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Edie,
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Info: www.swingsouthflorida.com
Promoters and choreographers Randy Atlas, Billy Fajardo, and Katie Marlow outdid themselves. The International Salsa and Hustle Competition in Miami, Florida was one of the most extraordinary events I had ever been to. Many famous names of Mambo, Hustle, and Swing graced the event. Cuban Pete, Mr. Dance, and (unfortunately, although I never got to meet them), I was told that the famous Augie and Margo were in the audience as well. Formerly all are from New York, and now reside in warm Miami, Florida.
When Rene Gueitz of the Salsa Lovers Dance Studios picked me up at the airport, I could feel a sense of excitement over what was currently taking place at the Miami Airport Hilton. He told me his dance team had been preparing for what was going to be a Broadway-type performance that Saturday night. I had also been preparing for the show, from a video tape that Jamie had sent to me the week before.
I was surprised at the number of ex-New Yorkers that showed up, who currently reside in Miami. As I interviewed as many people as I could, I realized that a lot of these Mambo Legends had come to Miami to retire. I would too! Anything to escape the deathly cold winters in New York!
I met Randy Atlas and Billy Fajardo, the first day I was there. Both were extremely busy, but managed to give a cheerful “Hello!” amidst all the scheduling, coordinating and setting up of the event. I’m here to tell you, promoting and directing an event of this magnitude is no walk in the park. Months of preparation, negotiations, volunteer work, and seemingly endless resources are involved. I suggest you be in extraordinary health both mentally and physically before taking on something like this. Randy was in a foot cast from a recent accident, and just seeing him limp around trying to tie ends together made my knees weak.
The first night (Thursday), there was a Pre-Opening party at Club Mystique, right down the hall. There, the promoters showcased various instructors who attended. Each of them danced their style of Mambo, Salsa, Swing, or Hustle. A Hospitality Hour, with free Sushi kicked off the event. Ramani of Salsa Casino gave a free Salsa Casino Lesson that night. I noticed Salomon Rivera was there that evening. I had known of him, and even taught at one of his “Save the Children” workshops, but I never had the opportunity to dance with him, until that night. Since we really didn’t know anyone else, we asked each other to dance. Although I was in sweats (I had nothing to wear!), we clicked beautifully the very first dance. We have similar dance styles, (reeking LA style), and danced the whole night long. It was a lot of fun. I found Salomon to be a very powerful dancer, expressing a very masculine Latin flavor. He’s a thrill to dance with, and a true gentleman as well. He’s one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.
I stayed with Jami Josephson, nationally ranked Mambo dancer, originally from New York. I had only seen Jami perform a Mambo last year at the International Salsaweb Convention, but this time, we had the pleasure of seeing her perform a West Coast Swing with her fabulous partner, Rick Weston. She is absolutely phenomenal. This woman can dance! She and her former partner, Jose de Camps placed second in the world, aside Bob Powers and Julia Gorchagovia a little over a year ago. Now Jami will soon be going back to New York to perform on Broadway. Good luck woman!
On Friday morning, the registration desk was buzzing with competitors, spectators, and performers. I was busy setting up my little “area” for interviews and writing. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Dance, Cuban Pete, Randy Atlas, Billy Fajardo, and Katie Marlow. (interviews coming soon!)
At around noon, there was a pool party and dancing outside the hotel. They set up a beautiful wood floor right next to the pool. The party ran until 4:00pm. This was definitely a great idea, especially for those that weren’t interested in attending the workshops inside.
At 1:00pm the workshops started. Everything from Hustle, to Salsa, to Swing was taught. Famous Hustle instructors such as Arte Phillips, Billy Fajardo & Katie Marlow, Paul Pellicoro & Eleny Fotinos of Dance Sport New York, Michael Kiehm, Nick Lotiere, Ricky Quintana, Kim Vanamon, Doona Boyle, Louis Orlando & Elizabeth Darci, Raul Ante, and Lee Fox graced the floors. For swing, Michael Kiehm, Mary Ann Nunez, Carrie Lucas, Rick Weston, Jonathon Bixby, Kal Branson, Susan McMahon Loveira, Alfred “Mr. Dance”, Randy Atlas, and Michael Martin were also there as well. For Salsa, the instructors were Rne Gueits of Salsa Lovers, Ramani Nicola, of Salsa Casino, Regnier Acosta, Luz Pinto of Latin Heat, Salomon Rivera from California, and me, Edie, The Salsa FREAK.
At around 5:30pm, there was a Hospitality Party with a free buffet at Club Mystique again. There, Salomon and I danced again, but this time I was wearing yet another pair of sweats. Due to a severe case of depression over losing a former dance / life partner, I didn’t think I was going to dance at all that weekend (or ever again, so far as my heart was concerned - at the time), so I didn’t bother bringing dance shoes, nor any dance clothes. I figured this was solely going to be “work” for me (reporting), and I was not at all prepared to dance. “Duh, Edie, HELLO, this is a DANCE CONVENTION, and they're playing SALSA.” What on earth was I thinking about? How could I possibly hold out? There was TONS of social dancing… everything from Salsa, to Hustle, to Swing! It was awesome. I danced, and danced, and danced. I also picked up some great Hustle moves from some of the best instructors in the nation!
At 6:00pm, the Competitions began. There was everything from Amateur Swing, to Salsa, to Hustle, to Pro Just Hustle, to Amateur Theatre Arts Hustle competitions. The entire event was run very smoothly, and very well organized. It was a thrill to watch.
During the competitions, there was social dancing at Club Mystiques. I saw Salomon again, and we danced one more time, this time, creating a small audience around us. He got two privates from that dance with me. Hmmmm…. Seeing all the competitions going on around us, it dawned on me that we should compete, and see what would happen. I popped the question later on that evening.
“Hey, Salomon, what do you think about competing with me in the Pro Salsa Division on Sunday?”
He chuckled a bit, rolled his eyes, and said, “Well, we’re not prepared, we've never danced before!!! Hhmmmmm…. Well, I’m really not doing anything that day other than selling my videos… maybe I could take some time out for that.”
(...Long pause....)
“OK, we can do it.” Then he quickly looked up at me with startled eyes, and said, “We better start practicing!!!”
We found we could practice in an area called “The Cove”, set aside specifically for private lessons. We practiced a bit that night, and practiced social dancing, and practiced, and practiced, and practiced some more… till we couldn’t anymore.
One thing I can say for sure, SALOMON RIVERA IS INTENSE. The entire practice session we were both sweating, heaving, huffing, and puffing, working hard, going through moves, over, and over, and over again. Starting over, revamping, redoing, figuring stuff out, teaching me stuff, teaching him stuff… trying to get used to each other's idiosyncrasies... it was… nothing short of... awesome.
I don’t know why I get turned on so much by working super hard towards a goal. I guess that’s the true Taurus coming out in me.
We planned on winning.
For some reason, from the minute we started rehearsing, I felt we could actually win this thing if we worked hard enough. Have you ever had that feeling? You just know?
Salomon has won over eighty competitions throughout his career. I’ve only won six. Oh brother. I’ll be you’ll never guess who was teaching who! He is very intense, and a true professional. It’s such a breath of fresh air training with someone who is not at all interested in you. Thank God. It’s all strictly business, with a single goal in mind. He’s got a girlfriend at home, and that is PERFECT for me. I don’t plan on ever dating a dance partner ever again! My experience has shown it is a sure-fire way of either losing a great relationship, or losing a great partnership.
Later on that night were the Amateur Jack and Jill Competitions. This was a lot of fun watching as people tried dancing with others whom they’d never met. What on earth the judges were looking for, I had no idea, but it was a barrel of fun to watch!
On Saturday, the Pro-Am Hustle, Swing, Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced Salsa Competitions started. This motivated us even more to practice harder for tomorrow. The day was filled with workshops, poolside dancing, and a fashion show. At 4:00 the winner of the Pro-Am Theatre Arts competition would get to perform that evening at the Broadway show. I call it a Broadway show because that is EXACTLY what it looked like. Nick, my Salsa buddy from Manhattan told me he thought it was BETTER than any Broadway show he had ever seen in New York.
Billy Fajardo, Arte Phillips, and Jami Josephson choreographed the entire evening. It was a gala of dancers, color and lights. The theme was the “History of Dance”, narrated by an old shoe-shine man, who “back in the day”, told of the great dancers he saw going in and out of various nightclubs during the famous Palladium days and beyond.
The dancers were top notch talent. They were the most famous Hustle dance team ever produced, and many us turned our television sets on weekly to watch their commanding display of synchronized Hustle on NBC. For the show that night, they not only danced Hustle, but Charleston, Swing, Lindy Hop, Mambo, and a myriad of dances, displaying beautifully the history of dance throughout the past several decades. Singing, dancing, brilliant costumes, colorful lights, and sound made this performance absolutely breathtaking! A special presentation by Cuban Pete, Jami Josephson, and Mr. Dance made the performance remarkably authentic.
As the progression of dance flowed up to more modern times, Billy Fajardo and his partner Katie Marlow did a spectacular Theatre Arts performance that had me floored. I had no idea how incredible this couple was! Not only can they promote and put on and incredible event, but THEY CAN DANCE!
The next shocker was seeing Rene Gueits and his instructors perform a MAMBO ON TWO for crying out loud!
I almost FELL OFF MY CHAIR!
You have to understand, that this is very new and very rare for Rene, and most Salseros in Miami for that matter. When Jami told me she choreographed them to do a Mambo, the words out of my mouth were, “This, I have to see for myself.” Now, I am proud to say, that Salsa Lovers dance studios can dance Mambo, on Two! The world is shrinking folks!
An enormous Miami Casino Rueda circle elegantly finished the show. The astounded audience gave a STANDING OVATION to the dancers and choreographers. This was truly a performance none of us were expecting!
Later, lifetime achievement awards were given to the pop singing group of the 70's and early 80's, The Beegee’s. Although they couldn’t make the party, rumor had it that Maurice Gibb came to the hotel that evening in disguise, so as not to cause a commotion!
The Pro Jack and Jill Competitions were on that night. Both Salomon and I competed in these, but miserably failed to even place at this comp! What on earth the judges were looking for, I have no idea! But it was great fun watching and laughing with the crowd. Jack and Jill competitions are the best crowd and participant pleasers. You really have no idea what, or whom to expect! Seeing some of the most oddest couples “coupled” together was hilarious! Completely different dance styles, and some of the expressions on people’s faces were priceless.
Well, Sunday came, and it was the big day. I still had nothing to wear. I borrowed Jami’s dance shoes, and bought a black velvet pantsuit outfit from one of the vendors downstairs. Thank God everything fit! Salomon and I rehearsed that morning, and then that was it. We were ready.
I saw Salomon in the hallway, and asked nervously, “Do I have enough makeup on? How do I look? Does this look OK? It was the only thing she had… ”
“Edie, go put on some more makeup.” Was all he said.
“OK, ok… I’ll be right back!” I answered. Fumbling for my makeup bag, I realized I hadn’t competed in a real competition for a few years, and had to keep telling myself, “CHILL.” I remembered my dear friend Joel de Guzman when we were performing and teaching in Europe. He loved to just sit there and “Chill”. In Europe, he taught me how to “Chill”, so I went to the bathroom, and “Chilled” for a few minutes.
I looked in the mirror, closed my eyes, took in a big breath, forgot about my past, remembered the past does not equal the future, that today is the beginning of the rest of my life, it’s not how you feel, it’s how you look, (typical Hollywood LA talk) … you have no limitations, you can’t control the wind, but you can control the sails, … all this positive self-talk I go through on a daily basis…
I exhaled...
… opened my eyes, and said to myself, “Edie, you’re the Sh---t. Now get out there and prove it.”
I walked out of the bathroom, headed straight for the ballroom, smiled softly at Salomon, with all the confidence in the world.
I felt great about our performance. We free styled 90% of it, and added a few crowd-pleasing tricks here and there. I’ll never forget telling Salomon, “Now, I’m going to be flirting with the audience a bit, winking at you, maybe licking my lips a bit… don’t let that mess you up… it’s just for show, OK?”
He just laughed and said in his deep voice, “OK.”
Well, later that evening the winners were announced.
WE WON!!!
I was so excited I did a cartwheel across the ballroom! Salomon, on the other hand, was cool, controlled, and collected. I, on the other hand, was BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS! I couldn’t hold in my excitement! I was just so happy! We’ve since decided to become dance partners, and are now practicing for various shows, performances, and workshops we have booked all over the world.
Overall, this event was simply incredible. My hat goes off to Randy Atlas, Billy Fajardo, and Katie Marlow and all the volunteers and performers who worked hours and hours ensuring the success of this event. Truly looking forward to next year! You guys are great!!! Stay tuned to Salsaweb Magazine for next year's event, and personal interviews!
