Close Up Salsa Fiesta season 3....the journey so far

Close up Salsa Fiesta Season 3 comes in 2 phases: the professional couple’s competition and the Learners’ group competition. To learn Salsa, simply buy 3 packs of close up large from participating outlets in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi, win a voucher for free salsa lessons from the following participating clubs: Fridays (Sakumono), T-Havanna (Tema), Afrikiko (Accra) and Aviation Social Centre ( Accra). B2D (Kumasi) and KNUST Sports Gym (Kumasi). Vienna City (Takoradi) and Takoradi Poly Campus (Takoradi).

Learners stand a chance of participating in the group competition at the grand finale and the top 3 groups win up to GHC7, 000.

The professional couple’s competition kicked off a few weeks ago after a vigorous audition that saw amazing Salsa performances by couples from Accra, Takoradi and Kumasi. 11 couples were chosen to participate in the Salsa Fiesta TV series.

They are: Bernard Korsah and Rita (Accra), Theodore Dabadji and Rosemary Eshun(Takoradi), Essence Kobby and Martha Okai ( Accra), Tina Mensah and Kalala Obodai (Accra), Wallace and Ketura (Accra), Esther and Daniel (Tema), Fianyo Eyram Ernestina and Derrick Aboagye (Kumasi), Joyce Akoto and Henry Odoi (Kumasi),Juliana Kelvinta and Dickson R.K.A. Amwbleh (Accra), Megan Mensah and Lumya Laryea (Accra), Pascaline Inkoom and Noah Doe(Accra).

The judges for the competition are Naomi Nelson and Joshua Ansah, who both have years of salsa dancing under their belts.

This year, the public gets to determine which couples go on to the grand finale by voting for their favourite couples on the Close Up Ghana Facebook page. The boot camp episode, thus, created an avenue for the couples to introduce themselves to the general public, in order to win their love and votes.

After two weeks of preparation, it was crunch time as they proved themselves through pure salsa. This task was a test of the ability of the couples to wow us with their amazing salsa moves.

Reality shows will not be complete without evictions. The first eviction saw 2 couples (Theodore Dabadji and Rosemary Eshun, Takoradi) leaving the competition. The nine remaining couples who survived the eviction danced their hearts out in the episode themed: ‘Salsa with love.’

It was indeed a night of love as couples expressed their love to their partners through dance. Judges were impressed with the progress the couples have made so far in the competition. Some couples managed to sweep the judges off their feet with their dance moves whiles some failed to meet expectations.

After a good first start, the couples were tasked with projecting the future through salsa, that is, show how salsa will be danced in 50 to 100 years. Some couples got the vision well and were futuristic in their dance as they projected salsa being danced by babies in the future; some couples fused other dance styles with salsa as their way of being futuristic.

While some couples scored points with the judges, others failed to meet the task requirements and disappointed the judges with their non-futuristic dance moves. Esther and Daniel (Tema), Tina Mensah and Kalala Obodai (Accra) left the competition during the eviction segment and could not perform their futuristic dance.

Last Sunday the couples showcased a fusion of the beautiful Ghanaian culture with Salsa. This week’s episode, we’ll have all the evictees come back in the Wild Card episode to once again prove themselves to the judges and the public.

The couple with the highest votes on Facebook will join the other 5 couples on the grand finale stage to compete for the position of best salsa couple in Ghana and take home the ultimate prize. The top 3 couples win up to GHS11, 000.

Viewers can catch the series this and every Sunday on GH-ONE at 6:00pm and Metro TV at 7:30pm and vote for their favourite couple at www.closeupghana/facebook.

Close Up Salsa Fiesta is proudly brought to you by Close Up, which gives you 3x fresher breath for that confidence to get closer.