If you are like most people you have certain New Year’s resolutions that you’ve set for yourself. If dancing is not one of them it’s still early enough in the year to give it a go.
For those new to salsa dancing in San Diego a great place to start is the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group. Started way back in 2005, the group is made up of many people in the salsa community from established instructors to those just stepping onto the dance floor for the first time. With 2,400+ members the group is one of largest meetup groups in Southern California and for sure the biggest when it comes to dancing salsa.
I often get questions about the calendar and events on the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group. Many people think I post every event that appears there but in reality the calendar is a huge group effort.
The group is made of 22 other organizers that include well known people here in San Diego such as David Stein of Majesty in Motion, Susie Nguyen Grafte from Ooh La La Dance company, Walter Meneses from Dancing After School, Gaby from Alma Latina and Serena Cuevas. The local Tango dance community is represented as well with organizer like Krista Ann and Tino. The events found on the calendar are truly crowd sourced content from those who know what is going on here in San Diego regarding dance.
The great thing about the group is that we are open to others from the community who want to help fill the calendar with fun events and socials any day of the week. If you are interested in becoming an event organizer send me a message.
With so much talent here in San Diego posting great events on the calendar you are sure to find one that best fits your schedule and interests.
I receive lots of emails from folks visiting San Diego and asking me about our great dance scene. Invariably I always direct them to check out what is going on the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group calendar.
The San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup group is a great resource available for local dance studios, club promoters and event organizers to connect with those who want to be “in the know” when it comes to dancing here in San Diego.
Dancing After School will be holding a special benefit to raise money for their work. Founded in 2006, Dancing After School is a non-profit organization committed to providing life-changing dance programs to youth in underserved areas throughout San Diego County. The organization uses dance as a vehicle to inspire youth and provide a culturally relevant outlet.
DAS has been able to make an extremely positive impact in communities where a tremendous need exists. Based in San Diego, sites are located from Vista to San Ysidro and provide meaningful dance fitness programs to more than 1300 students each week.
If you are new to San Diego or are just new to the San Diego dance scene, you should check out the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group. Founded way back in September 6, 2005, the group is San Diego’s most established and largest growing Meetup group focusing primarily on all types of Latin dance. (If you’ve never heard of Meetup here is a short explanation of the organization.)
The San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group is also a great way to meet other like minded dancers who share your passion for music and dance. It gives people an opportunity to find friends in the scene and keep connected with the growing dance population.
Sign up for the group is FREE so what are you waiting for? Join today!
I love history, especially when it deals with dance. I wanted to share some video resources out there with those of you wanting to learn more about Argentine Tango.
This first video has a short overview of the history of Argentine Tango by a Florida based Tango Instructor. I think it serves as a good intro to the subject:
This second video explains in more detail the history of the dance itself and its influences:
This next video is actually one in a series of videos that does a great job of breaking down the history of Tango according to the development of orchestras in the genre:
I’m sure there are many other good videos out there concerning the subject, so if you have one to share please do so by leaving a comment on this post. Thanks!
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.
