Just as last year, during the Labor Day weekend two big dance events took place at the Hilton Hotel on 6th Avenue and 54th street: New York Salsa Congress and New York Hustle Congress. One admission charge gets you to attend both. The Salsa Congress took place in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel pictured on the left. The Hustle congress took place in three separate rooms nearby. During the afternoon both congresses offered extensive dance workshops tought by top dance instructors. At night the Salsa Congress featured a stage show of salsa performers from around the United States and even other countries. After the show the humongous dancefloor was open until 5 AM for salsa dancing to a live band and a DJ. The Hustle Congress also continued until 5 AM and featured competitions of various levels from amatures to professionals as well as performances and of course there was plenty of dancing for the public.
During the Labor Day weekend was the annual New York Salsa Congress which was held at the Hilton Hotel. The format of the event was similar to last year - every night there was a salsa show and general dancing. One difference was that the shows took place in the main ballroom instead of in a separate smaller room. Although there was no social dancing at the same time as the shows took place, the good thing was that there were plenty of seats for everyone to see the show and the view of the stage was much better than last year. After the shows were over at around 11 PM, they cleared all the chairs and made the giant ballroom available for social dancing to the sounds of live bands. Here are some photos that I took during the show on Friday. Some people who wanted special attention danced on the carpet in the foyer of the ballroom. They were surrounded by the crowed of people with camcorders. Here are my video clips:
Here is a cute Salsa Pas De Trois:
The other good thing about the shows being held in the main ballroom is that the room that was used for the show last year served a different purpose this year. It was used for the first annual New York Hustle Congress. It was great to be able to go back and forth between the Salsa and Hustle. I am also glad that Hustle was being exposed to the Salsa crowd who may have never heard about it. The Hustle Congress consisted of general dancing, shows and competitions.
Here is the video of the winners of the Theater Arts division - Kelvin Roche and Lori Ann Greenhouse:
The second place was taken by Louie and Ann Rosa. Here is the video:
Today was the salsa dance night at the Pier 25 located in the Hudson River Park. Dancing went from 6:30 PM until 10 PM. Live music was provided by the cuban salsa band Mo'Guajiro with DJ Goya between sets.
At around 7 PM there was a salsa dance lesson organized by Dance Manhattan dance studios. The dancefloor was packed with people, but many of them had flip flops on their feet which identified them as non-dancers. For those who were hungry hot dogs and hamburgers were surved.
This event is part of the weekly MoonDance events which is co-sponsored by the Hudson River Park Trust and Dance Manhattan studios. The complete schedule can be found here. Next week is Rhythm and Blues night with Ron Sunshine. Admission is Free! Pier 25 is located on the Hudson River at N. Moore street. The closest subway stations are Franklin Street on 1 line or Chambers Street on A, C line.
This weekend was filled with Salsa music, dancing and performances as I attended the 3 days of the New York Salsa Congress. This was one of the yearly salsa big events that take place in various parts of United States and other countries. I was there on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The total cost was $75, but it was well worth it. Dancing went on from late afternoon until 5 o'clock in the morning! Of course I did not stay all the way to the end since I had reached the limit of how much dancing I could do in one night. What I enjoyed the most about the event is the unique opportunity to dance with some of the best Salsa dancers from around the country and from abroad. Below is my review of the event with many photos and videos.
(Click on a small picture to see a larger version.)
The congress took place at the Hilton Hotel located at 53rd street and 6th avenue which is only 3 blocks from my apartment building. Since it was so close, I felt guilty not go there for all 3 days of the weekend. According to David Melendez, more than 900 rooms of the hotel were occupied by the salseros who came to the event.
Good thing that I got to buy my wrist band in the afternoon, because when I got there at around 9 PM there was a long line at the registration booth. Another advantage of living so close!
At the entrance to the grand ballroom there were plenty of bouncers making sure that the crowd going in had the appropriate bracelet. They were also checking people's bags.
The foyer of the Grand Ballroom was filled with various vendors selling dance outfits, shoes, dance instruction videos, and other paraphernalia.
The Grand Ballroom was humongous. Even though there were hundreds of people dancing at the same time, there was plenty of room on the dancefloor. This certainly beats dancing at a typical salsa club where almost always I end up stepping on other couple's feet or pushing my partner straight into them.
In addition to the DJ, the music was provided by a live band.
During the day separate hotel rooms were used for workshops on Salsa dancing conducted by the top instructors. A separate fee was required to participate in the workshops, but they did not seem to stop the people without the appropriate colored bracelet from entering the rooms. At least I can speak for myself. In this shot separate instructors discuss the steps for men and women. Later they joined partners to work on the routine.
One of the rooms was reserved for the Salsa Museum which displayed many photos which illustrated the evolution of Salsa from the early years to the present.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday there were 3 spectacular shows during each day at 5 PM, 9:30 PM and Midnight. Each show featured around 10 dance groups ranging from just a single couple to a group of up to a dozen people. They were dressed in matching colorful costumes. Salsa dance groups from all over the United States and several foreign countries were performing some of the best salsa routines on the stage in front of hundreds of spectators. The foreign country that supplied the most number of dance groups turned out to be... Japan. There is something about the Japanese that makes them fall in love with Salsa. Among the performers were such Salsa legends as Eddie and Maria Torres as well as Freddy Rios and Mike Ramos. The latter were hornored by a Lifetime Achievement Award for their contribution to Salsa dance.
My absolutely favorite was the final act of a Saturday show: Edie "Salsa Freak" & Al "Liquid Silver" from Los Angeles. This was not really salsa, but instead a funny break-dance style routine which was totally synched up to the music with funny sound effects. Oh my god, this was so funny and creative and definately made me clap as loud as I could at the end!
Unfortunately the room which was chosen for the show was too small to accommodate several thousand of spectators. A section of the room was actually around the corner from the stage and people sitting in that section had to watch the show on a video projector. Also there were not enough seats for everyone, so a bunch of people (including myself) had to stand in the back or in the isle against the wall. The second shot on the left was taken right after the last act of a show finished as people started to leave. As you can see that's a LOT of people. The organizer of the congress David Melendez promised that next year a different room will be chosen that can accommodate everyone.
On Sunday dancing took place not in the Grand Ballroom but in a smaller room which had 3 separate dancefloors. There were substantially less people who came on this day so still there was plenty of room to dance.
New York Salsa Congress Videos
As we paid to get our bracelets to get admitted to the event, we had to sign a waiver saying that during the event the dancers may be videotaped for promoting Salsa dancing and the Salsa Congress.
Later in the night, in addition to the professional videographers there were plenty of spectators who gathered around in a circle with their camcorders to videotape some of the best salsa dancers. Below are the video clips that I shot with my digital camera.
(Note that the latest version of RealPlayer is required to watch the videos.
Here are some other couples showing off their stuff:
This woman amazingly managed to dance non-stop with one guy after another yet showing now signs of tiredness. Her name is Ana and she is a Salsa Instructor from Boston. Check out her website.
A couple from Italy performed today at Jimmy Anton Latin Sunday held every other Sunday at Dance Manhattan Dance Studio. This is one of the most heavily attended salsa dance socials in New York City where you can see some of the best salsa dancers. I met someone who came to the social all the way from Upstate New York which is an hour and a half away.
The couple performing probably came from Italy for the upcoming New York Salsa Congress. Click on the links below for the video:
A couple from Italy performed today at Jimmy Anton Latin Sunday held every other Sunday at Dance Manhattan Dance Studio. This is one of the most heavily attended salsa dance socials in New York City where you can see some of the best salsa dancers. I met someone who came to the social all the way from Upstate New York which is an hour and a half away.
