Ritmo Bello interview with San Diego Salsa group, Salsa Inferno Dance.

Hope everyone is doing great. Here in San Diego there are a number of salsa dance troupes and companies that cater to very different aspects of salsa dancing. Indeed, some of the local dance companies concentrate their efforts and skills to spreading the dance to particular areas of the dance both philosophically and geographically. I recently had the opportunity to interview with Tony Caligagan of Salsa Inferno Dance about his groups contributions to the local San Diego salsa dance community:

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Salsa Inferno Dance:

Hi John,

Thanks for your support. Keeping salsa alive takes a lot of effort and I am thankful someone like you takes the time to promote salsa in a positive manner.

I have been active in the Salsa Community for more than 14 years. Since my return from New York in 1992 (after dancing on Broadway and meeting Maria my wonderful wife) I've taught salsa and Latin dance at UCSD and introduced salsa to thousands of dancers over the years.

Ritmo Bello: What is your Mission and Vision for your dance company?

Salsa Inferno Dance: Our mission for Salsa Inferno Dance has been to create a core of highly skilled trained dance professionals that not only represent salsa as a fun social activity, but also to perform for corporate events and Special events throughout the salsa community. In a way Salsa Inferno is a sister company to Heatwave Productions which has been a leading entertainment provider in San Diego for over 15 years.

Ritmo Bello: What are the origins of your dance troupe?

Salsa Inferno Dance: The origins spawned from our beginning and intermediate salsa classes in Encinitas, UCSD, Culture shock (I started the salsa program at Culture shock), and from local salsa clubs that I promoted. On June 6th we will be celebrating our 9th year of teaching salsa in Encinitas which will be a land mark event. We consistently have 60-80 students in our Friday night classes- rain or shine. The dancers that came on a consistent basis developed into good social dancers. Then we took that core group and started performing about 6 years ago, the group grew slowly but surely. WE now have 3 teams, Salsa Inferno Amateur, Salsa Inferno Pro-team, Salsa Inferno Bachata Performance team.

Ritmo Bello: What sets your group apart from the other local dance troupes?

Salsa Inferno Dance: Because of our dance background and experience as trained dance professionals Maria and I have over 40 years of dance experience (see our biography on www.salsainfernodance.com) to offer students. Coaching is one of our expertise and we feel we can help anyone improve their dancing and quality of life. We encourage and create a positive environment where we know that if someone applies themselves they will grow not only technically but they will grow in confidence and self esteem. There is a lot more to teaching Salsa than just teaching steps!!!!

Ritmo Bello: I would have to agree with you wholeheartedly on your last point. If somebody wants to participate how can they contact your group?

Salsa Inferno Dance: We are always accepting qualified new dancers to the group. Some people stop dancing for a while and then come back when their life situation allows. Besides being a dance company with high standards we are also the most affordable! We only charge $10.00 per training session and you only pay when you show up. That’s $40.00 a month vs. other team fees of $100 or more

We can be found at www.salsainfernodance.com or tony@salsainfernodance.com. Thanks for all you do John!! :)

Ritmo Bello: Well, thanks to you Tony and your group for promoting salsa dance here locally in San Diego, California and around the world.

Update regarding Abran Paso, San Diego's Newest Salsa Club

Valerie from
the Abran Paso salsa 
dance club
wanted to share
this update.
Looks like the
club will be expanding.

Check it out below:

_______________________________________________

**ABRAN PASO

Last Friday our Grand opening was a hit!
I guess San Diego Salsa folks are
ready to check out a new location for Friday Salsa.
The Hotel was so
impressed with our "Party" that they have offered
us the Grand Ballroom at
the Mission Valley Resort for our Clients to consider
this week!  Neat Huh.
Hope you will stop by this week and check out our
friendly atmosphere, cool
environment, patio and reasonable cover (only $8.00).

Dance class with
Valerie at 8:30 PM and general dancing at 9:30 PM
Mission Valley Resort is located on the south side
of freeway 8 on Hotel
Circle.  Take the Hotel Circle exit!!
(875 Hotel Circle South SD 92108)

Colombian Independence Day Festival here in San Diego

Hello! Hope you are all doing well. Believe it or not Colombia's independence day is coming up in the not too distant future. Although the actual independence day is July 20th, there will be a special celebration on Sunday July 27th, 2008 at the Mission Valley Hilton here in San Diego from 11am to 6pm. Rumba Entertainment is hosting this event.

Some things to look forward to include folkloric dance performances, spectacular salsa and tango dance shows, food and souvenir vendors, and of course salsa dancing. Orquesta Ritmo Caliente is slated to perform and there should be free salsa lessons with paid admission. I'm hoping they will have some Aguardiente Antioqueno to make the celebration complete.

For more information look for updates on Ritmo Bello.

San Diego's Biggest Salsa Dance Company Announces Auditions: Majesty in Motion!!!

Majesty in Motion announced that it will be holding auditions for their various teams.

Specifically, there are spots open on all teams. Majesty offers ON1 and ON2 training. They currently have 2 ladies teams and 1 men's team.

The auditions will be held on Sunday July 6th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Cheek2Cheek Dance Studio in Pacific Beach.

Make sure to bring your dance shoes (or jazz shoes), water, their application which you should print out, and dress comfortably (gym clothes are fine).

Everyone is welcome (yes this includes beginners as well).

For more information visit Majesty in Motion.

Salsa at the San Diego Convention Center, ESPN Super-stars...a Last minute udate.

Albert, the event coordinater, wanted to get some last minute information regarding the salsa social out to those attending. Below is what he wrote. For more information about the event please visit the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dance Meetup:

Party is in Ballroom 6C (second floor, middle of the Convention Center.)

Show schedule:

• Doors open 6:30pm
• Free Workshop/Class from 7-8pm
• !!!First set of shows at 9:15pm!!!
• !!!Second set of shows at 11:15pm!!!
• Dancing everywhere in between!

Any questions, feel free to email JuniorAndEmily@gmail.com or call Albert at (858) 344-9499.

There is a Padres homegame against the Rockies -- there will still be lots of parking at the Convention Center (Rockies games are not highly attended, and the SDCC has assured us plenty of capacity.) To circumvent traffic, consider taking Harbor via airport/Little Italy or coming up from the South by exiting Cesar Chavez off the 5.

Tomorrow is going to be a blast!!! Hoooray for SoCal Salsa!

Sincere Thanks for All the Wonderful Support,
Albert, Junior, Emily, & The Amicitia Family

PS. For those who already paid for tickets or requested will-call, no worries -- we have our lists and you are taken care of :-)

Amicitia Dance Company Announces Auditions for Salsa Dance Training, Semi Pro Teams.

Junior & Emily of Amicitia Dance Company announced a new opportunity for auditions coming up in June.

The auditions for their training and Semi Pro Teams will be held at Dance Place San Diego on Sunday June 8^th, 2008 from 12 to 2pm for the training team and 2-4 for the Semi Pro team.

No partner is necessary and they stress that the audition will begin promptly at the designated times.

Please note that Amicitia trains their teams On beat 2.

For more information you can contact them at juniorandemily@gmail.com

What is Casino Rueda or Salsa Rueda all about?

If you’ve ever gone out to salsa dance here in San Diego you may have seen a peculiar style of salsa dance performed by not just one pair but by a group of people. That style of dance, Casino Rueda or Salsa Rueda, is punctuated by a round style of dancing salsa.


Developed in Havana, Cuba in early 1960’s, this style of dance pairs dancers in a circle where one person calls out the moves for the group to perform. Many “callers” develop an extensive array of hand signs to complement each call and easily lead the group in the various turns. There is even swapping of partners as you can see in this Salsa Rueda video I posted.


Locally here in San Diego there are a number of groups that cater to the Casino Rueda or Salsa Rueda Style. They include Rueda San Diego out of the North County. They offer classes and more information for those interested.

In the past I tried learning Salsa Rueda and found that it takes just as much if not more dedication to perfecting that style of dance. If you undertake to learn the dance make sure you find a group of Salsa Rueda dancers that can teach you the calls and moves. That way, the next time you see Salsa Rueda at the club you may just be able to jump in and join them.

Grand Opening of New San Diego Salsa Club: Abran Paso

Ready to try a new salsa dance venue for Friday nights?

The Grand opening of San Diego's newest Salsa club is set for Friday May 9th!! The new club is called ABRAN PASO and is brought to you by Valerie "SD's 1st Lady of Salsa." Most of you are probably familiar with Valerie through her complimentary lessons that she offers Tuesday through Thursday at Cafe Sevilla. (see the photo I posted here from her Siempre Salsa site, chances are you've met her before)

Abran Paso, the new salsa dance club, will offer a number of unique features including:

** DJ New Yo Rican & Friends spinning Old School Salsa,
Merengue Cha Cha and Bachata
**8:30PM Dance Class with Valerie ?SD?s 1st Lady of Salsa
** 2 Large Dance floors; the 2nd floor allows for dancing under
the STARS! It's going to be a wonderful Summer!
** Ample FREE Parking with a 24 hr Coffee Shop just steps
away

Abran Paso Salsa Club is located within the Mission Valley Resort
875 Hotel Circle South SD 92108 (Hotel Circle exit off of Hwy 8 on the South side
of freeway).

The San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup group will be in attendance on the opening night and will have a designated table area set up for members and anyone new to salsa in San Diego to meet. Just look for the Meetup Sign when you arrive.

Hope to see you all at Abran Paso!!!