Haha.. I have to share this one with you. The So you think you can dance show is approaching it’s peak and the performances are still getting better and better (yeah, I too thought that’s impossible, but… ). Well Mia Michaels did a slightly different contemporary routine than we’re used to this week, but it is just so cool, funny and real – you have to see it! Katee and Twitch danced so tight and they acted it for an Oscar nomination. Hehe,.. it really makes you smile, when you project the story into real life and makes you angry at the same time of course. Men!!!! And crazy women… Same old story, ha I love the door slamming effects! The door on stage in general was a cool idea, and hanging on them, jumping through, slamming them,.. Ok, just enjoy it
It takes a while for people to get the real meaning of bachata. People form Europe that is, not people from latin countries or Asia etc. Europe still has a lot of traditional, conservative values which often lead us into wrong perceptions. I guess we resemble the strict Germans (pronounced with a Z ) more than temperament and sensual latinos. Such a shame.. But seriously, meeting new people opens up so many horizons, one of them certainly being the perception of music and dance. It’s actually a cultural thing. When I first saw bachata I was literary scared. I saw it as an excuse for guys to squeeze girls close to themselves and god knows what else.. Unfortunately I still think some of them have that hidden interest. But luckily more and more people are really starting to feel bachata, feel Her rhythm and flow. Cause surely, bachata songs are one of the best out there. There’s not much you can dance to it, but you can very well interpret it. It’s all about the feeling. In Slovenia we teach bachata in almost open position, holding hands like small kids, do a turn or two, while real bachata is danced in tight-closed position, using only pelvis. Yeah, when you let go of shyness and relax, you can really enjoy it. The music itself is strong and emotional, so just let it lead you Thanks to everybody that showed me the real meaning of bachata – it’s a priceless knowledge. However, unfortunately I do still think one cannot dance bachata with just anybody. Sorry!
Here’s one of my currently favorite bachata songs. I recommend to close your eyes and enjoy it.. it’s reeaaalyyy beautiful: Domenic Marte – Ven tu
I’m totally excited today. Just got back from another crazy dancing weekend. This was a whole new and very precious experience for me. I expected the Hamburg festival to be big (and it was), but you never really know whether that brings quality or mess. I would like to start this review with a very special and inspiring experience:
Meeting Eddie Torres I’ve only heard of this special guy, a salsa legend may I say, but meeting him and taking his classes was just soooo inspiring. Of course this man knows just about everything there is to know about salsa, but the best thing is, he likes to share all his knowledge. We had 3 classes in a row on Friday afternoon, some sort of special additional classes, plus a few more through the weekend and it seemed we only got a few tips from his broad knowledge. Yet, we worked heard, learned fast and got a few additions just to tape it. I mean it’s unbelievable what a warm, friendly and caring atmosphere those classes had. We did a lot of salsa on2, chacha and one of the coolest experiences – Pachanga! (never done it before and it’s so much fun)
At the end of each class, show program and any chance Eddie Torres got, he gave us some inspiring words, he shared his own experience and good wishes. I especially liked some of his statements, one of them being:
“There’s always been a lot of salsa dancing and never so much chacha. But to me cha-cha is like the bride and salsa the groom. So let’s join bride and groom together and enjoy them both.”
I couldn’t agree more, cause I always felt chacha has an even greater soul than salsa (no offense guys! )
I think it was 2 weeks ago (but who’s counting), when I spent a few days in Holland. It was a very exciting experience. I met some amazing people and attended a few salsa parties. Everything just confirmed one of my assumptions: Dutch dancers are really really good and the level of salsa social dancing in Holland is really high! You don’t dance on 1 there and you have regular parties which resemble our festival parties – regarding the show program and entrance fee that is
Let’s see what happened and what we have learned:
Night Nr. 1: If you are an organizer you can repeat your show. But even if, don’t do it! Repeating never works!
The Friday night party somewhere near Utrecht (you can as well kill me, but I won’t remember the name of the place) was full, some good social dancing, nice LIVE music and show program. The Chocolate party was organized by Brian & Mechteld, the most succesfful Dutch couple I dare to say (they always win salsa competitions there). The name chocolate assumed people should wear those colors, the winning costume however, was made out of paper, chocolates are usually wrapped in. On that party Brian & Mechteld premiered a new show, in which they joined with second best Dutch couple. That’s actually really nice to see, that the eternal runner-ups join forces with winners (I have a feeling Slovenian people would not do that so easily). On a negative point, unfortunately, I must say, the show was not the biggest success. Apparently the wigs were in their way, but even after repeating (!!!) the show, the result was not as majestic as their name (they are called The Majestics). There were also some other performances, even guest couple from Sweden. They were kinda cute.
This month is so busy, I don’t even get a chance to keep you posted about all dancing events. Since I’ve missed reporting on half of them I will explain it in the next few days (hopefully), starting with the last, most cool and worth seeing event – Croatian Salsa Festival 2008 in Rovinj. That was 4 days of non-stop dancing, sweating, swimming and having fun! The heat was almost intolerable. And since the festival broke all records of participation this year, organizing a party indoor seemed madness. And it really was. After dancing one dance everybody ran out to catch some oxygen, wring clothes … when one came out of that dancehall it was like coming out of the ocean. Soaked! Of course we’re used to sweat at salsa parties, but this was on a higher level!
Still, this didn’t bother us too much. The open-air party with live performance of Mercandonegro was awesome! Those guys really play good music – even though, again, dancing on live music completely exhausts you. I remember a few times after the song and dance finished I had to bend down and grasp for breath.
Most memorable experience of all, however, was the pool party. You don’t get that at every salsa festival. It’s something completely different, totally relaxed, sometimes it almost seems a bit dirty … I guess it reminds us of those trips students take at the end of their studies (at least in Slovenia).
The festival had rich workshop plan, since one could choose among 6 classes at the same time. The only problem was, that workshops venues were not on the same place and walking in that heat… No, thank you!
Here are my famous impression statements:
- Combination of sea, sun and salsa is the winning combination.
- I didn’t enjoy Saturday’s party as much, because it was simply too crowded.
- The Friday’s night concert was spectacular.
- I met some amazing people, especially the exotic threesome from India – You guys are really the best. Do not dare to miss the Slovenian festival!
- My compliments to Farid, he is a great entertainer, animator, I liked his shine class and social dancing. Nice energy throughout.
- I also enjoyed Andrea’s reggaeton and ladies styling class, and of course the U-tribe tribute. R.elle is just a pleasure for the eyes!
- My roomates were the best, considering the crew, you can imagine we were never bored!
A lot of salsa goes on recently so it’s actually hard to keep track The weekend we spent in Graz was good. We took a few classes, which were all really educational and on a respectable level. On Saturday night a local theater called Orpheum got filled with Austrian salseros, a few cars of dancers from Slovenia and a whole bus from Croatia! It was a busy party, so naturally we got kicked out of the place at the end… I must say we saw an interesting show program. The most pleasant surprise was the CDDC (Conny and Dado Dance Crew or Company.. I don’t know really ). I know that Dado and Conny can do that show, but to teach their students the same show and to synchronize them… Well, I can only compliment them. Here is the link to the show:
The most breathtaking, as always, was Israel Gutierrez. I will never understand how he despites all those laws of nature, but he is a real pleasure to watch. Some even loose the excitement of learning salsa when they see him for the first time. But he is really unique at his style, so it’s senseless to try and copy him. See for yourself
Hehe,.. it really makes you smile, when you project the story into real life and makes you angry at the same time of course. Men!!!! And crazy women… Same old story, ha 
I love the door slamming effects! The door on stage in general was a cool idea, and hanging on them, jumping through, slamming them,.. Ok, just enjoy it 
