Which "Salsa-Celebs" Have You Danced With?

bolivicano

bolivicano

Changui
Hey Salseros/Salseras,
So I thought it would be a good idea for people to list who they've danced with that are, in their opinions, "Salsa-Celebs". Now this person doesn't have to be a really famous person in the Salsa scene. It could range from someone that you see all the time on internet videos, at numerous Congresses, socials, or it could be someone who is well known and travels all over the world for their great talent...they could even be a World Salsa Champion!

Just list the people that you have danced with that fall under this "Salsa-Celeb" category and write when and where you first danced with them (If you can remember ;)). What you thought about the dance. Was it more than you expected? Did You expect more? Was it smooth as ice? Was it super-complicated/difficult or nerve-wrecking? Even what song it was too (also if you remember) DETAILS ;)!!

Also, if you've just recently danced with another "Salsa-Celeb", give us an update!

I'll give it a go!

1) Vianette Silva (Clavekazi, Washington, DC)...(Formerly of Salsa Heat, Orlando, FL)

I haven't been in the salsa seen for too long...almost a year now, so I didn't really know of her. I had first danced with her at one of the Clavekazi socials. I was somewhat a beginner then, so to me...it was nice. She was a lot of fun and quite awesome. She seemed to have a good time, and of course, all the beginner turn patterns I used she followed through nicely. I realized who she was once i saw a clip of her dancing with Salsa Heat at the 2006 LA Salsa Congress. Once I saw the clip, I thought to myself, "I DANCED WITH HER?!?". lol. After that, I would see her often at the CK (Clavekazi) socials. Since I was still learning, the dances could've been better IMO. She would always let me know politely if I was doing something wrong such as "NO THUMBS", "STAY CLOSE AFTER A CBL...NOT TOO FAR", "TURN A LITTLE HARDER"...all the basics imo :) The most recent dance I had with her, imo, was on POINT! It was to the song "Viva Cepeda - Cal Tjader". She was smiling, it was smooth, and the song was off da hook. IT WAS GOOD!! lol
After the dance, as always after a dance, I said "Thanks", and she said "No, thank YOU!"...I was kinda happy :)

2) Julissa Cruz (Salsa Heat, Orlando, FL)

Julissa came to VA this past July for a summer salsa fest with Gordon Neil. I remember saying that it was a pleasure meeting her right before i danced with her...i know...DORK! lol. I wasn't that nervous, but when the song started and when we began to move...it was off from there. It was a really fun dance man! She's so light to lead. I think she had a good time, solely basing myself on the fact that it sounded like she said in the middle of the dance, "GET IT BOY!" haha. I took some pics with her and Gordon Neil, and danced a cha-cha with her. It was nice.

3) Luz Rodriguez (Clavekazi, Washington, DC)

I've danced with Luz plenty of times, so i really can't remember when the first time was that I danced with her. She's super fun to dance with and always lets me know that I'm getting better...that's always nice to hear. She got skills on the dance floor and she always seems like she's enjoying herself.

well those are my experiences with "Salsa-Celebs"...what about yours?
 
I've danced with Luda Kroitor (5-time World Champion) and Little Liz.

I danced with Luda on one occasion at the ACT State Titles social and with Liz on two occasions - at a salsa party at the University of NSW about 2 months ago and more recently at a mambo night - pump house about 4 weeks ago where we danced On2 :)

I was super-nervous when dancing with Luda - I couldn't relax so my moves felt very mechanical. I'm sure it would've been better if I was oblivious to who she was.

Liz is fantastic to dance with - she really gets into it and really has fun - which makes the experience very enjoyable indeed!

Good thread btw!
 
bolivicano said:
3) Luz Rodriguez (Clavekazi, Washington, DC)

I've danced with Luz plenty of times, so i really can't remember when the first time was that I danced with her. She's super fun to dance with and always lets me know that I'm getting better...that's always nice to hear. She got skills on the dance floor and she always seems like she's enjoying herself.

well those are my experiences with "Salsa-Celebs"...what about yours?
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I was actually fortunate to be able to dance with Luz both before and after she achieved "celebrity" status. Back when I first started social dancing, she was part of the dance group that I'm currently a member of (Mambo Masala) here in Atlanta. It took me a minute to build up the nerve to ask her the first time, but my nerves dissolved quickly when I realized that she was fun to dance with, and such a sweetheart to boot.

Here are my others:

1) Edie "The Salsa FREAK" Lewis - I danced w/ her for about 1/3 of a song at the '06 L.A. Congress (I had to share her, unfortunately). She gave me one of the biggest compliments I could ever get when I was able to dance with her for real when she came to visit Atlanta a few years back.

2) Laura Geldys - Gordon Neil's former partner when they were both based in Atlanta. She was very patient w/ me when I was coming up.

3) Christina Zavala - I gave her and Sekou McMiller a ride to go get a bite to eat after the workshops of the first Flava Invasion, and they were so kind as to treat me in return w/ out me asking. I was just starting to learn On2 when we first danced. I danced w/ her again at the next Flava Invasion, and it brightened up my day to see the surprised look on her face when she realized I was dancing On2 w/ her, and dancing it well :-)

4) Griselle Ponce - Danced w/ her at the first Flava Invasion. She told me she was sitting the song out when I asked her on Saturday night, and I got a similar response the next night. I was about to give up on trying to dance w/ her when she tracked me down an few songs later and asked me to dance! She got many cool points from me on that one (not that she'd need any)

5) Magna Gopal - Also met her at the first Flava Invasion, but have danced w/ her several times since then. Magna is too much fun to dance with. We both like to goof around while doing shines, throwing old school hip-hop moves and such. Whenever I pull out one move, she'll always one-up me, leaving me no choice but to crack up in laughter. It's funny how Magna seems so calm and professional in her spins DVD, but is such a goofball when you hang out w/ her in person. I just love that about her :-)

6) Ana Masacote - I met and danced w/ her at the '06 Atlanta Salsa Congress. Ana is such a sweetheart. What stands out to me about her is that we would think of her as a "salsa diva", but when you dance with her, she doesn't make you feel like she's 5 levels better than you, even though she is. She's about as down to earth a dancer as you can get.

7) Cristel (Taiti & Cristel) - I met and danced w/ her on the SOS All-Star Cruise last year. I actually danced w/ her about twice before I realized who she was. I'm like, "OH! THAT Cristel! I was dancing w/ a Celebrity and didn't even know it."

Some others...

Kathy Cabrera (Micah Boone's Partner)
Shanda Conner
Joby Brava
Melissa Fernandez
Jorget Alcocer
Burju Hurtuk
 
hmmmm let me see :
1) Susana : first danced with her when i was a begginer and i was nervous like hell. partly bcause i knew who she was and choked:) she helped me so much during that dance even when i was offtime and it got better the more i danced with her. my dance with her recently at MSF 2008 was amazing and we had a small crowd watching us dance:)
2) Magna : Well, i got no words for her...:) she is amazing,she got video of us dancing adn put it up on youtube and im always looking forward to dance with her:)
3) Burju : had amazing dance with her considering it was only couple of weeks that i had started dancing on2. Im looking forward to dance with her soon as my on2 has gotten more stronger.
4) Sharon Pakir : waited for 3 years to get to dance with her and finally got it at MSF 2008. it was just awesome:)
5) Michelle (from PBG): not sure if i got her name right. just had one dance with her this year on not so good floor...it half on sand and half on wooden floor and we had to dance with our shoes off.looking forward to dance with her on proper dance floor.
6) Emily (from Junior & Emily) : She was awesome and im waiting to dance on2 with her.
7) Luda(from Oliver & Luda) : So sexy that she rocked my world:)
8) Lidia ( from Nestor & Lidia) : Lidia was amazing with her sensuality and i could tell she enjoyed dancing with me:)
9) Little Liz (Australia) : Liz danced with me even though she was nursing an injury
10) Cristel : She was down with a bug when i danced with her.will get to dance with her at this years BKK festival.:)

Celebrities im looking forward to dance with
1) Ana from Masacote
2) Grisele
3) Yesenia
4) Shani
5) Edie
6) Tamara
 
I've actually been really lucky that I've been brave enough to ask some salsa celebrities for a dance. Even though I've been nervous as hell it's amazing dancing with someone who you really idolise and respect as a dancer. So I've got a bit of a list and it's in no particular order:

Luda Kroiter is a friend of mine so I try to have a dance with her whenever I see her out. I know that she's a world salsa champion but I've always just known her as Luda. I do tease her about it though.

Little Liz is a really good friend of mine and the girl who got me dancing On2. To this day I've never forgotten that and even though I don't see her out as much anymore I stay in touch with her and always try to get dance with her whenever I see her out.

Burju was an absolute gem to dance with even though I was nervous. She and Victor are also some of the friendliest people I've met.

Magna Gopal was absolutely amazing to dance with but I felt that I didn't do her justice. Her body movement and musical expression are out of this world!

Susanna Montero was so much fun to dance with! She's a beautiful follower and so funny on and off the dancefloor.

Ryoko (from Ryoko and Ryu): I've had some of my most fun dances with Ryoko. She really interact s with you on the floor, especially with the trademark quirkiness that I love from Japanese dancers.

Tulane (from Angel and Tulane) I had a really good dance with at the Sydney Salsa Congress when they were here a few years ago. Again I was nervous but had a really amazing dance!

Carmen, Diana and Liz from Santo Rico. Dancing with these three was a dream come true for me. People who know me know that I am a huge Santo Rico fan and to get good enough to have a great dance with the Santo Rico Girls was something I have been aiming towards for a long time.

Sharon Pakir is always a lot of fun to dance with. She has so much energy that she'll follow everything you throw at her and still be spinning on the dance floor long after you've collapsed form exhaustion (I know from personal experience)

Sandy from Tropical Gem. This was another great dance but I was so intimidated as it was one of my first dances with an international star, especially of the caliber of Tropical Gem. As a result, I kept the dance simple and smooth but had a really good dance.

Lidia (from Modus Vivendi Salsa Productions) I remember dancing with when she was still starting out in salsa (show you how long I've been dancing) and even then she was an amazing dancer. She has improved in leaps and bounds and has really gone frome strength to strength. On the dancefloor, she's gorgeous, flirty and very, very distracting especially once she starts her styling. :)

Griselle Ponce I had a dance with a long time ago when I was still a relative On2 beginner. It was also to a pretty bad song. We made the most of it though and had a really good dance. Her styling is amazing and it definitely pays to give her space to style.

Anf lastly but definitely not the least April Genovese, who at the time was dancing with Nelson Flores as part of Descarga Latina. A lot of credit must got to Nelson and April for really getting my confidence up to ask salsa starts to dance. To this day I still rate my dance with April to be one of my best On2 dances.

So there you go. A bit of a list from me. I'm definitely not a salsa start by any means and I feel really privileged that I have had the opportunity to dance with all these amazing dancers.

In parting I have to leave some advice that was passed to me from Nelson Flores when I was too nervous to ask April for a dance. He told me that it's always good to dance with a top dancer as they will follow everything that you can lead. That way you can use it to improve your lead, improve your dancing, improve your confidence and at the end of it leave you feeling fantastic.

Cheers all!
 
sac said:
5) Michelle (from PBG): not sure if i got her name right. just had one dance with her this year on not so good floor...it half on sand and half on wooden floor and we had to dance with our shoes off.looking forward to dance with her on proper dance floor.
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I believe you're right, if you're talking about the short Asian salsera. I took their workshop at the San Diego Salsa Festival recently, and they all had their names on the backs of their tops. Unfortunately, I didn't get to dance w/ her that night. I tried to chase her down and tapped her on her shoulder, but I guess she was on a mission to take a breather and barely turned around. I figured it'd be best to wait for a better opportunity, but I never got around to it. I did get to dance w/ Elle from PB&G during the workshops, although I don't count that as a real dance. They're both on my "to dance with" list whenever I see them again ;-)

Oh yeah, I forgot that I got a chance to dance with Carmen and another salsera from Santo Rico at the '06 Atlanta congress. I know the other girl by face, but forgot her name. Had great dances with both.
 
RugKutta said:
Oh yeah, I forgot that I got a chance to dance with Carmen and another salsera from Santo Rico at the '06 Atlanta congress. I know the other girl by face, but forgot her name. Had great dances with both.
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Yeah you can add the lot to my list. Lovely girls all of them.
 
Emily Alabi - Our first dance was on1 and I was relatively post beginner level...she trained me along side junior on2.... Still waitin on the on2 dance :)

Liz Rojas - Our first dance was blah .....I must say I was very nervous not to mention I had cameras on me ....The second dance I asked her was much much better and fluid....I felt more confident after several good dances so my lead was top notch and we had an open floor as well

Ana Massicot - Fantastic dancer with beautiful styling and a lovely smile......we had a very musical song and hit every beat. Not to mention we had a few spectators watching and we got a few cheers for hitting some of the major breaks....

Liz Lira - I danced with her in Orlando and Hawaii....Our Orlando dance was pretty fun and she told my instructor at the time "He's a great dancer!!!" hehe ....but our dance in Hawaii was the same case....I was very nervous dancing in front of cameras with tons of people watching...not to mention I got off work and looked like an absolute bum! lol

Edie the salsa freak - she put me in my place the first dance ....."and THIS is when you step forward" lol ...
 
Tomas Guerrero
Darlin Garcia
Victor Burgos
Super Mario
James Cobo
Milton Cobo
Shaka Brown
Al 'Liquid' Silver
Jason Moylina
Joe Figueroa
Willie Sanchez (as of Sat night and I didn't even know it)
Ismael Otero
Andres (sala y control)
 
Well my problem is I don't know who count as salsa celebs and who don't... (some of the names mentioned above are not familiar to me). There may be other salsa celebs I've danced with not knowing they were celebs :lol:

US/Canada:
Al Liquid Silver
Angel Ortiz
Darlin Garcia
Edie TSF
Henry Herrera
James Cobo
Jareau Almeyda
Joe Figueroa
Jose Chavarria (Magic Mambo)
Osmar Perrones (Yamulee)
Orville Small
Shaka Brown
Victor Perez (Hacha y Machete)

Europe:
Fernando Sosa (Tropical Gem)
Lautaro Arino
Manuel Mascarell
Mick Viry (U-Tribe)
Mouaze Konate
Neeraj Mascara
Paul Baarn
Tony Lara
One of the Fogarate Dancers (don't know his name)

UK:
Lee Wright (Lee & Shelley)
Leon Rose
Marchant Birch
Mauro Casali (Mauro & Eva)
Moe Flex
Mushi Noor

Asia:
Anup Thomas (India)
Guspon Pierre
Jason (Singapore) ;)
Sol Hwang (Korea)
Most of Japanese salsa celebs including Ryu (Ryu & Ryoko)

Hmmm, no celebs from down under so far (except smiling28 ;))...

Oh, and if you also count salsa music celebs:
Jimmy Bosch
Frankie Vazquez
 
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