Europe Salsa Dance Instructors: Riccardo Recanati of Italy

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Riccardo was born in Rome on 02-06-1979. Grown up learning music and having successfully practice in many sports at high agonistic level (first of all in football), he met the dancing world at the age of 23 starting to attend a basic course of Caribbean dances at the Energy Dance school, in Perugia. He was moving to such city, at the age of 19, to study at the faculty of Veterinary Medicine. After a year he started to attend a hip hop course with Miguel Valentin, from Republica Dominicana. In 2004 he saw for the first time a professional show of salsa, the Johnny Vazquez y su Imperio Azteca's show, that deeply impressed and charmed him. Two weeks later he met Tropical Gem and he decided to begin to learn the Los Angeles style of salsa attending several classes especially with Fernando Sosa, Johnny Vazquez and Ramon Morales, but then also with Francisco and Luis Vazquez. Although continuing learning the puertorican and the cuban style with some of the best dancers in the world, for a year he was mainly devoting himself to the Los Angeles style until, in 2005, he met Jazzy who brought him near the salsa from New York, by his special style that particularly involved him. From that moment he begun to attend many of his classes and, participating to several international salsa congresses in Europe, he got always closer to such style getting more experience every time. He improved getting inspiration and taking classes with most of the best dancers and teachers of the world, about the New York style, like Eddie Torres, Juan Matos, Jhesus Aponte, Jaison Molina, Hacha y Machete and many others. His first real experience in teaching Caribbean dances was in November 2004 when he moved to Poland for 4 months. He opened there 2 dance courses and he taught, for the first time in that country, Puertorican salsa and bachata. The second one was the most innovative surprise and the main reason of several offers of workshops in some dance schools in different cities, as it was known, there, only by the video of the famous "Obsecion", by Aventura. When he came back to Italy he began to teach in the Energy Dance school, where he gave classes for two years. Several times he has been invited to give some workshop, also in Germany, Russia, Romania and Poland, where he gave classes of Puertorican salsa, Los Angeles style, New York style, bachata, rumba, footwork and body movement. In 2005 he took part in two dance competitions, for the first time, getting the first place at the regional championship, in the FIDS, in the category of New York style/Puertorican salsa, and the second place at the interregional championship (Umbria-Lazio-Toscana), in the Nueva Federcaribe federation. In that year he also won the competition organized at the international salsa congress in Poland, in Wroclaw, presenting, at the final, the show "Thank you", that after a year he reanalysed, modified and renamed as "The one". In 2006 he won again the regional championship in both federations (FIDS and Nueva Federcaribe), getting the first place also in the Open competition in the category of Puertorican salsa, second place in bachata and third place in cuban salsa. In may he took part at the international competition of salsa Los Angeles style in Sofia, valid as qualification for the world championship in Las Vegas, getting the final and presenting his new choreography "Who's bad". The "show" side of the salsa world, after having seen Johnny Vazquez for the first time, became maybe the main incentive of the big passion that Riccardo has got for such dance. After he got his first experiences with the Energy Dance group by some performances during the summertime, he prepared in Poland his first choreographies, performing, in couple, in bachata, Puertorican, and Cuban salsa, but especially in L.A. style. But his first official choreography, prepared for a salsa congress, was "Thank you", the show by that he won the competition at the "Carnaval de Salsa 2005", in Wroclaw (Poland). Either in the competitions or in the shows Riccardo has always danced with different girls as he has never got to find a permanent dance partner. So, as he had got a really short time to prepare such show, he decided to modified it and to rename it as "The one" (because it was his first official choreography), in occasion of the Hot Salsa Weekend 2006, the international salsa congress, in Stockholm, where he was invited to perform. His début in an Italian salsa congress was in December 2005, with the Energy Dance group, at the first edition of Salsitaly, in Fiuggi, near Rome. Some moths later he was invited at the third edition of the Salsa and Salsa Festival, in Florence, where he preformed by the show "Who's bad", that he had presented for the first time in Germany, in Leipzig and then in Bulgaria, in Sofia. In December 2006 he presented for the first time in Italy the show "The one" at the third edition of the congress "Salsitaly", in Porto San Giorgio (Marche), show presented, then, in Umbria and Rome too. In 2007 he has been invited to the first salsa congress in Perugia, "Salsa Global Circuit", corresponding to the ex "Salsa and Salsa Festival". For that occasion he has prepared, for the first time, a solo show: "Homenaje a Ray Barretto". The result was so successfull that he was invited to perform it other 3 times in Umbria (the region where Perugia is locatd), in the same month, in Genova at the "Levante Salsa Festival", organized by Sabor Colombianos, and in Riga (Latvia) at the "Riga Salsa Festival". In the summer 2006 Riccardo opened his own dance school in Rome, then, in January 2007 also in Perugia and, in August 2007 also in Poland, in Wroclaw. He was the firstone to teach all styles of salsa, founding the Universo Salsero, with the idea of teaching salsa to people from every country and every culture, considering salsa as a unique conception of dance, but at the same time giving value to all its styles. The group "Universo Salsero" is looking for some willing dancers who wish to perform his choreographies, in Italy or in Poland, especially in New York and Los Angeles style, the most danced in the world.

He is a is a musician and a sport man who has met the world of salsa in 2002. Caraibbean dances have been his main dance formation, learning with the best international instructors all styles of salsa, bachata, rumba , son, afro, cha cha cha, bugaloo, but also jazz and hip hop. In 2006 he has founded the ?Universo Salsero?, the dance school of all styles of salsa (Cuban, Portorican, New York and Los Angeles style). Teaching and performing not only in Italy, but also in Poland, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania and Russia he has actually got 3 locations for his school: Perugia and Rome, in Italy, and Wroclaw, in Poland, where he was already teaching for 3 months in 2004 . For the first time guest of the Salsa Festival in Prague he will present his solo show, that he has already performed in several salsa congresses. The name is ?Homenaje a Ray Barretto? and it?s a mix of cha cha cha and salsa on 2 with some movements coming from rumba, son, bugaloo and jazz.

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