In the past Dr. Usukuma Ekuere has represented Canada in the World Salsa Championships in Miami, Florida. Ekuere has come a long way since he first set eyes on the seductive dance as a graduate student in England. He was working on his PhD when he took a break from his studies, went to a party and saw couples dancing the salsa. "I looked at them and thought, 'wow, it's absolutely beautiful'," said Ekuere, who originally hails from Nigeria. "I had never even heard of salsa--it was a total shock. I just needed to dance and now it's what I love to do." He signed up for lessons and soon became addicted to salsa. When he arrived in Edmonton, his passion for the Latin number did not quit. A number of years ago, someone from University of Alberta Campus Recreation approached a campus group called SALSA (Spanish and Latin Student Association) about finding a dance teacher. "Everybody looked at me because I was, supposedly, the dancer," said Ekuere. Since then he has spent most Sunday nights turning beginners into salsa pros. "The greatest joy is to see the difference from day one--where a lot of people don't know much about the dance at all and they really struggle--to the next classes where they get better and better. By the sixth class, I'm just blown away by how much they learn." When he's not teaching, he's choreographing and practicing for international competitions. And just what is it about the salsa that Ekuere finds so appealing? "It's very intimate, very sensual and it just looks so sexy when you watch it. I thought it was beautiful to watch, but when I got to dance it--it's just so fun. You almost don't know what is going on around you. You get lost in it. It's amazing."

Workshops: Intermediate Rueda, Advanced Salsa

Salsaddiction (SA) is the premier salsa dance school in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, promoting Cuban Salsa and Rueda de Casino and was founded by Dr. Usukuma Ekuere. His teaching is well known as a fast vehicle to learning & dancing salsa plus have enormous fun while doing it. Almost unheard of in Edmonton until the last decade, Edmonton is now seen as a salsa and rueda de casino city! Countless students have taken the many salsa classes. The most recent SA Rueda Team is comprised of students who worked their way up to performing. They have performed at numerous events from weddings to fundraisers to festivals. Salsaddiction's rueda de casino performances were well received at the Vancouver provincial Cuba Baila Festival 2008, the Alberta Salsapalooza Festival 2008 as well as at the Salsa Rueda Festival in San Francisco 2009. Salsa dance observers, who have seen Usukuma's Rueda Team in action, have been heard to say it's style is original & exciting to watch.

Miguelito Valdes (www.miguelitovaldes.com) carries a rich history of performing with many of Cuba’s top performers, including the Cabaret Tropicana Orquestra, Pablo Milanes, Isaac Delgado, Mayito Rivera, Klimax and has participated in award-winning recordings such as “La Rumba Soy Yo”, which won a Latin Grammy in 2001. In 2000, he began playing with Omara Portuondo (Diva singer of Buena Vista Social Club) with whom he traveled around the world for 6 years. He has also played with important jazz musicians abroad, including Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, Wayne Shorter, and many others.
 

TANGA is Vancouver’s premier Afro-Cuban dance orchestra, bringing the exciting sounds of salsa dura, latin funk and caribbean jazz to audiences across the West Coast. This high-octane music ensemble has been packing dance floors since 2005 with their mix of original music, popular hits and classic songs from Latin America and the Caribbean. Tanga is an all-star band made up of Canada’s top musicians whose music fuses a diverse array of musical, ethnic and cultural influences. Drawing inspiration from bands like Irakere, Spanish Harlem Orchestra and the Afro-Cuban All Stars, they blend smoldering grooves, percussion, sizzling brass, and fiery vocal vocals, spicing it up with a touch of their own west coast flavour.