The heat outside was nothing compared to the heat inside at 6 Degrees Friday as over 550 people packed the place for the first salsa competition in four years - Toronto Dance Salsa (TDS) 's 1st Amateur Salsa Competion.
Five fearless and intrepid couples - Monica & John, Tania & Rajeev, Steve & Stella, Kimberly & Mark, Nina & Alfred - took the stage to show it off to the judges and to the hundreds in the audience.
Anticipation was in the air. "She was in my Level 5 class. ..." " ... Where did they learn the dips?" Who was going to win?
Some Serious Loot
The stakes were high with the winning couple getting: 2 full Canada Salsa Congress passes, 2 full Miami Salsa Congress passes with a 1 night hotel stay, 2 full World Salsa Federation passes, 2 pairs each of dance shoes from Century Wide Dance Shoes and Addicted 2 Dance Shoes, $100 at Amaretto's Restaurant, a Plaza Flamingo Dinner & Show, Eggplant Restaurent Gift Certificates, an Ipod docking station and two 1 year Lula Lounge's Salsa Fridays membership, Tees from Salsa Tees & More and Trophies. That's some serious loot!
A full evening was planned, with lessons, the competition, dancing, more dancing, three shows and the winners and a surprise.
A little something for everybody got the night going - a multi-level beginner, intermediate, advanced - lesson taught by TDS instructors with about an hour of DJ Efren's music to practice with before the main event!
MC George, whose 6' 5"+ towered over the stage and Katie's 4' 10 & 1/2" got down to business around 11:00pm. with a quickie salsa step and and Sharon's announcment on her recent engagement.
The Judges
The five judges, all experienced performers and choreographers were introduced and took their places in front of the stage. iFreeStyle's Angus, United Salseros's Teddy, Latin Energy's Oscar & Vanesa and Ana Machado settled in for a challenging night.
The couples came on stage together for a two minute warm-up to get a feel for the floor, shake out any last minute jitters, get used to the lights and the buzz from the crowd. The buzz got louder as glimpses of what was to come flashed by.
Numbers from the hat set the competition order.
MC George introduced each couple with a very brief bio. The crowd could see the faces behind the names or the "couple x."
The Competitors
Kimberly & Mark drew the toughest spot, first up. Warming up the crowd - and the judges - that's really tough. MC George noted that Kimberly caught the salsa bug on a trip to Cuba and started lessons with TDS in the fall of 2005, took all six levels, and started helping Sharon with classes. The feeling of flying during spins is her biggest kick! Summer 2005 was Mark's foray into salsa. A few visits to Ba Ba Luu got him hooked. The bar was set.
Monica & John were second up. MC George mentioned that a Spanish father and an Uruguayan mother infused Monica with rhythm and soul that only salsa could bring out. A busy mom, her 8 and 11 year old girls are very proud of her. John began taking lessons with Toronto Dance Salsa in late 2005 and ran - danced through? through levels one to five.
Stella & Steve were third up. MC George told the crowd that Stella's first salsa experience was at a company salsa party. she got dipped and that was it. She wanted more! Steve caught the salsa bug from the silver screen. Patrick Swayze & Kelly Lynch's Roadhouse was the culprit and the influence on his dance. One sexy routine coming up!
Tania & Rajeev drew the fourth spot. MC George noted that Tania wanted back into dance, and ballroom was one way. She loved her ballroom. But the instructor took the summer off. So Tania took a Level 2 salsa class in May 2006 to kill time waiting for ballroom instructor to come back. Not! It's been Salsa ever since. Rajeev started dancing as it was on his "to do list" before the big three - oh. Salsa's fun factor, the music and its self-expression hooked him!
Alfred & Nina drew lucky 5 and had a warmed up crowd. Nina picked up Salsa during a year teaching down in Medellin, Columbia with her friends. Her Toronto friends started taking her to some of downtown clubs - Ba Ba Luu perhaps? That's how she met Alfred. No formal classes yet, so Nina signed up with TDS in January 2006. No looking back. Alfred's only vice coming away from a job in the notorious Amsterdam was an uncurable salsa bug.
In a blink, it was over - Five 2' to 2' 30" performances gone in a swirl of arms, legs, faces and music.
Now the judges had to retire and thrash out amongst themselves the winners.
Three Shows
How to keep the crowd distracted? Shows! Why Not?
Oscar & Vanessa's Latin Energy Kids filled the stage with their own magic that was seen at the 4th Salsa Congress and the 2nd Winter Salsa Carnival. Little Bria is not so little now, having been performing for several years.
iFreestyle.ca's performance group showed 'em what the ON2 crowd can do - to a Western theme.
United Salseros' Mambo Mosiac mixed a little tango with their salsa to give the crowd a spicy treat.
The Winners
MC George got everyone's attention again and it was time... The moment everyone in the place was waiting for. Everyone had put in months of practice; finding a partner, choosing music, practicing, practicing, practicing. ... Who won?
Here is the list - in order. Nina & Alfred - 1st; Monica & John 2nd; Tania & Rajeev - 3rd; Runners up Steve & Stella; Kimberly & Mark.
Everyone came away a winner. It takes guts to compete, to put one's dance before the world to see and be judged.
The evening ended with a huge birthday circle for Evan - even George gave him a spin!
The Toronto Dance Salsa gang can look forward to a second salsa competition. If the first one was any indication, a second one will be beyond belief. Start getting in some of those performance classes in now and hunt down some music. If you think the salsa bug is bad, the competition and performance bug is worse...
Sponsors included: Canada Salsa Congress, Miami Salsa Congress, World Salsa Federation, § Century Wide Dance Shoes, Addicted to Dance Shoes, Super Latin Music, Lula Lounge, Plaza Flamingo, Eggplant Restaurant, Amaretto's Restaurant, Plaza flamingo, Super Latin Music, Salstar T-shirts.
People who made the night a succes include: Katie, Nicole, Kimberly, Nina, Anthony, Christianne, Evan, George and more.
