Ulm Salsa Festival 2010
Being invited to Ulm Salsa Festival was special for Dave & Zoë because Ulm was where Paradizo started. Here is the story how Dave & Zoë first met: Five years ago Zoë was working with another circus company called KIRKOS. KIRKOS was notified that there was a Salsa dancer looking for an acrobat interested in learning Salsa. This guy’s name was Dave Paris.
Dave pursued Zoë’s trapeze partner, Jen Colasuono, after one of her shows and started rehearsing at Fazels dance studios. Dave of course was so excited and of course asked her if she knew of anyone else who may be interested in working as a trio. Dave being the “Salsa Lift Guy” wanted to lift two women at the same time. Now, for an acrobat, this was no big deal. But for Dave, this was his big DREAM! And thus began the journey.
Jen left for San Francisco and Zoë was now left searching for an acrobatic partner. Dave this was an easy solution. Dave felt he found his most perfect partner after many years and 22 partners. Zoë loved being in the air, picked up all the tricks in his repertoire very quickly, she was perfect size for this acrobatic work, AND she was Latina! Perfect, right? Only one problem: Zoë was not impressed.
Zoë felt all of Dave’s tricks were elementary level, very gender specific. She didn’t enjoy social dance where only one person get’s to be “the leader“ and only one person get’s to “follow.” And who was this guy
who was clearly obsessed with Salsa and these ballroom tricks?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Zoë loves to get tossed into the air!
ahh, time for a nice stretch...
PHOTOS OF SHOWS
How did Luis Vasquez get up there?!
salsa? why yes!
Top 4 photos by Valentin Beringer
Bottom 3 photos by Pasquale Levanto, Gökhan Öztürk of www.salsapictures.ch
He always carried a DVD player everywhere studying new tricks, old tricks, ice skating tricks or reviewing Salsa Congress shows, over and over. Zoë told Dave, if he wanted her to be his dance partner, he would have to prove he was serious, otherwise, she was going to Circus School.
Dave had to get to work. Desperate measures. A week before his middles school classroom took the yearly state test, Dave organized a 10 day tour in Germany & Amsterdam for acrobatic training, teaching and performing. It was on this trip where Zoë realized this Dave Paris had more drive than anyone she ever met. His commitment to his dance, and his athleticism was outstanding. AND he was willing to learn circus if she learned Salsa. In Ulm, Dave & Zoë were welcomed by Olcay’s warm community of salseros. Here Zoë instantly fell in love with the possibilities, to influence the world through dance & music, to reconnect with her roots through Salsa, to invent a new form of acrobatic dance, and to gain a friendship that would lead to marriage. This is how it all began.
