As any salsa dancer will tell you, it’s ten times better dancing to live music as compared to recorded music. The obvious reason for this is that the salsa dancer can really connect with the energy, enthusiasm, and excitement of the live entertainer as the performance goes on.
Johnny Polanco and his group La Conjunto Amistad are a prime example of how great live salsa music is to the dancer and listener alike. With years of experience in the salsa music world, Johnny Polanco is a rare gem that plays frequently in the Southern California area. I had a chance to talk with Johnny Polanco before his upcoming performance at Anthology night club this Saturday October 17 and learned that if something is to be done, you ‘DO IT WITH SALSA!’ I hope you enjoy the interview which follows below.
Ritmo Bello:Johnny, 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?
Johnny Polanco:Hi John. The main focus of my music are two reasons. One is to make everyone dance. Secondly is to give the listener a great visual through our performances. Everyone listens to CD’s. But it’s a lot different when you actually see it “live”. The listener can actually feel and absorb the music. It becomes more versatile. And the most important issue about a “live” performance is that the number can be stretched out a little longer, thus letting the band be more creative. Especially during the solos.
Tito Puente once told me, “Live tells no lie”. AND THAT’S SO TRUE. In this age of recording and digital “Pro Tools” you can do wonders in the recording studio. But you can “clean it up live”!
Ritmo Bello:What are the origins of your salsa music career?
Johnny Polanco:My career begin in the Bronx, New York City. I performed with various bands, in the earlier days, but the first known band I played with was with JOHNNY PACHECO and PETE “EL CONDE” RODRIGUEZ. I was 17 years old.
Ritmo Bello: Why did you choose La Conjunto Amistad for your band name?
Johnny Polanco:I choose Conjunto Amistad because the band was composed of all of my friends.
Ritmo Bello: What types of influences have impacted how you’ve created your salsa music?
Johnny Polanco:The conjunto music of ARSENIO RODRIGUEZ, who is one of the most well known Cuban tres guitar players. Also the BIG 3 bands of the fifties that consisted of TITO PUENTE, TITO RODRIGUEZ and MACHITO. The sounds of trio music like LOS PONCHOS and TRIO MATAMOROS also played a role.
And believe it or not, the music of the big band era featuring FRANK SINATRA, TONY BENNETT, JOE WILLIAMS, SARAH VAUGHN and many others from that era were so musically rich for me to listen.
Ritmo Bello:How and where do you find inspiration for creating new salsa songs?
Johnny Polanco:The inspirations come to me in spurts. That’s why I always try to have something to write notes or my cell phone to record the moments. My song feature all different types of topics. If you listen to my latest CD, “AMISTAD PARA EL MUNDO ENTERO” you will see the many topics.
Ritmo Bello:What has your experience been like working withDimelo Records?
Johnny Polanco:My experiences with Dimelo Records has been an enjoyable one and something that I wish I would have done years ago. Nissim Baly is a great guy and is very business savvy in the direction that the recording industry has been heading. He possesses very strong marketing skills and that has contributed immensely in the success of the bands under his label. Not to mention his assistant Valerie Guzman. She is definitely on the ball at the office.
RitmoBello: Can you tell me a little about your CD’s that you’ve released to date?
Johnny Polanco: Absolutely. Amistad Para El Mundo Enterois my best production yet. It has 14 original, never recorded numbers. It features some of the best musicians in Salsa music today such as RAY DE LA PAZ, FRANKIE VASQUEZ, AZUQUITA, FRANKIE MORALES, JIMMY BOSCH, ARTIE WEBB, NINO JESUS and others. The production was great. It took a while but I’m very happy with it. I also put on it, my version of ”Happy Birthday”. It has been very popular in all the clubs.
Ritmo Bello: Are there current plans for new CD releases coming up soon?
Johnny Polanco: The last CD has only been out for 9 months and DIMELO RECORDS is going to release it on their label soon. My next CD is going to be recorded live on a venue to be announced later. I feel that this will really capture the true sound of the band.
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 like Facebook and Twitter helped you gain more exposure worldwide?
Johnny Polanco:It truly has. My music has reached places throughout the world that I haven’t traveled to yet. We have had the pleasure of working with Albert Torres, who has been my personal manager for 15 years. And he is helping create and participate at all these Salsa Congresses world wide. These types of social medias have been a blessing. Also non commercial radio has played an important part also. They play everyones music and we are very blessed to have Canto Tropical and Alma Del Barrio here in Los Angeles.
Ritmo Bello:What are some of your best memories from your performances? Are there any in particular that stand out in your mind?
Johnny Polanco: Oh GOD, there are so many because each of those have left me with something unique. Such as performing for our new L.A. Philharmonic conductor from Venezuela, Gustavo Dumadel a couple of weeks ago at the Hollywood Bowl. He is the first Hispanic to lead this great orchestra. Working with Prince in Las Vegas was great too. He is an extraordinary musician. Doing the 2007 Playboy Jazz Festival., the 50th Anniversary of the Grand Prix in Macau. Doing our Mayor’s Inaugural Ball. And the many Salsa Congresses throughout the world such as in Spain, Toronto, Japan, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Vancouver etc.
Ritmo Bello: I’ve seen you perform in San Diego in the past. How often do you make it down to San Diego and when can we expect to see you again in America’s Finest City?
Johnny Polanco:I don’t perform as much as I like but I will be performing Sat Oct 17th at Anthology. This is the premier venue to perform in San Diego. It is such a beautiful supper club with great sound, food and hospitality. I am so looking forward to it!
Ritmo Bello: What advice can you give to up and coming salsa singers?
Johnny Polanco:The best advice is to listen to the old stuff from the early years. Especially from the 70’s. All those guys are now salsa legends now. PERIOD. I had the pleasure of working with many of them. Their sonero’s and deliveries are unmatched. Any vocalist after that era will tell you that they were influenced by them. If they don’t admit it, they are just plain lying.
Ritmo Bello: Is there anything else you’d like to share that I haven’t covered so far?
Johnny Polanco: You covered many of the issues that are important to me. But the final thing I would like to say is to please support live entertainment. It take an enormous commitment for someone to get musicians together and form a band. And a lot of work to get music and the administrative side of it in getting booked. It’s not easy. But we do it to spread the music, make you feel good, help you meet new friends, dance to great songs, see musicians do what we do best and let’s face it guys. The most beautiful women in the world are dancing to salsa and waiting for you. So if you guys aren’t Salsa dancing, you better get some lessons because you are DEFINITELY missing out. Most clubs offer lessons. So you have no excuse. Ever wonder where your best friends at? He is at a salsa club dancing away with the girl of your dreams Ha, Ha.
Ritmo Bello:Do you have contact information in case anyone from the Ritmo Bello audience wants to contact you?
Johnny Polanco:Yes. My website iswww.johnnypolanco.net Also we have a hotline where you can find out where we are at on a weekly basis at 562-220-4929.
Ritmo Bello:Johnny, thank you so much for your time and I hope to attend some of your salsa performances in the near future.
San Diego is known in the salsa world as a place where the dance is really expanding and constantly growing. Much of this expansion is due in large part because of the efforts of a local dance studio, A Time To Dance Studio. The owners of A Time To Dance Studio, Angel and Tulane, have been hard at work bringing great events like the San Diego Salsa Jam and the annual San Diego Salsa Festival here to San Diego. I had a great opportunity to talk with Angel and Tulane about their efforts to spread salsa dancing both locally and worldwide. I hope you all enjoy the interview!
Ritmo Bello: Angel and Tulane Rivera thank you both for taking time out of your schedules to address the Ritmo Bello audience. San Diego is a unique place for salsa dancing as seen by the different types of dance companies here locally. What makes A Time To Dance Studio unique in the San Diego salsa dance scene?
A Time To Dance Studio: Thanks for taking the time to interview us and to your audience for their support and dedication to Latin music and dance. Lets see… What makes us different?… We actually never really thought about what makes us different from other studios and or companies. We make it a point to keep our focus geared on what we have to do and never look to see what others are doing or not doing. We think of new ideas, classes, and programs and if they work and make sense we implement them. We also have a combined 20 + years of experience and are the only studio that we know of in San Diego with 2 locations. We love what we do and our goal is to continue to offer the best instruction and service in San Diego. We go one day at a time and take great pride in customer service and training our instructors to the best of our ability. We try our best to ensure our classes are fun, exciting, and technique orientated. We also offer drop in courses as well as 6 week progressive courses in salsa to increase learning curves and consistency for students (The salsa courses have been amazing success for us). We also host studio parties, promote salsa clubs and special events to give our students a place to practice and socially interact with others in the salsa scene. Beyond salsa we offer Belly Dance, Burlesque Jazz, Samba, Afro-Cuban, and Fitness based classes taught by other highly trained dance instructors. Our studio is a friendly, relaxed, cozy but professional family atmosphere that can easily be felt the moment you walk in. We have great plans for the future and God willing we’ll be able to see them through… whether or not it’s in dance is up to HIM…
Ritmo Bello: I always like to learn how people first find and become involved in salsa dancing. Can you tell me each a little about how you each began dancing salsa?
A Time To Dance Studio:I began dancing salsa in 2001 (I was 20 at the time with absolutely no dance experience) and Tulane started dancing at the early age of 7 (She trained in International Ballroom) in London England. I started dancing to actually meet new people since I was new to San Diego (Navy for 4 years). Tulane started dancing as a creative outlet and to stay out of trouble : ) . She left London at 15 and I left Chicago when I was 18. At 20 I decided to take private dance lessons at a downtown dance studio, then named Dance With Me Academy (This is probably the place where everyone that’s a veteran now started – Good times). Thats when I met Tulane… She was assigned as my dance instructor… I wanted to learn salsa but somehow got temporarily converted to ballroom for about 3 months. Although it was great training we started to focus on Salsa more as time went on. Through the months I got better (Tulane has always been a phenomenal dancer and choreographer) and before I knew it we formed Salsa Suave Dance Company, then San Diego’s 2nd dance company. We danced together socially and I began to get approached by students asking me if I taught. I decided to drop out of an officer program through the navy to pursue a new life… Thats pretty much how we both started in a nutshell. 2 people from 2 different countries that left home at an early age seeking something new. Salsa dance brought us together and we haven’t stopped since : )
Ritmo Bello:That is a great story! What motivated you to create A Time To Dance Studio?
A Time To Dance Studio:As we got busier and busier we had to move from studio to studio to accommodate the demand of students. It was a headache at times… moving always meant losing clients no matter how good you were… That was one of the determining factors of why we started our own studio. However our main motivation came out of a dance ministry that Tulane started at our church. It was a fun hip hop / salsa youth ministry called “A Time To Dance. The name was inspired from the Bible… Ecclesiastes 3:4… our pastor had always encouraged us and instilled the vision that we would one day own our own studio. Long story short… an opportunity arose to open a dance studio and we followed our faith and dreams to what we have today. We decided to keep A Time To Dance since it was originally inspired through our ministry and our Faith. Owning a dance studio has always been one of Tulane’s goals & dreams… I’m grateful that I was able to be a part of it… I never really thought I’d be dancing, teaching, and an owner of dance studios, ( I always wanted to fly Fighter Jets ) but its been great! Owning studios has taught us so much… Great sacrifice, huge responsibilities and a lot of character building trials and tribulations… Well worth it.
Ritmo Bello: I understand that you have 15 professional dancers, choreographers, and teachers that work with you at A Time to Dance Studios? Do they all focus on salsa dance?
A Time To Dance Studio:Not all… We hire instructors that are professionals at their genre of dance. We try to focus on what we are good at and offer classes that help inspire health, fitness & a good time. We do however train our in house dancers in salsa, cha cha, and ballroom for our different array of clients and invite guest instructors/coaches to give their expertise and advice on specific dances at times. We are also a certified ISTD dance studio and assist our instructors to certify once a year as well. We offer hip hop, belly dance, afro cuban, samba, and fitness class such as Zumba, Dance Fitness, and some pilates classes. We do our best to offer great, energetic, & fun classes throughout the week and offer competitive prices to keep people coming back for more… We also started our own student salsa dance team… Doing very well… They should be ready to perform again in a couple of months.
Ritmo Bello:I’ve heard from your students that you employ a unique teaching method called “inter-related system” instruction. What is that all about and how does this impact your student’s learning of the dance?
A Time To Dance Studio: It allows our students to learn dances that relate to one another. Our goal is to interchangeably relate dances which in turn allows the student to remember the mechanics easier. This system has allowed our students to advance much quicker, learn various dances faster, and retain the material more effectively. It’s a style that we have incorporated over the years that has worked wonders when applied. We’re still working on some other teaching methods and will be instituted once we decide to open more studios in the future.
Ritmo Bello:As Assistant Organizers of the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group I know that you help organize many great events here in San Diego such as your studio parties and the San Diego Salsa Jam. What do these events offer to somebody brand new to salsa dancing?
A Time To Dance Studio: Ya… Our desire to organize events started to happen after 2005. This was the year Tulane and I traveled to 4 different countries performing, teaching, and choreographing. Although it was fun traveling, teaching abroad, and seeing different countries, it really didn’t stick with us. We didn’t really see the benefit of traveling all the time and from a business standpoint at the time it didn’t make sense for us. Tulane and I like business… Running, creating, and being behind the scenes. My analogy is like an actor becoming a director… Why act forever when you can direct… A lot harder work, more sacrifice, extremely high risk both financially and physically but the benefits are far greater in the long run. It’s not for everyone but it was for us… Being in the drivers seat allows us to offer events, workshops, and festivals with our vision in mind. Our goal is to continue to offer excellent events for the new dancer and the veteran alike… Many venues come and go so we’re always on the look out… Our goal with events that we produce is to offer fun, exciting, and professional atmospheres with the best latin music and dancing around… Local clubs and events also give new dancers a chance to see what they potentially can obtain… Gives them a visual goal and motivates students to get better. Check us out online… www.sandiegosalsajam.com- www.atimetodance.com - www.sandiegosalsafestival.com to join us at our next class and or event.
Ritmo Bello:The San Diego Salsa Festival is coming up again in September of this year and I know that you are hard at work preparing for this great event with Albert Torres. Can you explain who Albert Torres is and what the San Diego Salsa Festival is all about to those new to salsa dancing?
A Time To Dance Studio:Albert Torres is the world’s most successful and foremost recognized promoter of Latin Music and Dance. He also promotes and produces the WORLD SALSA CONGRESS in Los Angeles, coming up in May. The San Diego Salsa Festival/Congress is an event that brings talent from across the country and abroad to San Diego, Ca. The goal is to give the San Diego community a taste of the talented instructors and performers outside of the San Diego salsa community. Its now in its 3rd year and getting better. This year’s event is going to showcase great dancers and Live Music ( Something we’ve been trying to emphasize at our Salsa Jams) like never before. The event will consist of Workshops all day Saturday and Sunday, Live Professional Dance Shows each night, and social dancing Thursday thru Sunday til 3-4 in the morning. Pretty much a salsa dancer and latin music lovers dream. We’ll have vendors selling shoes, and dance apparel as well as live music on Friday and Saturday night. Check us out online www.sandiegosalsafestival.com- you can purchase your tickets and make hotel reservations online today!
Ritmo Bello: In your opinions, what makes salsa dancing such a great activity to pursue?
A Time To Dance Studio: It’s the only form of dance in our experience that we’ve found in every city and country we’ve visited. It’s a great way to meet new people, get into shape, and has no cultural or racial barriers. Everyone dances salsa even if they can’t understand the words… The music just pulsates through the dancers and moves us… It’s a great way to pursue a healthy social life and have fun. Who knows… You may even find your life partner as I did : ) …. Maybe not…
Ritmo Bello:The San Diego salsa scene has seen many changes over the years. What trends do you see taking hold for the future of salsa dancing in San Diego?
A Time To Dance Studio: Like anything else… it takes many years to cultivate the ground for longevity… San Diego has come a long way and is still growing… Still has a lot of room to grow and develop which is great & exciting. Our last Salsa Jam is an example of that growth… Not a lot of veteran dancers or instructors out… but wow… There were a lot of new faces that I have never seen before… So many newbies to the salsa scene that love salsa and especially live music. This is what we see as being the next trend… A new wave of dancers and live music. Live music is something that has room for tremendous growth… I’m talking about live concerts with big names – Cheo Feliciano, Spanish Harlem, El Gran Combo, etc… I just hope San Diego and the scene can support these events no matter who promotes them… Without the music and supporting the musicians we wouldn’t have the music we love today!
Ritmo Bello: Is there anything else you’d like to share with dance community?
A Time To Dance Studio:Try to support as many venues as possible… Whoever promotes them… It’s hard work and high risk promoting live events, clubs, and festivals. Keep dancing and always have fun doing it…
Ritmo Bello:The Ritmo Bello audience may want to contact you regarding some of the topics discussed here. How can members reach you for further information?
Ritmo Bello:Angel and Tulane, on behalf of Ritmo Bello and the San Diego salsa community thank you for all you do to promote salsa here in San Diego and around the world. A Time To Dance Studio:It was our pleasure… And thank you for interviewing us… You do an outstanding job keeping the latin music and dance scene informed and going strong…
For everyone that attended the San Diego Salsa Festival last year you’ll remember that a major focus of the Festival was the salsa competition. Indeed, the majority of salsa festivals or congresses are great opportunities for salsa dance teams, both local and from afar, to showcase the hard work they put into their dancing.
The San Diego Salsa Festival has the added benefit of being an official qualifying location for the World Salsa Championships . This major salsa dance competition is being held on December 3-6, 2008 in Florida and brings together the best in what salsa dancers have to offer.
The objective of the World Salsa Championships is to see which couple or teams in each division can best interpret salsa music and dance regardless of the repertoire of tricks that are employed. What this means is that the competitions are looking for those who truly feel the music and can express what they feel in the dance for the benefit of the salsa community.
The World Salsa Championships is a collaboration of salsa dancers around the world united under Albert Torres and The Salsa Seven, Inc , the producer of the event and pictured below. The hope of this major event is to bring more visibility to salsa dancing as a whole to the general public and to create what he describes as “unity through salsa.”
So what can we expect at the San Diego Salsa Festival for competitions? There will be 4 categories of competition with only 1 couple and only 1 team moving on to the competitions in Florida . The areas of competition include On1 salsa couple dancing, On2 salsa couple dancing, Team dancing, and a Cabaret couple division. An example of Cabaret style might look something like what is seen in this video included in this post below. (A Time to Dance Studio, the major supporters of the San Diego Salsa Festival, appear here during a recent performance at Aubergine.)
The judges will determine who moves on to the World Salsa Championships based on timing, overall technique, difficulty, connection/partnering skills, choreography/originality, appearance, and showmanship.
The winning couple and teams not only secure a spot at the World Salsa Championships, but they also get compensated for their hard work. This compensation comes in the form of paid flights to Florida courtesy of the San Diego Salsa Festival along with all meals and hotel accommodations provided by Salsa Seven, Inc. Not a bad deal if you ask me.
