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 group’s events are organized by some of San Diego’s hottest dance studios such as A Time To Dance, Ooh La La Dance Company, Deseo Dance, Majesty in Motion, Salsa Inferno, and Alma Latina.  Events range from dance workshops to new club openings and everything in between.

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!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

Time to visit your local US post office if you are a Latin music lover!  The new 2011 Latin Music Legends US Stamp collection features Celia Cruz, Carlos Gardel, Carmen Miranda, Selena and Tito Puente in close up portrait shots.  The music styles represented include Tejano, Argentine Tango, Samba, Latin Jazz, and Salsa.

They won’t be available until March but you can get a quick preview of some of the images here below.  You can find out more information about the artist Rafael López and all the stamps he’s created on his blog. Good to see Latin music represented in this novel way!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

San Diego’s Latin dance scene has been expanding over the years and nothing is a better indicator of this growth than the 1st Annual World Latin Dance Cup.  The event, hosted by Albert Torres Productions, is a great tribute to not just different styles of salsa dance (from Cuban style to Colombian style) but also other Latin dances like cumbia and bachata.  Teams from all over the world will converge on San Diego to compete in dance categories ranging from amateur to pro teams.  Those groups will vie for more than $50,000 worth of cash prizes and the chance to be dubbed #1 in their respective dance categories.  It should be very exciting to watch, if not perform in the event for sure.

As it gets closer to December I’ll be writing more about this great upcoming event, but in the meantime you can find out more information on the official website for the 1st Annual World Latin Dance Cup.  Thanks to Albert Torres for bringing another great event to San Diego!

See you all at the 1st Annual World Latin Dance Cup in San Diego this December!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

Hello Everyone!  San Diego’s own Deseo Dance company is expanding to include a new focus on samba dance.  Serena Cuevas joined forces with Melanie Riveira to bring to San Diego some of the best Samba dancing to be found in America’s finest City.

Here is a short intro video to the recent changes with Deseo Dance and auditions for the new teams if you are interested:

Good luck to all of you auditioning for this great dance organization!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

Brazilian Day San Diego is coming up this Sunday September 12 and will once again take place in Pacific Beach from 12pm to 7pm.

For those of you unfamiliar with the event, it’s the largest fundraiser for Capoeira Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides outreach programs for underprivileged children and teens. Their focus is to educate the community regarding Brazilian culture and Fine Arts, such as capoeira, samba, Afro-Brazilian dance and percussion.

The day will feature a parade, dance shows and an array of traditional cuisine including Brazilian barbecue, feijoada and pastel. The event is kid friendly too as there will be  a  fun children’s area with carnival rides, inflatable jumps, ballon artists, face painters and other entertainers.

To find out more information about Brazilian Day San Diego 2010 please visit the event page for it on the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group.

See you all at Brazilian Day San Diego 2010!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

A dance team from UC San Diego will compete on  “Dancing with the Stars” Tuesday night against dancers from Purdue University.  The episode airs Tuesday, May 11, 2010.  The teams will dance the samba, with the winner to perform on the show’s season finale May 25, according to UCSD.  The video above gives a nice example of what you can expect from our San Diego team.

“This will be an incredible experience for the team to perform live in front of a national audience,” said Brodie Kester, UCSD Dancesport team captain. “It will be a once-in-a-lifetime performance.”

In the San Diego area, “Dancing with the Stars” will air at 8 p.m. Tuesday on ABC affiliate KGTV Channel 10.  Ritmo Bello wishes them good luck in their competition!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

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!