Helping people learn to appreciate Mambo is the mission for both S.W.A.T. and the Salsa Eddy Project. The S.W.A.T. dancers are Eddy's "A" team, his best students. But the Salsa Eddy Project is not simply a group of "B" stringers waiting their turn for success. Eddy uses them to demonstrate an older, more elegant Salsa he (and others) call "Salsa Classica". The Classic Salsa, or Mambo, is (in Eddy's view) a much smoother dance, more suitable for the more mature social dancers.
But thought Eddy loves Mambo and wants to build appreciation for it, he is by no means abandoning the On1 style of Salsa. The Salsa Eddy Dancers are a hungry young team honing their skills. "These younger dancers bring the energy, the tricks, dips, edgier side of Salsa that many people like to see," Eddy explained. They will carry on where the older dancers leave off.
Finally, Eddy explained that Salsa Tribe focuses "on bringing more body movement, style, and Afro-Cuban into their dancing." The four dance teams emphasize different aspects of Salsa Eddy's love for Salsa (and Mambo). These teams are "all about educating and always entertaining the community".
To make any of the teams is not easy, Eddy half-joked. "You must have a Ph.D.," he told me. "'PHD' means 'poor, hungry, and determined' to give me nothing but 100%. Anything less is not acceptable to me."
Salsa Eddy's approach to teaching, and sharing his love for, Salsa and Mambo are characteristic of his appreciation for Salsa across the world. The different styles are blended together in Houston. "We are more dimentional than the other cities," he feels.
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"We learn everything. You go to L.A., most of them dance 'On1'. You to New York, they dance 'On2'. You go to Puerto Rico, they dance their style of 'On2'. Where here in Houston we dance either Salsa or Mambo. Diversity is always good. Expand your knowledge."
Houston lags behind cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami in terms of Salsa visibility. "They have better dancers/performers," Eddy conceded. "But if we measure by a percentage (of the community involved with dance) I think we have great social dancers, but we lack in performers (for NOW!!!)."
NOTE: As this article was being prepared, this writer discovered an advertisement for Houston Salsa dancers. They are being recruited to go on tour across the country on behalf of a major alcoholic beverage company.
Eddy's pride in Houston Salsa is obvious when he says, "Houston is the Mecca when it comes to Salsa in Texas. The congresses are done here. The best clubs are here. Some of the best dancers, DJs, and bands live in Houston. So, we are privileged to have that in our hometown. Many wish that had what we have."
In concluding our interview, I asked Eddy to name three venues which would be good for visitors to Houston who want to learn more about our Salsa community. He suggested the Texas Salsa Congress (held March 18-20 in 2005), the finals for the Texas Salsa Open, and the 1st Annual Salsa Festival (May 6-8, 2005).
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