Last Thursday I met up with Joe (Australia) and Sirley from Couchsurfing for a salsa show at the University of Medellin.
The headlining couples were from Cali, and both pairs were world champions.
Carlo Acrosalsa y Jimena were 2008 champs in Miami, while Genner y Yudy were the 2007 champs.
The theater was about 80% full, with most of the empty seats in the more expensive section close to the front. We had paid $16 per ticket and had a great view.
The show was hosted by a gregarious older man who loved to introduce each dance performance with a loud, rolling ¨salsa!¨
The two world champion couples performed about four or five times over the two hour show, and some of the acrobatics they did were amazing.
Watching the men’s knees move, you’d think they were made of rubber. They were lightning quick.
Also rotating performances were nine couples.
I enjoyed them quite a bit too, and according to the choreographer, the women who would dance on their toes like ballerinas for some numbers, were the only ones in the world to do so (perhaps at least as it relates to salsa dancing).
But the show was stolen by a little kid. He couldn’t have been older than 10 or 12, and his female partner was equally young. He was like a young, Latin, Michael Jackson. Simply amazing.
No photography was allowed during the show, so I cannot share pictures or video.
He danced at least as much as any of the others during the performance, if not more. He even had a solo performance. I think I saw a future world champion in the making.
At the end of the show, after the bows were taken, the dancers started bringing men and women onto the stage to dance, much like the end of the movie Dirty Dancing.
I had a great time, and hope to catch a tango show next.
