AUGUST, 2010.

Tuesday 24th August, 2010.

Farewell.

It is with tremendous sadness in my heart to receive the news of one of our students passing away this last weekend.

Carin Fradden was 70 years old and came to our St Johns Park classes religiously every Wednesday.

She tried very hard to do every step with every detail and constantly pushed herself to improve.

She use to say that her Rock and Roll steps got in the way with her salsa steps.

I can't imagine how many other things she was doing, but she didn't seem like the type of lady to hold back.

Her family called and said that she spoke very highly of the classes and of Salsa Suave and was always looking forward to the next class.

This is very hard because we form an attachment to our students, and they become our family. We try our best and hope that in some way we bring some form of happiness to their lives. We so wish this was the case for Carin. That we gave her a little joy and hope adding more value to her life.

We have learned through Carin's example that it is never too late to start your dancing. That you should always dance with your entire heart. And just like she did at every class, you should always enjoy it, smile and give your all.

The ceremony will be held today at Forest Lawn Memorial Canden Valley Way, Leppington.

Our thoughts go to the family who must be feeling the loss and emptiness she left.

Bless you Carin. We will miss you.

Thursday, 12th August, 2010.

2nd Australian Salsa Solo competition.

This month we will be experiencing an event which will be no other than fantastic!.

The Salsa Solo competition is individuals, no partners, doing shines and dancing on their own to Salsa music.

Just as we explain yesterday on what shines is all about, but this time dancers will be trying to outperform each other on stage.

Once again, our director Fernando Providel has been asked to form part of the panel of judges to select the best solo dancer in Australia for 2010.

This is the 3rd time this year he will be again at a judging panel, but also on the Friday night, he will be performing a brand new solo routine and show why he has been a master shines dancer for an entire decade.

Fernando has some of the fastest feet you can ever see and adds a tremendous amount of a Latin feel to his dancing. Looking manly and smooth, always a part of every choreo he has done.

Come on down for a fun weekend on the 27, 28, 29th August at Copacabana, 8/195 Oxford st. Bondi Junction.

Its your time to shine!

Wednesday 11th August, 2010.

Salsa Shines!

What is Shines in Salsa dancing?

Shines is just a fancy name for fancy footwork in Latin dancing.

It's important to learn Shines because it adds flavor and flair to your repertoire, making you look pretty good on the dance floor.

Shines can be very intricate footwork movements that are fast, slow, complicated or funny.

They do require a certain skill from you, so practice is the only thing that makes you good at Shines.

Most people don't like them because they are not good at them. But you can change that.

Start with a few simple basic ones and drill them over and over until you have mastered every single corner of the step.

You will be able to automatically deliver them on the dance floor with ease after that.

The problem with Shines though is that since its just your footwork, you can't blame your partner for any mistakes on the dance floor. It is all you.

Here is a video clip with some an example on how to do shines with your partner. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_agAeWq7wQ

Tuesday 10th August, 2010.

Salsa Clubs in Winter.

While this winter is cold and the rain convinces you to stay at home nice and cosy in your coach, with a blanket, a heater, some hot soup and watching The Simpsons. There are a different type of creatures out there who are a bit hardcore about life.

These creatures are called Salsa Dancers.

While outside it might be cold and rainy, they are inside a club, probably with only a singlet on because they are sweating from all the dancing, body heat from being close to their partners which is also adding to the temperature, and the club is usually packed, even on a rainy night.

Salsa dancing in Winter is the best! Hibernation is just not cool these days when there is so much action happening every single night.

I urge you to check out these clubs and find out for yourself if its true or not. Your weekly schedule should look like this:

Monday. Pumphouse at Darling Harbour.

Tuesday. Establishment on George st.

Wednesday. Coolabar on Pitt st.

Thursday. Cruise Bar at Circular Quay.

Friday. Salsa Suave party once a month at the Gaelic Club.

Saturday. Visit your friends.

Sunday. Docks hotel at Darling Harbour.

For more detail on the exact addresses, check out our Salsa Clubs menu tab.

Hopefully we might see you there, even on a cold and rainy night, where you will becoming one of these hardcore creatures of the night:

A pure heart Salsa Dancer!

Monday 9th August, 2010.

Ballroom dancing VS Salsa dancing.

There are so many styles of dancing in the world, that sometimes we can get pretty confused of what is out there.

For a very long period of time, Ballroom dancing has been teaching how to dance to a large part of the world.

In South America though, dancing has been going on for way longer. There is a big difference between both.

Ballroom dancing is focused on technique, precision and perfection in the movement. Reason why their main objective is competition.

They teach several styles of dance, one of these categories being LATIN. Within this category there is the ChaCha, Tango, Samba, Paso Doble and others.

Ballroom dancers are great for performances and shows. The dancers are skillful and display a control of body movement like no other.

On the other side, Salsa dancing scene, what we call a street style or more for clubs, is focused on the fun part of dancing. It doesn't matter if the technique is alright, if you shake the shoulders and hips, and if you enjoy it, then you are on the right path.

The social side is a big part of salsa dancing which is why you can dance every night of the week. No competition, no judging on technique, just pure good fun for the sake of it.

Focusing on feeling the music has always been first for latin people. From there we know what to do, instead of forcing a move into the music, we allow the music to flow through us.

In a salsa club, you will never social dance to a paso doble or a samba. There is only what is played in latin clubs: Salsa, Bachata and ChaCha.

All these dances are with a partner. The objective is to freestyle with spontaneous moves and not choroegraphed routines.

You need to ask yourself, what is the objective of your dancing, and then you will have a better understanding of which direction to take.

In the end, your soul is yearning to dance. So as long as you get out there and do it, you will be giving your life, a much better experience than without it.

Enjoy the thrill of being on the dance floor.

Friday 6th August, 2010.

Salsa Party!

Come down and join us tonight at the monthly Salsa Suave party with some hot and sexy tunes of Salsa, Bachata and Merengue.

Our traditional DJ Coco Snr in the house and the whole Suave team ready to dance all night long. They will be wearing white tonight.

FREE Beginners salsa lesson at 8pm, party starts at 8.30pm. Tickets are $15. The bar has some very well priced drinks.

Gaelic Club, Level 1, 64 Devonshire st. Surry Hills. Right across Central station.

Come and practice the moves you have learned in your salsa classes.

We'll see you there.

Thursday 5th August, 2010.

Improving Men's Salsa Dancing. Part B.

One of the second most important things men have to focus on is leading their partner.

We all know by now that guys lead, girls follow on the dance floor.

The leading part for the guys is not as easy as it sounds.

Here are a few tips to help you out.

Your lead must be very specific. Specific in regards to the timing at which you lead your partner. It has to be done on a very precise count. Your lead is linked to her footwork. It guides your partner at the correct time to move properly and smoothly on the dance floor.

Also, if your lead is too rough or too strong it might hurt your partners wrist or hands. So always go for a smooth gentle, soft lead. Not too soft where she can't understand where to go, but just enough to guide her across into the pattern.

Some patterns require a sharp strong lead, but they happen at a very specific moment and time and are not always needed to have tension. So most of the time you should be with relaxed hands holding your partner very gently and comfortably.

Make your lead obvious to her, with clear movements, and start leads slightly earlier so she has time to recognize it, instead of doing the lead at the last second and expecting her to do the pattern by surprise.

We communicate to our partner through our hands, so make your lead, clear, gentle, soft and when they need to be, strong, precise timing and specific location.

As you do this, don't forget to smile. I know it is a lot to ask and that you are concentrating quite a bit just to get it all happening, but if you are not smiling she will think you are not enjoying it, that you are not having fun, tha you are concentrating too much and not focusing on her.

So look at her, and give her a nice gentle smile, maybe a wink every now and then. With time, and practice, it will all become second nature to you.

Good luck.

Tuesday, 3rd August, 2010.

Monthly Salsa Party.

We all know that practice and repetition is key to improve your salsa dancing in Sydney. That sometimes one lesson a week is just not enough.

So we also know that we should go to a salsa club and get into practicing our moves. The only problem is that it gets pretty intimidating when you see all the good dancers going for it at full speed.

That is why every month, Salsa Suave has a social party where you can come and practice amongst the same people you are learning with and also with all the Instructors in the Suave team, being in a relaxed and more comfortable environment.

You can get to know people a little bit better instead of just doing the lesson. You can have a drink, sit and chat, or get up and have a dance with people you already know and meet new people who have the same interest as you: Salsa Dancing!

This Friday 6th August at 8.30pm, The Gaelic Club, Level 1, 64 Devonshire st. Surry Hills. Right across Central station.

Dj Coco Snr will be playing the tunes that we always dance all night long until 1am in the morning.

If you have friends or family who you wish to bring along, let them know we have a FREE salsa beginners lesson at 8pm. We show the basic steps and some simple moves so they can get into the salsa body shaking movements.

Hope to see you there, in our monthly gathering, with the Salsa Suave family.