Believe it or not, I had my first taste of salsa dancing at a club called "Coco Locos", in Shinjuku (Tokyo, Japan). I had two left feet back then, being very shy and conscientious about my body movement especially when it came to dancing. While tapping my feet to the beat of the music, I'd watch in awe as ladies spun in and out of their partner's arms, crouching down at one point only to end up in a body roll right up against their man and never missing a beat! It was all so sensual yet demure, so carefree yet disciplined, so exhilarating to watch... but frustrating for me, with my two left feet!!
How in the world do two perfect strangers come together on the dance floor and with skillful combination of steps, simultaneously move to every beat and stop at every accent of the music, always knowing and anticipating eachother's next move?? Well, after a few trips back to Coco Locos and Salsa Sudada, also in Tokyo, I still hadn't come close to performing one fluid salsa step.
When I returned to Canada things got a little rough in my personal life (yeah, another long story that's a closed chapter in my novel *big sigh*) so I had to keep busy. Aside from turning into a complete workaholic, I got a tip from a friend at work that he was taking salsa classes and absolutely loving them. Grantley gave me the name and number to Paula (at the time Paula Videla) who ran "Dance to Live Studio". She rented a few studios around the downtown area where she taught dance classes. I went for my first assessment at Augusta where I danced with her partner, José (who is now her husband) as she watched on, assessing my so-called "skills". I couldn't even do a basic cross body lead!! I can't remember the exact level she placed me into but it definitely was not where I wanted to be. I remember just being so determined never to relive my experience in Japan again - having two left feet and being excluded from all the fun. So I practised at clubs, took some private lessons with Paula & José and Teddy, went to workshops with Jennifer, Giovanni, & Stephanie, attended the Salsa Women's Retreat with Paula & Jennifer, and just this year went to my first salsa congress, the biggest one out there in Puerto Rico. To test out my moves on the dance floor, I even competed in Berlin's Annual Salsa Competition 2001. Although my partner Greg & I didn't get past the semi-finals it was a great experience for me and made me realize that I loved salsa and loved being up on stage performing.
In April 2001, Lori, one of Paula's students in a different class than mine, suggested putting together a student dance group to perform in a variety of different shows. Well, our initial show was for a Hairstyle Expo where we'd feature a selection of hairstyles for dancing. We never did end up performing at that show but we kept the group together. Since then we've seen many different faces. Originally we started off with Lori, Fouad, Natasha, Gordon, Kairi, Greg, myself and Roel. Now the Dance to Live Student Dance crew members are myself and Gordon, Kairi & Robert, Jennifer & Kevork, and recent additions include Tammy & Gerrardo. To date, we've performed at numerous functions like Christmas & birthday parties, Rumba Pa' Puerto Rico fundraising events, fashion shows, street festivals, and yacht club socials.
** If you are interested in hiring our group to perform at your event or just wondering when & where our next scheduled performance will be, please contact Paula & José of Dance to Live Studio by e-mail, dancetolive@rogers.com, or by phone at 416-516-4019. You can watch a clip of our dance troop performance from one of our recent gigs on the Dance to Live web site: http://www.dancetolivestudio.com**
Starring the Dance to Live Student Dance Crew
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
