POWERGRAMS

21 The Spanish origin of the group's name is rather simple: A "clave" is a musical instrument of two sticks making a hollow sound featured predominantly in salsa; "y" means "and"; tumbao is "attitude" or "swag," as in "She has rhythm." Salsa is a fast, flashy dance born in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and introduced to the United States in New York during the 1970s. Bachata originated in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s and became popular in America during the 1980s, not long after salsa. What Smith does is not simply a hobby for an hour a week to socialize. Clave y Tumbao practices, practices and practices some more, then travels to major dance festivals, such as last October's D.C. Salsa and Bachata Festival and the Atlanta Salsa and Bachata Festival this past March. The group travels to New York City for the B.I.G. Salsa Festival in May and is making plans to perform on a dance cruise out of Los Angeles in October. In July, Smith jaunts to Las Vegas to dance with a salsa team led by the world-famous, Milan, Italy-based Fernando Sosa. Earlier this year, the group brought on the husband-wife tandem of Rodrigo and Wendy Jimenez to direct Clave y Tumbao. The couple owns the World Dance Center, the largest dance studio in Charlotte, N.C. "We have been working with Brandon for a little over three months and have noticed he is an excellent team member and team leader," says Rodrigo Jimenez. "He is someone very dedicated, and works hard to accomplish his goals, and is always willing to help his teammates in every way possible. For us it has been a tremendous pleasure working with him." Smith explains how he landed on bachata and salsa as dance styles. "Over the years of dancing, everything from waltz to tango and swing to cha-cha, I have just gravitated toward salsa and bachata," Smith says. "I love the music, the culture, the people and, most importantly, the dancing. It's fun, energetic, flashy, sensual and intense; it's just authentic." Smith has done his share of quite the opposite – ballroom dancing – serving as lead instructor, vice president and president of the Ballroom Dance Club at his alma mater, Mississippi State, and as a professional dance instructor at The Dance Studio in Tupelo, Mississippi. "Sometimes traditional ballroom dances can be very formal and strict, whereas Latin dancing has a greater potential to be interpretive and free style – more loose and relaxed," Smith explains. A native of Long Beach, Mississippi, Smith played football, baseball and hockey growing up. But since 2002, he has danced in one form or another. He got the bug at Long Beach High School with Tropical Wave, an award-winning sing-and-dance show choir. At Smith at practice.

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