I had danced myself into a state of extreme exhaustion. It took a whole week to recover! Normally I don’t get to dance that much but this time I made sure to steal a lot of them. My thanks and apologies to the team for covering for me while I was out there dancin’ it up! I don’t know what got into me, maybe it was all those insanely awesome salsa tracks that Saif was spinning all night. I just could not stop moving!

Anticipation! It seemed like an eternity since the last social but it was well worth the wait! After almost a 6-week break, the July salsa social drew in about 300 people from every corner of Michigan. As we always say, the YA Salsa mission is to help expand the Detroit salsa scene, and after seeing all the new faces on Sunday, I have to say that it is working. Thank you all for coming out to dance with us and thank you for helping us spread the word by telling our friends about salsa!

 

This social was certainly a hot one! I think we all lost about 10 lbs of water weight by the end of the night. People often ask if the American Legion has air conditioning and if it is even on.The answer is YES and YES. Unfortunately the AC is no match for 300 people dancing salsa for 4 hours straight. We do our best to help the AC keep us cool by adding the fans, ice cream treats, and face towels at the front desk. We even try to play slower salsa tracks! I guess the only thing left to do is to dance less… Come on! Who are we kidding? That is simply not an option!! Maybe we should all wear less clothes? (evil grin)

 

Some came to the social after visiting their Mom, others brought their Mom with them! Mothers Day at the YA Salsa Social turned out to be another great occassion with a special suprise. Raul came up with the idea for a serenade and he executed flawlessly in front of 250 happy salseros. It was awesome! You are the man Raul!! It's that type of creative spirt that makes our little dance much more than just a dance. Outside, the weather was gloomy but when it is time to salsa, the sun shines on you 24 hours a day! Especially on mothers day :)

As we said last month we want to make sure to recognize the many great volunteers who make all this possible and without whom things would never run as smoothly. Aside from the usual suspects, a big hug goes out to:

• Jhoanna for getting there early to set up the food table and help lead the beginner class
• Manuela and Ben for holding down the door
• Heather for capturing all the cool moments on video and doing the editing
• Lisa and Albert for the hundreds of pictures taken
• Valerie for always being ready to do anything!

We also had a guest DJ -- DJ Mambo Yo Yo who has been coming to our events for years. He played a great set and we were honored to have him.

Photos are online. Click here!

As always we would like to thank everyone for coming out to learn and dance salsa with us. About 300 people turned out for this one. The interesting thing is always the percentage of new faces that show up each month. Many times we on the YA team wonder: How all these first time visitors hear about this once a month event held in a unremarkable building that’s tucked away in a very quiet and non-descript suburb of metro Detroit?.

The answer is simple yet inspiring. It is you! As we have said before, YA Salsa is a completely volunteer effort. Each one of us has full time jobs and responsibilities that soak up 90% of our day. That does not leave a lot of time for us to get the word out as much as we would like to but thanks to you it seems to be happening and the proof is seen every month! Passing the word about the salsa not only keep the socials going strong, it also gives the YA team renewed strength to keep going.

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.

As always we say thanks to you for coming out to dance with us on Sunday. Surprisingly 250+ people braved the sub zero temperatures just to dance salsa! It was bitter cold on the outside, but once inside it was blazin’. When you have 250 people dancing non-stop, not even the artic temperatures can keep a room cool! By the way, where did all the new faces come from??

Every time I try to describe the difference between a YA Social and a club, I get it wrong. Not that the description isn't accurate, but that the comparison is wrong. You can't compare it to clubs, congressos or studios. The YA social is like a big living room and a giant house party.

You take this kind of non-descript building on a non-descript street, invite a few thousand people from all walks of life -- almost 500 show up. You have a band -- one of the best in town. Have 10 or 15 salsa slaves running around to make it go smoothly and this is what you get. It's unique. Any of the individual elements on their own is good. A band like Grupo Salvaje playing is great, but with dancers -- each their own show, it's something else. 450 people dancing at a club is nothing new, but when you take salseros - young and old, new and hard-core, mix them up shake them around -- its completely different. You pay a few bucks to cover the cost and there's nothing more to buy. There's no security, no VIP, no dress code, no formality. Maybe the best comparison -- a street party.

More Pictures Online & Video coming soon!

Surprisingly, at least 150 people showed up for the December Social despite the city being buried in snow! Personally I was only expecting about 40 people to show up. I guess I should not underestimate the addictive power of salsa!

We would like to give a big shout out to all of the Dance Revolution students and Marygrove college dance students for performing for us. Another shout out to Raul for his salsa singing performance, and finally another shout out to DJ Isaac for always being there when we need him the most! You guys made a special day even more special!

Where does the time go? One day you're talking to some salsa addicted friends planning on a way to ramp up the dancing scene and the next thing you know you've spent 4 years putting on socials and working on community building. Like the old saying goes, times flies when you’re having fun!

December marks the 4th anniversary of YA Salsa and the YA Salsa Social, so now seems like a good time to look back and take a look how this all started, what we have accomplished and what remains to be done in light of our original goals.

Here are a few of my observations from the last social; things I didn't think would happen or haven't noticed before. Also since the photos are one of the biggest draws to this site, I'm going to highlight photos of a few of the people (not the only ones!) who take time to take the pics and upload them.

This is going to be the most boring review ever because I can really only say great things about the October YA Social. I simply had a great time all day. As I wrote earlier, the pre-social meal was a great time and it really started things off perfectly. Dinner took a little bit longer than originally anticipated, so when I got to the social at 7 PM, things were already well underway. I was pleased to walk into a crowded room with hardly any free room on the dance floor.

October 2007 Social Photo Gallery...

Thanks to everyone who came out the workshops on Saturday. We hope you learned a lot From the feedback we received so far, it sounds like you did! What was cool about this particular workshop was that we didn't just get one or 2 workshop instructors, we got 7!! While Mark and Akila were leading the classes, the other dancers from the Mas Mambo dance company were walking around the class and helping out individuals when they needed it. By the end of the class, everyone was getting the step. It is a special perk that comes with Mas Mambo that we were lucky to have.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. ALL proceeds from the YA Social are used to continuously bring in exceptional salsa dancers, performers, and instructors for your salsa edification at an exceptionally low rate. There are not many other places on the planet you get workshops with internationally recognized salsa dance artists for only $10 a lesson. The YA Team is workin' for you and workin' for free! So when you see one of our YA organizers give em a hug and say THANKS! That is all the payment we need :)