Six Amateur couples vied for four spots in the Winter Salsa Carnival Competition Amateur Semi-finals Sunday night at Dovercourt House.
Six couples - Mitch & Charina, Andrew & Shirley; Joey & Michel; Balazs & Zsuzsanna;Jason & Roxy; Daniel & Selena put it all out before hundred of screaming cheering salsa fans and five judges.
Faites On Step
Mark-Anthony had the judges strutting their stuff again, dancing some salsa for about two minutes before taking their seats at the edge of the 'stage.' This is now a Winter Salsa Carnival Competition tradition as Mark Anthony has some fun 're-assuring' the competitors and the packed house that the judges did indeed know salsa. But then don't we like watching everyone dancing?
The judges for 4 February 2008 were:
Go Dance Mambo's Stephanie; Los SalsomanosGiovanni; City Dance Corps' Tina; Caryl; Korikoa's Gen.
It was then the competitors' turn to strut some of their stuff, warming up a bit as Mark-Anthony introduced them to the crowd. Then it got down to business. Of the evening's six couples, four will advance to the final round Friday 21 March @ the Winter Salsa Carnival.
Mark-Anthony gave out some interesting facts about each of the judges while they were compiling their scores after each competitor's turn. Did you know that Korikoa's Gen. was a figure skater with ten years experience?
Did you also know that Los Salsomanos's Giovanni and his dance troupe performed at Pavlo's Mediterranean Nights world concert tour stop in Detroit as part of the second set? They danced the song Salsade Guitarrs. The PBS video from Detroit airs 8:00pm. Saturday 8 March. See Pavlo's site for a preview!
And did you know that Go Dance Mambo's Stephanie was the first instructor in Toronto to produce an instructional DVD and was the first to introduce On2 or Mambo with its intricate body styling and timing to Toronto?
Sunday night's crowd was treated to costumes and choreographed routines as the level of competition ramped up.
The gave it their all.
One couple, Daniel & Selena finished with a flip and splits, while Andrew & Shirley's playful routine had the audience hollering for more. Very impressive.
And one couple even used SalsaTO's "Sizzling Salsera's" music, Arranco en Fa. It was very interesting watching another couple work with music that one knows each note of and has choreographed a routine to down to the note.
It was close.
It was so close that there was a tie for first and second places.
The couples going to the Amateur Finals Friday 21 March at the Winter Salsa Carnival with scores out of 400 are:
1st-tie with 323 points - Joey & Michel;
1st-tie with 323 points - Daniel & Selena;
3rd with 316 points - Andrew & Shirley;
4th with 303 points - Mitch & Charina.
Short videos of each competitor are posted on www.myspace.com/salsat0 and on FaceBook.
Competitors looking for an edge going into the finals can go through the resources listed below. Pay very close attention to timing and feet, especially when doing shines. Even when facing the crowd, competitors might want to be on opposite feet to keep the timing working, playing it as book-ends in a mirror, so when coming back as a pair, there is no shuffling or 'cheating' to get couple timing back.
Couples using drops will get a better line if the follower arches her back and keep the head in a straight line with the body. If possible, leaders should have full extension on their arms for the drop.
Leg and arm extensions for leaders and followers should be full (as in straight). Leaders, keep fingers together when extending arms, point toes on leg extensions too.
Review the short videos here or from friends as 'game tapes.' On2 dancers pay very close attention to timing on turns. Feet and turns have to be on On2, not On2 feet with On1 turn timing. Ensure that both are indeed moving to On2 timing.
Resources for Competitors
SalsaTO's Dance Notes A judge's and a competitor's insight to salsa competitions - more coming.
World Salsa Championship Rules
Winter Salsa Carnival Competition Rules
