Archive for November, 2008

Oh Boy, what a Night it was on Saturday the 22nd of November at the Seagulls Football Clubhouse Hervey Bay!!Christmas in Mexico!! One of the best so far….

Members and guests of the Australian Grupo Latino  celebrated their last social for the year with live music provided by Bob Campbell (drums) and Jackie MacDonald ( guitar & vocals ) and they kept  the dancers busy on the dancing floor all night, with an array of Cha Cha’s, Sambas, Merengues, Rumbas, Tangos & of course Rock & Roll’s.

With an impromptus performance of The Three Amigos (or were  there four?)  It doesn’t matter three or four, they where magnificos….

The hall was smartly decorated with a Mexican Navidad (Christmas) theme, it really made you feel you were in Mexico

With the majority of the patrons dressing up for the night, never seen so many Mexicans together in one place in Australia, you all looked so smart so Mexicans, and you all danced so well. Que lindos

You’ll have to agree with me that, the highlight of the night was the the visit of Santa, what a joyful Santa, and as there was no naughty girls or boys, he distributed gifts to everyone.  

We had a wonderful time can’t wait for the next one in 2009

Regards Carol & Jose Orduna

Grupo Latino

Last night I stepped out to Vivaz Restaurant & Nightclub @ the Rocks in Sydney with my friend Eric who was also in Sydney on business. We met up with a couple of my other friends Gus & Danny who live in Sydney and got into some serious dancing.

Vivaz have Lessons beginning at 7.30pm on Friday and Saturday nights. No partner is required. (Maybe phone ahead to check on classes as they may vary due to seasonal factors)

I danced with a very friendly man named Clinton who turned out to be a dance instructor in Sydney and practised the Salsa & Merengue. Eric and I just couldn’t seem to remember one of our turns so Clinton was kind enough to talk us through it plus also ran me through the basic of Bachata.

It’s always fun to dance to a live band.

Vivaz is definitely the spot to be in Sydney for high energy Latin dancing in a fun and friendly atmosphere. You’re guaranteed a good time, every time!  

by Jeanette Maynes
www.jeanettemaynes.com.au

At 7pm on Saturday we headed over to Rio Rhythmics Latin Dance Academy Studio One at 126 Boundary Rd West End, Brisbane. The night started with a lesson that went for roughly an hour and a half. We learnt four different basic steps that we could do with a partner.

Tarcisio our instructor on the night was very amusing and has a fun and professional teaching style. His passion captivates the students and makes you feel comfortable you are in the right place to learn.

The philosophy for the night was Steps, Style, how to Dance and how to Party. We mastered 3 of these but the Style will take a lot more fine tuning with practice. Once again we rotated and practiced with several partners which is always interesting to dance with different people.

Tarcisio touched on how dancing is about the music first and connecting in time with whoever your partner is every single dance. You must focus on the dance, music and express two as one with movement. If one person is showing off they are dancing as one with two which is not what the dance is about. Conversation is for after your dance not during it.

He also mentioned to us ladies that if you are social environment dance at a distance that is comfortable for you. If your partner tries to draw you in closer and he is not a huggable sort of person don’t be afraid to stop the dance and move elsewhere.

It was amazing to watch Tarcisio lead and turn a lady and himself in any direction effortlessly with just one finger!!!

At the end of the lesson we watched a performance by two of his students that were celebrating their 5^th wedding anniversary that day. They were fantastic dancers! After this we went into a social dance to practice what we had learnt and what we already know.

Joao on the door was kind enough to obtain permission for me to take a couple of photographs. There looked like well over 120 dancers. Joao also mentioned he has a 5 piece Brazillian band and is the lead singer; I would definitely like to hear them play. I’m hoping their performance times will be available on the Rio Rhythmics website?

by Jeanette Maynes
www.jeanettemaynes.com.au

This weekend it was off to Brisbane for some more Salsa and we took some friends who were keen to see what all the hype was about!!! 

Friday night we arrived at the Salsa dancing at the end of Queen St Mall about 8.30pm. Apparently if we were there at 8pm there is a free warm up dance class that attracts up to 200 people focusing on Salsa, Merengue and Cha cha cha so that’s a definite to remember for next trip.

It was the 1^st Birthday for the Salsa in Brisbane as the event has now been running very successfully for a year. The brains behind the event are Glen who runs Oxford St Salsa Dance Studio and Raphael a very talented DJ.

Glen told me that the pair originally started the event at South Bank six years ago and after a year off moved the event to the current location. They are the only place that does an open air Salsa event in Australia, that’s all free plus they also have 100% support from Brisbane council.

Raphael made a short speech and presentation on stage to Glen in thanks as part of the celebrations. The conga and bongo drummer on stage really enhanced the atmosphere with his lively drumming!

There was a captivating performance by ‘Danny & Miriam’ (I think this was their names) who definitely had the moves and I must say a pretty foxy costume! There must have been at least 500 people in the crowd watching this pair go off!

I’d personally like to thank Glen and Raphael for the fun time we have when in Brisbane. It’s nice to know there is somewhere you can go and are assured a great time, every time!!! Oh and thanks heaps for the lesson on doing dips Glen!

Our night of dancing finished up at 2.30am at the Treasury Casino once again!

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