Salsa in the City

By Salsa In The City's Patricia Ploussiou

The Philadelphia Hispanic Yellow Pages is on to something. The Philadelphia Hispanic Choice Awards event at the Kimmel Center was definitely the place to be on April 29th. In its third year of production, the Hispanic Choice Awards event was a well-orchestrated top-drawer event that is well on its way to becoming the region’s foremost award show honoring Philadelphia’s Hispanic community. What is even more impressive is that the community selects both the nominees and the award recipients, thus earning the name, “el premio de la gente”.

By Stephen Choo Quan

Amber Rawls is new to the Salsa scene but surely true to the Salsa scene. She started dancing Salsa at La Luna when La Luna called it's first audition for dancers. Her mother encouraged her to audition suspecting that it would not only expand her dance background but she would be good at this new dance. Amber had already invested her time at school to dance. She has not let her mother down and not looked back since...

By Stephen Choo Quan

Joe Figueroa is one of Philadelphia's most prominent Salsa teachers in the lower Delaware valley. Joe has taught several hundred students the basic step and more in states such as Delaware, Philadelphia and New Jersey. He mostly teaches at La Luna Dance studio in PA. He also has a class in Delaware on Wednesdays. He can be seen traveling several hundred miles to support the culture of Salsa in other cities like DC where he is well known and received. Joe was the first salsero to perform in LA congress from the Philadelphia area. Joe is making his 2nd consecutive debut in the LA Congress this year 2005.

By Stephen Choo Quan

Jessica Moya is a member of one of Philly's finest dance groups, Art In Motion Latin Dancers. In the year they've been together, they've managed to perform and teach at congresses throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. While at home, though, you can find her teaching all week long at La Luna Dance Studio, doing group and private lessons. Just recently, Jessica branched off and started an all-female group consisting of 3 up-and-coming salseras in the Philadelphia area. Their debut performance will be at this year's Chicago Salsa Congress in February 2005.

By Stephen Choo Quan

I have had a many questions lately about how many new dance leads can be a great leads on the dance floor.  I have given this question much thought and decided to give it a response.  It is a well known fact that if we do reveal these secrets that you will get many text messages of invitations to come dance, many people will be asking you where are you are dancing tonight and you will have dozens of follows queued up to dance with you.  I must admit that if you are dancing for 2 weeks and you think that after reading this article all of the following will happen to you, well that will not happen, at least not today, maybe someday but not today.

By Stephen Choo Quan

Darlin Garcia is an instructor, competitor and choreographer of Salsa Dancing. He currently instructs at La Luna Dance Studio and at the starlight ballroom in which he's held his own classes for almost two years now. Darlin teaches some of the more advanced turn patterns and open shines in the area. He has participated in the La Luna Showcase since December 2003. Darlin is a founder of one of Philadelphia’s best dance troops “Art in Motion”. In this past year the dance group has performed and instructed in several congresses such as: New Orleans, Chicago, Texas, Boston, Detroit, NY, LA, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, Montreal, Miami, North Carolina, Toronto and soon will have its international tittle by traveling to Ireland in May of 2005.

By Edie, The Salsa FREAK

WHAT'S THE REASON? THE PREP BEFORE MULTIPLE RIGHT TURNS!!! - That's the reason!!

I've spoken to the top female dancers in the following countries / states: Japan, Korea, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco... and we ALL have the SAME complaint: RIGHT HIP STRAIN. Even Super Mario from London told me he hears of women in London suffering the same type of pain. In fact, it was last year's event in New Zealand when Super Mario woke my eyes up to it. I THOUGHT I was just "getting old" or something... but after I started researching, and asking questions, women of ALL AGES from 18 and up were complaining about it!!!