The formation of strong salsero bonds

Our group is about to be 3 years young. It all started at the University of Houston around 7 years ago, where students began learning to dance salsa on weekends. We grew bonds and sought to take our dancing, learning, and teaching to another level. Jorge Mercado, Claudia Vasquez and many others helped to lay down the foundation for what would become the organization and the dance group. We come from many backgrounds and experiences but share a common passion for dancing. Through that passion we want to have a positive impact on our community by promoting cultural awareness. That is possible through dancing and creating an environment that will enhance collaboration, social skills and decision-making for people of all ages and race. Our primary focus is to deliver performances with a significant purpose, theme, cultural awareness and inspiration to our audience: the Houston community.

Watch out for our anniversary down the road. You won't want to miss what we have in our back pockets!

Salsa Therapy - witten by Jorge Mercado

Why Salsa? Why dance at all?

Therapeutic activities can be used by Counselors, Teachers and others professionals concerned with helping individuals progress and mature.

Dance and music are activities that have a natural therapeutic value. They can be used as part of group counseling sessions, as simple activities with students of any age, or as part of an after school program. "The importance of music in our school is often overlooked, and its true power is unrealized. Music deserves a place with the core subjects of math, science, history, and language arts. If it is given the opportunity, music can make a difference in the academic achievement of our students." (J. Kelstrom 1998).

With the implementation of a Salsa program, educators can guide students by filling free time with healthy activities and a positive, open learning experience. A basic dance program can work wonders by:

• improving self esteem

• providing a sense of purpose and acheivement

• promoting an understanding of other cultures

• passing on dance and history

• directing stress management through recreational tools

Salsa dance is a very strong tool for boosting self-esteem and promoting success. It can give individuals a strong sense of self worth and idividuality. It is more than teaching steps or the dance itself. It teaches a real life approach to accomplish goals. On the instructor's end it can help them work with difficult groups and promote social growth. It can direct energy toward a positive end rather than a harmful or destructive one. Instructors will likely have the opportunity to observe their student's behavior and target weaknesses and strengths.

Researchers have found that music instruction actually enhances student achievement. (Robitalle and O'Neal, 1981) "The three top-ranked countries in the world in student scientific achievement have music education at the heart of their educational systems." "Music Instruction is a powerful tool that educators can use to promote academic achievement and mental discipline". (J. Kelstrom 1998)

Our organization aims to demonstrate how a Salsa dance program can help to improve student achievement in any grade level or school program. It will be based on years of experience as a group counselor conducting after school programs with salsa lessons.

Board Members

Our board members are crucial to our operation. Each of them volunteers their personal time and talent to make sure the organization accomplishes its mission. The organization has a tiered system of board membership. The umbrella board membership consists of individuals who complete administrative tasks that support school programs and the dance group. The dance group board membership directs talent, choreography and overall promotion of community service through teaching the dance, culture and history of Salsa. As we continue to develop our officers we hope to name them here and provide a description of their role and philosophy.

Team Bios

Woah! We have so many people in our group and everyone is asking us how we do it! It's simple, we all love to dance and share it with others. As this website grows we hope to share some individual pictures and short bios so that you feel a little more at ease asking us to dance out there on the floor! We'll see you soon.

Auditioning

Currently we're not auditioning for new members. For those with a special interest in our group we consider candidates individually and present their cases to the dance board for review. There is always a capacity or role to help out and volunteer with our group. So please don't be shy and get in touch with us, at the very least, to add your name to our list of contacts. If an audition comes up we'll be sure to fill you in with details on our site.

Activity Résumé

We have a long list of events in which we've participated and they have all been a blast. We'll have them posted up here soon so that you can get an idea of just how much effort we put forth to have a positive impact on our community. The Houston Salsa Congress is perhaps the event in which we shine the most since it has given us the opportunity to interact directly with youths at the University of Houston. Additionally, we've traveled across the United States to perform in cities such as L.A., Seattle and New Orleans. We give our all both during performance and workshop time so that we can bring back our experiences to our students and community. Thanks to those who believed in us and helped us along the way.