Salsa on the Menu

Never mind that your arms and legs often tangle when you try to dance. With an attractive dance instructor smiling at you, you’ll find it takes two to tango. Or better, salsa.

It’s all in the hips.

“The basic movement is in the hips and the feet,” said salsa expert Ericka Blackmun, who will keep visitors to the Orange County Fair in step this year, when--for the first time--the celebration includes free nightly salsa classes.

“I like to tell people, ‘Close your eyes, listen to the music, the instrumentals. Feel the rhythms beating in your heart.’ Then you start dancing.”

Easier said than done.

Dressed in a sassy, ruffled, black satin outfit accentuated by ruby sequined flowers, Blackmun will perform during opening ceremonies, leading a conga line through the fair’s main gate in Costa Mesa on Friday. She headlines opening day with a returning act, the Red Hot Billy Peppers, an 18-piece brass band.

The first 150 patrons will receive free maracas, sombreros and tambourines and will be eligible to win a vacation getaway to Miami.

The salsa dancing is one of the fair’s events that pay tribute to the Southland’s Latino culture. Fair organizers say the special entertainment and events coincide with this year’s product--the pepper--and theme, “Hot! Hot! Hot! We’re Spicin’ It Up.”

To get into the salsa groove, think the tropics, umbrella cocktails and rhythmic music filled with congas, maracas and horns crooning in the background.

“Salsa has that tropical flair to it,” Blackmun, 26, said. “It’s fun music and dancing.”

Blackmun insists that salsa is easy to learn. Each night at 7 she will demonstrate basic techniques along with simple dips and combinations. She usually warms up with movements to relax the hips and shoulder muscles until participants get comfortable. Then she gets into the footwork.

Salsa is a combination of short, quick-quick-slow moves, she explained. One rule of thumb for couples to avoid stepping on each other is to let the woman take a step back with her right foot so her partner can step forward.

“Once you get down the basic moves, you start moving fast to the music, spinning and dipping,” Blackmun said. “It’s high energy and upbeat. It’s also great physical exercise.”

Blackmun, who lives in Seal Beach, grew up performing on the fair stage since she was 5 as part of a Polynesian dance group known as Nonosino. She began learning salsa moves from her mother from the time she was able to walk.

“With Ricky Martin and the whole Latin explosion, everyone’s soaking in the music and the different Latino styles,” Blackmun said. “Salsa is a part of that.”

The 30-minute lessons are followed by a dance competition with a live salsa band each night. Finalists will vie for the “hottest couple” title on the last day of the fair.

“I want people to have a love for the dance and culture like I do,” Blackmun said. “It’s salsa. Like the food you eat, the dance is hot and spicy. It’s festive.”

The dance craze at the fair began five years ago when big bands hit the scene on outdoor stages. Crowds naturally boogied to the tunes.

“We’ve noticed over the past year that dancing is very popular, plus it’s intergenerational,” said Becky Bailey-Findley, CEO and general manager of the Orange County Fair.

Two years ago, the fair featured swing dancing to accompany the big bands that played on the Heritage Stage. Fair-goers came to dance, dressed to impress.

Salsa dancing “allows for positive social interaction,” Bailey-Findley said. “It’s a sexy movement. It’s just strutting your stuff, and it creates a real sense of fiesta.”

In addition to the salsa and big bands playing tangos, samba and mambo, fair-goers will have a wide range of entertainment to choose from.

From students dressed as chili peppers to professionals clogging their way across stage, the fair draws its talent from the local community and throughout California. The reach is global, from Russian bands to Korean and German folk dancers.

“We try to get as many nationalities in here as we can,” said Ginny Smith, community entertainment and special events coordinator for the fair.

Also new this year is a Marilyn Monroe look-a-like contest and a spicy-salsa culinary contest Wednesday.

Celebrity chef Martin Yan of the television show “Yan Can Cook” will fire up his wok for a cooking demonstration of Chinese cuisine. He will be on the Heritage Stage on July 20. On July 27, chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, authors of “Cooking With Two Hot Tamales,” will share their culinary secrets.

In a salute to the rich culture of Mexico, the fair will feature a “Fiesta del Mariachi Day” on July 23 with popular bands, such as Mariachi Sol de Mexico, the all-female Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles and Mariachi Voz de America. There will also be ballet folklorico dancers and a mercado.

Concert headliners such as Jose Feliciano will top off the nightly entertainment that includes nonmusical acts, such as a hypnotist and motorcycle stunt riders.

Fair-goers are sure to discover new attractions as well as the old favorites.

“We’re trying to provide as much entertainment and activity as possible,” Bailey-Findley said.

So expect a pleasant distraction around every corner, including a petting zoo, crafts village, exhibit halls, food booths, carnivals and animal shows.

BE THERE

The Orange County Fair 2000, Orange County Fair & Exposition Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens Friday. Runs through July 30. Admission: $2 to $6. Hours: Monday-Wednesday, noon to midnight; Thursday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to midnight. (714) 708-FAIR (3247).