The one and only - Tony Stone!!!

OK, this is just one of those must-read interviews. I loved Tony Stone’s classes in Slovenia (he was here twice already), but learning how such a great performer and choreographer started off is even more inspiring. Please meet one of the most exciting, top world hiphop, street, jazz etc. choreographers (and music producers) Tony Stone. I recommend reading till the end, cause we saved the best for last :)

A little bird told me you only started teaching when you were 35? How did that happen
Actually my sisters were already taking classes as a hobby to keep in shape. They had such a wonderful time at it they talked me into coming in and trying it out knowing that I loved dancing and did it as a solo competitor from time to time. I was able to catch onto and pick up choreography very well, I was noticed and then asked to start performances professionally. That happened when I was 35.

Do you still have fun on each convention you give?
I do. Of course, with the heavy touring schedule I have there are times when I’m very tired at a particular event or convention but that certainly doesn’t take away from my enjoyment. I have always promised myself that if I stopped having fun, it would to time to wrap it up and walk away. I don’t see that happening anytime in the near future.

Married with salsa and each other

Dado & Conny are a fun couple, which we had a pleasure to see in Slovenia before. They always bring special energy to their classes, make people laugh, their shows are getting better and better and we will see them again on 24^th of May on Salsa Flower Power event. “Gold rush is coming to Ljubljana,” says Dado, who is answering the questions in the name of both (hm,… I wonder why) ;)
Up in Gradz the couple owns the “Conny & Dado” dance school, so they belong in the category of people, who managed to join business and pleasure - in salsa.

 

Irena: Hey guys! I must say I’m really excited about you two returning to Slovenia. How do you feel about that?

Dado: Well, we are always glad to come back to Slovenia, ‘cause especially I feel almost like home there. I can teach on my mother language and nobody understands anything! Just great

Just kidding! I can release my Bosnian jokes, and people seem to like them… so I never stop to fool around :) Poor Conny

 

 

Irena: I saw your new show in Zagreb and must say it’s really spectacular! As I see you try to work most with musicality? Why do you think musicality is so important in salsa?

Dado: Without music, there would be no dance probably. That says everything. The fact is, that the two of us can’t do it any other way but to the music, ‘cause the music tells you how you should move to it. You “just” need to listen…

Star chat with Alex&Flo

As you may already know, a bunch of Slovenian salseros are coming to 3rd Bulgarian salsa weekend in Sofia, which will take place from 14th to 16th of March. The organizers of this congress are Alex & Flo, nice couple, which we had a chance already to see and meet in Slovenia. They were one of the instructors on October’s Salsa Power festival. We noticed they are good dancers, they know crazy tricks and they are very likeable. Those are all the reasons I decided to invite them to a short chat. Meet Alex & Flo - if you’re not sure who is who, you can figure it out from the answers   

1.When was the first time you danced salsa and how was it?
Alex: About 8 years ago, incidentally I went to a salsa party and I was fascinated. I did my very first steps and couldn’t stop since then
Flo: I am not sure about when exactly… probably like 10 - 12 years ago. It was great, I did other kind of dances before that and I was really enthusiastic about this new feeling salsa gave me

2. Where and when did you meet?
Alex&Flo: We had common friends and we have met long time ago, but salsa was the reason we became close and then one thing led to another and we got married J

Salsa will change your life! says Thomas Stadler - Salsa Switzerland this weekend

Do you like to attend festivals? Do you like to meet all sorts of people, dancers and instructors? Have you ever thought about who’s behind the scenes of the organization of such an event? Read about the anecdotes that happen on such events! Find out, if that really is a dream job!
We have a special priviledge to hear it from first hand. Find out how one of the five most important Salsa Congresses in the world happens? Meet the owner and director of the Salsafestival Switzerland, which takes place this weekend in Zürich:

Thomas Stadler - Event promoter and Salsa instructor since 1991. President of the Salsa Association in Zürich for many years. Carrier of the West Coast Salsa Congress Award.

1. Thomas, tell us how you first met this dangerous girl, called Salsa? 
In the 80’s my father left home to live in different places of Latin America. So my brothers and me spent much vacation time to see him in a number of Spanish speaking countries, including the Dominican Republic. It was exactly on the 4th of January 1988, when some girls from his neighborhood took me dancing Merengue and Salsa to a club nearby.

2. I guess she (salsa) really got under your skin, since you do so many different things for her: teaching, organizing, awarding, promoting etc.    I was addicted from the first second. Watching people dance Salsa was a jaw-dropping experience for the pale young Swiss guy that I was then. When I returned, I went through a university career and I even worked in the industry, but Salsa never left my mind. I took the first available lessons in Zurich, went to clubs, started teaching, and there came a point where I was so absorbed that I decided to leave the ordinary life behind me and work exclusively for Salsa.

5-star chat

Did you ever wonder how guys experience salsa? How they start dancing it? Why they do it? Are they scared with their first steps? Do they ever get jealous? I chatted with 5 guys on how they see and experience salsa. It’s a fun reading, believe me!   
(p.s.: Girls, I can get their phone numbers, if you are interested!!  )

And who are our new born salsa celebrities:
Christiaan Poublon(CP), Belgium: “Salsa is like a huge multicultural happening, where all people are equal”
Danijel Tkalec(DT), Slovenia: “Coming from more manly sports, I still have troubles identifying myself as a dancer”
Jure Žilavec(JŽ), Slovenia: “If you are as hot as I am, women come up to you”
Gregor Srčnik (GS), Slovenia: “The first dance was a shock for me, because I didn’t know how she will react to my knowledge”
Robert Szemezi (RS), Croatia: “I love this big space for creativity, improvisation and interpretation of music” 
 

 How long do you dance salsa?
CP: I started in 1999 so … now is my 8^th year.
DT: If I remember correctly it will be 3 years in a month.
JŽ: Well… that’s not such an easy question … First I tried salsa on just a few classes in year 2002 or 2003 … then I didn’t dance for a year … again went for a few classes… then stopped dancing again… then I went on a party now and than …  and then came Bu-Ba … so I don’t know what number to say really
RS: 7 years.

Exclusive interview with Talal!!!

This may be the last post of this year, so it should be something special. As you can see in the category section, I created a special new one called “Salsa stars”. There you’ll be able to read about our famous instructors and performers. You’ll get to know all their little secrets, from their childhood, how they first started dancing etc. It should be an interesting reading

As a delight for last days of 2007 I had a privilege to interview the funky Moroccan/Belgian instructor Talal Benlahsen. He belongs to those people, with which you never get bored. At about 80% percent of the time you can either laugh with them or at them. As each moment with Talal can be special, so was this interview - we made it via MSN. “It will be fun,” said Talal. And it was. Read about this hyperactive, ambitious and extra-talented salsa instructor, who you’ve already had a chance to meet on this year’s Salsa Adriatica and Salsa Power Festival.

Q: Talal, first let me wish you a very happy birthday, cause I know you’ve recently celebrated another year on this planet. But we’re mostly gonna talk about salsa. Tell us, what’s the main reason you dance salsa or why you started dancing it?
A: The main reason was meeting people in a period of my life when I started a new life. I had no friends, so I had to meet people. This was an easy way to touch them.

Q: What do you mean by new period in your life?
A: That was the first year I arrived to Belgium and Europe in general. I was 19 years old and it was the first time I left my country.

Q: Where you scared?
A: Scared no, insecure yes. I arrived to Belgium in October 1999 and I had to start from nothing. The first year was horrible: I discovered a different country, different people and culture, something I wasn’t used to, but I had to resist and I couldn’t give up. I had to find a job to be able to pay my rent and food.

Q: What was your first plan of what you will do in Belgium? I know it wasn’t salsa …
A: The plan was to study. I went to the university in Brussels to study computer science. After that I went to an engineering high school but I couldn’t afford the expenses so I stopped. I finished studies this year.

Q: Congratulations! What did you finish?
Commerce.

Q: Which will it be in the future: salsa or commerce? Or to put it in more traditional, boring and typical job-seeking sentence: where do you see yourself in 5 years?
A: I still don’t know that. Right now, I’m experiencing this big salsa adventure, but I have to make my future a little bit sure and secure … by having diploma for example. I can use that in case I stop dancing.

Q: I know there’s a funny story connected with your first salsa steps. Can you share with us that rude-security-guy story?
A: I discovered salsa with my first job in the restaurant: I was on my way home from work and I passed by a Salsa Club in Brussels, which I didn’t know of course. While I was passing it, the security guard opened the door of the club to let somebody go in or out and I heard the Music. I always liked that music but never knew that the name was Salsa or that people could dance it. I went closer to watch what’s going on, but the security guard stopped me, he started looking at me in a very humiliating way because I had very cheap clothes and my pants were a bit dirty due to my work in the restaurant. I didn’t ask anything I even had no intention to go in, but he told me with an ugly voice: “IT’S NOT POSSIBLE TO GO IN!!” I answered: “I was just watching from outside sir!”
I don’t know why or how the guy told me: “Well!! I’ll let you go in this time, but next time try to put some correct clothes and shoes.” I was so happy, and when I was inside and I saw people dancing I was like: waaaaaaaaaaw!! How beautiful were the people!! And how beautiful they were dancing!! So I stood in my place and watched till the end.

Q: And then followed your first salsa steps?
A: The day after and every weekend, going to a salsa club was my place to be. I had no money to take classes, so I was watching people and I started dancing alone in the beginning. Then I started inviting girls, but I had to go easy … watching, copying and trying to do the same. After 6 weeks I was already making my first normal basic steps and some modest figures. A teacher saw me dancing and invited me to dance in his show group. During 2 years in that group, I improved, and I started performing in many national and international events with that group.

Q: And now you own a school?
A: I had a lot of ambitions, enough to quit my group and to start working on my own. In 2004 I established my own dance company “Salsa Sunrise”. Since then I’ve been working as a professional instructor, performer and choreographer.

Q: What was your dream job, when you were a little boy?
A: First I wanted to be a chief cook like my father, then a pilot, and then engineer.

Q: You were born in Morocco, How do you like it in the north, with bad weather in such a business oriented city?
A: Well in the beginning my dream was to finish my studies and turn back home to build my career over there. Yet year after year, this idea started leaving my mind. I’m so much influenced by the business orientation over here and my place is in Europe right now. I still have a dream to turn back to my country one day, I just can’t say when.

Q: What did you remember most from visiting, teaching and partying in Slovenia?
A: Most of all the hospitality. But the whole weekend was amazing for me. I liked teaching, performing, social dancing, meeting new people … everything.

Q: I noticed all instructors got along very good. How important is that for a salsa festival?
A: Yes we all know each other, because we see each other several times during the year. That way we build friendship you saw and felt on the festival.

Q: We went to Brussels and got a few impressions about salsa there. How would you describe salsa scene in Brussels - the people that dance it, the styles they dance, the parties and events you have there?
A: Well the salsa level started getting better these last days, thanks to all those local teachers and those invited teachers who came to show our dancers, what salsa is actually.

Q: But this wasn’t your first event with foreign teachers?
A: Of course not, it’s the 11th and thanks to my good relation with a lot of people all over Europe, I could bring people from more that 10 European countries to Brussels and that showed to Belgians, how people are dancing salsa abroad.

Q: Which is the hottest place to party in Brussels right now?
A: The Montecristo on Wednesdays and the YOU on Sundays.

Q: Yes, the YOU place. That was something special - salsa party in the afternoon (from 15.00 till 20.00). Were you surprised it got so popular?
A: It’s already popular in the world, like in in the US, a couple of years ago came to Paris and now Brussels.

Q: Do you have any idea why salsa is sooo popular?
A: Believe me, when I say, I don’t know. I always thought it’s going to die one day, like all fashion things do … but it’ s still growing!

Q: Yes… and people who swore they would never dance, now dance it. Maybe guys like the fact they get so many different girls in their arms? Because a loooot of man dance salsa.
A: Not as much as girls … believe me.

Q: Thanks Talal for all your answers. Do you perhaps have any special message for our salseros?
A: I expect Slovenian salsa dancers to surprise me each time I pass by Slovenia - in improving their dancing I mean.

Q: In the name of all Slovenian salseros let me we wish you all the best in the year 2008! Hope to see and surprise you a lot
A: Happy New Year to you too and to all the people I know in Slovenia … and … well, to all the rest that I still don’t know