WHAT WAS UP WITH THE MUSIC?!!?!??!?! yes, yes, yes, we're aware that the dj's wanna impress us with their knowledge of the "classics", but please!!! Salsa has evolved and produced some amazing tracks, why u gonna play music that's 30 years old?!?!?!?!? The music was just too slow and dry, no funk at all. It was forcing ppl to dance ballroom style salsa, i mean, how much funk can u have dancing to salsa that slow? Throw on something fast and exciting i.e. Elio Eeve(actually, NEVER even heard a dj in T.O. play his music albeit it's just incredible salsa, or timba as the cubans insist!), africando or ricardo lemvo (BTW his new album, ay valeria, is fierce!!!), joe cuba sextette (nobody plays him either) or sonora carruseles. If u don't understand what i mean listen to this:

http://www.latinastereo.com/sabor/ritmocubano/snds/elioreve-sandunga.ram

I mean, make us sweat some and go nuts!!!!!! And why were there so many elegant dancers there?!?!? Salsa is from the streets why are they gonna formalize it and dance it ballroom style!?!?!?? It's a way to let loose, i saw this one blonde girl who kinda had the idea, but she was all over the place, she needed a security detail not a partner!! She bumped into me while i was moving and grooving then she hit the floor and looked like she was becoming orgasmic, i'm sure ya'll know which dancer i'm referring to as she just kept leaving her partner and doing her own thing. She was kinda scarey at times, crackhead scarey, but overall she was letting loose which is what it's all about no?

If it was'nt for the social dancing wherein i saw some incredible dancers, i simply could not last the evening with that music. That's my 2 cents.

Oh, and rose u got a nice site. Groove on u lovely lil salsa mama.;) -- Simba

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October 29, 2003 -- Canada Congress

I agree with many of the comments that have been stated so far... except I enjoyed the music actually. The times I did dance, it was nice to have some 'chill' music to be able to really express ourselves and take a breather. Anyhow, one thing I have felt since that wknd is an empty feeling. I am just NOT feeling the 'salsa vibe' here in TO lately.. old places are closing, new ones are opening.. maybe we are just in the middle of a transition time. I just don't know where to go anymore to feel that same high energy.. and see the best of TO again.. you all must be going somewhere!?! All in all, I realized that TO is definetly on the salsa map now, and it is well-deserved! Hopefully things will pick up again, cuz I miss dancing! -- S

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November 9, 2003 --

I see a lot has been commented on the music and the workshops at the congress but not that much on the actual performances. So I figured I should say a thing or two.

I have been dancing for years and trained in various dance companies all over the world. The Canada Salsa Congress was interesting to see what wonderful talent lies here in Canada. I truly enjoyed all the performances however the one that really made an impression on me was the performance by City Dance Corps. That number represented a lot of what is lacking from many choreographers I have seen in Toronto. This piece was unique, exciting, and not to mention extremely musical. Choreography lacks the recognition it deserves and only a true dancer will know this. It is not easy to choreograph something that will leave your audience wanting more.

Thumbs up to the choreographers at City Dance Corps. Thank you for finally offering uniqueness to the salsa in Toronto. I look forward to more!

Hopefully all of you had a chance to this performance. It really did blow me away---PN.