1st Annual World Salsa Championships @ ESPN Deportes.

Thousands of salsa dancers from more than 100 nations will meet for the “1st Annual World Salsa Championships” in Las Vegas from December 14th-17th, a history-making event to be broadcast in multiple languages and on several international TV stations including ESPN International and ESPN Deportes.

The four-day event will bring together dance partners and groups who have received awards at previous competitions held around the world. This historic event will take place in the Orleans Arena, Las Vegas’ ultra modern and luxurious performance venue with seating for over 9,000 spectators.

Production of the “1st Annual World Salsa Championship” is being led by the group Salsa Seven, whose organizers include12 time Emmy winner and renowned producer Rob Beiner and promoters Albert Torres, Leo Tizol, Willie Torres and Don Elbaum. Rob Beiner has produced or directed more than 2000 sports and entertainment telecasts on cable, network or Pay-Per-View television for major TV networks such as ABC Sports, CBS, NBC Sports, USA Network and ESPN. His successful production and direction career include seven Olympic Games, notable Boxing Championship Fights like Mike Tyson vs.Evander Holyfield, NCAA Basketball and Football, Comedy Central, Kentucky Derby,etc.

At this international mega competition, the salsa dancers will put their artistic abilities to the test in various categories: group and individual (New York and LA style), and groups/ cabaret. Prizes of up to approximately $20,000 will be awarded in each category.

Competitors and others will be invited to attend seminars, daily performances, and several other salsa events led by favorite artists including Victor Manuelle, the Grammy winners Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Michael Stuart, Hollywood actress Sully Diaz, Brenda K Starr, etc. For diversity’s sake, there will be a Reggaeton surprise. After the tournament, the enormous Arena dance floor will open featuring a different theme every night, from “Vive la Salsa” (Contemporary Salsa) to Mambo and Rumba nights evoking the genre’s golden age legends Tito Puente, La Lupe, Tito Rodriguez, Celia Cruz, Desi Arnaz, Hector Lavoe and others. The event also coincides with the 100-year anniversary celebration of Las Vegas and December 17, the grand finale night celebrating 100 years of Las Vegas and Rumba.

“Everyone has witnessed the rebirth of ballroom dancing on British and Spanish international Reality TV shows as well as in the United States with programs like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and, more recently, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, which broke ratings records. The main difference between these types of Reality TV shows and the “1st Annual World Salsa Championships” is that these are professional dancers. What’s more, our event is on a global scale, not a regional one, and [through it] we want to show the world who the greatest salsa dancers on the planet are,” explained Albert Torres, promoter of the WSC and over twenty Salsa Congresses worldwide.