Let’s talk about what makes the 2008 NY Salsa Congress different from previous years. The director of the congress, John “Choco” Knight, has truly developed the 2008 NY Salsa Congress into a well-marketed all-week event. The schedule is so full of back-to-back attractions – workshops, afternoon socials, afternoon shows, and night shows, night socials – that it is difficult to find free time to rest, eat or sleep during the congress. Before the congress even started, there was plenty of dancing at pre-parties during the week all over New York City.

It has hard to estimate the number of people that participated in each evening social. I do not think that anyone kept track. Suffice it to say that it was crowded! I could have danced every song if I wanted to. Let’s assume that I danced about 100 songs during the whole congress (6 songs per hour x 4 hours x 4 nights = 96 songs). Out of those dance partners, I can only remember one girl saying that she didn’t want to dance. Those are good odds! The point is that everyone wanted to dance, and there was a lot of everyone.

Our favorite professional dancers/instructors were easy to spot also. They were usually found in the middle of a circle of observers.

Performances
Saturday and Sunday night performances were amazingly spectacular, so many to list. Two acts that stood out from the rest were Jayson Molina’s kids group and Maykel Fonts solo performance.

Every year, Jayson Molina showcases a mega routine composed of very young Salsa dancers. The most charismatic kid (the one with spiky hair) in that performance looked no older than 6 years old!

The Cha Cha performance of Cuban-born dancer Maykel Read the rest of this entry »

Hopefully this short article (and video) will persuade you to spend some time on your shines.

Beginner dancers usually shy away from learning Salsa shines (footwork) because they do not understand their practicality or value. The following video is an example of improvisational fluidity.

Why Salsa shines are good for you:

1. Improve your timing – If you get lost in the middle of a turn pattern, you will be able to get back into the beat more easily.
2. Improve your body movement – If you want to dance salsa like a fish swims in water, shines are a perfect way to loosen your body and look more “latin”.
3. Expand your spinning abilities. – It is more difficult to spin by yourself that to have a partner spin you. If you can spin in shines, then you can spin twice as much in partner work.

A complete and succinct explanation of the basic On2 Salsa step by Jai Catalano, host of the ESPN 2007 World Salsa Championships.

This video really makes me want to dance. Yesenia is one of the most energetic salsa dancers that I’ve seen.

She is the instructor that taught me the basic steps of Salsa On2. Her brother,Ismael, kicked me out from the intermediate class and sent me to the beginners class. Yesenia grabbed my hand and said, “C’mon sweety, it goes like this: 1 2 3… 5 6 7.” I admit it. I don’t who I loved more, Salsa or her. That was in the summer of 2000 at Paradise Club (Sayreville, New Jersey).

“Bailamos” was so much fun this year. The RU Salsa Club did a splendid job organizing this event. Angie, you gets lots of kuddos! Let’s review a bit. Swing Sabroso performed live Salsa music. Dinner was excellent. There were lots of Salsa dancers. We had five great performances: Angie (singing), Scarlet Mambo Girls, Scarlet Mambo, RU Salsa Club and Fuzion Creativa. For you that missed it… oh well! Just kidding. Here are two videos of the performances of the night.

For more videos, visit the Scarlet Mambo YouTube Channel

Scarlet Mambo Performs “Salsa Dura” – Dany J. and Camila D.

Scarlet Mambo Performs “Pesadilla” – Camila, Lisa, Lyne and Nadya.