The passion of the
salsa dancer is unparalleled; rich, overflowing,
mad -- and quickly becoming one of the most
organized & professional street dances in the
world. This is the kind of dance that is both
internalized and externalized. Salsa is nothing
without a least a little wow factor, but
salsa is also nothing if you can’t just lose
yourself in the music and dance like nobody’s
watching.
The Salsa Congresses
and professional dance companies continue to
raise the bar in terms of technical skill,
creativity and that wow factor. At the
same time, salsa began and continues to simmer
its own subtle variations in style and
personalities in the night-clubs. The
average salsero or salsera can go
to any major city in the world and find a salsa
club or community adding to this dance’s
international appeal.
In this article, we
ask the question: how does social dancing
compare to performance for the student looking
to tap into the unique passion of salsa?
The night-clubs
challenge the student dancer differently than dancing a
choreographed routine before an audience.
Ideally, a good salsa dancer should be capable
in both social
dancing and performance, but each dancer will
build, or prefer to build, their foundation
differently.
Alexandra Sell
of
Mambo Productions
(Calgary, CANADA), commented, “Social
dancing allows you to develop lead & follow
skills, strengthen reflexes, improvise and
increase attentiveness to the music.
Choreography, on the other hand, trains stage
presence, sharpness, technique, ability to
handle pressure, etc.”
It is arguable, however, that
dancers who mainly reserve their dancing to
performance or choreographed classes lack
spontaneity and adaptability, whereas, dancers
who mainly reserve their dancing to the social
floor never learn any new moves, lack growth –
and are often there for other reasons than
salsa.
Randy
Atlas
from
International Hustle and Salsa Competition,
(Miami, USA), believes that salsa should be
primarily danced as a social dance. “Social
dancing is where the real roots of the music and
dance are. The performances are for the
instructors and exhibitionists. They reflect
only 5% of the actual dance population.”
According to
Alexandra Sell,
“From my own experience, performing has
definitely forced me out of my comfort zone.
Had it not been for performing, I would have
never had the opportunity to grow as a dancer.
The stage made me want to get better, invest in
my training, costumes, and the like.”
“However,” she added, “I
never lose sight of what salsa really is: a
street dance. Social dancing is unquestionably
better at feeling the music and connecting with
your dance partner. I don’t see how
choreography can do that. After all, that is
what it is – choreography, so the moves do not
have to be lead-able. As with everything else,
repeatedly training the same routine and music
is bound to become monotonous, tedious and lose
its spontaneity.”
Arif Maherali
of
Latin Soul Dance
Company (Calgary, Canada) commented, "I have both
performed and danced socially, and I can
definitely say that social dancing is what has
increased my skill level bar none. A true
street dancer will be able to pick any girl
or guy and be able to create a story, without
predetermined moves.”
Everybody learns differently,
according to
Erika
Sanchez
from
Grupo America
(Vancouver, Canada ). Some people learn
to feel the music better in choreography because
the timing and execution has to be perfect.
“These dancers not only follow a routine based
on counts but on the changes and highlights of a
song, plus they learn the feeling of each piece
when the choreographer explains it.”
“Performance
and choreography is taking what you learned to
the next level and treating salsa as more than a
past-time or hobby,” according to
Arthur Ga
of
Salsa Picante Dance
Company (Toronto, Canada).
“Performance is an accomplishment for the
student and a test of confidence. It has more
drama and showmanship; an opportunity to really
shine in ways that may not be appropriate on a
social floor, for example: doing flips and lifts
and dramatic dips."
But he added that he had seen
many great dancers get to the same level or
better just by dancing socially. “It all
depends on the individual.”
“Those
truly gifted can both perform & social dance
like they are on fire,”
Erika Sanchez
said. “If he/she is a great performer, they
will never lack spontaneity; it’s in their
genes. Those that are fantastic social dancers
practice like crazy on their own time, meaning
they will never lack growth or new moves. But
whether they do this for other reasons than
Salsa, that is another issue; everyone has their
own reasons.”
Francisco
De La Calleja
of
San Tropez Dance
School & Company (Montreal, Canada),
responded, “Absolutely
everyone is in it for reasons other than salsa.
Some are there to show off and feel superior,
some are there to find a mate, some are there to
get a feeling of belonging to a community, some
are there as a personal challenge, some are
there to please their spouse.”
Arthur
Ga
said, “In the social scene, people can be rude.
This makes learning especially difficult for
beginner students. Classes and performance
groups that are dedicated to salsa are safer in
this respect. Students who want to perform are
less likely to be in salsa for other reasons.”
“The best opportunity to
enjoy social dancing, however, is when you can
dance with the person you are in love with,” he
added. “With this partner you can create a
stronger connection with or without a lot of
technical skill. This is when the true pleasure
of salsa comes alive. If you can’t get that
yet, the next best thing is a dance partner that
is ready and able to work with all your moves.”
Natalie
Reis
of
AusLatin Productions,
(Australia) responded,”Salsa is first and
foremost
meant to be enjoyed between two people moving
with the music. There is nothing quite like the
almost universal language of dancing salsa
socially with a friend or complete stranger from
across the globe, and knowing that you are both
so in tune with one another that you have, in
fact, become the music. It is true magic.”
“I
feel strongly that one should develop social
dance skills to a fairly competent level before
moving into choreography,” she added.
“The hardest thing to learn
is to think about our partner at all times.
Sure, rhythm, posture, styling, footwork and
moves are all important, but we all have to
remember that without our partner there is no
dance!”
said
Francisco De La
Calleja.
Arif Maherali
believes, “Being taught is one thing,
but adapting to your partner and making it look
like a performance is another. Social
dancing puts you to limits that you cannot
control. What I mean is, in a performance you
know the timing, song, partner and moves, but in
social dancing, you may not know the song or
partner and may have to adapt on the spot to
those elements. How does the girl move?
How fast is the song? What are the conditions
like? Can I try a certain move? Remember the
roots of salsa. It is about the music, people
and energy. Learning moves can be done in a
classroom or workshops. To put those moves to
the test, it is beneficial to practice them on a
social level.”
Simona
Boucek
of
Rumbanana Salsa Group
(Oregon, USA) responded, “I consider myself more
a social dancer than a performer. However, I
did not truly understand the music and how it
connects to the dance until I started to
choreograph to the music. I think through
choreography, you get many of the technical
aspects of this dance that you don't always pick
up on just as a social dancer.”
Performance gives dancers opportunities that
social dancing does not. The performances and
organized Salsa Congresses not only create
moments that stand out in the dancer’s mind, but
also provide places where salsa communities can
gather and strengthen.
“My
favourite performance was on our first dance
tour in 2001 dancing in small
remote towns to school children in BC’s interior,”
Erika Sanchez
recounted. “The school board told us for years
that they would not hire us because apparently
kids do not like dancing in BC. By 2001, they
relented and gave us a go. In Clearwater,
the children gave us a standing ovation and the
entire school lined up for autographs. The
principle told us it was the best show in 30
years of teaching that he had ever seen. The grade
7 BOYS, I repeat BOYS, came to us at the end to
sign their baseball gloves.”
“My favourite memory social
dancing was
when I went to Cuba for the first time and
danced all night with the Tropicana male dancers
at an after party.”
“
I
would venture that I’ve had the most fun at the
Montreal Salsa Convention in April 2005,” said
Francisco De La Calleja.
“My favourite memory in performance was the
first time I performed with the San Tropez Dance
Troupe at the Puerto Rico Salsa Congress in
1999. The performance was spot on and the
Puerto Rican audience was incredibly welcoming.
I also believe that they did not expect
Canadians to dance as well as we did.”
Arif Maherali
said, “My favourite memories when social dancing
are at the congresses in different parts of the
world -- dancing with the best in the world
like Edie the Salsa Freak, Liz Lira and random
girls. It really allows me to appreciate the
universality of Salsa.
Locally I love heading up to Edmonton. We have
made some awesome friends down there and they
spin the baddest salsa grooves (shout out to Jen
and DJ Spice Julian). Calgary is still working
very hard to have that one "hot" spot. Other
than that, Vancouver and Cuba are my favourites.
I plan on hitting up a couple more places this
year so check back.”
Natalie
Reis
commented, “Nothing compares to that moment on a
Saturday morning while doing chores in my living
room, when the music suddenly grips me and I can
no more stop my body moving than fly over the
moon! At this special time I feel truly surreal
– like I’m having a higher experience. I listen
to and learn Salsa because I hope to and
fervently seek to feel that feeling. Everyone
should try it!”
Randy Atlas'
favourite place to dance is
Café Mystique, Miami USA.
“I’ll
dance everywhere,” from
Alexandra Sell.
“Until a student truly learns
to listen to the music both with their ears and
with their soul, it really is just physical
movement, not salsa,”
Natalie Reis
said. “It’s really all about the music – when
you get inside the music and hear the harmony of
the musicians ‘for real’ it moves you.”
“The most important thing that I figured out
about Salsa is that it's all in the basics,”
Simona
Boucek
said. “Each style of Salsa has a few
fundamental basic patterns, after that it's all
combinations of those patterns. When I first
started out, I tried to memorize all these
different combinations how they started, how
they ended, what they were called. It was
silly. Once you learn the basic patterns, you
can do just about anything because it's just a
variation or combination of the basics.
Francisco De La Calleja
believes a student must have a good teacher and
a clear objective when starting salsa. “So many
people come to our school and state that they
“want to be good dancers”. They are always
reminded that “being good” means nothing until
they have established what good means for them.
The answers are always different. And the way
they must be taught is different. An amateur
teacher, more often than not, is just a terrific
dancer
who will try to impose his/her definition of
“being good” on the student and will end up
frustrating the efforts of the learner, not from
lack of prowess, but for lack of focus.
Professional teachers, on the other hand, are
able to adapt their teaching style to the needs,
objectives and abilities of their student.”
“There is no such thing as a
“natural” dancer. As easy as it is to learn to
dance, it will take some time, just like
everyone takes time to learn to walk or to speak
or to swim or to drive a car. Sure, some people
have been dancing for so long that they already
forgot when they learned but having a clear
expectation will make the student more patient
towards him / her self.”
According to
Arthur Ga,
“If you learn just from
friends in a social scene, they can’t always
give you the whole picture. Students must find
the right teacher for them, above anything
else. I have personally learned from many
teachers: some of you are bad and you know
who you are. And some of you are good, and I
thank you for that.”
From
Arif Maherali.
“Key elements to becoming a good salsa dancer
are attitude and love. If you are going into it
to show off, your time is numbered. If you are
going into it to have fun and love the art, you
will be amazing.”
Copyright
lyw November 2005
