The 10th Annual San Diego Salsa Bachata Kizomba Festival is coming up fast. The event which traditionally has been during the summer/fall is now set for a new time Thanksgiving weekend. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, the Festival is a great opportunity to be immersed for an entire weekend in the world of Latin dance here in San Diego. Between dance shows, live music, dance seminars and workshops the event will allow those new to Latin dancing a comprehensive introduction to it all.
From all of us at RitmoBello.com we wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope to see you all in 2016 and share some great times dancing in the new year.
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.
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!
The San Diego Tango scene in many ways parallels the salsa scene. Both types of dances are experiencing a resurgence in interest from the community and both have a growing presence here in San Diego. Nothing demonstrates this better in the Tango scene than the emergence of new Tango talent in the area such as Krista Ann.
Krista has extensively studied the art of Argentine Tango in Italy, Buenos Aires, Detroit, Chicago, Miami, & New York City under many tango greats such as Juan Carlos Copes, Jorge Firpo, Gustavo Naveira & Giselle Anne, Guillimina Quiqua & Lori Burton of Argentine Tango Detroit. Currently Teaching in San Diego and North County she embraces all styles of Argentine Tango. She recently joined as an Assistant Organizer for the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group and will be hosting Tango events here in San Diego. The article below is a guest piece written by her that talks a little bit about the condition of Tango dancing in San Diego today. Enjoy!
Reflections on the San Diego Argentine Tango Dance Scene By Guest Writer Krista Ann
“There’s a difference between learning the steps and learning how to dance. Dancing already exists in you, it’s in your heart beat and the way you hear the music. My job is to help you translate it into the words of dance”.
Argentine Tango is a dance of many different styles and cultural attributes. Having formed during a time of pilgrimage to South America, Tango is a dance reflectant of many cultures including African, European, Latin, and Native American. Tango is the creation of an artistic community that helped in bridging cultural divides.
Over time Tangueros have lost this community. In attempting to preserve the authentic tango, dancers have divided into many different separatist groups that believe in one style; Milonguro, Salon, Nuevo, Neo… No longer embracing the energy that is Tango.
San Diego is a place of pilgrimage and is the cultural fusion of many different heritages.
Just as tango once built bridges between different groups of people, San Diego now does for Tango.
San Diego’s Tango scene is starting to merge the tango divides. From the traditional Milonguro to the more the modern Nuevo Tanguero, we welcome you.
With a variety of great instructors and warm Milongas, San Diego is an amazing place to explore Argentine Tango. The dancers are friendly and share a genuine love for the dance.
Argentine Tango is a liberal dance that exists in the hearts of the dancers.
With the smell of the ocean air and music of all kinds, this is the place to develop our very own, Argentine Tango.
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!