That’s right! Carlos Santana, the legendary latin rock artist, will be performing live at Cricket Wireless here in San Diego tomorrow Tuesday September 30th.
I was lucky to get some VIP tickets for the performance and I look forward to hearing him in concert. Santana, as most of you know, is credited with popularizing Latin music through the years with many hits such as “Oye Come Va” and “Black Magic Woman.” Both of these songs are enjoyed by dancers as they follow cha cha cha beat and are club favorites.
Many of us know the health benefits from dancing tango, salsa , samba, merengue, and other forms of Latin dance. But did you know that simply listening to these types of music can improve your health?
Recent studies show that listening to music of all types has the great effects of lowering your blood pressure, improving your concentration, and overall stimulating your brain. Many studies also show that listening to music can improve performance on standardized tests. For most salsa, tango, and other Latin dancers, the music can simply put you in a different state of mind and allow you to restart your day on a fresh note.
Tango Alma , a local San Diego tango group and friends of Ritmo Bello , was recently highlighted in a short documentary regarding the health benefits of music. I posted that video here for you to watch and you’ll see both Todd and Marizabel of Tango Alma explaining how tango dance and listening to music is good for your health. Enjoy!
Ever wish you learned to dance as a kid? I recently saw a documentary about dancing in Argentina and noticed that very early on kids there are taught Argentine Tango along with their regular studies. Although I’m not sure how prevalent this really is in Argentine society, it’s safe to say Argentina has produced some very good Argentine Tango dancers as a result.
What if we could start having our kids learn to dance early on as well here in San Diego? Well, its already happening.
Dancing After School (DAS) , a 501c3 non-profit organization, is dedicated to providing comprehensive life changing dance programs to youth in under-served areas throughout San Diego County. Dancing After School has been able to make tremendous strides in educating and inspiring youth to learn dance. Based locally here in San Diego and founded by Walter Meneses, the organization serves all of San Diego including the border regions teaching dance to thousands of elementary school children.
Why teach kids to dance? There are lots of reasons I can think of including giving kids a positive role model to follow in terms of instructors, giving them something to master in their free time, and getting kids up and moving around. Indeed, with obesity rates rising every year with our youth I think it’s paramount to give kids another outlet for meeting their needs.
The video I’ve posted here is from an Argentine Tango dance class taught by DAS instructors. They also teach other types of Latin dance including salsa, merengue, bachata, mambo, Cha Cha Cha, and Jazz. After the students are taught the dance for a term they are given an opportunity to showcase their work. This next video shows a performance by a group of kids who’ve gone through the classes.
If you’ve followed Ritmo Bello in the past you may remember a saying that I used to post on my old website that read “If you can walk, you can dance!” Well, I’m pleased to report that I’ve been wrong all this time. Let me explain.
Absolutely Dance Sport, a specialized dance studio catering to the disabled here in San Diego, opens its doors on August 5th , 2008. The focus of the new studio is to bring more attention to a growing movement called Wheelchair DanceSport . Wheelchair DanceSport is a partner dance competition where at least one dancer in the pair is in a wheelchair.
Wheelchair dancing is not actually new. Since 1977, international competitions in Wheelchair Dance Sport have been organized and supported by organizations like the International Paralympic Wheelchair Dance Sport Committee and International DanceSport Federation. There is even an American Dance Wheels logo similar to the NBA’s iconic sign as seen below:
Wheelchair dancers participate in combination style dancing with an able-bodied partner or duo dance with two wheelchairs. The dances that are performed with wheelchairs pretty much are the same ones that a non-disabled couple can perform. That means that a wheelchair dancer could dance salsa, samba, cha cha cha, rumba, paso doble, and other popular Latin dances.
I found this tango video especially captivating to watch:
My immediate reaction to all this is that I am very thankful that there are people in the community concerned with bringing dance to the disabled population. Indeed, if I were ever in a position where I needed to rely on a wheelchair I would most likely seek out this studio to be around empowered individuals passionate about salsa and latin dancing.
What this means is that the current feed will expire and you will need to subscribe to this new feed for Ritmo Bello.
(For those of you not familiar with subscribing or RSS feeds I found this useful Google Reader tutorial created by Andy Wibbels that will help.)
Along with the new feed, you’ll also notice that the new address for the site will be www.ritmobello.com . (Note: The old site address of www.sandiegosalsadancing.com will still get you to the new site as well once the changes take effect.) This is in line with my efforts to start adding in more Latin dance information covering samba, tango, cha cha, merengue, and bachata along with the same San Diego salsa dancing information you’ve come to enjoy reading on my website.
If anybody has any questions feel free to contact me direct at bello_jf@ritmobello.com . You can still find me on on my Twitter page for Ritmo Bello as well.
This Saturday at the La Jolla Marriott there will be a Cha Cha Cha contest with a cash prize give away. Often overshadowed by Salsa, Cha Cha Cha dancing still appeals to those who want a different kind of rhythm.
As usual, the Salsa lessons begin at 8:30 and go until about 9:30pm. The general dancing begins immediately after and goes strong until 1:30am.
The cover is $10 BUT remember that if you get there before 8pm and get a stamp you get in for FREE.
Since I’ve taken over management of the site as the Main Organizer , I’ve learned a great deal about many new people to the Salsa and Latin Dance scene here in San Diego, California.
Although people hail from all over the world to come dance here, one thing that is universal is the love of the dance and the enthusiasm to continue that dancing here in San Diego.
