2008 World Salsa Championships Postponed

October 21st, 2008 Allan Tabilas Posted in dance |

First held in Las Vegas in 2005, the World Salsa Championships has successfully built its reputation as the place for the world’s best dancers in the on1, on2, cabaret, and team divisions.  The Salsa Seven (led by Albert Torres and Rob Beiner)  have developed relationships with ESPN and Disney to bring our favorite dance to both national and international markets.  Stars such as Oliver Pineda and Luda Kroitor, and Abel Pena and Zulmara Torres have built their names with competitions like the World Salsa Championships, Mayan Championships, and the Puerto Rico Open.  Last year, Colombia’s finest dancers swept the team division (1st and 2nd place led by Luis “El Mulato” Hernandez), and won the cabaret division in Orlando, Florida.   Our own documentary, Salsamentary, followed three couples at the 2006 World Salsa Championships in the on1 (Darlin Garcia and Kathleen Eccleston), on2 (Taiti Walter and Cristel Beijkirch), and cabaret division (Sonya Elmore and Victor Colon).

We were surprised to learn that the 2008 event, originally scheduled for December 3-6 in Orlando, was postponed.  Currently there is no date formally announced.  According to members at Salsaforums.com, Albert Torres announced the postponement at the Canada Salsa Congress in Toronto in mid October.   Apparently the remaining qualifiers are still scheduled for November (Brooklyn Salsa Festival and Acapulco Salsa Congress).   Members at Salserosweb have also posted about this very topic.  With less than six weeks left, we can only imagine that many people, competitors and spectactors alike, had already made plans to attend the competition.  Hopefully a new date is announced soon, even if moves to 2009.

Here is the official statement from the organization’s website:

The Salsa Seven Inc. regrets to announce that “4th Annual World Salsa Championships at Disney’s Walt World Resort” scheduled for December 3-6, 2008, has been postponed. The Salsa Seven and Disney Special Programs are discussing plans for re-scheduling this extraordinary world-class competition.

The Salsa Seven Inc. and Disney, hope to announce the new dates for the “4th Annual World Salsa Championships at the Walt Disney World Resort” as soon as possible. All involved understand this is a disappointing announcement for the dancers and salseros involved in the competition. We recognize the personal and financial sacrifices you have made in preparation for the World Salsa Championships and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.