Pablo & Tata Dancing ChaChaCha – Narcos Hommage
After watching the amazing Narcos series on Netflix I had a funny idea : Having Pablo and Tata dance ChaChaCha Together ;) I would like to thank Wendy, Olivette and the JeansJeansJeans store for finding a pair of jeans directly from the 80s.
Dancing on beat
One of the biggest challenges for a Salsa teacher is not to teach the moves themselves, but to help a student, who doesn't really have rhythm, understand the different Latin beats. Latin music is just like mathematics. Being a musician, I often ask myself : what does someone who starts dancing and has no musical background need to know. At this stage, I don't think that a long theoretical musical explanation helps anybody. By experience, every time I tried that approach, I saw their eyes literally go in a daze. I think that a realistic goal to have is to make our students more sensitive to Salsa music, considering that for some, latin music is a giant maelstrom of indiscernible instruments. First off, we can address music in a lot ways, but in its most simplistic form its basically mathematics: a never ending time divisions. Usually salsa dancers learn to dance on a 8 count, 4 and 8 being pauses. Thus, we can double up the counts in the same bar or time frame. At this point we can talk about a 16 count, a concept not too hard to understand for advanced students. the 16, being the "links" in between the 8 count. It is possible to do 32's and 64's as well, which will require great skills. Keeping the beat I would also like to address the rhythmic struggle faced by some. For an unknown reason, some people are better at keeping the beat than others. If I can give one tip to improve that aspect is to download a metronome app and practice at a ridiculously slow speed. Often, even the most experienced dancers will find it hard. They usually find it [...]
Baila Productions donates 1000$ to rising star
Baila Productions Salsa School is proud to be an active participant in our community by offering a 1000$ donation to the "Fondation du Collège Montmorency". We had the privilege to give this grant to Brian-Manuel Arce-Mendez for her excellence in the College's dance program. Congrats to all for you hard work!
Dude looks like a lady
Here is our latest creation: Dude looks like a lady;) Thanks to my team of dancers who trusted me and believed in this crazy project. Thank you for your involvement, discipline, sacrifice and especially your craziness. Proud of my team;)
Top 10 Salsa songs perfect for beginners
Here's my list of tried and tested Salsa songs that will suit any beginners. When we start listening and dancing to salsa music, the most challenging thing is getting our ears used to those new rhythms. In some latin songs finding the beginning of a musical phrase is quite hard for us who are used to listening to pop rock music. So here's a list of songs that we use in class to help our students get acquainted with this new musical world. Most of these songs are not too fat, well recorded and have a clear musical phrase. For those who use Spotify I included a playlist of a bunch of cool salsa tunes at the bottom. Enjoy ;) 1- Acid - Ray Barreto 2- Yamulemau - Joe Arroyo 3- Micaela - Sonora Carruseles 4- Llave - Grupo Latin Vibe 5- Fragilidad - Milagros Pinera & Sanmera 6 - Madamoiselle, Je vous aime - Haitiando 7- Por Retenerte - Los Titanes 8- Equivocado - Ray Torres y Su Orquesta 9- Pachita Eche - Celia Cruz with Tito Puento 10- Como Me Duele Perderte - Gloria Estefan Ilias / Owner Baila Productions Salsa school
Salsa Congresses here we come !
Each year Baila Productions dance team participates in many congresses across Canada. Congresses are a unique moment to get together with amazing dancers and share our common passion : SALSA. For students its an opportunities to see world class performances and attend amazing workshops given by Salsa dancers at the top of their craft. Our 2 Latin dance troops will be performing at the following venues: April 2th-30th Congrès de Salsa Madessimo Madness à Grandy July 29th-30th Ottawa Salsa Congress Sept. 10th DiverDanse (our yearly show) October 6-10 Canada Salsa Congress (To be confirmed) Here are some clips of our past congresses Salsa Bromont 2014 Congrès de Salsa Québec Canada Salsa Congress If you have any questions please write in the comments below Ilias - École de Salsa Baila Productions www.bailaproductions.com
3 Essential Tips for Male Salsa Dancers of all Levels
First and foremost, following the “beat” is essential, otherwise even if you repeat a pattern 1000 times, you will not understand why it’s not working out… music is there to be a common reference base … the music is not some thing that plays in the background as in an elevator … music is something that we must actively listen to… I understand that a man may be concerned to succeed with his pattern, but if he’s not paying attention to the music, his chances to execute a pattern smoothly decreased drastically. Also take a couple of basic steps with your partner before performing any complex patterns … set a pace between the two bodies so that everything happens in absolute comfort. Secondly, distance management between partners is often an element in the dance that is overlooked… Your basic steps should be similar to your partner’s … take some basic steps to adjust to each other, you will avoid dancing like an accordion. The goal is to increase the connection, stay close to your partner and make small steps by default. This will enable you to connect more quickly and smoothly. In terms of flexibility, always try to do your patterns with the least amount of force … So once you executed a pattern, try again and decrease the tension in your arms. Accuracy always prevails over force. Lets summarize 1. Listen actively to the music 2. Stay close 3. Relax See you on the dance floor !!!
