Salsa By The Bay

Bay Area Salsa Competitions Guide

Takeshi — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 22:54:07 +0000

Have you ever wanted to watch a live dance competition? Or are you the competitive type that likes to compete? If so, you’re in luck, because there are a number of salsa competitions coming up in the following weeks.

Here’s a quick guide to the competitions that are coming up in the Bay Area if you are interested in competing, or just watching. The rules for each competition are slightly different, so here’s what to watch for:

So You Think You Can Dance Jack & Jill Competition

Hosted By:	Michelle Castro
Date(s):	Qualifying rounds – April 6, April 20, May 4, May 18; Finals – June 1st
Costumes:	No
Partner:	No
Prizes:	$5000 in trophies, cash, and prizes
Format:	The SYTYCD Jack & Jill is a freestyle dance competition where couples are paired up with a random partner. Couples dance to salsa, bachata, chachacha, and merrengue, with the DJ picking a random song. There are 4 qualifying rounds, with the winners of each round competing in the finals in June.

Latin Fever Fridays Annual Footwork Competition

Hosted By:	Afinkao
Date(s):	Friday, May 10th 2013
Costumes:	Recommended
Partner:	No
Prizes:	$400 in cash and prizes
Format:	The annual footwork competition hosted by Afinkao is a solo dance competition, where dancers compete against each other by putting together 1 minute solo routines to salsa music of their choice

MamboNova Salsa Competition

Hosted By:	MamboNova
Date(s):	Qualifiers – April 13, May 11, June 8; Finals – June 22
Costumes:	Recommended
Partner:	Yes
Prizes:	$900 in cash + prizes including congress passes
Format:	The Mambonova Salsa Competition is an amateur salsa competition open to dancers who are not professional coaches or competitors. For the qualifying rounds, couples must dance freestyle to random music, and on the finals held on June 22nd couples are expected to compete with a prepared routine

Hopefully that has clarified the rules for some of the salsa competitions that are coming up. All of the competitions are free to enter, so I would recommend checking them out if you are at all interested in competing! Feel free to post a comment if you have any questions.

Bay Area Salsa Competitions Guide is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

Salsa History Infographic

Takeshi — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:13:21 +0000

Are you familiar with the history of salsa? Check out this cool infographic that’s making the rounds on Facebook (originally from a presentation at Johannes Gutenberg University):

(Click for full-sized image)

One of the meanings of the word salsa is “mixture” and salsa is indeed a mixture of various different music and dance forms, including chachacha, latin jazz, cumbia, pachanga, mambo and more. This handy chart helps show the richness of salsa’s origins.

Salsa History Infographic is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

Shadow Ultra Lounge

submission — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:22:23 +0000

Salsa dancing every Thursday night at the Shadow Ultra Lounge (formerly Maxwell’s Lounge) in Oakland. Free salsa lessons from 8pm-9:30pm, followed by dancing until 1:30am in the morning. Shadow Ultra Lounge is a...

Shadow Ultra Lounge is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

Boogie for Earth Day at La Peña

submission — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:44:58 +0000

Live Latin Jazz Music at La Peña in Berkeley in celebration of Earth Day. The event features live music from two popular Latin Jazz Groups: Survival Groove and Nuevo Mundo. Boogie for...

Boogie for Earth Day at La Peña is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

Salsa Bash

Takeshi — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:48:45 +0000

A special social hosted at Dance Boulevard in San Jose, with all proceeds going to support students from SJSU, Santa Clara, Stanford, Sac State, and UC Davis who will be representing the Bay Area at the 6th Annual College Salsa Congress.

Colombian-style salsa lessons at 7:30pm, followed by dancing until the wee hours of the morning. Special performances by local college salsa teams and dance teams.

Salsa Bash is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

South Bay Mambonova Social

Takeshi — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:25:27 +0000

A monthly salsa social hosted by Mambonova Dance Company at Dance Boulevard in San Jose. Beginner salsa lessons On2 by Hector Reyes and Lucie at 8:30pm, followed by dancing until 1:30am in the morning. Two rooms for dancing, salsa and bachata.

Also, from April until June Mambonova will be hosting a salsa competition, with up to 2 couples qualifying every week until the final on June 22nd. Over $1000 in cash & prizes including free passes to the Las Vegas Salsa Congress up for grabs. Open to all non-professional dancers. See the Mambonova website for the competition rules.

South Bay Mambonova Social is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

2 Left Feet Salsa & Bachata Lessons

submission — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:44:30 +0000

Beginner salsa and bachata lessons every Tuesday night at Mexico Lindo in San Jose. All ages welcome, beginner friendly, and no partner needed. The class is held in the dance/bar room area of Mexico Lindo with a nice hardwood floor and sound system. No outside food or drinks.

2 Left Feet Salsa & Bachata Lessons is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

SF Salsa Festival 2013 Results

Takeshi — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:33:57 +0000

Missed the competition at the SF Salsa Festival this past weekend? Here are the results for the top 2 winners in each division, who qualified for the World Latin Dance Cup coming up in December:

Amateur Couples:
1st Place – Jeremy Martinez & Olaia García Alvarez (video)
2nd Place – Derek Marrero & Keesha Roberts

Amateur Teams:
1st Place – Latin Vibe (video)
2nd Place – Salsa Inferno (video)

Pro-Am Couples:
1st Place – Jesus Cruz & Maritza Gonzalez
2nd Place – Dan Popovici & Paulina Posadas Dagio
3rd Place – Tony Caligagan & Andrea Spindler

Professional Couples:
1st Place – Achuith Bhandarkar & Mayuko Ueda Beno (video)
2nd Place – Jesus ZuPr & Laura ZuPr (video)

SF Salsa Festival 2013 Results is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

San Francisco Salsa Festival This Weekend!

Takeshi — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:56:18 +0000

In case you haven’t heard yet, the 5th Annual San Francisco Salsa Festival is coming up this weekend! The SF Salsa Festival is a 3-day long salsa extravaganza that brings some of the best salsa instructors and performers in the world to San Francisco for 3 nights.

The party begins on Thursday night at Cafe Cocomo, then moves to the Westin in San Francisco on Friday & Saturday. There are workshops during the day with top instructors, followed by performances in the evening, and dancing until 2am every night.

If you’re planning on attending, get your tickets soon as space is limited and tickets sold out last year. Find out more…

San Francisco Salsa Festival This Weekend! is a post from: Salsa By The Bay

Azucar Live Music Monday

Takeshi — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:19:12 +0000

Live salsa music by Orquestra Saboricua at the Azucar Latin Bistro & Mojito Bar in downtown San Jose. Salsa lessons by DJ Jazzy Jez from 8:30pm-9:30pm, followed by dancing until the early hours of the morning.

Azucar Live Music Monday is a post from: Salsa By The Bay