Concert
& Performance Reviews by Shirley Fastner
3rd Annual
Chicago International Salsa Congress Feb
12 - 15, 2004
It
is hard to believe the first Salsa Congresso
only took place as recently as 1997 and,
of course, that was in Puerto Rico. They
have spread like wildfire and are incredibly
all over the world now! A place as tiny
as Innsbruck, Austria, with a population
of only about 150,000, where I could find
nowhere to dance salsa as recently as June,
just had its first Salsa Congresso this
past January. So when a Congresso is in
your own backyard, one must attend as I
did for Chicago's 3rd Annual Salsa Congress
put on by Rosita Ragin and her incredible
team at Cultural Expressions Productions,
Ltd.
I
must say, going to a Congresso is like going
to a marathon - you have to get your stamina
up for these are long days, if you take
advantage of everything - which you must!
The day I went, on Saturday, I was there
from about 10 a.m. until 3 a.m. Okay, I
did take a lengthy Starbuck's break that
I was dreaming about throughout my workshops,
but I did not get to that until 6 p.m. I
took four workshops back to back, which
is a lot to absorb, but the temptation was
too great with all the wonderful instructors
in town at one time. The Marriott is a good,
central venue for this affair, but it is
still somewhat difficult to find the workshop
rooms as they are spread out amongst several
floors. The 15 minutes between classes helped.
I only experienced one cancellation this
year, but it was my first class at 11:00
a.m. with Juan Calderon. He came to say
it had been postponed until 2:45 p.m. but
had no explanation for this and his class
was about the only "on one" for the hour
and by then it was really too late to join
another class. I could have stayed for the
entire two-hour discussion after all with
Mike Bello that I started out in, as it
was an excellent explanation of the "clave"
and other important musical information
that would benefit any salsero. I did run
over to try some "shines" with
Frankie Martinez (NJ), after I got over
my disappointment, although the class was
packed and the guy next to me knocked me
over. I was in good company, however, as
I turned around to see Jimmy Bosch in my
class. There were some interesting moves
to be learned, of course, as Frankie Martinez
is an incredible dancer.
At
12:15 p.m. I was really out of luck as every
class listed stated that it was "on
2", so I went to "Ladies Styling"
with Griselle Ponce (NJ) anyway. Although
she had wonderful moves, she just did them
and expected us to follow, until someone
continuously asked her to explain them.
"So are we on the left foot here or
the right..." At 1:30 I wanted to take
"Super Mario" just because of
his name, but as he was listed as being
on two, I went to Sonia & Moris' "Guaguanco"
class, although I later learned that Super
Mario teaches "on 1" after all!
Sonia & Moris (from Montreal) taught a very
interesting class mainly about basic body
movement, which would be helpful for anyone.
My
last class of the day was with Juan Calderon
(originally scheduled for 11 a.m.) with
a "turning pattern workshop on 1 and
2". This was the highlight of my day.
He gave us exercises to practice such as
backbends to improve our adeptness at "dips"
as well as breaking down "the snake"
to be worked on against the wall. Calderon
was my most entertaining instructor and
he filled the class with tips and pointers.
It was also a bonus that even in such a
large class, most of us rotated into partnership
with him - well, the women that is. I must
say all of the people assisting at the Congresso
went out of their way to be helpful. The
only thing missing was printed schedules
to carry with you. Luckily, I came prepared
with my Internet printout.
I
was too brain dead at this point to make
as big a decision as a much needed dance
shoe purchase, so I went on to find a seat
for the early performances, which lasted
from about 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Then I finally
went for my much needed Starbucks. I thought
I might gain more stamina if I stopped home
so off I went for an hour and then right
back. I should have taken my time, as the
evening performances did not start until
9:30 p.m., although I did manage a front
row seat. My favorite part is the costumes.
It was great to see the instructors in the
shows and there were some real standouts,
particularly Victor & Gaby's salsa quebredita
from Mexico and Son de Luz from Columbia,
but there were too many great performances
to mention them all here.
At
about 11:15 p.m. the Grand Ballroom was
opened up completely for dancing - finally!
With so many great dancers to watch, I hardly
noticed whether or not I was dancing...
and then of course, I had to watch Jose
Alberto "El Canario", who came
on after midnight. His show was wonderful
as he is the consummate showman. The Santo
Domingo born, Puerto Rico bred "El
Canario" was a perfect choice for the
Congresso. He is a classic whose roots go
back to his early days with Tipica '73 in
the late 70's New York scene. I only consented
to dance once during his set. (I wonder
if there were any salseros left to catch
Brenda K. Starr's competing performance
across town...) After about an hour break,
"El Canario' came back for another
hour and the night came to a close around
3 a.m., when it was REALLY time to go, as
I could dance no more. It was a fantastic
day and it was great to see so many people
from the clubs as well as from many other
cities. Even my dance partners seemed to
be dancing better at the end of the day...
or may be it was me...
Click here
for pictures of the 2004 Chicago Salsa Congress!
