Like all DVDs from Jami this is a very professional production. It is a technical DVD, in which Jami shows basic dancing techniques, the ones which give solid foundation to any kind of dance and applies them to salsa. The result is something useful for the beginner dancer, to get things right straight from day one, to the intermediate dancer who may want to clean up a few things, and to the expert who may need some reminders for things he/she knows already but maybe forgets to apply regularly.

A-s usual, Jose explanations are very clear and so are the demonstrations. The camera view follows the details you need to focus on and all throughout the DVD you have the feeling you are learning something which doesn’t just apply to the latest styling fashion, but some solid foundation you will use for a very long time in your dancing.

The material covered goes from the very basic elements of salsa basic steps and proper motion for knees, hips and chest, to how to place your weight on your feet during the basic steps, to spinning technique, covering balance exercises, spotting, left and right turns, travelling turns and multiple turns, solo and with partner. Spins are discussed both on1 and on2. A useful reference also for salsa instructors.

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Review by Fabio, from SalsaIsGood

DVD available through www.salsa-dvds.com

„Aus Kuba, Spanien, Italien und Deutschland reisen unsere víaDanza- Instruktoren und DJs an, um mit Schülern, Reise-Gästen und allen Salseros/as aus nah und fern, 3 tolle Salsa-Tage zu verbringen“ verspricht víaDanza-Chefin Lena Bernardo. Tagsüber werden laut Programm insgesamt 28 Workshops zu unterschiedlichen Themen angeboten. An den Abenden steigen Salsa-Partys mit Shows, Salsa-Food, Überraschungs-Highlights und natürlich tanzen, tanzen, tanzen.

Mit einer Pre-Festival-Party startet das Jubiläum am Freitagabend. Die Karten für diesen Event sind limitiert. „Schon hier“, sagt víaDanza-Mitinhaber Ulrich Fichtner, „dürfte die Stimmung schnell auf den Siedepunkt steigen; – getreu der víaDanza-Philosophie: Salsa tanzen, wo sie kocht“.

Am Samstag um 13:00 beginnt das Workshop-Angebot. In verschiedenen Räumen des Zapata Clubs wird ein buntes Tanz-Programm angeboten; von Salsa, Merengue & Bachata bis hin zu Raggaeton, Son und vielem mehr. Ab 19:00 startet dann die große Jubiläums-Fiesta mit vielen Highlights und Live- Shows auf 3 Dance-Floors.

Auch am Sonntagnachmittag werden noch einmal Workshops im Zapata angeboten, bevor man sich später noch einmal in großer Runde zu einer Abschlussparty trifft.

Der Kartenvorverkauf hat bereits begonnen. Fullpass, Tageskarten, Workshop- Pässe können online bestellt werden über die víaDanza-Homepage: www.viadanza.de

Auf einem eigenen Festival-Blog (http://blog.viadanza.de) können sich Salsafinados umfassend zum Programm, Tickets, Stars und Übernachtungsmöglichkeiten informieren.

Weiter Infos gibt es unter:
(1) Tel. 0711 4205260 (víaDanza Salsa-Tanzschule)
(2) Tel. 0711 48907003 (víaDanza Salsa-Tanzreisen)
(3) www.viadanza.de
(4) E-Mail: tanzschule@viadanza.de Ansprechpartner bei víaDanza: Lena Bernardo und Ulrich Fichtner

We like the SalsaCrazy approach to teaching and DVD production and this series has not disappointed us: it contains content (lots of it), detail, variety and quality.

A common dilemma when planning a DVD is how to balance the amount of detail vs volume of material, that is how much time to spend in explanation vs more content. SalsaCrazy has solved the problem radically: they include both content and detail, and in order to do so, not only filled 6 DVDs, but squeezed as much as possible into them, since they average between 1.5 and 2 hours in length. This together with some serious thought to the organisation of the product, results in a complete advanced course which you can take home and attend anytime you wish. There is more to it because all together the course is tough, by 10 instructors and with different styles and approaches to salsa dancing. So on top of straightforward salsa teaching you also get a glimpse of what this dance has to offer in terms of creativity and diversity.

To make the most of this DVD the instructors assume you are an intermediate level dancer, you are familiar with standard salsa moves, timing and basic spins. Everything else is provided in the series. Each DVD contains a number of turn patters, each first demonstrated, then explained from the leader and follower’s perspective, then both male and female instructors give tips on specific details of the turn patters and finally we get to the demonstration to music. In each DVD one instructor will also focus on specific techniques which are needed to develop an advanced dancer, covering spinning, posture, and body isolation exercises; some of which are repeated by different instructors which will demonstrate that there is no unique recipe to any salsa element.

Within this common structure, the DVDs change due to the presence of different instructors who bring their own flavour. Vol 1 and 2 present Evan with his confident, cool and experienced approach. We like his teaching a lot and his salsa is that of the consummate social dancer. He teaches with 3 proficient partners (Louise Garrison, Nadine Chan and Angeline Lucia) and their turn patterns are designed to condense in a few moves all the basic salsa elements: wisdom and experience was obviously behind the choice of these turn patterns and if you master them, you will have some 80% of salsa elements under control. Vol 3 and 4 are presented by Alison Hurwitz and Jesus Ortiz; their style is more formal, more technically oriented, with a touch of ball room in its approach. In Vol 5 Tianne and Ricardo present the ‘young’ side of salsa, with turn patterns of their creation and a less traditional approach. Finally, Vol 6 presents Sir ‘Seaon the Stylist’ and what a welcome surprise this is.. he brings his immense style, as well dancing on2, to this series.

With so much choice and variety it is inevitable that you will have your preferences and you may wonder why the entire series was not performed by your favourite instructors. We find Evan’s no-nonsense approach really refreshing and his teaching spot-on and for what regards Seaon… well, we will never tire ourselves of watching him; but you may very well have other favourites.

review by Fabio from SalsaIsGood
dvd available through www.salsa-dvds.com

This DVD contains all you need to know in order to build a rueda de casino team from scratch or at least from a group of dancers who know how to dance basic steps in Cuban style salsa. The first session shows the ‘basic rules’ that is the mechanics of the rueda, how the dances relate to the circle, how the dancers position themselves in relation to other dancers, how the rotation of the partners happens, and so on. Then you are taught a set of rueda moves in increasing order of difficulty, 17 all together divided into 3 sessions. Rueda moves are very well standardised since they need to be executed by memory from the call of the leader, so the material contained in this DVD is the basics which any rueda group needs to learn, anywhere in the world. The teaching is done with a camera positioned high above the team, so you have a front view which allows to see the entire circle, which is very useful. All moves are first demonstrated by Fabrizio with partner and then executed by 3 couples to counting and then to music. The instruction is clear and easy to follow. A good tool to get into rueda dancing.

Review by Fabio, from SalsaIsGood
DVD available through www.salsa-dvds.com

As of this writing, José Luis Morán and Orquesta del Solar (under the musical direction of Julio Mena) have decided to join forces as one superpower salsa entity to capitalize on the current popularity of this musical genre. The Cuban rhythm-based dance form, which was initially fused with jazz and R&B modalities in the streets of New York City and Puerto Rico, and baptized as “salsa” in Venezuela and New York City, morphed into a social phenomena in the early 1970s throughout most Hispanic communities in the United States and Puerto Rico. Soon thereafter, like wildfire, salsa spread throughout most of the Americas, gaining strength and power before taking on the rest of the planet. Today, salsa belongs to the world-from North to South America, from Europe to Asia, and from Australia to the Hawaiian Islands, everyone loves to salsa! In Spain, the passion for salsa and dancing is constantly escalating throughout the entire Iberian Peninsula fueled by local aficionados of the movement as well as the growing numbers of Latin American immigrants in the country. José Luis Morán and Orquesta del Solar are a big factor in the popularity of salsa in Spain through its continuous work and devotion to the music and its numerous annual and monthly performances in major festivals, concerts and venues throughout the country, as well as abroad throughout Europe.

José Luis “El Gato” Morán is responsible for coining the phase “Salsa: Made in Spain.” Nicknamed “El Gato” (the cat) by the local Spanish media as an indication of his acceptance to the local scene, Morán is a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, bitten by the salsa bug as a child. He started singing professionally in Venezuela with La Orquesta Rococó, followed by a time with the group Combinación 77. In the United States, he worked in Chicago with the groups Samuel del Real, La Mayor, Tambores de Imbangala, and Huracán de Fuego. In the search for new experiences and opportunities Morán relocated to Spain in 2003, establishing himself in the capital city of Madrid. Soon thereafter, he started to win fans and music critics alike via performances such as his performance at the “Dia de America” festival in the city of Oviedo with an audience of over 250,000 people, and a similar audience at the “7th Festival Son Latino” in the island of Tenerife, were he dazzled the crowd with his spirited salsa renditions. His presentations are characterized by a constant interaction with the audience in a playful improvisational atmosphere full of rhythms and sounds. In the end, the audience, the dancers and everyone is immersed in the performance. Since his arrival to Spain, José Luis Morán has shared stages with legendary artists Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz, Larry Harlow (who praised “El Gato’s” talents and salsa acumen), Oscar D’León, Adalberto Santiago, Chucho and Bebo Valdés, Carlinhos Brown, and Tito Nieves, among others.

In 2008, José Luis was nominated and participated in the Latin Grammys of Spain. The following year, several of his songs were included in the soundtracks of the Spanish films “La Vergüenza”, and “La Mujer Sin Piano.” Both of these films were critically acclaimed, winning awards in film festivals in 2009. More importantly is the fact that this was the first time that Spanish cinematography included original salsa compositions (instead of Cuban or Latin American compositions) in its soundtracks. In recent years, Morán has been invited to European events such as “Toros y Salsa” in Dax, France and Frankfurt’s “World Music Festival.” In Spain, he has participated in the annual “Musicas del Mundo” festival in Madrid; “En Clave de Son” festival in Santander; “Womex” festival in Seville; “El Teide” in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and numerous other music festivals in the cities of Cadiz, Zamora, Ibiza, Guadalajara, Bilbao, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela, and Zaragoza.

At the beginning of the DVD Lee claims that he will show us how to convert basic salsa moves to ChaChaCha music. In fact, I think he does a bit more than that, in the sense that it shows some salsa elements as well as a handful of turn patterns from the ballroom repertoire and puts this material together. Of course mixing salsa with ballroom is a delicate operation, since the result may displease everyone. Lee’s choice makes sense though and I think the elements of ballroom he suggests to us are cleverly chosen and include simple moves and leads salsa dancers are not accustomed to. This, together with some salsa material taken from his ‘Improvers guide to salsa’ and ‘Guide to shines’, makes up a reasonable ChaChaCha repertoire for an intermediate dancer. A full session of the DVD is dedicated to making sure that ChaChaCha is danced on2, rather than on1, and it is properly done. As for all other DVDs from Lee, this also is targeted to a social dance audience, that is at dancers for whom simple and genuine enjoyment is more important than showing off the latest moves in order to make friends envious; for these people, this is a good product.

Review by Fabio from SalsaIsGood

Adrian and Anita are two accomplished dancers, with a considerable and diverse training in several dances who, as they tell us in the interviews contained in the DVD, have found their real passion in salsa.
They have achieved a lot already, being able to boast first prize at several international competitions, including the equivalent of the World Championship, in the category On 1. This talent shows clearly in the DVD, their dancing is spotless, energetic and made impressive by a well acquired stage craft: everything is just perfect and sharp.
‘Adrian and Anita style 3′ contains a set of 10 solo sequences, basically shines including a lot of body work and styling, 5 for men and 5 for ladies.
Each sequence is first shown with vocal counting, then broken down and then danced to music. As for the other DVDs from this couple, their dance on1 and their style is very sharp and full of energy: material for choreographed shows. They both are proficient dancers and thus able to get away with moves and emphatic styling that most of us would not be able to afford, but if you like this kind of material, or this kind of challenge, you can be sure you will watch and learn from some of the best dancers around.
The material is explained only in Spanish, but unlike the other DVDs this time you can find subtitles in English. As for the other DVDs of this series you will find very useful the use of two camera views with zoom in and out when needed.
review by Fabio from SalsaIsGood
DVD available through www.salsa-dvds.com

This is a very nice and entertaining production, which I found myself watching all through with a smile on my face. It’s a clever realisation of a clever idea: take 3 male Bachata dancers, with a different style and let them show their repertoire together. Not only can you see the contribution from all three, but also you can watch the 3 dancers executing each other’s steps, with inevitable styling variation. Tony Lara, well known to all Bachata lovers, represents Italian style, Inaki Fendandez, also known from BachataUk, represents the Spanish style and Frank Santos the Dominican style. Each teaches us two footwork sequences and two turn patterns, which are demonstrated with the equally well known Daniela De Francesco. All material is first demonstrated, then broken down to counting and than danced to music, from two side views.

What makes this production stand out is the joyous atmosphere, the funny way the music is interpreted and the entertaining short choreographies the three dancers coordinate before and after each turn pattern. It’s a fun DVD which will entertain you while you add some new ideas to your Bachata repertoire

Review by Fabio from SalsaIsGood
DVD available through www.salsa-dvds.com

I was told this was a very good DVD and it’s true. Salsaventura has collected into a single DVD most of the ‘classic’ shines you are likely to learn in standard salsa class and does not make a secret of it by explicitly acknowledging his inspiration: Salsa Brava, Los Rumberos, Eddie Torres, Nelson Flores and Marlon & Annetje Castillo. All together, there are 42 (!) shines in this DVD, for 90 minutes of condensed teaching. The shines are divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced level; for each level they are further divided into sequences of 3 to 4 shines, which are first taught in isolation and then connected as a short sequence. In each sequence, the shines are connected without basic steps in between; this results in short choreographies which will challenge your memory as well as your coordination.

Each shine is first demonstrated from the back, then zoomed in on the close up view of the footwork. It is then broken down twice to counting and finally danced to music with front and back view. The DVD menu is very well organised so you will find quickly the shine you want to practise. The beginner shines are very easy, and can be managed by students capable of executing the basic steps. Naturally the further you go in the DVD the more challenging the shines become, but none is beyond the reach of a reasonable dancer. Plus, the point of shines is not to execute them, but to execute them well so this DVD can keep you busy for a while.

Everything is taught and demonstrated on1. Morry is very confident in his teaching and smooth in his dancing, keeping the styling to the minimum required, which avoids the material becoming intimidating. If you are after a shine DVD and you are happy to dance on1, this is surely recommended.

Fabio from SalsaIsGood

DVD available on dvd-salsa.com