Section A- Breaking Stories Italians Going Mad For Salsa World Salsa Championships To Takeover Disneys Pleasure Island! Salsa Cruise Dates Announced LA Salsa Congress Surprise Felipe Polanco Class Benefit Dance For Randy Newman the "Salsaholic" World Travels Department La Palabra Rocks Let's Dance Dress Code For Classes Section B-Class or Schedule Changes Ballroom Classes Continuing New Youth Classes Starting Monthly Adult Dance Team Debuts at Springfest Pro Am Competition Postponed

Section C-Competition Results Monday Nights Unlimited Monthly Cards ok For Lindy Series Section D-Junior/Teen Events Performance Team To Travel To Orlando Wedding Bells Department, Birthdays, Achievements New SalsaWeb Interview with Enio & Terryl

Italians Mad For Salsa Enio & Terryl have just just returned from a weekend trip to Rome where they participated in the first Salsa Congress in Italy. The three day event was held in a huge dance complex about 20 miles from Rome's center in a gigantic dance complex. Nearly 3,000 people attended and the event featured both indoor and open air dancing and three nights of dance performances. Heading up the LA contingent were Enio & Terryl, Josie Neglia & Alvaro Coronel, and Edie Espinosa & Solomon Rivera. The event had dance companies from all over Europe. While many people expect these groups to consist mostly of ex patriate Cubans and Puerto Ricans, there were actually many Italian groups and white Europeans performing. Although the event had a distinct Cuban tilt to it, all the styles were well represented. Cuban Masters Orlando, Homero & Enio with Puerto Rican master Felipe Polanco While there, Enio & Terryl taught and performed on the main stage which unfortunately was covered with a Marley (rubberized) dance surface. These floors common to traveling jazz and ballet companies, is miserable for the spins and tricks common to LA Style Salsa. In fact in tring to do a sliding slash, Terryl actually went through the floor with her heel, ripping a 12" gash in it and jamming her ankle. Enio who had planned to do multiple spins in several moves, had to rechoreograph the routine on the day of the event. On top of that he was coating the knee of his trouser legs with a waxy foot lotion in order to do a couple of knee spins. A video clip of the event will be up soon. Enio To Produce U.S. and World Salsa Championships Disney's Pleasure Island- Site of the World Salsa Championships Although there are many Salsa dance contests, there have never been any official Salsa US Championships until now. Enio has been hired to organize and coordinate an event in conjuction with the International Dance Organization (IDO). The IDO which holds legal title to every kind of dance championship, will hold the World Championships one days after the US Championships in September. The event will be spread out over many of the Disney Pleasure Island venues including the House of Blues and the Wide World of Sports Arena in Orlando. Entries from all over the world are pouring in and several thousand are expected for the two events. Already onboard to teach are Felipe Polanco from Puerto Rico, Edie Espinoza the Salsa Freak, Josie Neglia, Luis & Joby Vazquez, Francisco Vazquez, Enio & Terryl, Jami Josephson, Eddie Torres and Jimmy Anton -New York, Miguel Mendez -Chicago, Ramiro Gonzalez from Dallas, Jamie Josephson, Carlos Tellez- Miami, Homero Gonzalez-London and superstars from the Palladium era Cuban Pete and Augie & Margo. The event will feature many new categories such as a Classic division with no lifts allowed, Rueda Championship, an Amateur event, a Shine Championship, an Aerials Division and a Junior Salsa event. The event will be held September 13th-16th, 2001. The Let's Dance youth team has decided that they will be attending and compete. Salsa Odyssey 2002 Dates Set Enio & Terryl have just signed the contracts for next years Salsa cruise and the names already signed include the best of the salsa world. The event will be held from March 2nd-10th, 2002. Already signed for next year are Felipe Polanco-Puerto Rico's number one dancer, Miguel Mendez from Chicago, Johnny Vazquez, and Salomon Rivera. The instructors from last year had such a good time that many of them asked to return next year. Jamie Josephson from New York and Miami who was a last minute addition this year, will return along with Edie the Salsa Freak and her husband Al Espinosa, Carlos Tellez from Miami, Isabelle Pampillo and Albert & Maya Torres- Santa Monica. To add a little more variety Robert Cordoba and Deborah Szekely the 5 time US Swing Champions will also be aboard. In addition we are waiting on confirmation from Ron and Karla Montez the 7 time US Latin Champion who will add variety on the other dance styles. Several pros in different regions will also be organizing groups. The Northwest already has Glenn Braunstein-Spokane/Seattle, Washington and Mari Ross- TriCities; Bob & Sheila Brown of Columbia South Carolina are organizing a group from that area. Many more will be added so we expect to triple the numbers from last year. Two of this years participants have already requested to book two of the 4 penthouse suites. Last year we had pro dancers from Switzerland and Holland and we expect to add more from Europe again. The major change from last year will be the Saturday departure of the Norwegian Sky. Because we return to Miami on Saturday, we get to attend a huge party thrown by Hansel Martinez in the Hilton's Grand Ballroom. This event averages 4,000 partyers and 3-4 major bands. Gilberto Santa Rosa, El Gran Combo, were two of the headliners this year. Although many of our partyers started arriving as early as Wednesday into Miami, our first official event will start with a private welcoming dance party onboard right after we sail. Ground zero for us in Miami will be the beautiful Airport Miami Hilton on the Lagoon and the Summerfield Suites across Red Road. On Saturday morning we will board luxury coaches that will whisk us dockside in preparation to board the beautiful Norwegian Sky. In addition to all the great shipboard activities we will have daily workshops and nightly dances poolside or in some of the many lounges. One day after a stop in the Bahamas we arrive at the Isla de el Encanto- San Juan, Puerto Rico. Felipe Polanco will arrange a dance for us in some typical Puerto Rican nightclub. The following day we arrive at the site of one of the world's 10 best beaches - the beautiful Caribbean Island of St. Thomas, V.I. After a day at sea we will spend a day on Norwegian Cruise Line's private island- they Great Stirrup Cay - where we have a barbecue, lots of and Rueda dancing on the beach and a Dance contest. Returning to Miami on Saturday, we check back into the Hilton for the major party and on Sunday head off to the World's biggest Salsa festival - Calle Ocho. Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, this event draws over 1 millon salsa fans to a 24 block long street party. With major players like McDonalds, Bacardi, Budweiser, Univision, Coca Cola, each sponsoring a stage and try to top each other with top drawer entertainers, we danced from stage to stage dancing Rueda in the street like all the locals! Last year we saw among others Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo, and Tito Nieves. This year it was the super Fruko y Sus Tesos from Colombia, Elvis Crespo, El Gran Combo,Eddie Santiago,and superstars, Willy Chirino and Oscar D'Leon were just some of the ones that we heard play! Returning that night to the Hilton on the Lagoon those who are still standing will rub elbows with many of the bands that played at Calle Ocho. The following morning lots of hugs and kisses to all our newly made friends and sadly, we say goodbye until next year. Pictures from this cruise have just been uploaded and you can see them by clicking on the Cruise 2002. A video of the event is being edited and should be out soon. L.A. Salsa Congress A Smash! Albert Torres has taken and event from non existance 3 years ago to an event that is now the biggest Salsa Congress in the world. So big in fact that they sold out the LA Airport Crowne Plaza, the Westin and and most of the Embassy Suites, and Hilton Hotel. 66 groups including our own Salsational performed on Friday night and rocked the house. Performing a routine created for Enio's pro dancers, they worked tremendously hard and mastered the 6 minute routine. Half a dozen bands including Cachao, Robert Roena, Freddie Crespo played til 4 am nightly. Enio & Terryl taught a workshop for the third straight year and many of our students danced with other Salsa groups as well. The event was so successful that it was almost too successful. The dance floor was so packed that dancing was difficult. Albert has already made plans for even bigger crowds next year. Two days after the event he announced how he would deal with the problematic issues for next year. Surprise Felipe Polanco Class at Let's Dance Felipe Polanco, Puerto Rico's best Salsa stylist, was in town after the LA Salsa Congress staying over for Albert & Maya Torres wedding. With a few days to kill Felipe was available to teach a couple of special workshops in shines and dancing on clave. The workshop drew 75 people on one day's notice. We hope to have him again in September Benefit Dance For Randy the "SalsaHolic" Every once in a while fate happens to intrude on life and it reminds us how important it is to have friends. Just a few days after winning the semi-pro division the Sportsmens Contest, Randy Newman aka "the SalsaHolic" was struck by a truck and nearly had his foot ripped off. Fortunately, quick medical attention managed to save it and although he has several broken bones and will be in a cast for nearly a year, he will walk again. What is ironic is that Randy is an extreme sports professional. He has performed stunts such as jumping out of planes, Rollerblade jumping over (and under) semi trucks, bungee jumping, snowboarding yet crossing the street nearly gets him killed. Randy says he will dance again even if it takes two years. Because the insurance will not cover the total bills, Randy is facing much hardship. We will be having a benefit for Randy on Saturday June 16th with 100% of the profits going directly to him. Performers for the evening will be announced shortly. Doors open at 8:00 and admission is $15. Refreshment will be provided.

World Travel Department In addition to travelling to Rome last month, while at the LA and Rome Congresses, Enio and Terryl received invitations to teach in Singapore, Hong Kong, Paris, the Canary Islands, London, Barcelona, Hamburg, Montreal, and St Petersburg, Russia. With so many upcoming events and the cruise already on their schedule they find they must limit themselves to one weekend a month out of town. Although they had hoped to do Latvia and St Petersburg together in July they have had to reschedule St Petersburg to November. Robert and Deborah who are gone virtually every weekend from LA are in Italy and Greece vacationing for the entire month of June. La Palabra Rocks Springfest and Evening at Let's Dance La Palabra, one of the hottest new bands in the LA Club scene rocked Alhambra's Springfest Saturday May 19th on the Main St stage and then moved inside to play at Let's Dance from 8:00 to midnight. Due to an accident to Randy the Salsaholic several performance groups that we had invited to perform had to drop out as he was starring in several perfromances. Both Let's Dance Performance teams were on hand and the party was ably managed by Marie and Lisana. Dress Code For Classes At Let's Dance we are often asked what one should wear for classes. Although there is no set dress code we only ask that students respect the attitude of class that we promote here. With the upcoming summer months and ever present power crisis we will try to keep costs down by using the air conditioning only when necessary. Therefore we ask that while heat may affect us all, it affects some more than others. For guys our logowear sportshirts are 100% cotton- and light colors don't show perspiration as much. For ladies dance wear in lycra or spandex is not only fitted but cool as well. Skirts vs pants? Many teachers recommend that whatever you wear, it allows the teacher to see whether your knees are bent or straight. For that reason loose baggy pants for anyone- man or woman is not good for learning. For women capris, bike shorts or coulottes are a good choice a long skirt not. For guys, pants with fitted legs help us correct your cuban motion. Ok now two requests- the hand towels in the bathrooms not only cost money but use paper resources which we do not believe environment friendly. Instead we now have LDLA hand towels which you can carry in you LDLA Dance bags. Ballroom Classes Continuing! You always wanted to dance like Fred and Ginger but you really dance like Fred and Ethel? Ballroom is back and this incredibly fun style of dance gets you even closer than Salsa! Since we brought back ballroom dance classes in mid January the classes have steadily grown. Because these are ongoing classes it has been difficult for new students to jump in. Therefore the class will now feature a beginning level and the more advanced intermediate level. Dances covered in the interemdiate class are Waltz, Foxtrot and Quickstep. The Sunday beginning classes start the first week of every month. Class will start at 5:30 pm after the salsa practice. Classes for Kids & Teens Recent competitions have shown a tremendous increase of competitors under 18. At Ohio Star Ball there were literally hundreds of kids in the various categories under 18 and hundreds of college students from universities all over the country competing. Since kids have a great time when exposed to ballroom dancing at an early age, why not give a youngster a gift of dancing, the gift that will last a lifetime! Classes will start on Saturday July 7th and 10th for all ages. 6-12 year olds start at 11am and teens start at 11am. We now offer jazz on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm. Adult Dance Team Debut Performance After a hiatus of three years, the reformed adult dance team is back. The team performed at Alhambra's annual Springfest. The prior teams did many local performances and many went on to individual competitions and performances. Team practices are on Thursday nights in place of the Level 4 Salsa class and Saturdays at 1:00. Students wishing to join may audition now as we start choreographing the next routine. For information speak to Terryl. ProAm and Showcase Date Changed The next Student Showcase and Competition had been announced for Saturday August 25th. But because of the overwhelming number of commitments Enio & Terryl, the upcoming performances by teams, and trip to Orlando we will postpone the event for a while. The past ProAm events were designed to be a mentoring program to get the students started on latin dances other than salsa and over their fear of competition. We have decided to expand this program. Some students didn't have the time to learn 4-5 dances, or wanted to learn dances other than those offered. So we will be having a Showcase. Similar to the ProAm events, students will be paired up with teachers. The difference will be that in the Showcase there will be a greater variety of dances performed and each routine will be designed for showmanship rather than competition skills. There will still be the competitive latin ProAm event for those that are interested. So if you've ever dreamed of doing a routine such as a steamy Argentine tango, a romantic waltz, a hustle or swing etc let us know. This is designed to be more of a variety show, so there will be limits of how many of each dance will be available. Monday Nights Are Back! Robert's beginning and intermediate WestCoast Swing Classes and Marcus & Barbl's Lindy classes have been filling both rooms. While we have never stopped teaching West Coast Swing since we opened in 1989, the classes had been pretty small until the return of 5 time US Champions Robert & Deborah and World Boogie Woogie Champions Marcus & Barbl. Unlimited Monthly Cards OK For Lindy Classes If you have an unlimited monthly card you can now use it for the Lindy and Boogie Woogie Classes on Monday nights. These classes start at 6:45 not our usual 7:00. Marcus and Barbl, who are on leave from their regular jobs in Germany, were supposed to return home in early Spring. Fortunately they have received a 1 year extension and will be with us until 2002. Don't miss this chance to work with the best. Check it out! Team To Compete at World Salsa Championships in Orlando The youth performance team danced so well at the LA Salsa Congress that they have decided to travel to Orlando Disney World for the World Salsa Championships. The team debuted their newcostumes for the LA Salsa Congress. After a dozen shows in street clothes they were fortunate that Kristina Staykova was in town from New York and was able to fit the girls. Funds are still being sought to get the team matching warmups (anybody want to advertise your company on their backs?) and offset their travel costs to Florida in September. People News Albert Torres LA's #1 Promoter and his fiance Maya Youssef went on our Salsa cruise as their only breather before the gauntlet of Salsa Congresses that he was organizing from Paris to LA to Holland. The weekend after the congress, a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Sportsmens Lodge was held with the glitterati of the Salsa World in attendance. The entertainment alone qualified as an event for the entertainment section. Gospel singers from the House of Blues opened the ceremony, Mariachi bands and half a dozen violinists played for the reception. Tito Nieves and Ray De La Paz sat in with Johnny Polanco. The attendees like Felipe Polanco, dj Elvira from New York, and all of LA's top Salseros made it a wonderful event. After the event, Albert and the radiant Maya headed off for a week in Rome before the start of the European Congress in Harlem next week. SalsaWeb Features Interview with Enio & Terryl SalsaWeb, the world's biggest online site for Salsa lovers, just did another indepth interview of Enio. The article was written by SalsaWeb writer Jami Josephson. You can read the article on their site

[an error occurred while processing this directive]