World's Best Leads List for 2008-2009
- Thread starter AguaDulce
- Start date
opm1s6
Son
This is mislabeled. It should be Edie's Favorite Leads from Around the World. I'm still trying to figure out what she's on about with this list, it's definitely something too subjective to put in list form and I'm a little stunned that attempt was made. I particularly love how from the very start she's trying to justify the list and prove that she has the credentials to make up such a list...no one follower can speak for the rest of the women out there, yet I guess Edie thinks she can. Then again this is all a marketing ploy to sell DVDs
I guess its cause she dances with more people all over the world?
Bow to the Edie marketing machine...
I have danced with three of those leaders (Juan Calderon and both Cobo Brothers) and yes they are good, but to make a top10 list from her sample... or mine... nahh.
I completely agree....it's definitely subjective, and I find it very hard to believe that she has been to enough places and danced with enough people to make an accurate assessment, even if she did have the credentials.
Wow, I thought Milton was on most ladies' list? Who would be your top 5 or 10 then?
Agreed - I've danced with four of those leaders (James Cobo, Sagi, Darlin Garcia, Manuel Mascarell), and judging by the quality of these guys, I'm sure the rest of the guys on the list are also all good, but I'm sure that there are many other guys who are not on the list but are just as good if not better...
Having said that, I'm watching the development of her world's best leads DVDs with interest... the musicality one was certainly interesting, and this is the first time I've seen DVDs dedicated to copas and open breaks.
There would be different lists.
Top ten leads whit whom I would share a class.
Top ten leads with whom to do a show.
Top ten leads with whom to impress the gallery at a congress.
Top ten leads with whom to dance an intimate salsa.
Top ten leads with whom to survive a packed dance floor.
Top ten leads with whom I would feel safe doing a dip, drop or lift.
Top ten leads with whom I would have the most fun dancing.
I will think about those and let you know.
Well if Juan Calderon is on the list, it's a good list. HE's a fantastic lead. Utterly fabulous. We're talking about leading skills here. He danced a dance with me that felt easy and fluid, and it wasn't fanciness or flash he was pulling out. It was communication and clarity. There was so much connection and he never cluttered his lead with "noise" or assumptions. He was also wonderful about his communication of encouragement, making me feel comfortable and trusting. 
Edie has a lot of experience and she's listing leads who have a talent for communication. There are MILLIONS of salseros around the world. Of course she hasn't danced with every single one. Of course it's subjective. Look at the list and see what kind of theme she's trying to communicate and quit, for the love of god, being so snide about someone else's opinion!!!
And for the record, smart marketing is admirable, not something to be cynical about. She's successful for a reason.
Edie has a lot of experience and she's listing leads who have a talent for communication. There are MILLIONS of salseros around the world. Of course she hasn't danced with every single one. Of course it's subjective. Look at the list and see what kind of theme she's trying to communicate and quit, for the love of god, being so snide about someone else's opinion!!!
And for the record, smart marketing is admirable, not something to be cynical about. She's successful for a reason.
That's true when the product lives up to the marketing. There are certain people out there that hype their products up to be much more than they really are and use great marketing to sell the product rather then letting the product sell itself via it's quality. There are a few certain people out there like this, and I am actually not referring to Edie right now. I have definitely bought products in the past though and have been let down by them just because their marketing was so strong, and the dvd left something to be desired.
I actually like that Edie is an enabler and helps to bring us products that might otherwise have not been made, such as the musicality DVD with Peter Fige, which I own. I just don't like that attitude that sometimes comes across on her page that she is the ultimate authority on all things salsa...maybe she is entirely different in person, that is just the vibe I have gotten thus far...
My problem with Edie is her "in-yer-face"ness, a trait winds me up, maybe because of my natural British reserve. I've only done one of her classes and saw her introducing a Jack and Jill dance competition in Blackpool, but she did come acrss like a TV Evangelist Preacher at times and lost no time plugging her stand and new ankle wallet when she should have been introducing the competition.
Haha, ok I can see that.
bailar y tocar
Son Montuno
As far as I can tell the list is assembled to maximize geographic diversity. There wouldn't be any point in listing the top 5 leads in NYC if one is trying to sell DVDs in Australia and Europe, plus the NYers already know who their own best are so they're not going to buy the DVDs anyway.
On another note, all the follows I dance with in our local scene have probably never heard of any on these leads and may only have heard of Edie if they've frequented salsa congresses. So to say that her marketing campaign is good is an overstatement. She is marketing and re-packaging the same product to the same people who already know who's who in the salsa world. The other 95% who dance salsa and spend money on lessons remain an untapped market.
On another note, all the follows I dance with in our local scene have probably never heard of any on these leads and may only have heard of Edie if they've frequented salsa congresses. So to say that her marketing campaign is good is an overstatement. She is marketing and re-packaging the same product to the same people who already know who's who in the salsa world. The other 95% who dance salsa and spend money on lessons remain an untapped market.
dosvueltas2
Changui
Yeah that's sad. I think she's good enough a dancer to focus more on the dancing side, even DVDs, rather than come off too obviously as marketing her products.
On another - possibly divergent - note though, I have to say that when she came down to Singapore for the SISF, she didn't strike me as being a hard Evangelical nut. On the contrary, people like her, Susana Montero and Magna were instrumental in helping me develop my current attitude towards arrogant, haughty salsa b----s: if even people who follow and dance so incredibly can have a smile for anyone, no matter their level, who the hell is anybody to give anyone else "Da Look" (you lowly Life form, you're wasting my time, I know so much about salsa etc) So no, she never came across as the "I know more than anyone else and am a high authority" sort in person.
I should mention also that although her marketing has grown enormously, I still get decent service. I recently ordered a DVD that was sent to another address by mistake, and e-mailed requesting an additional copy to be sent to the correct one and I would return the original next year when I travelled to my overseas address. I got it in the mail just 3 weeks later, no questions asked. Sure, some might say that would be the right thing to do anyway, but I've had experience with other companies that happily kept mum. After all, what could I do?
I read that list and it was always my interpretation that it was Edie's opinion only. I'm sure Susana Montero, Joby Vasquez, Nancy Ortiz etc would all have different opinions on who belongs on such a list, and I don't think anyone in her right mind would put forth a claim that intentionally nullified the opinions of these other luminaries.
You know we want details, lol.
{WuMing}78
Changui
I would not say it's fair to judge someone whether he/she is the best lead/follower.
Everyone has his/her own style of dancing. Some of the dancers I see on the dancefloor, they don't lead that well (light lead I would say), and some of them has some "weird" style of dancing, BUT I appreciate them because they are unique and it's fun watching them dancing.
I couldn't really comment on how the renowned lead are doing (I tried asking Super Mario to lead me during SISF 2008, but his queue is really long
).
I did dance with a lot of good female followers:
1) Starlinn Choo: Very great follower and naughty styling. I always have a lot of fun dancing with her. Also I forgot to mention, it's also a lot of stress dancing with her because she is my teacher (I am always prepared to get a lot of lectures from her after I have social danced with her......)
2) Susana Montero: She is REALLY FUN to dance with! Crack jokes with you while dancing.... hahahaha..... those were the golden moment!
3) Emily Alabi: Very good young follower and I feel a little pressured dancing with her. It's not her fault because she is ALWAYS the center of attention whenever she dances
4) Little Liz: very good follower indeed. What strike me most about her that she still wanted to dance with me despite her injuries in her legs (I didn't know about it, but still shame on me).
5) Magna Gopal: very good follower, but it's so STRESSFUL dancing with her, because she got so much shine and styling that I could not keep up with her.
6) Pretty Boys and Girls: I only dance with the girls of course. Pretty good following skills and styling.
and I hope to continue to list in the future when I get the oppotunity to dance with other celebrity dancers.
MOST IMPORTANTLY......
I want to dance with the ladies from Salsaforums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everyone has his/her own style of dancing. Some of the dancers I see on the dancefloor, they don't lead that well (light lead I would say), and some of them has some "weird" style of dancing, BUT I appreciate them because they are unique and it's fun watching them dancing.
I couldn't really comment on how the renowned lead are doing (I tried asking Super Mario to lead me during SISF 2008, but his queue is really long
).I did dance with a lot of good female followers:
1) Starlinn Choo: Very great follower and naughty styling. I always have a lot of fun dancing with her. Also I forgot to mention, it's also a lot of stress dancing with her because she is my teacher (I am always prepared to get a lot of lectures from her after I have social danced with her......)
2) Susana Montero: She is REALLY FUN to dance with! Crack jokes with you while dancing.... hahahaha..... those were the golden moment!
3) Emily Alabi: Very good young follower and I feel a little pressured dancing with her. It's not her fault because she is ALWAYS the center of attention whenever she dances
4) Little Liz: very good follower indeed. What strike me most about her that she still wanted to dance with me despite her injuries in her legs (I didn't know about it, but still shame on me).
5) Magna Gopal: very good follower, but it's so STRESSFUL dancing with her, because she got so much shine and styling that I could not keep up with her.
6) Pretty Boys and Girls: I only dance with the girls of course. Pretty good following skills and styling.
and I hope to continue to list in the future when I get the oppotunity to dance with other celebrity dancers.
MOST IMPORTANTLY......
I want to dance with the ladies from Salsaforums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bailar y tocar
Son Montuno
Nice list !
Amongst well known follows I can only claim to have danced with Cristina Zavala of Descarga Caribe Dance Co. of Chicago. I think I am the only on1 + Cuban lead she dances with on occasion. I tend to dance a hybrid casino (more slotty than usual) but our favorite activity is super-turbo spinning: 20-30 successive spot turns. I have only danced with 3 follows who can do that and the other two are not well known in the salsa scene.
Funny sidenote: when we break out into shines she switches to on2, I stay on1 (actually more rumbaesque, so 1-ish, 4-ish) and then she switches back when we get together.
i don't have a problem with the premise of this product. who better qualified to put together such a list, anyway?
local yokel salsa dancers are CONSTANTLY hierarchizing. It's practically required in the salsa scene. perhaps it grates in Edie's case because she's turning the tables a little on the gender tip. she's a follow, sure, but she's a top
local yokel salsa dancers are CONSTANTLY hierarchizing. It's practically required in the salsa scene. perhaps it grates in Edie's case because she's turning the tables a little on the gender tip. she's a follow, sure, but she's a top
SnowDancer
Son Montuno
I haven't bought any of these yet, but I wouldn't make a big deal over the accuracy of her 'best' choices. I assume these DVD's are being marketed to us leads, and she's telling us that the guys she features are those she feels we could all learn something from.