Hard to believe another month has gone by but it’s time again for Meetup.com night at Cafe Sevilla! For those of you that missed our previous meetups, this upcoming event on Wednesday May 6th will be a great opportunity to meet other local dancers.
The great thing about this particular event is that we meetup BEFORE the general dancing begins. (The group meets from 9 to 10pm in the VIP section of the club). This allows you to talk with other dancers, share some drinks, and get to know others before everyone runs off to dance salsa for the rest of the night.
This event is open to everyone but is especially geared for those new to salsa in San Diego. I’ve found that the event is helpful for anyone that is trying to “get into” the salsa scene as it connects you with dancers of all levels.
As most of you know I am the main organizer for the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group. In that capacity I’m able to meet lots of great people and promote dance throughout San Diego.
Meetup.com is the umbrella organization that helps me to do that. Meetup.com HQ sent out this video to let other organizers know about some cool things that they are doing around the world. In this video one of Meetup.com’s representatives talks about how the organization is helping in Iraq.
It’s not surprising to see new dances grow in popularity. Indeed, many of the Latin dances we enjoy today such as salsa have roots in other dance traditions that were once more common.
Over the last few months I’ve noticed a lot of new Youtube videos showcasing a fairly recent dance called Kizomba. Credited by many as coming from Angola, the music and dance also has connections with Portugal as many of the songs are sung in Portuguese. When you see the videos here you’ll notice that some of the movements are similar to other Latin-style dances such as tango, samba, and merengue.
So far I haven’t seen this type of music hit the San Diego dance scene, but I would not be surprised if took hold here. For now we can watch the spread of this music and dance worlwide and await its debut in America’s Finest City.
This last week I read a great article by Don Baarns, The Unlikely Salsero, regarding proper grooming habits for men that go out salsa dancing. Indeed, I think he does a good job in the article by describing common problems with some men that go salsa dancing who fail to take care of simple things like cutting their nails, using deordorant, and even brushing their teeth!
Aside from the most obvious things like mints and deodorant, I’ve seen many people in the salsa scene here in San Diego take an extra shirt (some people tend to sweat ALOT and women generally do not like to touch a sweaty back), a handkerchief (helps if you want to clean up in between dancers), and even talcum powder. Each person is different so the items you may bring will vary. It’s true that sometimes you can get lucky and go to a place that has a bathroom attendant who can provide many of these items for a small fee, but it’s best not to rely on this.
In my own experience, I’ve found that its best to have prepared some basic items before going out to dance. I never go out to dance without bringing a handkerchief, lip balm, and of course some sort of mints. The best ones out there in my opinion are the Listerine sprays that fit nicely in your pocket.
What things do you do to prepare for dancing? What makes up your Salsa and Latin dance grooming routine? What are some of your dance “horror” stories regarding dancing hygiene? Share your thoughts here with a comment.
From time to time I leave San Diego to enjoy Salsa and Latin dance in other communities, so I was happy to get a message from our friend J.C. Ospina (LatinFire Productions) about an upcoming event.
On May 3rd the 7th annual “Mi Son Cubana Festival” will be held in San Dimas and will be a great way to get out and enjoy Cuban culture for a day. The event will run from 10:00am to 7:00pm at night and boasts lots of Cuban music and food.
If you need a break from San Diego salsa dancing head up to Los Angeles for this great event…
Just wanted to send out a quick thank you to everyone who helps support Ritmo Bello through your contributions and readership. We wish you all a happy and safe Easter holiday weekend.
There are a number of salsa dance companies here in San Diego, California and while most of these companies are similar in many respects, there is always something unique about each one. This is especially true for Ooh La La Dance Company.Under the direction of Salsa Susie (a.k.a Susie Nguyen), this local dance company has pioneered new directions in professional dance through a fusion of salsa and burlesque dance styles.I sat down with Salsa Susie recently to talk a little bit about her experiences as a professional dancer and how she is pursuing her dreams through salsa dance.
Ritmo Bello: Susie, thanks for agreeing to sit down for an interview. Let’s begin. I’ve been hearing a lot lately about your dance company here in San Diego. What would you say is the main focus of your dance company?
Ooh La La Dance Company:Thank you John. It’sdefinitely an exciting time for Ooh La La Dance Company. I amapproaching my 1 YearAnniversary and I am so blessed & love how Ooh La La has become a Dancing Empire for dancers & aspiring dancers to call home. The #1 focus of Ooh La La Dance Company is make every dancer’s dream come true. My dreams have transpired into reality with Ooh La La Dance Company so I want salseros, dancers, average everyday people learn how to dance/perform & have a fabulous time doing it! Music is every dancer’s diet & dance feeds our soul. I am 100% committed and invested in teaching all my students whether they are beginners, advanced, young or old to dance, perform, compete, travel and create unforgettable memories in the process. We are having our 1 Year Anniversary coming up on Saturday, April 25th, 2009. It’s open to all ages! We are celebrating by having Ooh La La’s 50 dancers perform at the showcase! I’m having my 6-7 year Salsa Girls perform, my 10-12 year Dare Dance Kids perform, the Hot Tamales, Cosabellas, with guest dance teams such as Alma Latina Salsa Dance Company, Body Poets Breakdancers, DOC Hip Hop Dance Crew, and Sininho Samba come perform. The shows are in 2 Acts. Group Lessons Starts at 5pm-5:45pm by Salsa Susie. First Act starts at 6:30pm. Second Act starts at 7:15pm. Jack & Jill contest with $100 First Place Winners by Audience Applause. Salsa Dancing till 10pm. $10 admission fee goes towards fundraising money for our team’s costumes. The event will be held at FIREHOUSE LA JOLLA YMCA 7877 Herschel Avenue in La Jolla, CA 92037. We hope everybody comes to celebrate & support us!
Ritmo Bello: What are the origins of your dance company? Is there a story to how it was formed?
Ooh La La Dance Company:I started dancing at 14 years old. I began with stunts, lifts & tricks, cheerleading, hip hop and dancing on my high school & college dance teams. I always had dreams to be a fulltime dancer. I fell in love with teaching because I too started off with 2 left feet and therefore am very kind & patient to beginners. I could never afford classes so I would always watch & learn. I was self-taught and self-made until my hard work & talent started to shine and then I started to receive scholarships to take classes from amazing dance teachers. I started teaching & choreographing at age 15 and now I have accumulated over 16 years of experience in teaching, performing, dancing, competing, and choreography. I fell in love with Salsa Dancing in 2003 when I learned from Francisco Vasquez and Alex Da Silva and other salseros in Los Angeles. I have been addicted since! Salsa Dancing & Burlesque Dancing consume my life! I quit my 6 figure salary sales job in March of 2008 and took my 4-Person dance company to Bora Bora, French Polynesia on an all expense paid tour to kick off the birth of Ooh La La Dance Company the right way! We rocked it like the Rich & Famous! I am a world citizen & traveler starting my world travels at the age of 18 so I have accumulated a wealth of networks and contacts worldwide in exotic destinations. I travel the globe in high heels and have been fortunate enough to bring other cultures into my life. Traveling extensively through 35 countries, I dreamt of having a job that combined my two passions in life: Dance & Travel into one fabulous job. I received my Bachelors in International Business & minor in Spanish & Finance so I possess the know-how to manage, direct & grow a thriving business. To my dismay all my ideas have worked out and it was a leap of faith to quit my job and pursue dancing full time, but I haven’t looked back since. The number of countries will surpass 40 by the end of this year when I bring Ooh La La Dance Company on tour through Australia and Asia.
Ritmo Bello: Unlike other traditional salsa groups I noticed that you picked a very unique group name. Why did you choose Ooh La La for your name?
Ooh La La Dance Company:Ooh La La! This sassy phrase just rolls off your tongue and our dancing & style just makes people want to say Ooh La La so I just named my company, Ooh La La Dance Company! Ooh La La Dance Company uses a fusion of Salsa, Latin Ballroom, Burlesque, Lifts & Tricks, Samba, and Hip Hop to differentiate us in the marketplace. I try to think very outside the box and am unconventional with my Dance Company from the music I choose to the choreography I put together, to utilizing everybody’s talent to make a contribution to the dance productions we put on. We are Ooh La La. However, under La La there are 2 different dance entities: The Hot Tamales & Cosabellas. The Hot Tamales are the Men & Ladies Performance Salsa Dance Team. Cosabellas are my Burlesque-Salsa Ladies Performance Dance Teams. Ooh La La is growing in numbers so after our 1 Year Anniversary Showcase & Social, I am creating 2 new teams: The Hot Tamales Amateurs and Cosabellas Amateurs.
Ritmo Bello: What type of salsa dancing does your group perform? What types of influences have impacted how you dance salsa?
Ooh La La Dance Company: Ooh La La is definitely flashy with our lifts & Tricks that we incorporate into our salsa dancing. I like to come up with patterns that look big & pretty. I learned in LA where they hit on the downbeat 1 when they dance salsa so I love making a sharp statement when I dance. I also lived in Spain, Costa Rica & Brazil so I have studied and dance Samba, Flamanco & Salsa at these different countries so I always add these styles and flavor into our dancing. Also, I am a big fan of Burlesque Dancing. I love the Pussycat Dolls so I wanted to make sure I came up with the idea of fusing Salsa with Burlesque Dancing as an Ooh La La Trademark. Ooh La La also has more risque costumes than the tradicional salsa costumes. I love fashion & I want my dancers to always look HOT! I love using cutting-edge music for my choreography. I don’t always use salsa although I love all my salsa music. I like to switch it up and whatever has a great catchy beat, I mix the music & then I dance to interpret the music!
Ritmo Bello: Does Ooh La La Dance Company have a particular focus on teaching certain age groups to perform?
Ooh La La Dance Company: My main focus is to teach everybody. We tend to have a younger age Group. My youngest salsa dancers are 6 years old. My oldest salsa dancer might have been 87! The Hot Tamales range from ages 15-35. My Cosabellas Ladies team tend to be in the age Group of 30! Thirties are the new Twenties! Ha! Ha!
Ritmo Bello: Are you taking on new dancers now? How does someone audition to be a part of your salsa performance teams?
Ooh La La Dance Company: We are always accepting new dancers whether its for only 1 group lesson or if they want to join a dance team. There are no auditions. I can teach anybody. All it takes is patience, kindess and a little bit of love in what you do! I am creating 2 new Dance Teams at the end of April if anybody is interested, they may contact me, Susie at 805.252.6900 cell or visit my website atwww.OohLaLaDanceCompany.com. Both Hot Tamales team meet every Wednesdays from 7pm-10pm at the FIREHOUSE YMCA LA JOLLA at 7877 Herschel Avenue LA Jolla, CA 92037. Cosabellas Pro meet every Thursdays from 7-10pm. Hot Tamales Beginners will meet every Fridays from 8pm-9pm in addition to the Wednesday practice. Cosabellas Amateur will meet every Fridays from 9-10:30pm. Dues are $75 per month. If you are on the Cosabellas, you can join the Hot Tamales for free at no additional charge.
Ritmo Bello: I know that you mentioned earlier that you have personally have traveled all over the world for dancing salsa. Could you share with the Ritmo Bello audience some of the locales where Ooh La La Dance Company will perform?
Ooh La La Dance Company: Ooh La La Dance Company started off at the Exclusive Hotel Bora Bora in Bora Bora, French Polynesia. We are going to Turks & Caicos to perform in May 2008 for 10 days. We are confirmed & going to The Great Barrier Reefs to perform in October of 2009. Bali, Indonesia in October of 2009. Phuket, Thailand in November 2009. I am also negotiating to perform in Greece, Morocco and Montenegro for next summer 2010. Its going to be exciting & my dancers and I have become such great friends. I negotiate that all expenses are paid for so my dancers just have to go on a vacation for free. They get to be in 4 to 5 star Hotels, all meals, drinks & local activities are paid for when they go. It really is a one in a Lifetime experience. The bill when I left Bora Bora was $50,000 per Dancer after being there for a month & a half. The bill was all taken care of.with no questions asked! Ooh La La is really so lucky. It really pays off to have an strong awesome network of people around the world.
Ritmo Bello: I’ve noticed that there are a number of videos on YouTube showcasing your salsa dancing. How do you feel about being a virtual salsa celebrity for the YouTube crowd?
Ooh La La Dance Company: I wouldn’t categorize myself as a Celebrity. I just go for it. Competing, performing, teaching….all of these activities make you a better dancer. I’m still improving as a dancer and performer just like everybody else is. We are having alot of fun dancing & being together. It’s fabulous & glamourous being in the spotlight. Every dancer loves to be center stage. I’m humbled by nice and inspiring messages when people give me & my dancers compliments. It’s my motivation to keep dancing & do what I’m doing.
Ritmo Bello: Do you have contact information in case anyone from the Ritmo Bello audience wants to contact you?
Ooh La La Dance Company: Anybody can contact me directly at:
Ritmo Bello: Susie, Thank you so much for your time and I hope to attend some of your salsa performances in the near future.
Ooh La La Dance Company: Thank you so much John for this oppurtunity to sit down with you & share with you all of what Ooh La La Dance Company has to offer & share our story! We appreciate it!
Many of you in San Diego may be familiar with Serena Cuevas, director of San Diego based dance compnay Deseo Dance. Did you know that she is doing commercials now?
I was on YouTube and found this Gatorade G2 commercial where she shares the spotlight with Serena Williams, the world famous tennis player. It’s great that salsa dancing is profiled in a commercial like this and given recognition as a sport. Thanks to Serena Cuevas for spreading salsa in a new way!
Salsa music is always changing.For the trained ear the different styles and evolving types of salsa music immediately stand out.Indeed, over the years there have been numerous changes to the music we identify as salsa.
La Excelencia, a New York City based salsa orchestra, epitomizes the culmination of many of these changes that we’ve experienced with salsa music.Co-owned by Julián Silva and José Vazquez Cofresi, the vibrant and fresh salsa band is amassing a global fan base while staying true to their roots.I had the unique privilege of interviewing Julián and José recently on behalf of the whole band and learned quite a bit about these salsa music evolutions.
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Ritmo Bello:José and Julián, thanks for taking the time to address the Ritmo Bello dance community. Let’s begin. What would you say is the main focus of your salsa music company?
La Excelencia:Our main focus is to bring salsa to a wider audience and to have salsa music serve as a voice for our community. Part of our goal is to include social messages in our music and at the same time give our audience a whole new experience they thought they couldn’t get with salsa.
Ritmo Bello:What are the origins of your salsa band?
La Excelencia:We started La Excelencia in 2005, in the city of New York. Jose and I met back in 1995 and spent several years playing salsa in other bands. We moved to NYC in 2001 with the hopes of releasing a CD under a record label we had just signed with. Unfortunately (or fortunately) after a couple of years the deal went sour and we decided to leave the label. After that experience, we left very disillusioned with the way the music business is run and with the way salsa was being portrayed. From that, the idea of La Excelencia and Handle With Care Productions was born. We wanted to make great music, write great music and distribute great music all ourselves, and do it our way.
Ritmo Bello: Why did you choose La Excelencia for your band name?
La Excelencia:Well first of all we wanted to give the band a name that paid somewhat of a tribute to those bands in the 70’s we admired so much. (La Perfecta, La Solucion, La Fania, etc.) And secondly the name “La Excelencia” was chosen by me as a way of push us to live up to what the name claims, Excellence. When I first came to the band with the name they all got a little nervous, saying” well …we better not suck….” But I know that when we are on stage and we hear the MC announce our name, we have to give it all we have in order to live up to the name.
Ritmo Bello: I understand that La Excelencia is known as a “salsa dura“ band. For those unfamiliar with this term can you explain a little bit about what this means?
La Excelencia:Salsa Dura is a term used to describe our type of salsa; hard, rough and raw. The focus is on the music not the image. We raise social issues in our music and well as talk about thing that happen in everyday life, without the sugar coating. What you hear and see is what you get.
Ritmo Bello: What types of influences have impacted how you’ve created your salsa music?
La Excelencia:Well if we are talking about musical influences, the list is endless. I will say that the music that influences us is not just salsa music, but all types of music. There are a lot of great bands out there with something meaningful to say, and we hope that people not only dance to our music but also listen to our music.
Ritmo Bello:I’ve heard people say that salsa music is primarily music from the 70’s and 80’s with no real new innovation. Do you believe this is true? Is salsa a dying form of music in terms of genre?
La Excelencia:Well for a long time salsa music of the 70’s has been considered the only true salsa. But I believe that it’s for one reason …. And that’s because it gave us Latinos/ Latino Americanos a voice. There have been attempts to rejuvenate salsa or like you stated revive salsa, but in my opinion all the industry has done is kill the essence of true salsa. They have made salsa about image and not about the music. Salsa was our rebel music and in the past 2 to 3 decades is has become meaningless noise. Fortunately, despite all of that, salsa is alive and well. The longevity of salsa is not due to the commercialization and popularity of cookie cutter salsa but completely due to the underground scene that has never bought into the mainstream. With the support of dancers and fans alike, that don’t care about money and only care about great music, salsa will never die.
Ritmo Bello:How and where do you find inspiration for creating new salsa songs?
La Excelencia:Our inspiration comes from our experiences. I for one never sit down and say “today I’m going to write a song”. Songs come to me with stories I hear, with things I see or read about. It pretty much my thoughts put to clave. We refuse to put covers songs on our CDs for the sole fact that we want to express our thoughts…not someone else’s. There are a lot of bands that have found success on other people’s words and/or music and claim that it’s a tribute to the artist. We believe there is no better tribute to our predecessors than to keep writing NEW salsa, so that we can keep salsa moving forward.
Ritmo Bello: Where has La Excelencia performed?
La Excelencia:We have been lucky enough to have performed in numerous venues in the United States and Europe. This includes New Orleans Jazz Fest (Louisiana), Lincoln Center (New York), Copacabana (NY), Latin Quarter (NY), Sobs (NY), Afro-Latino Festival (Bree, Belgium),
Norwegian Salsa Congress (Oslo, Norway) New York Salsa Congress (NY), Connecticut Salsa Fest (Hartford), Austin Salsa Festival (Texas), Moomba Club (Montreal, Canada), just to name a few. We also have a couple of upcoming tours to promote our new CD that you can check out on our website,www.laexcelencia.net. Some of the dates include: Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Bree, Brussels, Leeds, London, Brighton, Morocco, and Cyrus.
Ritmo Bello: Can you tell me a little about your CD’s that you’ve released to date?
La Excelencia:We released our first CD entitled “Salsa Con Conciencia” back in 2006. It received great reviews nationally and internationally and sold over 9000 units without major distribution. It was also the winner of the Vox Populi award for Album of the Year by the Independent Music Awards. Many of the songs from that album hit the top 20 chart in the US and Europe and we included in over 20 different Latin music compilation CDs including one sponsored by UNICEF. Also, the hit single “La Lucha” was the featured song in the independent film “The Big Shot Caller”.
Our second CD is entitled “Mi Tumbao Social” and it was released in January of this year. So far it is being considered by many to be one of the best CD’s to come out in the past decade. As with the first CD, it is an independent production that we have put together to showcase our raw sound, and once again write about social issues we face in the world today.
Ritmo Bello: Are there current plans for new CD releases coming up soon?
La Excelencia:Even though “Mi Tumbao Social” was released less than 3 months ago, we are already thinking about and starting to write the next album. We are constantly being inspired by the world around us and thanks to all the positive feedback we get from our fans, we are eager to share to give them what they want … More salsa!!! But one thing that we take very serious is the quality of the music we put out. A lot of thought goes into what songs actually make it onto the CD. We want to make sure that our fans get the best of us.
Ritmo Bello: I’ve noticed that there are a number of videos on YouTube showcasing your salsa music. How has YouTube and other types of social media helped you gain more exposure worldwide?
La Excelencia:It’s been great, as an Independent artist we wouldn’t be able to compete without these media outlets. We have been able to reach people from all over the world.
Ritmo Bello: Does La Excelencia have any plans to travel to the West Coast soon, including San Diego?
La Excelencia:We are actually extremely excited that it’s looking very promising for us to hit the west coast this summer, including San Diego. We don’t have anything confirmed 100%.
Ritmo Bello:Do you have contact information in case anyone from the Ritmo Bello audience wants to contact you?
La Excelencia:Of course, please feel free to contact Jose Vazquez-Cofresi or Julian Silva atinfo@laexcelencia.net or at 646-241-5501. You can also check us out on the web atwww.laexcelencia.net, there you can find links to our MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube. You can purchase our CD’s atwww.cdbaby.com or atwww.descarga.com.
Ritmo Bello: José and Julián, thank you so much for your time and I hope to attend some of your salsa performances in the near future.
La Excelencia:John we want to thank you for allowing us the opportunity to share our salsa with the salsa community on the west coast.
What do you think of when someone mentions the tango dance?For me the dance conjures up images of fashionably dressed and sophisticated people connecting to exotic melodies.Indeed, the intertwining of fashion and tango dance is evident throughout the history of the dance.
A local event here in San Diego called Tangolicious will examine this link between fashion and tango dance.Tangolicious will feature guest artist and headwear designer Susan Lake and performances by the TangoCentric Dance Project.(Check out the interview I did with Susan Lake for Ritmo Bello here) The event also boasts special Tangotini cocktails and plenty of desserts to enjoy as well.
A great event is coming up soon here in April with a unique offering.Live in concert at the San Diego Salsa Jam will be Conjunto Costazul, a combination of some of the best salsa musicians alive today.Some well known names playing in this band include:
Oscar Hernandez – Leader of Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Freddie Crespo – Director of Conjunto Costazul
Johnny Crespo – Salsa Legend along with Freddie Crespo
Eddie Resto – Best Bass Musician In The West Coast
Leo Perez – Nephew of The Late Salsa Legend Celia Cruz
Victor Baez – Amazing conga musician
Dennis Jiron – Leader of Rumbankete
Francisco Torres – Played with Poncho Sanchez & Top 5 Trombone Player
Arturo Velasco – One of the best Horn players around! and Humberto Ruiz
