Salsa vs Bachata
Salsa and bachata are two of the most popular partner dances that are danced today. Many clubs and socials play both salsa and bachata music at their events, which can be confusing to newcomers just getting started with Latin dancing. However, the two dances are actually quite different. See below for the ways in which …
Mask Mandates Return to the Bay Area
Starting midnight on Monday, August 2nd, mask mandates will return to many counties in the Bay Area, requiring everyone (even vaccinated people) to wear masks when indoors. The new mandate affects Santa Clara county, Alameda county, Contra Costa county, Marin county, San Francisco county, San Mateo county, Sonoma county and the city of Berkeley. This …
Top 15 Best Salsa Dancers in the World
Who is the best salsa dancer in the world? That’s a difficult question to answer these days since the world has exploded in salsa talent in recent years. But we polled our readers and put together this list of the top international salsa dancers. Since salsa is a partner dance, we decided to highlight the …
World Salsa Summit 2021 Results
The 2021 World Salsa Summit wrapped up this past weekend. Held in Miami, Florida, the World Salsa Summit was one of the first in-person salsa competitions to be held in-person (in contrast to the World Latin Dance Cup, which was held online). The competition was understandably smaller than in previous years, but still attracted top …
Salsa Dancing on a Boat | Trio Sequel
Song: “La-La (Means I Love You)” by La Fuerza Gigante So we made our first sequel video! Our first salsa dancing trio video, Tu Con El, has been one of our most popular videos to date, so when Imaan approached us about doing a sequel we immediately agreed. We wanted to continue the storyline from …
Benny & Ashley Workshop in San Francisco
Famed mambo dancers Benny Ayala and Ashley Magaña from Portland will be teaching a special workshop next Sunday in San Francisco! The workshop will be hosted at the Verdi Club in SF, with workshops going from 3:30pm – 5:30pm. The first hour will be footwork, followed by an hour of partnerwork. The social dancing starts …
Tania Cannarsa Workshop in San Jose
World-renowned salsa artist Tania Cannarsa will be teaching a special workshop next Tuesday at Mambo Flames! Tania Cannarsa, based in Milan, Italy, is one of the top female salsa dancers in the world and she will be teaching a workshop on afro mambo footwork and body movement. She will also be debuting her latest dance …
International Salsa Museum Hopes to Open in The Bronx
A group of organizers for the International Salsa Museum (ISM) held a press conference yesterday outside of the Kingsbridge Armory where they hope to open a museum dedicated to salsa music and dance. The ISM is a non-profit organization that seeks to “educate, increase the public’s awareness, and preserve Salsa music’s rich cultural history” through …
World Latin Dance Cup 2022 Date Announced
Update: The 2022 WLDC was cancelled, but dates for the 2023 World Latin Dance Cup have been announced. The World Latin Dance Cup announced on their Facebook page today that the competition will be returning in-person again from April 11-17, 2022. The 2021 competition was held completely virtually this year due to the pandemic, with …
In The Heights Brings Salsa to the Big Screen
The much anticipated musical In The Heights released this week in theaters, featuring several dance scenes featuring incredible salsa performances. The film is based on a stage stage musical of the same name, and is set in the predominantly Dominican Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City. In The Heights is directed by Jon M. …
Salsa is Back in the Bay!
With COVID restrictions starting to lift in California, salsa events are returning again to the Bay Area! Salsa instructors are offering in-person classes outdoors or limited-capacity indoors, and salsa socials are starting to return as well!
Star Wars Salsa Video: Binary Sunset
Song: “BS Mambo” by Salsón May the 4th be with you! It was a lot of fun putting together our latest salsa video– and also a lot of work! We filmed the video at the Algodones Sand Dunes two hours east of San Diego, where some of the scenes from Return of the Jedi and …
Tu Con El – Frankie Ruiz | Salsa Dancing Trio Video
Song: “Tu Con El” by Frankie Ruiz When Imaan Taghavi from the Omni Movement approached us about doing a collab, we quickly landed on the idea of doing a trio– two leads dancing with one follow. For the story we decided on two suitors competing for the attention of the same woman. The classic salsa …
Salsa Dancing Dogs
Salsa dancing isn’t just for humans anymore! A number of pet owners have taught their dogs how to dance salsa, with some even doing partnerwork and following turn patterns! Here are some of the best videos of salsa dancing dogs from around the web: Salsa Dancing Dog with Partnerwork Stuart the Salsa Dancing Dog Cute …
Johnny Pacheco, the Co-Founder of Fania, Dies at 85
Johnny Pacheco, considered by many to be the “godfather of salsa music” passed away today at age 85 from an undisclosed cause. Pacheco, originally from the Dominican Republic, moved to the Bronx in the 1940s where he developed his talent for music. Pacheco attended the Juilliard School in New York City, and started his own …
The Different Styles of Salsa Dancing
If you’re new to salsa dancing, you may not be aware that there are actually a few different types of salsa dancing that are danced around the world. The music that they are danced to is usually the same (although there are a few exceptions) but that the styles are different enough that if you …
Top 10 Salsa Songs by DJ Felipe
Want to get into salsa music, but don’t know where to start? Not to worry– we sat down with veteran salsa DJ Felipe Martinez, aka DJ EldelaClave, and asked for his top picks. Born in Colombia and raised on the sounds of cumbia, cha cha, and salsa, DJ EldelaClave is one of the most popular …
Colombian Salsa Dancing in Bogota, Colombia (Plaza de Bolívar)
Song: “Indestructible” by Diego El Cigala I’ve been in love with Colombian salsa since I first saw it performed on stage at the SF Salsa Congress in 2010. The incredibly fast footwork of Colombian-style salsa just captures the energy of high-tempo salsa songs in a way that other styles can’t match. My favorite Colombian couple …
Salsa Video Compilation 2020 (Aguanile – Hector Lavoe & Willie Colón)
Song: “Aguanile” by Héctor Lavoe & Willie Colón 2020 was not an easy year to say the least, and it was an especially difficult time being a salsa dancer, with global lockdowns and restrictions virtually shutting down all dance studios and venues, no salsa congresses and festivals, and no social dancing. But 2020 also brought …
Omambo Dance Project Ends Performance Teams
Omar Muñoz, the founder and director of the Omambo Dance Project, announced today that he has decided to end the team after 7 years in operation. Founded in 2013 in Los Angeles, Omambo Dance Project quickly grew to become one of the top competitive dance teams in the world. Omar drew on his experience as …