The Orlando Salsa Congress was held at the Rosen Plaza, in Orlando, FL. I met so many new people and it’s wonderful how dancers are so nice when you asked them to dance and thank you afterwards but enough about me! Here is my re-cap of each day.
Thursday ~ the pre-party was very nice to dance on their floor. Some of the performers were there but not all of them some I saw: Troy and Jorget, Jose and Lucy Liu (Pasofino Studios), Joel and his Ana (Mascotte), and Jareau from IMambo TV were just ones I first saw. Masacotte, Mike Bello, Bailo Shoes, Salsa Heat and Choco had there booths up and you knew it was Congress time. Music outside of the ballroom people hanging out talking, it was fun and relaxing at the same time. Dancing was on till about 2am and everyone congregated outside the ballroom and it was a party! Only one bad thing was the AC was either set low or not working because it was like 100 degrees in there so it was pretty steamy. Thank goodness for the AC working outside!
Friday ~ early in the morning I had the task of picking up Mario B from the airport and bringing him in. Which for those of you who don’t know who he is. He is the owner of SalsaFever On2 studios in New Jersey. He is an awesome person and a killer salsero on the dance floor. He has traveled around the world performing and showing people his on2 salsa style. (Which if you attended his workshop you saw what he’s about) People were at the pool taking workshops etc. I personally had my first experience of helping out in a workshop. I helped Juan “Ta-to” Paredes in his Bachata Workshop. That was an awesome experience and I loved every second of it THANKS TA-TO! I also attended Mario B’s workshop which was hard but so very intense because his shines were very different and fun. It made my day. I loved it! That night it was pretty packed and I was fortunate enough to sit VIP section. Watched 17 performances (That was a lot) There were some good performances and some that had some unfortunate mishaps but all of them were entertaining nevertheless. Troy was a great MC and whenever he said, “Are you ready for the next show” he had everyone saying. “Let’s GO!” Afterwards the dancing started and the floor was PACKED! Music was really good that night and you got to see many of the performer’s social dance and have a good time. Temperature was better in the room, but still awesome to cool off outside the ballroom and chit chat. After party was always outside the ballroom and when they got kicked out they went outside or anywhere they could play music and dance. That’s the part I love about salseros, they will go anywhere to dance and have a great time. Jareau and Danni were in control of the music with their mobile music box.
Saturday ~ The day was the same packed workshops and people hanging out by the pool enjoying the Florida sun and mingling and talk about Friday events. People were up and about. I was feeling it now from 2 days in a row up late and feet were killing me! This is what happens to dancers when they are not used to dancing that much! I went shopping and took my shop buddy with me for a nice time at the FL mall. We came back around 8:30pm. Took a quick shower and went down again to see the shows for Saturday. This time it was 23 shows. (OMG not again! LOL) it was a great event and this time Troy had an accomplice with him. Mario B, he was funny and making jokes about everything so they had me laughing the entire time. We got to see our local teams perform and many dancers from Boston, NY, DC, and many other places and it was just nice to see different styles and choreography. That night was even more crowded than Friday and they added a mini 3rd dance floor to help out the crowdedness of the dance floor. They stayed open till 3am and again, party outside the ballroom but then they got kicked out and then just partied on certain floors. It was a bit crazy! We all had a great time!
Sunday ~ it was the ending of the congress. Many went home but only the true troopers stayed. It was all coming down to an end and workshops were still getting crowded and people hung out by the pool. They also had a 9 hole Golf Tournament that was headed by Juan “Ta-to” Paredes who had 8 golfers go out on a mini tournament. It was definitely some fun times! I laughed a lot with all of them and we got to see a different side of the dancers. It was Team Ta-To vs. Team Troy, and Team Troy won. Congrats Troy! The final party was very good. A small crowd but still plenty of great dancers were still there. Performances were good and it was only 6 of them! Our buddy MC Troy did a great thing by bringing in some top dancers and top social dancers and did a show down and it was fun to watch and see and appreciate these masters on dance.
All in all my whole experience was a great one. I personally want to thank Mike Barberi, Jose Luis, and Franky who made this congress possible. Without you none of us would have had this much fun in a weekend!
We all I’m sure have memories that we will never forget. For those that may have missed this one. Mark your calendars for 2009! This one you don’t want to miss!
I want to extend a shout out to all my new salsero/a friends: Troy y Jorget (Houston), Joel y Ana (Masacotte), Andres y Johnny (Salsa y Control), Darlyn, Ta-to, Jose y Lucy Liu (Pasofino), Shaka Brown, and my buddies, Yahaira S, Tanja, Jorgie and of course Mario B! You guys all made me either laugh till I couldn’t no more or graced me with a dance and your wonderful company at some point in the congress! You guys ROCK! I can’t wait to see you all again! Miami Anyone??? LOL
Salsera_54 leaving you with is note. Make the difference, Create the Experience.
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Posted by On2Monster, Jul 08, 2008
Had a great time in Orlando this weekend. The parties and performances rocked and I can't wait 'til next year, but before then...Miami 4sure!!!! If they kick us out of the ballroom this time we have the beach, HeheHe
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Posted by hunntyr, Jul 08, 2008
I had an absolute blast. It was my first congress and I am completely addicted to it now. I can not wait until the next time. I met so many awesome people and saw some amazing dancing...Felt right at home. I loved every workshop that I attended, not its time to practice them. I also have to extend out a big thanks to Joseluis Gutierrez. He found out that it was my first congress though a mutual friend and after that, every time I saw him, he remembered my name and was always there asking me if I was having a good time and if he could help with anything. Thanks to him and all of the lovely ladies that I had the honor of dancing with (or trying to keep up with LOL), I will definately be at more congresses.
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Posted by Salsera_54, Jul 09, 2008
Hunntyr, awwwww that's awesome! It's a great experience for any salsero to meet others that have the same passion! :) See you soon! Going on the 11th to miami???
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Posted by hunntyr, Jul 09, 2008
Wish I could, but I cant. I am broke from just coming back from Puerto Rico and then going straight to the Congress. We'll get together sometime. BTW, your BF was cool too.
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Posted by Ishy, Jul 11, 2008
I think this congress was one of the best I've been to so far. The performances were top notch. From Salsa Heat to the UMDA colaboration to Yamulee to Sean and Lisa (Salsa Addiction) I will definitely buy this years DVD when it comes out.
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