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The 1998 Salsaweb World Championship Amateur Competition held at the Hollywood Palladium was absolutely incredible... Click Here for more Competition details and Multi Media show! For Salseros to show up at a completely different location other than a regular nightclub is really unusual - especially on a warm Sunday afternoon, when they COULD be at the BEACH. I just want to thank all of you for showing up. We really didn’t think there would be that great of a turn out! I got there a tad late. I had practice that morning with the Salsa Brava dance team, and attempted to wait for a costume fitting….that never happened. When I got to the Palladium, I grabbed some of the competitors from San Diego and drug them to my car to get all the paraphernalia out that I had prepared for the show. The numbers, the flyers, the cards, the awards, the fans, the T-shirts, the towels, the banners - just was a little too much for little ‘ole me to carry all at once. I just have one thing to say to the San Diego crew, "THANKS GUYS!!!". You saved my ….. rear! I OWE YOU ONE!!! After I got everybody and his mother to help pass out flyers, move tables around, set up the awards table, and hang banners, I worked with the World Dance Federation folks to get the numbers ready and numerically ordered. Each male competitor checked in and received their number tag to pin on his back.
Makeup Artist, Hae Jeong Eom After all the competitors signed in, some of the ladies got changed and made up by our makeup artist, Hae Jeong Eom. We hired her to help glamorize the competitors for television, while preparing for the big event. One by one, I watched as each couple started to warm up along the perimeters of the auditorium. Flips, dips, and cool moves were practiced, waiting in anticipation of the first preliminary rounds. At the same time, our crews, Galavision, and others were busy preparing equipment and taking still shots of the competitors, celebrities, and judges, from the minute the doors opened at 3:30pm. If the promoters of the Festival can sell the event coverage to the networks, it will air on national television on a one-hour special called D'esde Hollywood (or some name like that) in about a month or so. Kiki Melendez of Groove 103.1 radio will be hosting the show. Let's cross our fingers it gets aired! The Johnny Polanco band started setting up around 3:30pm, and the doors opened to the public at 4:00pm. Camera crews were busy taking picture stills of the celebrities posing and being interviewed by magazines and television. The celebrity judges were:
Salsaweb Staff Member Mick Lehr and the famous Stephanie Edwards Randa Haynes, director of the movie Dance with Me was also in the audience among Marty Krofft, and Joe Cassini. Local celebrities, like Albert Torres (who appeared in Mambo Kings", Out to Sea, and Dance with Me), as well as our own famous well-known local and loved Salseros Alicia and Raul, who appeared in the movie Out to Sea with Walter Mathau and Jack Lemon. While the camera crews were busy with the celebrities, and competitors, the professional judges from the World Dance Federation gave an official "Judges Clinic" to the celebrity and street judges on what areas of judging each would specifically be judging on. The celebrities and judges were interviewed by Salsaweb Magazine, Latin Style Magazine, a Canadian News Agency (we had a winning couple fly in from Canada representing a club in Canada!) and other publications who were recording this historical event.
Salsaweb Staff, Mike, Ayako, Roy, and Ashoke The Judges were treated like solid gold by our hosts and reporters. They were hosted and interviewed in the Hollywood Palladium’s elegant Champaign Room. I didn't even know such a room existed until I saw it! I felt like we were all in some sort of old 50's movie. I was expecting to see the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire, or Ginger Rogers walking through those doorways at any moment. Mirrors lined the brightly painted walls, and the flashes of picture-taking, television and film crews, and lights, just added to the Los Angeles Hollywood Glitz and Glamour of the whole event. At one point, I found myself simply looking around, not saying a word, and just taking it all in for a few minutes. Seeing all the people and hearing the music… I couldn't believe it was actually happening, and more, at such a GRAND SCALE! We had literally created something out of nothing, where nothing existed before. We had been preparing this event since the promoters approached me with the idea in March. This was the first time such an event would take place at this level; none of us really knew what to expect. All I knew was, that it would definitely be something entirely different from what a typical "Salsa Audience" was used to. The way the event was coordinated, planned, and judged has never before attempted in the Salsa Community. I also knew that we had a schedule, and later found out we only had four hours to fit it all in. I was just hoping people would show up! Going in, I had these thoughts of, "What if we did this competition, and nobody comes?" I guess in the back of my mind, I expect the worst, to maybe ensure I’m pleasantly surprised afterward. I know, I know… I SHOULD expect the best, and at ALL TIMES, but, like anyone else, negativity sets in my mind sometimes, and takes me over. I HATE when that happens. For the first time in History, a Street Salsa competition was judged at the highest standards by The World Dance Federation. Their professionalism was outstanding. They took the bull by the horns, had a plan on how the judging was to take place, explained it to the celebrities and street dancers in the Champaign Room at the Judges Clinic before the competition, and followed through under budget and on schedule just beautifully and VERY professionally. These guys were good - they knew what they were doing, and used a unique system of judging for fairness not only to the competitors, but to the Celebrity judges, Street dancer judges, and the Professional judges. Also for the first time, and to avoid any controversy or chance of favoritism, we had no local Salsa instructors as judges. It was absolutely outstanding as to how smoothly and on schedule the entire competition was planned. I was in complete awe. Many people flew in from out of town, and out of the country to cheer on their winners at the event. One of them was James McRae, who flew in from Washington DC specifically to see the competition and performances. I dubbed James as our chauffeur during our wild FREAK "Tour of LA" excursion. That was fun. I took our out-of-town competitors to Universal Citywalk, Hollywood, Sunset Blvd, Venice Beach, San Pedro's Ports 'O Call Village, Rodeo Drive, Palos Verdes, and Point Vicente's Famous Whale Watch museum and lookout point. What a tour! As the crowd was let into the Palladium, the place began to fill up with energy and excitement. I looked around the room, and the amount of people that actually showed up just blew my mind. I had no idea we would have this type of turn out. By the end of the night, we almost filled up the Hollywood Palladium, (it seats 3,500). To describe the Palladium in words is easy: ENORMOUS. When you first walk into the Palladium, you enter into a large circular entrance-way the size of a small house - kind of like the haunted house entrance at Disneyland, but four times as large. You continue further through the wide and long deep blue-carpeted hallway. There are twenty stalls in the women’s bathroom (if that helps you picture the capacity potential of the place) Once you enter the ballroom area, the size of the dance floor and circular, two-story room makes you pause for a moment to look up and around. If you’ve never been there before, 99% of all dancers literally whisper to themselves, "Wow…", …then they all contemplate for a brief moment, and test the floor with their shoes, sporting big smiles. The gigantic circular wooden dance floor has an area of over 4,000 square feet. It is perfect for dancers - not too slippery, not too sticky…. Just right. The stage is raised about four feet high, and adorned with a thick grey velvet curtains, and has a wood-floor as well. The stage itself runs across the back of the enormous room extending across the diameter of the entire dance floor. This is where the Johnny Polanco band played. The competitors competed down on the dance floor. There are three levels of seating inside, with upper balconies on each side of the stage, extending across the diameter of the dance floor in its entirety. At the floor level, there is inner and upper-level back seating. This allows for great viewing from people sitting in the back section. By the end of the night, people filled up both sides of the auditorium, and the entire right balcony section! The lighting inside was perfect because of the sunshine coming in through the small window openings in the ceiling. They had most of the lights on during the entire event. We also had colored lights, and dimly lit lights for ambiance between competitor and show performances. The lighting was purposely turned up during the competitor’s performances. The lights, the Johnny Polanco band getting ready, the competitors decked in their fancy costumes, the celebrities, the television cameras, the sound guys, the microphones... I started getting chills when I realized just how huge this event had become. I had no idea it would be this good. The sound system there was incredible. DJ Jesus El Colombiano was incredible. The Johnny Polanco Band was incredible, the dancers were incredible - EVERYTHING was incredible! The DJ played soft modern jazz music while the people were being let in. It reminded me of a rock concert in the beginning. The excitement, energy, and tension was building up just watching the competitors warm up. After some formal announcements and introductions, the competitors were called in the back and were explained the rules and methodology of the contest. They were each given their certificates at that time, as official "winners" from their club. About 10 minutes later, each competitor was announced, one at a time, and given a five-second opportunity to show off a "cool move" to the audience upon their announcement. There were so many competitors, that a Preliminary, Semi-Final and Final round had to be established and decided upon a week before. After each couple was introduced, they were all invited to assemble on the dance floor and dance to three, two-minute songs. I hand-picked each song with DJ Jesus El Colombiano just the day before. I wanted the judges to see, not only how each competitor matched the style of the music to a slow, medium, and then super-fast-paced Salsa, but I wanted to test their stamina as well. The slow song was very sexy, and it had a lot of pauses and breaks in it. You cold REALLY play with that song. The medium paced Salsa was upbeat, and normal paced. I wanted the judges to see how the competitors would use the music at this "medium, normal" pace. We then CRANKED it, and put on a SLAMMING super-fast tune by Celia Cruz that lit the crowd, and competitors on fire. Shouts, cheers, and yells from the audience jetted across the dancefloor when we played this song. It was the last of the three, and it burned the house down! Afterward, the panting competitors were thanked and asked to leave the dance floor and wait for the judge’s tabulations. Scoring took about 30 minutes. During that time, the Johnny Polanco band played while the audience got to dance. During this time, Joe Cassini was given the prestigious Rudolph Valentino Award for his phenomenal contributions to the dance and entertainment industry. The award was given to him by the famous producer, Mr. Marty Krofft, who after the event said, "This is a spectacular event. I’m very impressed with you guys. Well done." After the show, Joe himself said, "Congratulations to all of you. The performances, dancing, and organization of this competition was fantastic." Thanks for the kudos Marty! And thank YOU Joe!
It took the judges about 30 minutes to tabulate their scores. Only 12 couples were selected to dance as semi-finalists. This time, the couples were asked to dance to a three-minute Salsa tune that was of normal speed. Each judge was asked to watch closely, their assigned jobs on what to look for, depending on whether they were a street, celebrity, or professional judge. When the song was complete, the judges were then asked to choose the top six finalists from the last group of 12. The band played again for the waiting crowd. 30 minutes later, one by one, each of the six competitors were called back to the stage, and to the DJ booth. Each couple was asked to give their CD to the DJ, and pull the number in which they were to perform out of the DJ’s bag. It really moved me, and almost brought a tear to my eye when I saw one of the couples who made it to the top six hug each other so very hard with their eyes closed, and whispered to each other, "I can’t believe we made it this far! We actually made it, I don’t believe it!" At that moment in time, I felt so satisfied that I had actually helped make a difference in someone’s life. I looked down and away, and smiled to myself, quietly. We had actually created a beautiful and emotional memory for them, and they had just created a wonderfully warm memory for me, just at that moment. I’ll never forget their elated faces, and feeling their joy. Fifteen minutes later, the DJ played the first couple’s song. This time, the audience was much closer to the dancefloor, and were standing up. In the prior preliminary rounds, the audience was sitting. This was the moment. This was when the audience got to see six different routines to pre-selected music the competitors chose and had choreographed and practiced to. All six of the couples were fantastic. I’m so glad I wasn’t a judge. I’m sure that this was a very very tough decision for each one of them. When it came down to the wire, I couldn’t choose who would take second place and on. In my own opinion, the couple that stood out among all the competitors were definitely Frank and Alma. They moved the crowd so solidly, and really, really worked that tune hard. They left such a lasting impression; it was hard not to choose them as the winners before the judges did. They were that far, above, and beyond the rest. Second to none. It was an outstanding performance by the both of them indeed. When the finals were over, the judges scores were again tabulated. During this time, we watched performances by Los Rumberos Dance Company, The LA Salsa Kids, The Salsa Brava Dance Company, the Mambo Men, and a dance group who flew in from directly from Venezuela specifically for this event. Thomas Montero, the LA Salsa Kids coach, arranged for the Venezuelan dance team to stay with members of the LA Salsa Kids during their brief visit to Los Angeles. The team was HOT! Each dance team exhibited energy and passion in their performances. Each had their own flavor and attitudes. These performances were definitely a crowd-pleasure as the grand finale. Finally, the judge’s scores were tabulated one last time, and the winners announced. When Frank and Alma’s names were called, Frank’s buddies picked him up and carried him to his trophy. They did the same with Alma. I looked around the room, and noticed virtually everyone in the audience with a smile on their face, and either whistling, yelling, or clapping. They all knew they deserved to win. The judging was very fair, and thorough. 1st through third place winners received a Salsaweb Salsa-Holics Anonymous plaque, and of course Frank and Alma received the grand prize of an all-expense-paid trip for two to the 2nd Annual World Salsa Congress that will be held July 23-26th of this year. Frank and Alma represented the Mayan Club from Los Angeles. Because they won this competition, the Mayan club receives $1,500 and the 3-foot trophy for a solid year, until next year’s event. And the 1998 Winners are...
Overall, I left the contest on a complete high. It turned out so much better than I could have possibly imagined. I’ve received tons of emails since the show complimenting us on how organized and fun the event was, in addition to "job well done" and "can’t wait for next year’s competition" emails. Thanks to all of you for your warm and encouraging letters. And for those of you who didn’t like the event, well, a wise man once told me, "You can’t please them all kid." Thank you John Lavine, for making this all happen, without you and your financial backers, this entire competition would have never taken place. Thank you Nancy Abrams for everything you did for us and your ideas. Thank you Kiki for your vibrant, encouraging attitude, press and media coverage, and sponsors. Thank you Adrienne for being the glue that held it together for us in the end. Thank you Mike for taking over the updates, and constantly bailing me out. Special thanks to the World Dance Federation, the celebrity and street judges, the makeup artist, the camera and video crews, Ashoke, Roy, Ayako, Marie, Patti, Mick, the lighting and sound guys, the DJ, the Johnny Polanco band, Albert Torres for your support through thick and thin (I hate it when you give me a hard time!) Thank you to all the runners, the doormen, the ticket people, the vendors, the volunteers who helped me out before, during, and after the competition, covering my ….sss to make it all happen. Thank you to James for being my right-hand man when I needed you the most, my mentor and friend, Russell who prepared a beautiful speech for me to give, that I never got to give, and lastly, mucho thanks to Benjamin, my dear friend and Salsaweb partner, for… …not showing up. (I must have pissed him off) |
