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Tromso,
Norway Tromso, Norway is higher on the earth’s circle than the country of Iceland. It is higher than the state Alaska and right in line with Greenland. In fact, Tromso is up here next to the Arctic Circle. Its geographical coordinates are: 69° 40' 0" North, 18° 58' 0" East. Just in case you “didn’t know”, I’m going to give you a small geography lesson here. The northern most part of planet earth is called the “Arctic Circle”. There is no particular land mass there, other than the northern most part of Greenland, which incidentally is owned by Denmark. The Arctic Circle is basically a big, very cold ocean on top of our planet! Antarctica, on the other hand, is the “Southern-most” part of the planet, below Australia. It is also called the South Pole. Unlike the Arctic Circle in the North Pole, Antarctica is made up of a land mass with tons of ice on top of it. What is awesome about Tromso is how much they love and REALLY NEED Salsa here! Yes, there is Salsa near the Arctic Circle. In the evenings when the skies are clear and it is very cold, you can see the colorful and glimmering lights of the Aurora Borealis, also called the “Northern Lights”. On December 22nd of every year, there is almost complete darkness. The sun barely makes it over the horizon. They call this “The Midnight Sun”. However, during the summer months, you will never see darkness. It is always light outside – even at midnight! Norway’s largest Dog Show was going on the same time as the Tromso Salsa Congress. Our hotel was filled with the most beautiful dogs. All weekend, we saw every breed imaginable. The hotel had special accommodations for pets – this dog show is one of the largest in Norway, and attracts people from all over the world. There were hundreds of people with their dogs competing, right next door to the hotel. It appeared to be a huge attraction! The city of Tromso is the largest city that is the “most northern” in the world. It is literally on an island amidst the beautiful Fjords of Norway. The view of the ocean and mountains from the hotel is spectacular. During this time of year (November), the sun is above the horizon about thirty degrees, we were constantly seeing amazing sunsets lasting a very long time. It was incredible. Virtually everyone that lives on this island literally has an “ocean view”. Their main industry is the University and the fishing industry. Tromso University is the “most Northern” University in the world. In the past, the snow has been as high as two meters, but the last time that happened was in 1997. Lately, Tromso is feeling the effects of global warming. Now, there is very little snow, and the grass is still green in some areas. But that doesn’t stop the Salseros! In fact, the Salsa is so hot here, I think it is partially responsible and DEFINITELY contributing to Global Warming!! Miguel Ramirez started a dance school here in Tromso a few years ago. Not only does he teach Salsa, but he has a dance school for children starting at the prime age of “one” year old! He calls his baby classes “Baby Funk”. It is ssssoooo cute! The Salsa scene is steadily growing, with more and more Salseros every year. The University helps build the student-base as well. The Congress was held entirely at the same hotel location as the evening shows and social dancing so we did not have to drive anywhere to get to the shows. This was perfect. The city mall is conveniently less than one block away, and the food at the hotel was some of the finest cuisine I’ve had, from fish to lamb, to chicken to some of the best salads and deserts! The invited instructors were Israel Gutierrez Lambó/ Cuba, Linda Burns/ Norge, Maria Larsen /Norway , Salsa frio´s Ladies Team, Salsa Kompania of Oslo, David and Gema of Spain, Lazaro Izquierdo & Anne / Cuba, Norge, Walter Aleman/ Guatemala, Juan Carlos Ortega/Cuba, Nilson Viegas & Janne/Portugal,Norway, Walter "Jazzy" and Amy of Oslo, and myself. Each were carefully chosen for their quality of teaching and techniques. What was so special about this event was seeing Jazzy, together with his father Victor who lives in Norway, and brother Alexi Style back home from seven long years teaching and performing in Japan. Alexi Style has decided to move to Norway to be with his family once again. It was so exciting to see them all together. You could almost feel the tears in Victor’s eyes after he saw both of his sons perform. I’ve known Victor since 1998 when I brought the first LA Stylists from Los Angeles to Europe during our “Euro-Tour 1998” with Team Salsaweb. The team consisted of Anya, Joel, Nicole, Elias and myself. We performed LA Style shows and taught all over Europe. We were performing and teaching in Oslo when we met Victor. I gave him my video, “Cool Moves Volume One” (no longer in production) and he showed it to his sons in Guatemala. He told me that the tour I was doing with a dance team of five misfits from Los Angeles, inspired him to tell his sons about it. Because of us, he saw the opportunity to travel worldwide with your talents, and encourage them to dance and to travel as well. This warmed my heart like you would not believe. You never know the impact that you can have on people with some of the crazy things you do in your life. You never know how you can literally change and enhance the course of peoples lives simply by doing what “you” love – your passion. … and the same goes for Manuel Ramirez. I’m sure people were wondering what on earth he was thinking, having a congress this far north, but with the caliber of instructors and performers that he chose, it was an event well worth attending. Everyone learned something new, techniques they’ve never seen, and had a blast hanging out with each other. It’s the events like these that are the most intimate – by the end of the event, everyone knows each other and has become great friends. The Tromso Salsa Congress is an event not-to-miss. If you want to experience the beauty of this country, you have to come next year!! You can find out more about Miguel and his Salsa school in Tromso at www.Salsa.as Edie, The Salsa FREAK is a freelance writer and is one of the most sought-after Salsa instructor/performers in the world. She has traveled to over fifty countries teaching and writing about the world of dance, business, relationships, and life. She lives on airplanes, trains, and dance floors throughout the world.
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