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| About Us... | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| The Making of Salsa Team Canada... | |||||||||||||||||||||
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It all started on the beaches of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the conversation that is. I was soaking up the rays, sipping on a pina colada and talking to the famous "Rose Knows". She's a smooth talking salsa dancer from Toronto, Canada. She runs a website there called "TOsalsa". As we discussed the endless possibilities of a project this size, I got "the look". Yes, I've seen it many times before, but this time it was different. Moris, my better half, was thinking…."what is she getting us into now???". Hours later, and a few pina coladas, the idea was born! We were to start the one and only "Salsa Team Canada"!!!!! Here we are now, one year later, and we did accomplish what everyone thought was impossible. There were many bumps and bruises, but those are only temporary. What will last forever are the friendships we have formed and of course, that wonderful feeling we all got when we received a standing ovation at the World Salsa Congress in Puerto Rico! Some moments last a lifetime. We have all grown so much through this experience. For the first time, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa dancers collaborated on a dance project that would set the example for all other countries. We would meet once a week in our own cities to practice and slowly build the choreography. The Coordinators would communicate frequently to make the decisions as well as report the progress. In the month of May, we held our first official fundraiser party. It was a success!! We now had the formula necessary to run our future parties. The next one was in Ottawa. Those people know how to party!! And finally, we held our last fundraiser in Toronto. This was the moment we felt everything was finally ready! We were on our way to Puerto Rico!!!! Canada would make an impression on the world. Our mission was accomplished. Even before we performed, we knew that we had all succeeded. Many improvements are to be made but boy do we have heart!! In the year 2003, we hope to include Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. We will be holding auditions in all the cities shortly. Hopefully all Salseros will eventually have the wonderful opportunity to participate in this project. We welcome all dancers, amateur and professional, to bring their talent in and help us show the world that Canada is truly one big "Salsa" of cultures, people and of course DANCING!!!!! Sonia Kyriacou |
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| Bios | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Sonia Kyriacou in Montreal, Quebec Founder of Salsa Team Canada and coordinator for Montreal, Sonia is an expert in organizing dance troupes. As director and founder of the San Tropez dance school, she is highly familiar with what it takes to put together a top-notch quality performance. For the last five years, Sonia’s dancers have been representing Montreal at the annual Puerto Rico World Salsa Congress. With 13 years of dance experience from Salsa to tap and hip hop, Sonia’s experience will make Salsa Team Canada a dance troupe that people from around the world will not be able to stop raving about. Rose Lau in Toronto, Ontario An experienced organizer, in the summer of 2001 at the Toronto Street Festival, Rose attracted a crowd that spanned two city blocks when she brought together six dance groups to perform at this popular event. Instrumental to the development of salsa dancing in Toronto, Rose is the co-founder of Toronto’s first major and longest running Salsa dance website (www.tosalsa.com) whose rapidly growing Toronto and International readership is in direct response to Rose’s in-depth knowledge of the Toronto and growing International dance scene. A talented businesswoman and lover of salsa, Rose has now decided to lend her boundless energy and talents to making Salsa Team Canada a success. Michelle St-Pierre in Ottawa, Ontario As the first General Manager for the Canadian Academy of Latin Dance, Michelle was hired to get a multi-provincial consortium business model set up in less than one month. She has danced with the Salsabor Dance Studio, is an eBusiness consultant and is currently pursuing an Executive MBA program. We look forward to her leadership, energy, drive and input in helping the team move forward in 2003. Michelle is also our team’s Communications Manager. Nikki Winters in Calgary, Alberta and for Vancouver, BC Nikki, a Planning Consultant, is honoured to facilitate two out of the three western teams for Salsa Team Canada. Co-ordinating both Calgary and Vancouver, Nikki will utilise her expertise to bring forth team members whom are well prepared, informed and ready to integrate with the National team for Puerto Rico in July of 2003. Nikki has been dancing salsa for three years now, taken workshops from some of the best instructors in the world, and has a deep passion for Salsa that will help drive her two groups to success. Maria Garcia in Edmonton, Alberta From Mexico city, Maria is known as a gifted organizer. She became known in the community by demonstrating her talent in performing acrobatic “Los Angeles style” moves. Lawyer by formation, she has been evolving in the salsa environment for four years, organizing and participating in different dance events, shows and videos in Mexico and Montréal. She even helped in the administration and bookkeeping in a dance studio. Committed by nature, she will bring a net contribution to the success of Salsa Team Canada and Edmonton’s participation. |
