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Ha - y'know, I sent out an email to San Francisco Bay Area DJ's asking for their picks for the best salsa music of 2009. Of course, I only got one answer! Sheesh …

Long standing DJ Tony O, of Roccapulco (now the owner with his brother), sent in this list of best salsa music and best salsa albums of 2009. Thank you Tony! Here's his list. I'll have my list below:

Tony O says:

top songs for 2009–
1-Luis enrique - yo no se manana
2-aventura- dile al amor
3-marc anthony and ana-quinta estacion recuerdame
4-La excelencia-salsa dura
5-frankie negron- addicto a tu piel

6- optional if you only want salsa for aventura NG2 ELLA MENEA (ed. note - Loved this one).

top album
1-luis enriqiue ciclos
2. La Excelencia - 'Mi Tumbao Social'
3-aventura the last
4-Alberto Barros - 'Tributo A La Salsa Colombiana 2'
5-victor manuelle-yo mismo

Bio
DJ Tony "O": has been passionately mixing and creating music since 1992, including thousands of appearances in San Francisco and around the United States. As a Local Dj T.O has had the chance to dj at many of the International acts that have been presented here in the Bay Area,

In San Francisco, DJ Tony "O" residencies have included The Glas kat Sf- Roccapulco-Caribbean Gardens- On the Radio at 1010 am and On Univision La kalle 100.7 fm and 105.7 fm T.O has also guest spot apperances at every leading venue in San Francisco, including Ruby Skye, Mission rock, Club N.V, he also remains active in the Promotion and Producing great latin tropical shows in the bay area and now at his spot in San Francisco Roccapulco. known as the godfather to the local dj's in the Bay,for his great contributions in providing music throught his record pool services.. "A bailar con dj Tony"O" the Mix that don't stop"

So, what about me? Here's my random salsa music best of selection! SalsaCrazy's best of 2009 salsa music and salsa albums, in the next post!

Let's hear your opinions and thoughts about the best salsa music and albums of 2009. Let's hear it (scroll to bottom)?

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Salsa Classes

San Francisco Bay Area Dance Classes with SalsaCrazy, every Monday night at the Rockit Room. This stellar club on 5th Avenue and Clement is known as a serious rock and roll destination, but every Monday night, it becomes the HEART of salsa dance in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Salsa Lessons start the evening at 7pm! See what some people have to say about the salsa lesson, and learn more about the salsa club here: Salsa San Francisco. The lessons are hot (and packed), and very fun, social, and basic. Designed so everyone can get up and start salsa dancing after their very first lesson!

After the beginning lesson, an intermediate salsa class at 8:30pm, following by salsa dancing all night long, who could have thought that Monday night in San Francisco would define the cities salsa scene? Four week progressive series of classes means you learn something new every month, and review each and every week! The salsa lessons are very popular!

At 9:30pm, the salsa dance night has become increasingly popular in the entire dance community, and now has taken upon a life of it's own. Much like the stellar "Canvas" Salsa Dance Parties, Monday night now serves to bring the community together, young and old, new and seasoned - it's the salsa dance place to be.

Oh yeh, and it's FREE for dancing (of course). Experience the best DJs in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a wealth of music from salsa to mambo, form romantica to salsa dura, from timba to cha cha cha to bachata. It's all here!

Salsa Dance Classes at the Rockit Room
426 Clement Street, San Francisco

Don't miss it!

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________________________________________________________________________
WORLD SALSA CHAMPIONSHIPS: ON "1" DIVISION FINAL RESULTS :

1st Place / Liz Lira & Cristian Oviedo / 87.844 / Representing Los Angeles, CA
2nd Place / Eli Torres & Yen Dorado / 85.933 / Representing Puerto Rico & Philadelphia, PA
3rd Place / Roberto Arenas & Marie Josee Strazzero / 84.320 / Representing Laval, Canada
4th Place / Tianne & Ricardo / 83.590 / Representing San Francisco, CA
5th Place / Marina Prada & Ibirocay Regueira / 81.244 / Representing Scandanavia
6th Place / Gabriela Equiz & Martin Gonzalez / 81.067 / Representing Tijuana, Mexico
7th Place / Vera Rowe & Darlin Garcia / 78.944 / Representing Boston, MA & Philadelphia, PA
8th Place / Elina Kstova & Kikis Kakoullis / 78.122 / Representing Sophia, Bulgaria & Cypress
9th Place / Corrinne Tardieu & Joseph Neus / 77.767 / Representing Montreal, Canada
10th Place / Nerea Perez & Luis Chaves / 77.189 / Representing Spain

________________________________________________________________________
WORLD SALSA CHAMPIONSHIPS: ON "2" DIVISION FINAL RESULTS

1st Place / Anya Katsevman & Luis Aguilar / 85.983 / Representing New York, New York
2nd Place / Anne Boehm & Anichi Bauer / 85.8 / Representing Germany
3rd Place / Maicza Valentin & Jose Valdes / 83.667 / Representing Chicago, IL
4th Place / Katia Morales & Victor Alexis Contreras / 83.539 / Representing Montreal, Canada
5th Place / Greysa Baez & Edwin Nieves / 81.939 / Representing Puerto Rico
6th Place / Vali Damaskov & Csaba Szirmai / 80.367 / Representing Sydney, Australia
7th Place / Christina Verou & Juan Pablo Diaz / 80.356 / Representing Spain
8th Place / Elly Guadarrama & Enrique Jarquin / 78.250 / Representing Mexico & Bay Area, CA
9th Place / Elizabeth Rojas & John Navarez / 77.928 / Representing San Francisco, CA
10th Place / Ingrid Rivera & Alberto Muriel / 77.167 / Representing Puerto Rico

________________________________________________________________________
WORLD SALSA CHAMPIONSHIPS: CABARET DIVISION FINAL RESULTS

1st Place / Jenny Rodriguez & Jonathan Landa / 85.389 / Representing Cali, Colombia
2nd Place / Luisa Suaza & Eider Rua / 82.711 / Representing Medellin, Colombia & Dubai UAE
3rd Place / Dayian Molina & Jonier Torres / 80.621 / Representing Cali, Colombia
4th Place / Edda Colon & Santos Gonzalez / 79.378 / Representing Puerto Rico
5th Place / Carolina Hernandez & Hugo Osorio / 78.544 / Representing Cali, Colombia
6th Place / Kelly Lannan & Eric Caty / 78.278 / Representing Calgary, Canada
7th Place / Polina Noskova & Sergey Kabankov / 77.433 / Representing Beijing, China & Russia
8th Place / Christine Diaz & Oscar Garcia / 73.9 / Representing Guatemala
9th Place / Kiko Nakao & Jorge Pedraza / 67.656 / Representing Japan & Bolivia
10th Place / You Dotsuta & Shu Tsugave / / Representing Japan
________________________________________________________________________
WORLD SALSA CHAMPIONSHIPS: TEAM DIVISION FINAL RESULTS

1st Place / Ritmo Y Sabor / 89.567 / Representing Oaxaca, Mexico
2nd Place / Stilo Y Sabor / 87.656 / Representing Cali, Colombia
3rd Place / El Mulato Y Su Swing Latino / 86.5 / Representing Cali, Colombia
4th Place / Salsamania / 83.944 / Representing San Francisco, CA
5th Place / Chilital / 83.167 / Representing Laval, Canada
6th Place / Modus Vivendi / 82.067 / Representing Sydney, Australia
7th Place / Rica Salsa / 81.011 / Representing San Francisco, CA
8th Place / Phoenix Dance Company / 79.022 / Representing Beijing, China
9th Place / Diamon2 / 77.444 / Representing Spain
10th Place / Envy / 76.3 / Tokyo, Japan

Analsysis of winners, videos, and more crazyness, coming soon!
Thank you SalsaManiacs (Facebook Group - You Rock!) …

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On1 Champions Christian Ovieo and Liz Lira with On2 Champions Anya Katsevman and Luis Aguilar

Also coming this week….an interview with our new On2 World Champions, Luis Aguilar and Anya Katsevman!!!

Dakin Ferris is a freelance salsa reporter working on assignment for www.SalsaCrazy.com at the World Salsa Championships 2009.

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By Dakin Ferris, having escaped the east coast blizzard on a 5am flight and arrived safely back in San Francisco by noon to file this report for www.SalsaCrazy.com.  Stay tuned for more videos and an analysis of the weekends events…..

On1 Winners

ON "1" DIVISION FINAL RESULTS

1st Place / Liz Lira & Christian Oviedo / 87.844 / Representing Los Angeles, CA

2nd Place / Eli Torres & Yen Dorado / 85.933 / Representing Puerto Rico & Philadelphia, PA

3rd Place / Roberto Arenas & Marie Josee Strazzero / 84.320 / Representing Laval, Canada

4th Place / Tianne & Ricardo / 83.590 / Representing San Francisco, CA

5th Place / Marina Prada & Ibirocay Regueira / 81.244 / Representing Scandanavia

6th Place / Gabriela Equiz & Martin Gonzalez / 81.067 / Representing Tijuana, Mexico

7th Place / Vera Rowe & Darlin Garcia / 78.944 / Representing Boston, MA & Philadelphia, PA

8th Place / Elina Kstova & Kikis Kakoullis / 78.122 / Representing Sophia, Bulgaria & Cypress

9th Place / Corrinne Tardieu & Joseph Neus / 77.767 / Representing Montreal, Canada

10th Place / Nerea Perez & Luis Chaves / 77.189 / Representing Spain

On2 Winners Pic

ON "2" DIVISION FINAL RESULTS

1st Place / Anya Katsevman & Luis Aguilar / 85.983 / Representing New York, New York

2nd Place / Anne Boehm & Anchi Bauer / 85.8 / Representing Germany

3rd Place / Maicza Valentin & Jose Valdes / 83.667 / Representing Chicago, IL

4th Place / Katia Morales & Victor Alexis Contreras / 83.539 / Representing Montreal, Canada

5th Place / Greysa Baez & Edwin Nieves / 81.939 / Representing Puerto Rico

6th Place / Vali Damaskov & Csaba Szirmai / 80.367 / Representing Sydney, Australia

7th Place / Christina Verou & Juan Pablo Diaz / 80.356 / Representing Spain

8th Place / Elly Guadarrama & Enrique Jarquin / 78.250 / Representing Mexico & Bay Area, CA

9th Place / Elizabeth Rojas & John Navarez / 77.928 / Representing San Francisco, CA

10th Place / Ingrid Rivera & Alberto Muriel / 77.167 / Representing Puerto Rico

Cabaret Winners Pic

CABARET DIVISION FINAL RESULTS

1st Place / Jenny Rodriguez & Jonathan Landa / 85.389 / Representing Cali, Colombia

2nd Place / Luisa Suaza & Eider Rua / 82.711 / Representing Medellin, Colombia & Dubai UAE

3rd Place / Dayian Molina & Jonier Torres / 80.621 / Representing Cali, Colombia

4th Place / Edda Colon & Santos Gonzalez / 79.378 / Representing Puerto Rico

5th Place / Carolina Hernandez & Hugo Osorio / 78.544 / Representing Cali, Colombia

6th Place / Kelly Lannan & Eric Caty / 78.278 / Representing Calgary, Canada

7th Place / Polina Noskova & Sergey Kabankov / 77.433 / Representing Beijing, China & Russia

8th Place / Christine Diaz & Oscar Garcia / 73.9 / Representing Guatemala

9th Place / Kiko Nakao & Jorge Pedraza / 67.656 / Representing Japan & Bolivia

10th Place / You Dotsuta & Shu Tsugave / / Representing Japan

Teams Winners Pic

TEAM DIVISION FINAL RESULTS

1st Place / Ritmo Y Sabor / 89.567 / Representing Oaxaca, Mexico

2nd Place / Stilo Y Sabor / 87.656 / Representing Cali, Colombia

3rd Place / El Mulato Y Su Swing Latino / 86.5 / Representing Cali, Colombia

4th Place / Salsamania / 83.944 / Representing San Francisco, CA

5th Place / Chilital / 83.167 / Representing Laval, Canada

6th Place / Modus Vivendi / 82.067 / Representing Sydney, Australia

7th Place / Rica Salsa / 81.011 / Representing San Francisco, CA

8th Place / Phoenix Dance Company / 79.022 / Representing Beijing, China

9th Place / Diamon2 / 77.444 / Representing Spain

10th Place / Envy / 76.3 / Tokyo, Japan

Dakin Ferris is an avid salsa dancer from the San Francisco Bay Area.  He currently dances with Couture Dance Alliance, a new dance troupe under the direction of the new On2 World Champion Luis Aguilar.

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Official On1 Ranking and Final Score

Official On2 Ranking and Final Score

Official Cabaret Ranking and Final Score

Official Teams Ranking and Final Score

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By Dakin Ferris, sleepless in Florida, on deadline for www.SalsaCrazy.com!

For two days, the rain has been pounding us here in Dania Beach, Florida, enough so that the parking lots are flooded at the Sheraton and anyone who drives through them creates a wake. With some luck, the sun will be out later today, but rest assured, once this hotel wakes up, no one will be thinking about the weather.

It’s 4:30am in the hotel lobby right now and about 10 die-hard dancers just came in from tonight’s local venue for social dancing. And while much is not known about the most important matters which will be decided in less than 24 hours, there are some things we do know

 Overall, while smaller, more intimate, and more subdued than 2007, this event is for real. The lack of stage hurts the overall feeling as its hard for people to see, but make no mistake—maybe with the exception of the Cabaret Division, the Top 10 in every category are all world class dancers, and the Top 3 will undoubtably be worthy of their World Champion titles.

 With three-time champion and perennial favorites Abel and Zulmara ON1 and Oliver Pineda and Luda Kroiter ON2 not competing, and some of the powerhouse performers that were always on their heals like Isidro and Sheila and Junior and Emily not competing, for the first time since the inception of this event, we will have new world champions in the On1 and On2 divisions.

 China has its first competitors in the finals ever, and China, Canada and Japan are having their best years ever here, all with finalists in multiple categories.   More closely like every year since this event began however, the San Francisco Bay Area teams and couples are poised to dominate like no other geographic location except for Puerto Rico and Colombia.

 For the first time in the history of the worlds, a number of groups and couples which aren’t from Colombia are dancing Colombian-stle salsa. That tells me it is growing, as appears to be the conversations about them maybe having a separate division within a few years.

 The Cabaret division is the least contested division this year and so far lacks the intense excited it had in 2007. At the low end of the top 10, there were a lot of mistakes in the semi-finals as well as some falls. At the top end, there hasn’t been any new mind-blowing tricks that have always marked this category in years past. (I’m hoping that changes tonight!)

 While On1 and On2 will definitely be intense, the Teams division is going to be out of this world.

 Despite the standings, everyone starts with 0 points tonight….the standings for the semi-finals only being used to determine the order of the contestants tonight.

 HERE IS THE MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR ABOUT TONIGHT: Because of the very late announcement last month that everyone had to dance to a new list of approved songs in the finals, almost no-one used their finals routines to either qualify or get past the semi-finals. That means almost everyone will be out there tonight without battle-tested routines. With only 7 points separating the the contestants in 2 divisions using their time-tested routines, the conclusion is inescapable: TONIGHT WILL BE THE MOST LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD SALSA CHAMPIONSHIPS! It will be the closest one can get to comparing apples to apples…..and that means its anyone’s ballgame.

The action all starts tonight at 7:30. Oliver Pineda will be joining the judges panel. I predict the following:

ON1 DIVISION – No prediction! With Ricardo Tellez and Tianne Frias, Christian Oviedo and Liz Lira, Eli and Yen, and Roberto and Marie in the hunt—all of these couples are champions of major international competitions many times over–there can be no prediction here. Absent a mistake – which I note is all the more possible with these new routines — I would be surprised if any of them were not in the top 5. I am especially glad to see Eli and Yen doing so well, as I thought they should have qualified for the Top 10 in 2007.

ON2 DIVISION – Ok, yes, I am biased because they are my teachers, but I predict Luis Aguilar and Anya Katsevman for the win. Even with a moderate mistake in the semi-finals, these two still dominated convincingly and ended up in first. I have no idea what to expect from John and Liz or Enrique and Elly, but am sending my love and great hope they can move up in the ranks. Victor and Katia were completely on their game in the semi’s as well and I expect will place in the Top 3.

CABARET DIVISION – Jonathan and Jenny seemed the most confident and dominant to date. I expect them to go crazy tonight and stay in first, but am very much looking forward to the China/Russia combination of Setgoy and Polina, as well as Colombia’s Hugo and Carolina.

TEAM DIVISION – Swing Latino was off the hook in the semi’s with a trick at the end that was completely unexpected and mind-blowing….and they still got beat by Mexico’s Ritmo y Sabor, who completely deserved their position with a brilliant routine. It will be hard for the Bay Area teams to break into their rarified air, but both have a lot of room to move up, and I think third place is open for any of the teams currently in 3rd through 8th. I can’t wait to see SalsaMania’s, RicaSalsa’s and Diamon2’s routines.
So that it’s. 5am now. Time for a little sleep and then off for some local sight-seeing before preparing for the moment for which we have all be waiting!!

Check out these videos of the results announcements!!

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World Salsa Championships - Interviews with Japanese Competitors!

Masaki and Minako:

Ken and Ryoko

Ritmo de Cali 

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二日間の長い予選大会が終わり、

たった今準決勝へ進出のカップル、チームがアナウンスされました！

日本からはENVYが21組の中から選ばれて10位で進出！

on1–Only 7 points difference between 10th and 1st place

10th Kikis and Elina (Greece)

9th Luis and Nerea (Spain)

8th Martin and Gabby (Mexico)

7th Joseph and Corinne (Canada)

6th Darlin and Vera (Philly)

5th Ibi and Marina (Sweden)

4th Roberto and Marie (Canada)

3rd Eli and Yen (P.R. and Philly)

2d Liz and Christian (L.A.)

1st Ricardo and Tianne (San Francisco)

On2 — Only 7 points between 10th and first place

10th Alberto and Ingrid (Puerto Rick)

9th Enrique and Elly (San Francisco)

8th Csaba and Vali (Australia)

7th John and Liz (San Francisco)

6th Juan and Kristina (Spain)

5th Francisco and Raiza (Puerto Rico)

4th Anichi and Anne (Germany)

3rd Edwin and Gracia (Puerto Rico)

2d Victor and Katia (Canada)

1st LUIS AND ANYA (San Francisco)

CABARET

10th Oscar and Christine (Guatemala)

9th Jorge and Miyako (Japan)

8th Shu and You (Japan)

7th Jonier and Dayan (Colombia)

6th Hugo and Carolina (Colombia)

5th Setgoy and Polina (Russia/China)

4th Santos and Edda (Puerto Rico)

3rd Eider and Luisa (Dubai)

2d Eric and Kelly (Canada)

1st Jonathan and Jenny (Colombia)

Teams - 9 points difference overall

10th Envy (Japan)

9th Diamon2 (Spain)

8th Phoenix Dance Company (China)

7th RicaSalsa (San Francisco)

6th Stilo y Sabor (Colombia

5th Chilital (Canada)

4th SalsaMania (San Francisco)

3rd Modus Vivendi (Australia)

2d El Mulato Swing Latino (Colombia)

1st Ritmo y Sabor (Mexico)

明日も熱い決勝戦が繰り広げられそうです！！

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