Mention these words in the Bay Area salsa circles and everyone will immediately think of the popular salsa dance troupe. If you have anything to do with salsa you heard about this local company comprising dozens of dancers of different levels. In spite of its size, this tight-knit family is just it: a family of dedicated and hard-working salsa aficionados bonded by Salsamania founders John Narvaez and Liz Rojas. John's strict, but caring demeanor and Liz' all forgiving kindness make them the perfect group "parents"/ instructors. Moreover, John and Liz manage to stay neutral and avoid offending anyone which helps navigate in treacherous salsa "waters".
I met them both when this up-and-coming couple "performed" on the dance floor. (I even heard rumors of John's dancing on a bottle :-) My beginner's attempts to follow John's lead ended in complete disaster, but he was patient and never refused a dance in 14 years I've known him even after he inexplicably withdrew his friendship.
The duo's skills evolved and, at the time when Bay Area had only a couple of salsa dance troupes, Salsamania was born and rose to the top by winning a yearly salsa group competition with its energetic rendition of a popular song. At the golden age of local salsa around the turn of this century everyone - group members or not - and all instructors were out dancing almost every night. Cafe Cocomo was "the church" where dancers came to pray to the divine music and dance. It is still the traditional venue for the opening nights of all major salsa events in the city.
As Salsasmania's fan club grew, John and Liz quit their day jobs, expanded classes and competed winning prizes almost everywhere they went. Their student roster expanded even beyond US borders: hopefuls were coming from Mexico, Canada, even France and other countries (one trainee claimed there were no equally qualified instructors in his area in France which has a reputation for the best salseros).When beginners asked for instructor recommendations, John and Liz were always my first choice.
Creating their own salsa festival was a natural follow-up for this hard-working couple. Held every year in March, the festival will be celebrating its 5th year anniversary next year. So far, it showcased mostly growing local talent with a few invited salsa luminaries, but given its growing popularity and attendance, Bay Area salseros are hoping for an expanded version that could accommodate all the participants that had to be turned away Saturday night - the ballroom already had over a 1000 people! With SF Salsa Congress losing its appeal, the festival might become the salsa event of choice for locals and visitors alike.
Held at the hotel Westin in the heart of San Francisco in a beautiful ballroom with 3 great dance floors, the venue is more convenient for SF, South Bay residents and visitors who don't have to cross the Bay bridge to get there. All the usual choices are there; workshops, performances, competitions, vendors etc. So far, J&L wanted to keep it small, but maybe they can be convinced? :-)
Albert Torres, the biggest salsa promoter in the world, who withdrew his association with the SF Salsa Congress, comes to support the festival and acts as an MC. Performances did not seem too long and featured mostly high caliber dancers.
The host company Salsamania is an audience favorite thanks to its usual prowess, especially John and one of his trainees Andrew who won the salsa world cup in same-sex category. Ricardo and Tianne's routines always tell a story. They danced to an Adele song with Tianne covered head to toe in stark contrast to the sexy salsa costume tradition as if saying don't look at my body, look at my dancing. Her face says it all, but emotionless Ricardo makes you wonder why she'd be so upset over him.
Cha-cha champs Ernesto and Maritza from Mexico were not very impressive. Current on2 winners, also from Mexico, David and another Salsamania alumni Paulina were top-notch. The stars of the show, Grizzly and Alien, who won the world cup in cabaret division, were flawless performing head-spinning tricks. Another Bay Area native Elly and her partner Jonathan danced to loud audience cheers - their routine was impeccable.
Jonathan was also incredible and very gracious in social dancing which is not always the case in salsa. If we believe Albert Torres who said he would not engage anyone who doesn't dance with everybody, then he should drop Ernesto and especially David who blew me off 3 times. In contrast, his partner Paolina can be seen dancing with just about anyone. Still, social dancing was great with many skilled dancers, 3 dance floors and the best Bay area band Pacific Mambo Orchestra playing Saturday night.
Dedicated volunteers ran the festival without a hitch. The only complaint was the mess with 4 doors: instead of assigning - and keeping - 2 side-by-side doors on each side of the ballroom as one for entry and one for exit, patrons were herded through the rows of seats to another end to exit. Also, about 2 dozen spectators were denied entry and missed Salsamania's performance Fri night when there were plenty of empty seats available near the door.
Another disappointment: it was too short! According to many satisfied customers, they would love to see the festival extended and expanded.
Maybe next year?
DIP (Dance in Peace)
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