 SP:
We're here today with Henry & Yani Herrera of Salsa
Racing Dance Studios. Henry & Yani, thank you for taking
time out of your busy schedules to do an interview with us.
HH/YH: Our pleasure!
SP: We first met back in April
of 1999 as competitors in the International Hustle & Salsa
Competition (held at the Miami Airport Hilton Ballroom). We were
the only Casineros in the ‘Professional Just Salsa’
division remember ?
HH: Yes, I remember. We placed
third in that competition.
SP: We felt that the
organizers of that event did not adequately enforce their own
rules, and several couples clearly deviated from them by doing
things such as entrances, exits, lifts, drops, etc., which left
other competitors at a disadvantage. Never the less, you both
were able to persevere and placed third. Congratulations! Your
repertoire includes many intricate turn sequences and you always
dance like you truly enjoy the music.
HH: Thanks. Our style is
influenced by the ‘typical’ Cuban style with a lot of
complicated moves and a lot of rhythm. We feel the music and we
express what we feel while dancing.
SP: It’s great to watch you
two dance together. We're always amazed to watch you go into
those very intricate entrapments and escapes. If we had to give
you a nickname it would probably be "The Great
Houdini," because you are able to get tangled up and
somehow escape with ease! When and where did you first learn how
to dance Casino?
HH: I learned how to dance
salsa-casino in Cuba at the age of 8 or 10 years old. Even as a
little kid, I was calling ‘Rueda’ (turns) and teaching
people from other countries (Germany, Italy, Spain etc.) and I
appeared on several TV programs in Cuba, such as the ‘Para
Bailar’ show and the ‘Que Siempre Brilla el Sol’ show.
SP: Wow! You were a salsa
dancing prodigy! Yani where did you learn?
YH: I learned how to dance
salsa-casino when I was a little girl. I learned from my parents
by just watching them dance. They were excellent dancers and
some of
the most prominent dancers in Havana, Cuba at the time. My dad
started teaching me little by little and that's how I learned.
But I also believe that to be a good dancer you have to feel the
music and that's not something you can learn. You really have to
feel it …you know?
SP: Absolutely. You can teach
someone the steps but they have to possess an innate sense of
rhythm to really feel the music inside and transform that
passion into dance. Henry, what’s been going on lately with
your school?
HH: Well, we have a lot of
things going on right now. One of the things that's been keeping
our school full of people is that right now we're doing shows,
competitions at clubs and traveling a lot. We recently did a
performance in Paris, France, and are planning on doing a show
this Saturday at Bayside (at Bayfront park in downtown Miami for
the AIDS WALKATHON).
We will also be doing an exhibition on Saturday, April 7th and
conducting a workshop on Sunday, April 8th at the International
Hustle & Salsa competition (to be held at the Radisson Hotel in
Miami Beach). In May, we are going to Dallas, Washington D.C., San
Francisco, Atlanta, Paris (again) and also will be on a
Mediterranean cruise. In June, we will be going to Santo Domingo
(for Salsamanía). We are going to be really busy!
SP: We have visited your website
( www.salsaracing.com
) and noticed several pictures of
performances you have done. One such picture was of a
performance that you did at Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s new
club, ‘Bongos’, at the American Airlines arena in downtown
Miami. You were wearing elaborate costumes and looked like
you were having a great time. You seem to have a great group of
people associated with your school. When was it established and
what makes it special?
HH: Our school was founded on
April 04, 2000. What makes our school special is the system that
we teach, including a lot of complicated moves and steps...
Keeping the Cuban tradition alive. We are also planning on
opening another location on Sundays and on doing more
shows, both in the state of Florida and abroad. We also are
planning on producing a salsa dance contest at Club Alcazaba in
Coral Gables.
We have so many things coming
up. Check us out at www.salsaracing.com
for all of the latest
information.
SP: Henry and Yani, we want to
once again thank you for the interview and wish you both
continued success!
HH/YH: Thank you!
www.salsapower.com, your definitive source for Casino and Rueda information on the
worldwide web!
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