Japan Salsa Congress-October 27-29, 2006
The 8th annual Japan Salsa Congress took place from October 27-29, 2006. Co-hosted by Albert Torres (Albert Torres Productions) & George Watabe (Salsa Hotline Japan), it was my home away from home as it reminded me of being at the Canada Salsa Congress which I've attended for three years in a row, 2003-2005. 
Unfortunately, I could not attend the entire thing since I was unable to get Saturday off from work.
Friday night's pre-party took place at this huge event space called Velfarre in Roppongi. Advanced tickets were 4000 yen (approx. $CAN 38) with two drinks. Local instructors, Ryoko & Ryu, taught the lesson that night. I got there late as did this other guy from LA so we partnered up for the tail end of the class. After approximately an hour and a half of social dancing, the crowd was treated to a show from some of the instructors/performers at the Congress.
Pre-party Show
The Swing Guys from Italy dazzled the crowd with their fusion of Swing and Salsa combined with lifts & tricks. Junior & Emily, a brother/sister team from San Fransisco, showed the crowd what L.A. style was about as did Rony & Dinora, from LA, whose routine had a Mexican American flair to it. Additionally, Roni & Donora showed us just how sensual salsa dancing can be by integrating bachata into their routine. They made those who did not know how to dance bachata want to learn it. At the end of the show, local performers and instructors were introduced followed by the international performers and instructors. It is important to note that not everyone who was introduced that night performed.
Congress Sunday took place in the shopping district of Odaiba which is in the Tokyo Bay area. The workshops, performances and dance party took place at Zepp Tokyo, one of Tokyo's largest performance hall/nightclubs and the Farewell/After-Party took place at this restaurant called La Boheme-two or three train stations away from Zepp Tokyo.
Workshop Surprises
There were nine workshops to choose from which meant that everyone got to do a total of three workshops for the day. The workshops were conducted in English and translated into Japanese. However, two of the workshops I took were conducted in Italian and Japanese translation was provided by a local instructor who lived in Italy for many years. All of the workshops took place at the same time and in the same room which was divided into sections A, B and C. Workshops that corresponded with these letters were delegated to the assigned areas. The workshops I took were; Advanced Partnerwork; Lifts & Tricks; and Shines.
After a short break and a quick dash to my hotel to get changed, I headed back over to Zepp Tokyo for the night's performances and dance party. It was a phenomenal show where everyone got to shine on their own accord. We were treated to a myriad of turn patterns, shines, dips, lifts and tricks. The local performers went first followed by the international performers.
Performances
Although everyone did an excellent job and gave us all something to aspire to, the groups that stood out the most were the children's groups. There was a troupe from New Zealand and one from Japan. Both were very reminiscent of Rhythmic Fire in Toronto. My favorite performance consisted of a very young girl and her grandmother who performed with a local group. It was akin to Bria who dances with Latin Energy and has done so for a few years.
Perhaps my fascination with kids groups has to do with the fact that when I was growing up, I was not encouraged, let alone allowed, to engage in creative self-expression in the form of dance. 
While I did go to gymnastics camp and arts camps where dance was taught, it was nothing remotely close to what I see kids involved in now which is salsa dancing infused with hip hop and in some cases, Afro-Cuban.
The quality of the performances and the dancers themselves could easily rival what we have back in Toronto. The Japanese really epitomize the concept of "work hard, play hard". Dance and music are truly universal languages as the salseros and salseras in Japan show us that they can spin, lift and dip as good as the rest of us in the western world. One other thing that stands out is that Japanese people are not as passive and indifferent as they appear to be on the surface. Once they get on the floor, they too can get their flirt on as good as the rest of us. I have to admit that whenever I heard the term "international performers", I did a double-take because after all, being Canadian, I am "international" despite being considered a "resident" of Japan. In essence, I felt I identified more with the non-Japanese performers.
Dancing All Night!
In the true Japanese fashion of working and playing hard, there was a farewell/after-party which went until 5am. We were served dinner which consisted of pasta, salad and a drink. Afterwards, we danced till dawn. I was literally on my last legs in the last few hours of this party. Though my head told me to head back to the hotel, my body would not coopeate, choosing instead to plough right through it. After all, not only was this my first Congress outside of Toronto, it was the first time I attended a Congress that was overseas. However, I had to stop at one point when I was so mentally and physically exhausted that I could not even follow the easiest moves.
One thing is for certain: If I am still in Japan by October, I will definitely be attending the Congress again. This time, I'll be there for the whole thing.
Editors Note
Odaiba and Aqua City/Fiji TV images used under licence:
Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons image is from the user Chris 73 and is freely available at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Odaiba_from_Tokyo_Tower_Night.jpg under the creative commons cc-by-sa 2.5 license.
Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons image is from http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/tokyo/odaiba.htm and is freely available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odaiba. under the creative commons cc-by-sa 2.5 license.