by T. Tdot
2 February 2009
What's the deal, salsa people?!
Welcome to the second edition of GGG Runnings. In this week's edition, a profile on Jocelyn Azarcon, co-founder and Director of Soul2sole latin dance company and a review on the grand opening of soul2sole's Classic Salsa Thursdays at Zio Supper Club in Richmond Hill. First up, my profile on Jocelyn Azarcon. I asked her 10 questions and here's what she had to say:
Soul2sole's Jocelyn Azarcon
T. - Where were you born?
Jocelyn - I was born in Toronto.
T. - How did you get into salsa?
Jocelyn - My family was a huge influence on me. My parents were into ballroom and my brothers were into salsa. In fact, they used to practice their moves on me. Later on, I was the one teaching them.
T. - What's your background in dance?
Jocelyn - Ballroom, folk, hip hop. Folk dancing is a tradition in my family.
T. - Where have you performed?
Jocelyn - I have performed in the States for private functions, but I've perfomed primarily in Canada.
T. - Other than Soul2sole, who else are you affiliated with?
Jocelyn - I'm not affiliated with anyone else but I've been working with Giovanni Torres for the past couple of months, mainly with Zio Supper Club.
T. - How did Soul2sole get started?
Jocelyn - It started about 8 years ago when my brothers and I started teaching salsa. For my brothers, it was more recreational. However, I was more serious about it and eventually I took it over.
T. - This one is a two parter. What classes does Soul2sole offer and what can people expect from soul2sole when they join?
Jocelyn - We offer salsa, merngue, bachata, and cha cha. We also offer private lessons in ballroom - rumba, waltz, foxtrot, samba, and jive. People can except to be in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere and to have a good time while learning. They will expect to be taught by experienced instructors and come out of it knowing how to dance.
T. - Why should people get into salsa?
Jocelyn: - There's a number of reasons. It's a relief from stress, therapeutic, and you can get into shape. You can also meet new people, the environment is friendly, and the music is amazing.
T. - This is another two parter. What's your salsa peeve and what do you look for in a dance partner?
Jocelyn - My peeve is personal hygiene. Can't stress it enough. As far as what I look for a partner, someone I can vibe with, shares the same goals as me, has a good attitude and a good skill level.
T. - How can people reach you?
Jocelyn - You can check out our website, soul2sole.ca, email me at jocelyn@soul2sole.ca, or you can join our facebook group.
T. - Thanks for the interview, Jocelyn.
Jocelyn - Thank you.
I had a great time doing the interview with Jocelyn. She's most definitely one of the nicest people on the salsa scene and an extremely good dancer. For all the males dancers out there, ask her to dance.
Soul2Sole Classic Salsa Thursday @ Zio Supper Club
I attended the official grand opening of Classic Salsa Thursdays at the Zio Supper Club in Richmond Hill. Now, me and my compadres have been going to Zio since December 2008. Great music, good dancefloor, but not too many people, even though it's a small-to-medium size venue.
Grand Opening Surprise
However, the grand opening was something else. I arrived early and the place was half-filled. Overall, about 100 people showed up and that's good for a venue of its size. There's three lounge areas where you can sit down, and there are tables right beside the dancefloor if you decide to go there for dinner before you dance. The staff is extremely friendly and of course, you can't go wrong with $3 coronas and tequila.
The performances by Soul2sole and Los Salsomanos were awesome and of course, DJ Giovanni was on the1s and 2s spinning some serious salsa, bachata, and cha cha. At about 12:30am. my man Clifton got on the mic and started to persuade people to get on the dancefloor while Giovanni treated everyone to some old school RnB and Hip Hop.
My cameraman John, my fellow Salsa GGG Michael(Big Mike) and and Clifton got on the dancefloor and broke out some old school breakdance moves. I even showcased my own style of old school. Ina nutshell. I would definitely recommend Soul2Sole Classic Salsa Thursday at the Zio Supper Club for a Thursday. Great music, great people, and there may be a surprise or two when you go. It's worth the trip to Richmond Hill.
Links
Soul2Sole
Los Salsomanos DJ Giovanni Torres
Zio Supper Club
Grand Opening Pix on FaceBook
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=62618&id=552422478
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=211385&id=789765173&ref=mf
I have received a lot of feeback about the first column and it's been very positive. Big THANK YOU to everyone who read the first column.If you have any suggestions, comments, people or events you would like for me to profile, or you want to holla at me, you can email me at tman160@hotmail.com, my facebook group the Salsa GGGs, and my facebook profile(Tyrone D Sterling).
Thanks for reading the second edition of GGG Runnings and we'll see you on the dancefloor, salsa people!