June 2008 Super Social Review

Mother Nature. With us or against us? Just when it seemed like our biggest worry would be the heat, the Michigan weather changed it up and sent the high winds, torrential rain, fallen trees and power outages. On the upside, the storm cooled things down like nothing else and didn't deter more than a handful of the dancers who have been anticipating this Super salsa weekend.

We call them super salsa weekends because they are truly big weekends for YA. Months of planning and effort from many volunteers goes into delivering top notch instructors and performers with unique and interesting styles and talents to our collective doorstep here in Detroit. Offsetting the cost of these super socials is where the majority of proceeds from the regular socials end up. The more support and enthusiasm at the other events, the more encouraged and capable we are of delivering the super events.

The super social weekend started off with a fun impromptu performance with Johnny, Andres and Laura Geldys at The Harem. Johnny and Andres demonstrated their 2:1 partnering style where they simultaneously dance with the same partner -- pretty slick and of course kudos to Laura for being so exceptionally adaptable. After a fun night there, things started early Saturday with a full day of workshops at the new Jewish Community Center location. After that, it was on to the Canton-Plymouth High School Salsa club's social and then if that were not enough dancing a final stop at the Dance Revolution Serious About Salsa social. Then came Sunday...

View the Photo Gallery | Read Whole Article

What can you say about the social? It was awesome start to finish. We are always very excited to see how many people take advantage of the free lessons to start the evening and once again there were many new faces, whole families in attendance and a wonderful positive vibe throughout. Hot or not, that didn't keep people off the dance floor and surely it added to the pleasure of the ice-cream. In addition to a little relief the crowd was treated to a great mambo routine from Johnny & Andres as well as a collaboration with Laura and Chezron. At 10 o-clock pm the dance floor was still packed so they extended the social by another 20 minutes to ensure that everyone had enough dancing. At 11 o-clock pm when I arrived at Sangria to hear Grupo Escobar, there were 5 or 6 people from the Social, like me still trying to get more dancing in.

It may seem like too much patting on the back in our social reviews as we continually thank the same people over and over. That said, "Thanks" and a "pat on the back" are the only payment that the YA Team receives; so we ask that you pay up generously. This month it's especially important to thank Samer, Valerie and Laura for hosting our guests and seeing that they were well fed, rested, transported and entertained. Lashena, nicknamed "Ghost" these days for her still ever-present contributions from Dallas again coordinated booking the instructors and performers, which is a complex task under the best of circumstances.

And of course Jamin. You just can not say or thank him enough (but please try) for the fervent dedication he puts into delivering these great events and the opportunities he provides for the dancers, instructors, performers, studios and clubs. As Sheklya noted during our intermission; they simply would not happen without him -- and you would never be able to read these words because the website would not exist either.

Don't be shy, walk right up and say thank you to these guys when you see them. Handshakes & hugs are like hard currency!

You may have noticed a video crew too. They are HotBox and they came across our site and after seeing how fun and exciting the socials looked, sent us a note volunteering their time, energy and equipment. This is truely how we like to see things grow; where people (and they aren't even salsa dancers -- yet) see something they can offer and jump in head first delivering it. We can't wait to see what they put together for us.

The social is truly a community event, pretty much a family affair and hosting the social is like an invitation into the YA team's home. That said, on an unfortunate but important note, there was a brief scuffle at the social -- first that I have witnessed in 5+ years in the salsa dance scene. While it was cleared up quickly and without injury, we hope that no one was frightened or has the impression that that is in any way routine or characteristic. It is not. We sincerely hope that it will not deter anyone from attending or bringing their families to future YA Salsa Socials. If you have questions or concerns, please contact us.

Thanks again to everyone who was present in body and spirit (Lashena). This is just the start of a great summer of Salsa in Detroit.

Your vote:

Average: 5 (2 votes)