BAY AREA SALSA ROCKS!

Do you suffer from SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder? (winter blues got an official name now) In these bleak economic times there's nothing better to cheer you up than a fiery spicy dance. San Francisco annual salsa festival gives you that opportunity and this year its 3d installment seemed better than ever: dance floor was full throughout the event including its opening night at Cafe Cocomo on Thursday March 10 and subsequent dances at Westin hotel.

Besides the festival, San Francisco will be celebrating 10 year anniversary of its salsa congress in November as well as the new US Open salsa competition in July debuted last year. All these events along with lessons, club dances and salsa dance troupes provide local salseros with great opportunities for improvement. And it shows.

The organizers, Salsamania dance company under the guidance and direction of 2 of the most beloved Bay Area instructors, John Narvaez and Liz Rojas, have been consistently churning out salseros since the 90s. They can take a clumsy duckling and turn it into a graceful swan. I used to think it could not be done, but - I've seen it happen. Their own success story as competitors allowed them to quit their jobs and create a prosperous dance production company. Salsamania family has several level groups and its alumni include many high level competitors and a few champions.

In shows and competitions, dancers and the audience alike can measure up and see where they stand. I'm proud to say that the quality gap between local salseros and visiting stars is diminishing fast. Just a few years ago I used to seek out visitors with higher level of expertise. Now, I'm just as happy dancing with local dancers whose mastery is comparable to any prominent guest. No longer should we feel inadequate even if the rest of the world does not recognize San Francisco as THE place for salsa. New York or LA salseros who had a long-standing clout over every aspiring and experienced dancer are no longer the only game in town. A former New-Yorker who used to think his city is the best place for salsa changed his mind after vacationing in Paris. However, many visiting Parisians admit they have fun dancing right here in SF. Even our own homeboy, the world champ Luis Aguilar, came home after a stint in NY. (Just make sure they announce you representing SF next time you compete, Luis:-)

As always, festivals and congresses bring some big names to boost attendance. This year, SF salsa festival showcased Majesty in Motion from San Diego, Yamulee from NY and world champs on1 Liz Lira and Christian Oviedo from LA. No doubt these dancers are superb. In spite of many years of training in salsa, no matter how good one becomes, salseros with additional experience in other dances such as ballet, jazz or ballroom will always have an edge, especially ladies (let's face it, guys, you play a supporting role in salsa :-) I'm not a big fan of ballroom, but you can surely appreciate their technique as was demonstrated once again by the couple of ballroom experts who danced to the smoking hot Temptation by Canadian jazz singer Diana Krall.

But what happens when we compare apples to apples and the technique level is comparable? What distinguished the stars from the rest? Festival performances provide a glimpse into audience's reaction and appreciation. Even on its home turf in SF, where Salsamania gets a lot of support from cheering crowds, you could see the public's reaction when a star performer is announced: people are sitting on the edge of their seats expecting greatness; they react with awe to every little move or accent. Of course you need to be great to feed this exaltation, but I'm not sure someone without any knowledge of who is who would see a substantial difference- technique wise - between let's say Yamulee or Majesty in Motion and Salsamania, Isidro and Arielle, Liz and Andrew (who showed a stunning routine at Cafe Cocomo) and some others.

What does count is the ease of execution. To become a world star, one needs to dance so it looks like a walk in the park to them. And, as a matter of fact, highly trained dancers with technique ingrained in their bones need only to put together a routine - they already know "how", they just need "what". At this level, their attention can be given to creative accents that are particularly popular with all audiences. Moreover, creativity and humor can overshadow less than perfect technique. Corey and Mireille in their bachata number were one example. (Corey's salsa is no less imaginative - this is a dancer to watch) Swing Guys are far from salsa gracefulness, but their unique routines are in demand all over the world.

Once the technique is equally great, the distinguishing factor becomes uniqueness, either in style or creativity. Salsa can become boring especially to audiences who repeatedly attend clubs and events. How many times can you watch Oliver and Luda as well as the majority of great salsa dancers unless they bring something else to the table-stage? To keep it from getting stale, you need either constant innovation in the "salsa sauce" or your own unique style like Frankie Martinez, Juan Matos, Shaka Brown, Vasquez brothers or Felipe Polanco. You can be a great imitator and competitor, but that will not make you a star.

Montuno Swing band that played the festival opening night at Cafe Cocomo ruined its impression from a few months ago when they presented a great repertoire at the regular Tuesday night dance at The Glas Kat. This time, the band leader Cristian Tumalan decided to experiment with hip-hop and bachata in spite of the negative reactions from the floor. Wrong crowd, guys! Too bad, we did not get to hear the new Pacific Mambo Orchestra playing on Mondays at Cafe Cocomo - it revived the true mambo classics (read Monday Night Jem for details).

Mazacote did a decent job on Friday - if only they cut their songs in half! "Titans of trombone" Saturday night were far from titans: they could not improvise to save their lives. Moreover, most songs were musically boring and these excruciating attempts extended them to unbearable lengths. Cut out the improvisations and everybody wins: you'll make better impression and dancers will be happy with shorter tunes. Dance promoters can put a stop to this demanding that songs must be under 5 min. or the band will not get the gig.

Overall, the festival was a great success. It attracted salseros who hardly ever show up in clubs anymore so seeing even local dancers was a pleasant surprise. Most participants stayed till the very end and some even lingered in the hallways past 2 am.

Thank you, Salsamania!