Social

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...

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It's true. The word got out and we continue to blow the doors off of the American Legion. The March social was a whopper with 325 dancers coming IN and then walking out (or hobbling in the case of a few unlucky feet) tired and happy. Yes it's crowded, but its a great crowd and one can't even begin to explain to the uninitiated, the energy and feel of these events. It's not only an opportunity to dance or meet up with people you haven't seen in a while, we also get the opportunity to acknowledge the people who by doing their thing make our lives better.

Thanks & Happy B-Day

This month it was a birthday shout out to Cisco whom with his Salsa Detroit crew have been pillars of the Detroit salsa scene for longer than I've been dancing and a he is a key member of YA Salsa too. Everyone knows, the dancers can be tough on the DJs and promoters but that's because we are so into the scene that we want it to be perfect all the time every night -- which is of course different for everyone. So Sunday Jamin made a special point of not only calling out "happy birthday", but also making Cisco step out from the DJ station and join the rest of us on the dance floor for the snowball with a great running commentary. Little does he know that he'll probably be dragged out there every month until he goes willingly.

OK the September Social was anything but quiet. The music was loud and great, the crowd was big and the place was just plain jumping. But I've already moved on to October and this now seems quiet in comparison.

 

The first thing to note is the people who were not there.  Very noticably.  Shekyla and Jamin - the base of this operation - were busy over the weekend formalizing their committment to each other in Jamaica.  Contratulations to them! 

 

For photos from the Social, click here