Just a Salsa Tip for the Leaders!

DANCERS –

WAIT FOR THE MAMBO TO START TURNING

Every salsa event i go to in SF, the song starts, and people start turning. my apologies, but la salsa no se baila asi (is not danced that way).

Listen to the music. Most salsa songs are based on the guaracha or son montuno forms, which have introductions, mambos, and sometimes percussive breakdowns. The introduction is just that, it lets you dance around with your partner, get to know them, feel them out. The mambo comes later, and is generally announced by a dramatic horn figure, at which point the song picks up pace and the cowbell, or cencerro, really kicks in.

Listen for this! This is when you start your turns. If you come out turning, you use up all your turns early, get tired, and have nothing new to do when then mambo hits.

Instead, use the time during the introduction to float around, move your partner, and get loose. Then when the mambo starts, POW! dale con tus vueltas y rumbea! (do your turns and get into it) on the percussive breakdowns, you can let your partner loose and just shake it, do a little solo dancing.

Then when the mambo starts again, grab hold again and go for it. Again, listen to the music.

It will tell you when to dance, when to turn, when to breakdown, when to come back…

-Beto (Bay Area Leader and Musician)

Discover What Salsa Dancers consider the "Ultimate High"

Why Dancers Do What They Do

I have been salsa dancing now for over 10 years. I have taken my breaks in between life's curve balls but I always come back. What is it that draws me back in? What is it that drives me to stay out late, get few hours of sleep, and dance with partners who are less than pleasant? It is for that feeling that every salsa dancer, who has been doing it for a good period of time, looks for. It is that moment when everything else falls away, to reveal two people connecting on a deep, awake, and very present level.

Through out the years, months and days we are concentrating on so many things. To be completely in the present is almost impossible to do.

There is a moment when two people are dancing to the rhythm of the music, when they are able to let go and let their essence seep out of their pores and flow through them. This is that moment that we search for, the "Ultimate High". It is like being in love. It is open, expressive and vulnerable. Without judgment, it is youthfully passionate.

How Do We Get There

So why don't we get this feeling all the time?? There is a certain degree of vulnerability that has to be there. Not an easy task for anyone. My mother used to recite a poem to me when I was younger…

"Love is like a penny shining in your hand
If you hold too tightly, it's not at your command
Love that is kept inside will only fade away
The only gifts we ever keep are those we give away."

The key is to be receptive, and reciprocative. It becomes an exchange of creative energy. The more you put out with a partner on the dance floor, who is open as well, the more you will receive. It is this exchange, that fuels the fire. It becomes dance chemistry when you can attain this with a partner over and over again.

Technique VS Personality

So when we start out learning how to social dance, the main initial goal is to look good. Once you feel you are comfortable with the moves, this starts to change. It is no longer about looking good as it is finding a partner who will reflect the energy that you are putting out.

I asked many leaders and followers what it was that made a "Great Dance". A few responses were as follows.

"To me, it's not about her ability to spin gazillion times, or the perfect posture, or her well-versedness of the dance, but I absolutely yearn for a follower that has the right attitude on the dance floor and more. A dance and a dance floor gives you an opportunity to act and explore the extension of your personality, a dance expression…really, how much can you really do? How do you really express your emotions, body and soul with the music???" -Rodchata

"The main thing that keeps me dancing with a follow over and over again is enthusiasm and connection. I like to be able to feel like she and I are communicating, and I like to have the energy I put out be reflected back" -Gforce85

"My favorite dance experiences were with an older Cuban gentleman. He was so passionate about the dance. He didn't do any styly moves or crazy spins. He just danced like he loved it. He took care of me on the dance floor. He danced with me like I was the only one to ever dance for. It was amazing!" -Cassie43

Summing Things Up

So when it comes to dancing, the key is to let go. Allow yourself to feel the music, be open to your partner and let the creative passion flow through you. Then you will know what I am talking about when I say "The Ultimate High"