Salsa Salsang Salpukan sa Subik

Ok, I will be the first to admit that the Grand Ball was not as I expected. I had imagined a poorly attended boring event with a bunch of dowagers barely able to move around the dance floor. What I experienced was a high energy night of dancing (not me), fellowship and unbelievable dance exhibitions. Salsa Salsang Salpukan sa Subik was held November 30 the last night of the Subik Subik Bakasyon Grande 08 at the Subic Bay Exhibit and convention center. The attendance was slow building with really only a handful of people there to take the dance floor when the Nonoy Lopez band took the stage. At first, I thought my expectations were right. In the early evening most of those attending were older women wearing elegant party dresses. The few that initially took the dance floor, I observed, were stiff, had serious looks almost stone faced expressions with just the slightest twinkle of life in their eyes. As the evening progressed, I could see the expressions soften, the twinkle strengthen, the cheeks flushed with excitement and the dance stronger and more natural. These were not old dowagers. By the time the band took its first break, the crowd had grown to a respectable number, the dance floor had men and women off all ages and the energy level was high. While the ban and dancers took a breather, everyone was treated to a dance exhibition by the world renown Filipino dancer, Edna Ledesma. She is consider by many to be the best ballroom dancer in the country and is a judge at many dance competitions. Edna has been winning international championships around the world for years, and after the first few minutes of her dance you knew why. It is impossible to put words to the emotions that her performances evoked or even to attempt to describe the grace, energy and precision. You do not have to be a fan of ballroom or salsa dancing to appreciate her performance. When Edna had finished her dance and the band returned to the stage, there was a rush to the dance floor as dancers returned rejuvenated by the break and inspired by Edna. The guests during the evening were mostly locals but there were a number of tourist and other visitors. At one table was a group of ladies having the time of their lives. They were all Filipinos or former Filipinos living overseas from different places. They had all returned to the area for some sort of reunion. One of the ladies told me she been living in Japan for over 20 years and would be going back shortly. She said the evening was the best time she had on her visit back to the Philippines. She also said that when she got back to Japan, she would tell all her friends in Japan about Bakasyon Grande and will bring them with her next year. The catering company “Cherry Blossom” put together a very impressive buffet. The performances and entertainment managed by Bella Dimayuga were excellent. The organizing committee especially the three Marias ( Dra. Tess, Jean and Linda) did a remarkable job. There was just one major error made by the 3 Maria’s. They overlooked how to make people go home. When the band stopped playing at 1 am, almost everyone was still there, and a half hour later less then half of them had left. The almost universal comment through out the evening and especially on leaving was “Why have you not done this before?” and “do not wait a year to do it again” such encouragement has motivated the GSBTB to start planning on holding another salsa night in the spring  more photos