BAY AREA SALSA FESTIVAL IS 5!

Can you believe it?  5 years ago Bay Area dance troupe Salsamania branched out beyond its multiple teams and offered us another opportunity to get together, dance, celebrate and showcase  local salsa achievements.  And achieve we did.

Just a few years ago visiting luminaries would wow local dancers.  Some still do, but now that we have so many great dancers of our own, our bar has been raised.   Moreover, we no longer aspire  to dance with strangers when there are so many fabulous choices right here.  Too bad, the proliferation of dance troupes that helps dancers improve also snatches them out of the social scene so they become virtual "visitors" to special events like the festival.

Outsiders may still think New York is the norm, but, at least in social dancing, it's hard to distinguish between "Nuyokas" and our "home-grown" talent.  The world is beginning to recognize  and respect our progress thanks to Bay Area salsa ambassadors like Salsamania and its alumni Luis Aguilar who won multiple championships and has his own team Couture Dance Alliance.

Unlike European and other salsa ventures, American salsa events are performer-centric charging aspiring dancers for access to the public.  So it's easy to frustrate attendees whose main goal is to dance.  Rumor has it that the attendance at salsa congresses has been dropping partially due to long shows and other kill-joys.  Unlike the SF congress with its extended performances that leave little time for dancing, the festival organizers try to accommodate all participants.

John and Liz, the heart and soul behind the festival, manage to avoid these pitfalls by listening to all sides and trying to do what they can.  Results? Last year the event was sold out and people had to be turned away at the door.  This year - still full, in spite of bad economy.  At this point, it will be safe to expand on their success.

Some innovations were introduced this year as well.  Performances flowed smoothly with circus interludes between the numbers courtesy of tiny Zoe, a former New-Yorker who blew away the viewers at America Got Talent by lifting her heavy-set partner in their acrobatic routine.  Another addition to the program was a fashion show featuring dance shoes.  It was amazing to see girl dancers strutting their stuff better and with more spunk than professional models.  Maybe expanding this to a full blown dance fashion show with models doing clave on the catwalk would be an idea of a lifetime bringing revenue and subsidies from big manufacturers and sellers.  Combine that with other dance forms and your potential is limitless for a stand-alone production.

But back to our sheep.  Surprisingly, not all Salsamania teams participated in the shows. (Lady Mambo had knock-out costumes)  Some visiting performers were returns from last year and some were unusual surprises such as John presenting footwork numbers with a 10-year old Brian and a mature dancer Tatiana who dances better than most young chicks (she did have other dance training before salsa)  Don't judge the book by its cover, guys!  The most popular DJ in Britain is an 80+ year old lady.

Ricasalsa presented yet another routine with non-salsa music stretching the boundaries and provoking discussions as to the nature of the dance (it was a very jazzy and unusual arrangement of Duke Ellington's Caravan).  The girls' classy and simple yet sexy dresses stood out. 

John and Andrew  were superb as usual.  One couple used a slice of a heavy hitting classical piece that was apparently an opera excerpt found on youtube that seemed completely out of place.  Innovation for the sake of innovation?

Omar and Nina demonstrated skills only highly trained dancers possess: quality of movement and ease of execution. You can watch 2 couples doing exact same routine with the same tricks and yet they'll be a world apart.  It's not WHAT you do, it's HOW you do it. 

Many dancers think if they can manage to cope with difficult routines and moves or run through the fast songs they're advanced and stage-ready.  So they keep learning new moves instead of working on the quality of their movement.  They usually prefer fast music because in slow songs and cha-cha their awkwardness or lack of style and creativity will be more revealing. Sometimes, the audience will "buy" the complexity of the tricks they manage to get through, but can they DANCE?

Music at the festival seemed to please most people.  Thursday night opening band was surprisingly good in the first set, but the second set was mostly one speed - fast.  Avance demonstrated its professional quality musicianship and even played some new songs, mostly romantic salsa.  The star of the event was PMO, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, in full attire and with great repertoire including some original songs.  If this otherwise great band was responsive to mambo dancers' aversion to fast tempos and slowed down, it would conquer the mambo world.

This year the doors were staffed by polite and pleasant security guards, but the 2 sets of doors at each end of the ballroom, perfectly suited for entry and exit at each end, were not used as such and people had to go through rows of chairs to exit.  Some seats, including VIP section, were empty, yet people were not allowed to sit down and had to stand around to watch the show.  Those who dared  were hassled by a volunteer bouncer even during the performances causing unnecessary commotion and word-of-mouth complaints.  Form over function?  Good to keep in mind that stage promoters hire  seat fillers to avoid the bad impression of empty chairs.

The main attraction of any salsa event, social dancing, is what draws people in.  The 3 dance floors were full yet there was enough space to move.  There was a good mix of dancers of all levels, even some star performers showed up.  Their lack of participation in social dancing is deemed to be another cause of dropping salsa congresses' attendance and some promoters now include mandatory social dancing in their contracts with paid stars.

Who can blame advanced dancers for not wanting to go through  excruciating dances with beginners or intermediates or even some advanced dancers (especially if they're not  young and cute)?  But if you chose to do it for a living, that's kinda your job, guys.  Smile and bear...:-/
Imagine a system of taxi dancing: every festival  ticket buyer gets 10 free tickets for dances with paid performers who must collect at least 10 of these tickets.  Wouldn't that be fun?

The word of mouth was mixed and it's understandable: your personal impression will be tied to your dancing experiences - different for everyone regardless of other factors.  The floor might be empty, but you had fun dancing with 2 or 3 partners you'll be thrilled.  On the other hand, there might be a room full of great dancers, but if your hopes of dancing with them does not materialize you'll blame the world. 

What was missing from the chatter are common complaints  which means overall the festival was a success witnessed by tired but happy faces leaving the hotel after 2 pm (San Francisco should reconsider its restrictive time ordinance for events like these).  But, most importantly, let's hope John and Liz will finally decide to expand their salsa festival. Maybe next year?