Having posted a congress survival guide a couple of years ago, I thought I would revisit the whole congress theme, because my dance life revolves around them now. When I wrote that article I was a student and a new performer, now I am a seasoned performer, director and still a student, so my views have changed slightly. This was my 4th Orlando Salsa Congress, and each year has been a slightly different experience for me, but for those of you who could not make it, I'll share my experience and what I witnessed over the weekend.
First of all, this was my first year not having a full pass. This was for a couple of different reasons. The first being the initial offering price was too high for me to be able to even justify. Usually there is a pretty good early bird price, but none so much luck this year, they started at $150 bucks. Reno Bachata Festival and Atlanta Bachata festival already ate up a good bit of any extra funds, so I couldn't afford the pass. Second, I was not performing this year, the performer's pass would have come in handy, alas, we did not land a spot this year. And lastly, I didn't win a full pass this year either. I did try on a couple occasions, but no luck.
I did attend Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and interviewed a few different people who were there for some workshops and went over the schedule to see what was offered and what I would have been interested to take.
So that's the background, now let's get down to the nitty gritty. The location this year was the same as 2010, the Hilton on International Drive, entering it's second year in operation. Personally I prefer this location over last year's World Center Marriott for a few different reasons. The conference center seems more attached to the hotel, but still allows the party to not interfere with the guests staying at the hotel for Disney. The halls seem loftier, and less claustrophobic, and it seems that we have the entire hotel to ourselves. It also seems that the ambient lighting and sound acoustics are better here than at last year's event. Another reason why I like this location is it's access to restaurants and stores. The other locations I have attended, the JW Marriott (best pool and swankiest) and the World Center Marriott both have everything you need on the property, at a price. Great restaurants, but a burger for $18??? I'll pass. The Hilton is situated across the street from a couple of decent eateries and if you wish to travel a little on I-Drive, the amazing buffet of the Orlando Tourist district is at your feet. We very easily walked to the IHOP at 7 am, and there was a Denny's across the street from it too. There is also a convenience store on the corner, in case you need some mixers, or a quick snack/breakfast for your room, forgot your sunscreen, etc. A Walgreens is also less than a mile away. It is also closer to the airport for out of towners, and in the hub of all things Orlando. There is a FREE shuttle that runs up and down I-Drive as well, so even if you didn't rent a car, all is well.
While I have not booked a room here at the hotel, I have been in them to party with fellow attendees, and the rooms are very nice, a little smaller than the JW that I remember, and I never made it to the World Center Rooms as they were so far away from the event. Being a local, I do have the convenience to stay at home in my super comfy camita, but in 2010 and 2009, I booked a less expensive room 2 minutes away and made the trip back and forth very easily. Parking is MUCH more affordable at the Hilton, at only $5 a day! Last year it was $8 every time you parked and left, so I spent over $60 on parking alone. It was also down in Osceola county, and no restaurants within a good 10 min drive unless you ate on property, which was not an option for my budget.
The staff of the hotel is very friendly, and turns a blind eye to beverages and food coming into the event, which was not the case last year. It also seems to have more of a Florida type feel. A Gorgeous Pool area, with areas for the kids, grass volleyball courts, basketball courts as well round out some of the other features, but with as much as I dance, I don't have time for those diversions.
Now onto the event itself. I arrived on Friday evening around 8:45, to be greeted by a line that was 25 people deep trying to pay to get in. It was a little annoying at first, but the Salsa Heat staff, jumped in and started offering different lines for different pass holders, and it moved much quicker afterwards, there was not a line any other night that I witnessed, as they kept to splitting off night passes with cash (the quickest line), night passes with debit/credit, and full/performer passes. A very wise idea, I must commend them as it seemed the smoothest check-in of the past 4 years and any other Congress I've been at.
Performances were set to begin at 9 pm, and although the schedule said promptly, I knew better. We still couldn't find decent seats in the rows of chairs, as people were holding entire sections, but we snagged a decent table diagonal from Stage left and had a good group of people to chat and socialize with. Friday had 38 performances, mostly Semi-Pro, student teams and ladies teams for 3/4 of them, then some of the instructors closed out the night. Troy Anthony was the emcee again, and he always does the best job in my opinion. Son Salvaje was the band from the night, and it was nice to have some local musicians, as well as dancers playing a variety of music, all of which very danceable. They played salsa, cha cha and bachata well into the night, I think they called it quits around 3 am. The Bachata room was going pretty strong all night, and when we left, still quite packed. We called it quits as it seemed to be dying down and since we had to drive home. I was in bed around 6am Saturday morning.
Saturday was the big gala night, all the big performances. Got my pass in a hurry, and got there a little earlier this time to attempt to grab a good seat. No such luck again, but I did get a table right to the side of the stage, so I was very close to the action. There seemed to be a lot of rudeness this year however, with people walking in front of the stage during performances. I've never seen that before, and I found it quite odd that no one enforced people to remain away from the stage while groups were performing. 41 performances on the docket, and mostly pro level, very clean and entertaining shows. Time went by very quickly, and I didn't notice how late it really was until Santo Rico closed the Show. The band for the night was the Mambo Swing Orchestra, as they have been at every Orlando Salsa Congress on one night or another. I am not a huge fan, but they kept the room rocking until 4 am, and a DJ took over. The Bachata room was just as packed it seemed as the Salsa room and they kept going until 7:30am. We however left when the house music started around 6am. The salsa room went until 5:30 as no one was quite ready to call it quits, lights on and all. A short walk to breakfast with friends and home by 8:30.
Sunday is usually my favorite night, as the true die hard dancers are there. I had seats in the reserved section this time, only 4 rows back from the stage. A perfect view. Sunday night had 26 performances, with more emphasis on Bachata and a few comedic performances as well. The vibe was more laid back and Troy did an awesome job. Most of the groups are start-ups, newly formed teams, children, and first time performers. It was nice to see the encouragement and great crowd feedback (even more than the other nights in my opinion) A few really good classic routines were performed as well, Island Touch did their Bachata in Fukoka Routine, and Santo Rico once again closed the show. Dancing started by 1130pm and went on until after 5am again, alas we had to leave early due to work Monday morning, but we had danced a lot the previous nights, so not too hard to head home. They did have the Bachata room again on Sunday, which is a first in my recollection. Turnout was good, not as crowded obviously as the other nights, but if you were looking to snag a dance with a Pro, the best night to do so.
I asked around about the workshops, from students who I knew that attended them. I got a few mixed messages, it seemed that many of the salsa workshops were a little too difficult or not something they enjoyed or would use, and the bachata workshops too easy and they were looking for different instructors. As I looked over the schedule, I did see many of the same workshops as in prior years, and it did seem as if there were as many as before, sadly. Columbian footwork was new one, and Kizomba made another appearance, last time it was offered in 2010 by Shaka Brown, this year by Troy.
Pool parties seemed to be really rocking, I'm not a huge fan, I prefer to rest up as I get to the event early in the evening, but I did hear amazing stories. There was good weather for them on both Friday and Saturday, with poolside music all afternoon all three days. Sunday was a little grey and had some afternoon thunderstorms, but heard it was still packed for the official party. They did have a small covered, shady area for dancing, and another poolside video was shot on Sunday, it's available on iMamboTV. On a side note, I witnessed people running through the sprinklers in their dresses and fancy attire at the end of Saturday on the lawn of the hotel, something I would be more up for after being hot all night, than having the sun suck the energy out of me all afternoon. I'm wondering if it will be a trend?
All in all, another good event. I did however feel the prices even for the night passes a little high for the locals. There was no three night pass available, so including parking it cost $80 per person for each of us to attend just the night parties this year. A slight increase over last. We also had to cut out Thursday night, since it was $15 per person, and they had over 400 people in attendance for the pre-party on Thursday, so that was a bummer. From a director's point of view, the stage was large and impressive, with a nice floor, amazing lighting, and high ceilings. There were a lot of shows this year, and although Saturday was jam packed, I think they could have paired it down a bit. I will actually post more about the performances themselves later.
I have to admit, I am spoiled living in Orlando, but as it has been stated by others, some Congresses are in trouble. I would hate to see OSC head down that path, and while I do not know the exact attendance count, it did seem lighter this year. There were 3 Congresses going on the same weekend, so that does cut into your attendance. The weekend before July 4th probably would have worked better for many's schedules, a slight tweak on the dates could have helped. My opinion, people want a lot of bang for their buck, so vary up the workshops a bit, fix the time issue with the shows, offer a flexible payment plan or an all inclusive hotel package, and OSC will continue one of the best in the country.
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