Welcome to My Blog

When I was growing up, I wanted to become a comic book artist. The Western way of drawing was my first major influence, and I was blown away when I discovered the Japanese style. It was electric. The way they laid out the figures and the detail in their sci-fi...

Hello true believers! I have to admit, I used to be a hot head. Sometimes things would get my riled up and I would 'lose my shit.' As I've matured, I learned to let things slide a lot more and have focused on responding instead of reacting. Simple? For sure. Easy? Not...

How to add style to your dancing Hello true believers! I was looking online and according to the Google, adjectives are defined as: "words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence." Why do I mention adjectives? Several reasons actually. There...

Hello, true believers, another week and another chance for me to provide value to my awesome MMA peeps. I often get a chance to discuss music and dancing with my brother from another mother, Freddy Ovalle. Without question, Freddy plays excellent sets and has been a...

Role reversals in Latin dance: Why do it? Hello, again true believers! Del here and I am inspired. My student, friend and all around badass nurse friend, Shay has inspired me to write about the benefits of learning the other 'role' of the dance. It doesn't matter what...

Dancing in a slot in Salsa/Mambo I <3 slotty girls, don't we all? Wait what? Now wait a minute. Before you lovelies start forming lines to beat me down let me explain. My favorite way to dance Salsa is by far in a slot. I wish I could say that I always...

By now you've either been to the club or have begun taking dance classes and are eager to get involved in the Latin dance community here in good old Chicago. As you begin to enter the many clubs and socials hosted by a variety of groups and studios, you'll start to...

So many things go on at dance studios that I have worked at that I never seem to run out of thing to talk about. For example: A lot of times, I've seen women come in our studio with their significant others and attack the proceeding private lesson or group class with...

Hello again true believers, I just finished doing some dance practice and am now sitting down to write another blog before I take Macho to play. A funny thing was said to me which I've heard a million times since I started dancing and teaching but never paid much mind...

I have mentioned in the past how I love dancing in new cities as it gives me the thrill of something fresh and new. No disrespect to all of the amazing follows in Chicago, but dancing with new people always brings me an excited energy that I remember from my days as a...

I received a great comment in my post about finding the beat in Salsa music. I was asked about some great songs that would be beginner friendly and figured I would shoot out a quick post and share this with everyone. The following songs are nice and chill and not too...

Shines and Salsa dancing I was and am an avid House-head, having grown up in Chicago. We are lucky to have world class DJ's spining soulful goodness and I spent many, MANY a night dancing away and being overcome with joy at simply moving and groovin'. This was way...

I was with my dancing friend one day in (surprisingly) sunny Seattle to see a buddy and we found ourselves with a night off. Naturally, we looked around and did our best to see where the hot Latin dance night was. After some ace investigative work, my friend found a...

For those of us who weren't exposed to tropical Latin music from a very early age, how to hear the beat in salsa, or finding the beat, that illusive "1" beat can be something of a nightmare. Regardless of how well you have mastered your flashy dance moves, unless you...

Have you ever stopped to think what you would tell your younger self if you had the chance? Imagine for a moment that you embark on a new hobby and you get obsessed with it. You put in the time and before you know it, you've become quite good but surely you've made...

Hello again! Let's get right to some great information that can serve you well in your dancing, shall we? First off, I am so blessed to have my students, as every single day, they teach me and challenge me to figure out problems. Frequently, they will walk in with a...

"How long before I get good?" Boy oh boy! I've been asked this question so many times that I lost count eons ago. It usually starts when a random student walks into MMA and is very excited to start dancing. After the first or second class I love to chat them up and...

Hi everyone! This past weekend was the 15th annual Chicago Salsa Congress and it was a blast! Particularly cool was the fact that for the first time since 2009, I was going to dance. I say going to because some things fell through at the last minute and prevented us...