Toronto's Gil Mesina and Michelle are getting it out there in a big way. From San Francisco to Calgary to Toronto, Gil & Michelle have pushed amateur competitions to new heights with performances that give most professionals pause!
Gil & Michelle not only won the Amateur Class 2009 Winter Salsa Carnival 2nd Salsa Competition, but the Amateur class at the 2009 Calgary Salsa Congress Competition. What's next for them?
Here's their story.
Challenges
Our biggest challenge at the Calgary Salsa Congress Competition was Michelle Schober's hamstring injury occuring on the same week of the competition, which made it very hard to train. Coupled with the fact we had an early morning flight and little rest, we were exhausted by the time tech rehearsal came. But, thank God for adrenaline, because we put forth our best effort by the time we stepped up on stage.
I liked how the Calgary Salsa Congress organizers judged the competition because all the judges scored the competitors within a minute of completing their routine and with their scores immedieatly being handed to the scrutineer for her to tally. No discussions - just move on.
So by the time the final competitor went, it was only a matter of five minutes before they had the results. I also liked how they gave us our scores right away. One of the competitions we did previously didn't give us our scores so we were not sure what we did wrong and what we had to do to improve on.
Western Hospitality
We weren't sure what to expect because we went out to Calgary at the last minute, all alone. However the second we got there everyone was so friendly. Even our fellow competitors helped us find our way around and even let us share practice space with them. The promoters Albert Torres, and Salsaa Rica's Kelly Lannan, Eric Caty, David Joseph were very accommodating and very welcoming.
After winning on Friday 30 January 2009, they invited us to perform again on Sunday. It was an honor to be on the same show as 3rd On2 @ 2007 World Salsa Championships' Junior & Emilie and Mexico's Victor & Gaby.
We'd totally recommend anyone to go check out the Calgary Salsa Congress!
Competition Results
We were in the amateur division totalling eight couples. Most of the other couples came from Manitoba, Alberta and Vancouver. We came in 1st with an average score of 89/100. 2nd place was 84/100, 3rd place was 81/100.
The judges were World Salsa Championship judge Billy Fajardo, Montreal's Marie Josee Strazzero and Victor Burgos.
Photograph Credits
Photographs were taken by Derrick Woo Photo and Melinda Gombert Photography.
