SalsaBoston.com Message Board SalsaBoston.com Message Board
Posted by Johnny Johnson on August 01, 2005 at 16:09:14:
www.lavozdelmambo.com
INTERVIEWS:
Mr. Johnny Polanco - LA
Mr. Victor Mayovanex - NY
Mr. Marchant Birch - London
Ms. Erika Occhipinti -Tampa
Mr. Eddy Deynes - Houston
ARTICLES:
DJ Nik's Picks for the Dancefloor
Salsero's Perspective by Jason Pacheco
POLLS:
Which Mambo Pioneer has had the most influence on you?
-Cuban Pete
-Angel Rodriguez
-Eddie Torres
-Mike Ramos
-Freddie Rios
-Saladeen Alamin
-Someone Else (e-mail us)
DISCUSSION:
Next month will be LVM's one year anniversary! We will take some
time out to reflect on some of the highlights of this project. Is
there any interview or article in particular that you really enjoyed
reading? If so, send us some comments and tell us why you enjoyed it
so much and we will post it. No pic neccessary.
QUOTES OF THE MONTH:
Johnny Polanco: I never went to school (for music), I never had a
formal lesson. I was adopting instruments and then playing them. I
would buy instruments from the streets; One time I purchased an
instrument from a drug addict, it cost me $10.00, then I made music
from the instrument.It is very rewarding when you perform. The music
that I play I like it to be danceable. Dancers are creative people
and I like to feed that. I always watch the movement on the dance
floor.
Victor Mayovanex: When I decided to form my own dance company, I
noticed that even though everyone was good at the time something was
missing. I felt personality was missing, which explains the origin
of Karisma (Spanish for Charisma). "Karisma" was the not just the
attribute I wanted to express on the stage, but it was also the
quality that I thought was missing from the scene. "Karisma" was
meant to represent the details from the clothes we wore, to our
elegance and potentially to our performances. Therefore, our goal
when we are on the stage and everything that is executed one the
stage is just simply Charismatic.
Mr. Marchant Birch: I don't even know what I will be doing in 5
years time, but I would like everyone to experience dancing in such
way where they hit that zone or Dynamic equanimity. It's a feeling
of Oneness where you, your partner and the music becomes one and
rhythm is the glue to unify all three. You can't even feel where
your body ends and your partners body begins, you don't even know if
you are leading or following because everything is one. In that
state, no forceful leading is necessary, you are both just flowing,
and the energy is just flowing. I'm not even sure if the brain gets
involved because the brain can get in the way of feeling. That is
what I wish for everyone to experience.
Ms. Erika Occhipinti: To be an excellent instructor requires a lot
more than just being a good dancer. Sometimes the best dancers are
terrible instructors, and the best instructors aren't always the
most impressive dancers on the floor. Since the salsa world doesn't
have a standardized curriculum or certification program like other
styles of dance, pretty much anyone can call themselves an
instructor, which is unfortunate. I'm not saying we should have that
standardization, because I think the very thing that attracts so
many people to salsa is its "street" style and lack of strict rules,
but it does make it difficult for beginners to know if their
instructor is any good.
Mr. Eddy Deynes: Hesitant at first, my decision to teach came full
circle when I picked up a friend at a dance studio. Waiting for her
to finish her class, I noticed that someone was teaching a private
lesson. As I watched the instructor teach what he called Salsa, I
found out he was charging the student $100 an hour. The funny thing
was that he wasn't teaching salsa. He was teaching cumbia to salsa
music. Shocked and upset that he would hustle someone $100, I
decided right then it was time for me to teach. I was like, "I can't
believe this!!! I will teach people salsa the right way and for a
reasonable price." So, that is how I started to teach salsa.
www.lavozdelmambo.com