Anybody who knows anything about latin dancing in Houston, Texas knows who SSQQ is. SSQQ ("Slow-Slow-Quick-Quick"). SSQQ has probably introduced and trained more people in the various latin dances (i.e. salsa, bachata, merengue, cha-cha) than any three other studios in Houston. In fact, that's actually where I first learned to dance.
And anybody who knows anything about bachata very possibly knows who Jorge Elizando is. Jorge is a personal friend of mine and he's the guy who really opened up my mind to what bachata can be. He's also the guy who, probably more than any other, has brought bachata 'out of the closet' and made it a joy to thousands of people in the US and Europe.
No doubt about it. Two great names in their respective niches of the dance business. And now, for the first time ever, they're working together to bring two exciting days of bachata master-level training to the good people of Houston, Texas.
SSQQ is without a doubt the most unique dance business entity in Texas. Probably in the US. SSQQ is special to thousands of people in Houston, Texas because they've been able to build a totally unique combination of quality dance instruction along with a unique social program that keeps people coming back to SSQQ year upon year upon year. Many people take SSQQ classes repeatedly not only to improve their skills but also for the diverse social programs provided by SSQQ.
Jorge Elizando, of course, is a modern day dance teacher success story. I remember when Jorge was a music teacher in a junior high school there in McAllen, Texas and he was struggling to get started as a professional level bachata instructor. We used to attend many of the same salsa events there in Houston, Texas although it was only later that I really got to know him.
Jorge always enjoyed and excelled at dancing salsa and bachata. But in 2004 his professional career got a critical spark when he was exposed to the idea of doing bachata in a rueda format. The idea originally came from Hips On Fire in Boston, Massechusetts The following year Jorge and I went to the Miami Casino Rueda Congress in Miami, Florida and that's where I first saw Hips On Fire and bachata rueda.
At that time Hips on Fire, for reasons known only to them, had no interest in producing any instructional DVDs for bachata rueda. But Jorge saw the light and less than 3 months after returning from that 2005 congress, Jorge had his first instructional DVD on the market........"Bachata Rueda".
At first, if the truth be known, Jorge didn't get much support from his 'home folks' in Texas. Nobody else thought bachata had much 'box office' appeal. But Jorge didn't give up and through entrepreneurial zeal, hard work, and going 'out on a limb' in more ways that one........he succeeded.
I'm happy to say that I helped Jorge get a few of his first bookings in Houston. And gradually, as studio owners and promoters discovered what a great teacher Jorge was and how satisfied his students always were, they opened up to having him at their events.
A year later, after producing another DVD or two while still maintaining his full time public school teaching position, Jorge had seen where his full potential lay. He went full time into the dance business. It's been a wild and successful ride since then.
Since then Jorge has taught in every continent of the world except, oddly enough, Latin America. But he's taught throughout Europe and the US, as well as in Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, China and Japan. And along the way he met the lovely Sao Mai (perhaps his future life partner too......from what I hear).
And......he's done all this while still building one of the most impressive arrays of instructional DVDs in the dance business. I'm not even sure how many it is now......easily 10+.
Jorge's unique style of bachata is know as bachata fusion because he's taken the best qualities of bachata, the traditional dance from the Dominican Republic, and added to it steps and stylistic elements from several other popular dances such as rueda, tango, merengue and salsa.
Jorge enjoys what he does and it shows. Now Jorge, one of the most successful people in bachata, is teaming up with SSQQ, one of the biggest and most successful dance studios in the US, to bring two days of bachata instruction like Houston has never seen before. No doubt it'll have a major effect on bachata dancing in Houston for years to come.
Jorge is doing a two day workshop, August 22 and 23, there at the SSQQ studios in Bellaire (a part of Houston), Texas. It's a large and excellent facility and a great place to have a workshop like this.
Am I glad to see it?
You bet I am.
I remember when Jorge was just getting started in his new career and used to sleep on my couch when he came to Houston to do a workshop. At that time, I lived in Houston and was friends with Sonia Farr, owner of another very successful studiothere in Houston, Sonia's World of Dance. In fact, Sonia was the first studio owner in Houston to give Jorge any kind of chance to show what he could do in a workshop.
Suffice it to say that Jorge doesn't have any trouble getting bookings now. But even so, getting 'into' SSQQ as an 'outside' instructor is not something easily done. I can assure you of that.
I know it's not easy to get into SSQQ because I spent over 2 years in classes there myself and even taught one crash course (in casino rueda). I know several of the instructors personally. SSQQ never brings in outside instructors. they just don't do it....until now. It is a de facto recognition that Jorge is a big name in the bachata business.
And I'm glad for him. I think bachata is a beautiful dance and probably offers the most flexible opportunity for self expression of any of the latin dances. Yeah, I like salsa too.....especially timba and Cuban style salsa. And lately I'm also interested in learning more about kizomba. But right now bachata is 'tops' in my book....and so is Jorge Elizando. If you're anywhere within reasonable distance of Houston, Texas on August 22 and 23, I'd highly recommend you attend this workshop at SSQQ.
I'm hopeful that we might be able to get Jorge back to Korea sometime this year to do another series of classes for us. If we can do it, I know he'll be greatly appreciated here too. He's already been here once....back in December.
I think he'd be a perfect choice for our dancers at Candela Dance Studio because he can teach not only bachata, but also bachata rueda and casino rueda. There's a chance that it could happen because I know that he might be going to Vietnam sometime soon. Maybe we can get him to come by Korea. We'll see what happens.
Recent Comments