Vancouver Rueda Festival Performers
Salsaddiction (SA) is the premier salsa dance school in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, promoting Cuban Salsa and Rueda de Casino and was founded by Dr. Usukuma Ekuere. His teaching is well known as a fast vehicle to learning & dancing salsa plus have enormous fun while doing it. Almost unheard of in Edmonton until the last decade, Edmonton is now seen as a salsa and rueda de casino city! Countless students have taken the many salsa classes.
Sergio was born in Havana, the capital city of Cuba which has long distinguished by a history of commerce in rum & cigars, and equally by its passion for music and dance.
After finishing the level of superior technician in electric systems he began to work in the tourism and service industries, specially as a bartender and a cultural activist. In this role he had success promoting and organizing musical groups and comedy events.
At the end of the 90’s he moved to Japan where his passion for Cuban music and dance continued to grow. For around seven years, he worked as assistant manager and part time DJ in one of the most famous latin clubs in the heart of Tokyo, where a love for Cuban and latin music maintains the exciting, vibrant salsa tradition seven days a week.
At the same time he act in ‘NHK’ a TV show, for one of the most popular channels promoting the culture and education of different citys. Two years ago he moved to Canada and works with the talented, traditional Cuban music band ‘ Puro Son’ as sound assistant and DJ.
Miguelito Valdes (www.miguelitovaldes.com) carries a rich history of performing with many of Cuba’s top performers, including the Cabaret Tropicana Orquestra, Pablo Milanes, Isaac Delgado, Mayito Rivera, Klimax and has participated in award-winning recordings such as “La Rumba Soy Yo”, which won a Latin Grammy in 2001. In 2000, he began playing with Omara Portuondo (Diva singer of Buena Vista Social Club) with whom he traveled around the world for 6 years. He has also played with important jazz musicians abroad, including Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Wayne Shorter, and many others.
Vancouver based Cuban Salsa troupe Más Movement Manifestation (mmm) formed out of Más Movement dance school in January 2010. With experience ranging from 2 to 10 years, Manifestation’s style of collaborative creativity, combined with the beauty and meaning in its choreography create a unique sabor (flavour) for dancers and audiences alike. Manifestation's fluid approach to gender roles, cooperative model of organization and willingness take take their dance to the streets represent the group's quest for connection and social transformation through dance.
TANGA is Vancouver’s premier Afro-Cuban dance orchestra, bringing the exciting sounds of salsa dura, latin funk and caribbean jazz to audiences across the West Coast. This high-octane music ensemble has been packing dance floors since 2005 with their mix of original music, popular hits and classic songs from Latin America and the Caribbean. Tanga is an all-star band made up of Canada’s top musicians whose music fuses a diverse array of musical, ethnic and cultural influences. Drawing inspiration from bands like Irakere, Spanish Harlem Orchestra and the Afro-Cuban All Stars, they blend smoldering grooves, percussion, sizzling brass, and fiery vocal vocals, spicing it up with a touch of their own west coast flavour.
From Portland to Philadelphia, to Honolulu to Houston - Mike and Simona are spreading their love of Casino Salsa.
They started Rumbanana Salsa Group (www.rumbanana.org) in January 2000 as a way to promote Cuban Salsa dancing in the Pacific Northwest. Both have been dancing, performing, choreographing and teaching Salsa for more than 12 years. Their focus for the past 8 years has been Casino Style Salsa. By carefully studying Cuban dancers, as well as key dancers from Miami, Mike and Simona have brought true Casino Salsa to hundreds of people around the world.
Their teaching ranges from small classes to 100+ people workshops. Not only are their workshops and classes filled with meaningful information, but they also make it fun and exciting to learn.
A Vancouver based dance troupe directed by Colombian born siblings Diego & Erika Sanchez, Grupo America 2 time world champions at the 2007 & 2008 World Cuban Salsa Championship at the Miami International Rueda Congress. In 2004 & 2006 they also placed first in the Vancouver Cuban Rueda Competition and placed second twice. Grupo America professional division is also a successful dance company that tours extensively every year, presenting a riveting show of modern and traditional dance numbers from all the America’s. They perform in over 200 school shows ever year traveling all across Canada with hopes of teaching their culture and inspiring young people to DANCE. Grupo America also participates in international festivals traveling to China, Japan, Pakistan and New York in the last couple of years. Grupo America also has an adult student dance team plus a teen & kids group. They are also pleased to announce the Grand Opening of their NEW dance studio by Metrotown where they boast to be the Lowermainland's most complete Latin dance studio specializing in Salsa, Mambo, Argentine Tango, ChaChaCha, Bachata, Cumbia, Flamenco, Merengue, Brazilian Samba & more! www.grupoamerica.net or 604-517-4644
Salsa Con Rumba Dance Company was created by Christian & Dana Camarena in 2004. Both of which have spent the last 10 years traveling & studying everything from NY style in Puerto Rico, Flamenco in Sevilla, to Casino in Mexico. The whole thing started because after all this traveling around & learning, there was no one to dance with when we got home! What started as a few salsa classes in 2004 has turned into the biggest Latin dance school in Eastern Washington!
When Karlos came to Canada in 2003 from Cuba, he brought with him his country’s love and passion for music and dance, salsa in particular and especially the unique dance form known as “Rueda de Casino.”
Karlos explains, “Rueda de Casino is a group dance. Followers are passed in a circle, from one leader to the next, in time with salsa music. There is a great sense of joy and achievement performing Cuban Salsa moves within a Rueda!”
Karlos formed the Estilo Cubano Dance Team (www.salsaestilocubano.com) in 2006. There are over 10 members, all talented in their own right in Cuban Salsa. Most of the male members originate from Cuba. Estilo Cubano Dance Team is very fortunate in that, in addition to Karlos, two other male members - Julio Montero and Michael Gabriel Rosen - also teach Cuban Salsa. The female members originate from around the globe... Bosnia, Canada, Iran, Russia, Spain and the Ukraine.
Chen Lizra was named in Havana "La Cubanita de Israel" for her ability to dance like a Cuban woman and live inside the culture as if she was one. Chen studies Cuban dance professionally each year with teachers from the National School of Arts (La ENA) and the National Folklore Group of Cuba (FNC). She trains in both modern Cuban dances and Afro-Cuban folklore, and travels to share her knowledge and transmit the sensuality and sabor. She dances Cuban Rumba, Son, Casino, Rueda, Reggaeton, Cha-Cha-Cha, Mambo and Afro-Cuban Movements.
Chen's first passion was gymnastics and as a child she trained and performed for ten year, earning her the amazing ability to dive into an art form making it her own. This was her first encounter with movement and dance. When she moved on, for years she searched for a new passion which would grab her the same way. It was only in 2000 that she discovered Cuban dance and fell in love with it. But it was only when she started traveling to Cuba and discovered all of the Afro-Cuban dance styles and the depth of the art form in Cuba that hooked her for life. Ever since she has devoted her life and passion, through her company Latidos Productions (www.latidosproductions.com), to promoting Cuban dance and exposing more and more people around the globe to the magic and art of seduction.
La Salsomana was already an accomplished Salsa Collector when went to live in Cuba for 1 year back in 93. Her love affair with the modern sounds of Timba began. The early 90's was the golden age of Timba with bands like NG la banda, Reve, Paulito and Van Van dominating the Cuban scene. La Salsomana has been collecting Timba and Son ever since, keeping up to the date with the latest Timba produced in Cuba and abroad and she is sure to keep the dance floor packed with her best selections.
"Y Que Viva La Musica"
Janeth "La Salsomana"
Formed less than a year ago, this Chicas group was inspired by seeing women only ruedas in Vancouver, in past years, and in San Francisco. With all that enthusiasm Usukuma asked one of his rueda teachers to start up an all female rueda out of Salsaddiction Dance Co (SA). The dancers include experienced and new members of Salsaddiction's full performing team. They have trained in their homes and after main practices for the last 8 months and did their first performance Valentine's Day at Edmonton's "On The Rocks" salsa nightclub! Chicas now look forward to doing their routine at a festival of the standard Vancouver has set. As Alberta's first all female performing rueda group they hope to gain more skills in the workshops and enjoy dancing with many casineros at the 2010 Vancouver Rueda Festival !