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Liz Lira, the "Rose of Salsa," was born in La Paz, Bolivia, and emigrated to the United States at the early age of eight. Making Southern California her home, she embraced the art of dance and excelled in both ballet and jazz. Although professionally trained for many years in various forms of dance, including modern, lyrical and hip hop, it was not until 2001, at the age of 21, that she emerged onto the LA salsa scene. Her style quickly gained her recognition as one of the top female dancers in Southern California for her fusion of graceful motion and explosive energy. She captured her first major salsa dance championship at the Mayan Club in the summer of 2002 and went onto win more than a dozen competitions with partner Salomon Rivera making them four time World Salsa Champions. As a much sought-after instructor for classes and private lessons, Liz dedicates much of her time to teaching salsa at various locations in the Los Angeles area as well as internationally. She tours the world dancing both Salsa and Argentine Tango and continues to share her passion of dance, acting and singing worldwide.
First of all, thank you very much for giving us the opportunity of this interview. You mentioned off record that you love Canada: what is it that you love the most about our country? The fresh air, everyone is very kind, I’ve always felt welcomed, and of course the pretty sights throughout the city. I liked Canada so much I’ve considered moving there (laughs). I keep on hearing, again and again, that Salsa in the USA is taken much more seriously than in Canada – is this really true in your opinion? No, I don’t believe this is true. I’ve seen some great talent come out of Canada and danced with some awesome social dancers. Let me rephrase the question slightly: based on your experience, how is Salsa in Canada different from Salsa in the USA? Based on my experience, I think that there needs to be more support among promoters and dancers in Canada. For example, here in the US we try to work together as a team to help the growth of new salseros throughout Southern California. Tell us about your dance background. What came before Salsa? For more than a dozen years, I trained at some of the most respected dance studios with top ballet coaches and traveled with a dance company called Salsa Soleil, performing in front of thousands and on TV. During this time, I encountered a lot of opportunities, including the possibility to move to New York and join one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world – The New York City Ballet. For personal reasons though, my dreams of pursuing a life on stage performing ballet almost caused me to quit dancing forever. But with the support of my family and a strong determination, I regained my commitment to dance and transitioned into new avenues. Although I’ve trained professionally for many years in various forms of dance, including modern, lyrical and hip hop, it wasn’t until 2001, at the age of 21, that I emerged onto the LA salsa scene. How did you get into Salsa? I grew up with the music and loved it. I went to a night club for a friend's birthday where there were two rooms: Hip-Hop & Salsa. A young man invited me to dance a merengue with him, and as I was turning I realized I was just having a blast. I guess he thought I knew how to dance. Then the next song was a salsa and we gave it a try. Of course I was doing my own thing and didn’t have a clue what he was doing (laughs). I did simple stuff and got by fairly well. But, when he tried to pull a difficult move on me, I would quickly lose him. We then went outside and he told me about the basic steps and counts for the lady's role. Given my dance background, I get choreography really quickly, so I got the steps in a heart beat and found myself dancing salsa Can you remember your first instructor? Never had one (laughs). What’s the most important lesson you learned? When it comes to learning from someone, I listen carefully… that’s my secret. Is it really true that one necessarily needs an extensive ballet or jazz background in order to be a successful Salsa dancer/performer, or is that just a myth? Not to be a dancer/performer because in dance you can be self expressive and dance a song in whichever way you chose. What ballet or jazz can do for you is help you to be stronger in technique and have an awareness of movement in detail. In connection to the previous question, I would like to ask you a more technical, and much more specific question: I have never seen anyone execute the “coffee grinder” type spin as elegantly as you do. I know it is a difficult move to do, and I’ve seen a lot of performances ruined because of a poor execution of that single move. In relation to whether or not you need a background in ballet or jazz, what’s the secret behind this particular move and the ability to perform multiple turns in general? (Laughs)… I never been asked this question before. But good point. A friend mentioned that that was the move that won Zulmara & Abel the ESPN competition. I trained her as a competitor, actually (laughs). For this move to be a success, first of all, the gentleman needs to know what to do – focus on the girl's center, connect, and adjust to what the lady can do in terms of balance and speed. The gentleman should not lead the lady up, she needs to do so (wink). Secondly, the lady needs to have a strong core – connect from the floor up to her partner – feet together (that means from toes through the knees to the inner things) and either you spot or you spot! How would you define your own personal style within the generic L.A. style? Innovative, dynamic, graceful, on point and taking it to the next level! I don’t like to copy dancers. The basics are just that. As long as you stay within the rules you can do pretty much anything. I love to compete because it pushes me to be at my best, use all my knowledge in dance and the performing arts. But it has been my true and sincere passion of dance to define my own personal style within the generic L.A. Style. My style quickly gained me recognition as one of the top female dancers in Southern California. Although I always tried to present an elegant style of salsa as my trademark, my dancing has been referred to as a fusion of graceful motion and explosive energy. I pour my heart on to the dance floor because it is my dream to share my vision and artistic expression with others and inspire them to do the same. When did you get into performance? At the age of nine, I was a part of a lot of shows for ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical & hip-hop. At 12 I was on point, studied & performed flamenco & tap. By 14 I ventured into ballroom, argentine tango, & salsa. I think when I was 13 I did my first salsa show with Poncho Sanchez for his concert at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. That was fun and a different upbeat rhythm. And how does your style change when you perform as opposed to when you dance socially? In some ways it does and in others it doesn’t. My spirit and the happiness dancing brings me doesn’t. The fact that I need to perform or be perfect during a competition does not pertain to when I go social dancing. The beauty of social dancing is that it is always new! Who’s your current dance partner and what would you like to achieve with Salsa in the next 5 years? My current dance partners are Salomon Rivera, Al Coronel, & Alexis White – that's for Salsa, Ballroom, and Argentine Tango respectively. (Laughs) I just love to dance! In the next 5 years I hope to be living in Malibu California, married and opening my dream dance school! And last but not least, when will we be honored by your visit? Due to my new engagement with The Mayan (clubmayan.com) as their new host this year I’ve decided not to travel till later in the year. Hope to join you for an upcoming Salsa festival or the Vancouver Congress later in the year. If not this year then next. My schedule is always updated 2-3 months in advance so you can check my schedule on my new website lizlira.com “calendar” page. If you are out here in LA join me for my big birthday party & debut of my Latin show case June 7th @ Tatou. “Live Dance” - Liz Lira Be my friend through www.myspace.com/lizlira
For more information about Liz, visit her website: lizlira.com |
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