The Dancer's Mold? The Styles of Salsa How Teachers Count The Basic To Dip or Not to Dip Dancer's Euphoria Machismo The Best Student

~ The Dancer's Mold? ~
Are some people just born to be a dancers? Not in my opinion. Perhaps, some people have had a head start in their development due to some previous exposure. However, I don't believe that becoming a dancer is privy to those who fit some sort of traditional archetypal mold.

When people hear music that has a strong percussive element, the natural response in most, is to move some part of the body, be it nothing else but to tap their feet or to smile. Having a physical response to music is one of the most base human behaviours.

As a teacher of adult dance I see many people who begin dancing, having never danced before, or who come back to dance after many years away from it. I believe many of them come in part because they've had the perfect and simple experience of completely being in "a moment" in dance, where there was no fear of the future, no remorse of the past*. This is what I think people want to experience through dance whether they realize it or not, whether they have felt this in the past through their own experience or by being a witness to someone else's such experience. To truly dance I think the only requisite is, to truly be in the moment.

* "It isn't the experience of today that drives men mad. It is the remorse for something that happened yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may disclose"  Robert Jones Burdette
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~ The Styles of Salsa ~
There are 3 main styles of Salsa being danced in Vancouver: Colombian Style, Cuban Style and Mambo Style.

  Colombian Style:     Colombian Style Salsa is the style danced in South and Central America. In the Colombian style basic-step, partners dance side-to-side and mirror each other's movements. In many of the advanced steps the upper body is kept still, poised, and relaxed while executing endless intricacies in the feet. Colombian Style can be danced not only to Salsa music, but also to Cumbia music which is frequently played in Latin nightclubs. This style is especially appropriate on packed nightclub dance floors where space is limited. Most of the steps danced during the Merengue, another Latin dance which is popular in Salsa clubs, have been carried over from Colombian style Salsa. It is said that Colombian salsa evolved during the big band swing era, when swing dance steps were danced to Cumbia music. Cumbia was traditionally danced in folkloric ensembles without holding one's partner.

  Cuban Style:     Also known as Casino, the partners go forward and back moving slightly towards each other and away, using resistance in the arms and body to control the distance. The man moves forward with his right leg and back with his left, while the woman moves forward with her left leg and back with her right. The cross body lead is also utilized often in this style, especially when Casino is done in a group wheel formation called "Rueda de Casino". In the Rueda de Casino, dancers exchange partners by either passing the woman to the next partner along the wheel, or by moving themselves to the next partner. A leader calls the steps that the group will do moments before it happens.

  Mambo Style:     This name I give to any style in which most of the patterns are based on the ballroom Mambo where the man moves forward and back, while the woman moves back and forward (as apposed to going towards each other and away as in Cuban style). Each partner always moves forward with the left and back with the right in the basic step.

The existence of the style has much to do with North American and European dance teachers drawing on the patterns, techniques and teaching methods of successful Ballroom Dance schools such as Arthur Murray** and applying these to satisfy the demand for methodic Salsa dance instruction. This style is predominantly danced by those who have learned how to dance Salsa outside of Latin America.

**Arthur Murray was particularly instrumental in promoting or creating the latest Latin dance trends in the 50's when Mambo music was developing.

  Following The Various Styles:     A woman dancing Salsa, has the advantage of being able to follow various styles when properly led. The fundamental movement theories for women apply to the three styles as mentioned above. The ability of each woman to implement these theories during unexpected steps or styles, depends greatly on her level of dance. For beginners, there is a tendency to freeze momentarily when confronted with a pattern they have not yet covered i the class situation. This will pass and eventually the woman will apply movement theories learned in class, to steps she has never done before. She will not feel the need to anticipate or assume what to expect from her partner on the dance floor. It takes time for her to develop this comfort level, but it's worth it.

Remember also that there are very many personal styles. Dancers often mix their knowledge of a particular style(s) with a personal tendency to move their body in a particular way. That's the excitement of it. It's great to enjoy the diversity.
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~ How Teachers Count the Basic ~
Whatever style of salsa you dance, there is probably a group of people that does the same basic, but dances it on a different count of the music. Since the musical measure for salsa is 4/4 time (4 beats), there are 4 options. For Example, if you dance the forward and back basic in Los Angeles, you could be one of many dancers there, who start with the forward step on the # 1 count of the music; in New York on # 2; in Colombia on # 3 (although they don't do much forward and back); and I'm sure there are dancers out there that prefer on # 4. No stone tablets have been found to indicate which one is more authentic. It is a matter of preference. Certain double spins alter the beat the dancer is on. I ask my students to pay attention to the music so that they are aware when this happens and can choose to change back to their preferred beat if they so desire. Some dancers don't have a preference.

If the counting differences from teacher to teacher confuse you, you can call out the steps to yourself using not numbers but movements. Using again the example of the forward and back basic: "together - front - together - back".
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~ To Dip or Not To Dip ~
I have been asked on many occasions why I don't cover dips in my classes. Firstly, I am dedicated to teaching people how to dance in a social way in the social dance environment. Many of the dips, drops, jumps and tricks that dancers attempt have been rehearsed and often involve the woman trusting her balance in the hands of her partner. I've seen female dancers dropped while dancing such steps. To ladies in Salsa, I highly recommend that these types of moves, if desired, should be rehearsed with the partner who is intended to execute them with you. The risk of injury to yourself and others around you, is too high otherwise.

The use of dips in Salsa was nonexistent when I started 1986. It was only with the event of the movie Dirty Dancing, in the late 80's, that North American Salsa dancers began incorporating dips into their club dancing. Shortly after Dirty Dancing, the Lambada craze hit. This further encouraged a fad of dips.

A dip can be sensual or romantic when done with a partner where there's rapport. However, often dips are done in a quite sensational manner, more suitable for exhibitions. Favouring the use of frequent dips and drops, can be at the expense of the experience and rapport with one's partner. Rather than an experience about a man and a woman dancing, it can become much more about how much attention one attracts from onlookers.
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~ Dancer's Euphoria ~
Dancers will often comment on experiencing a sort of high feeling. Kind of like the high you get when you exercise at an aerobic rate. This feeling of ãflowä or of well-being that is experienced by those who exercise to the point where their brain releases beta endorphin and enkephalin often motivates regular exercise, almost as if one is addicted. This certainly is the case with many dancers, they just need to get their dancing fix. Some dancers have even been known to lose consciousness while dancing, i.e. quite common among the Rumba dancers of the streets of Havana.

Professors of Psychology, Howard E. A. Tinsley and Diane J. Tinsley at Southern Illinois University, performed a study on leisure and found that individuals experiencing leisure to the fullest felt the following qualities. Any dancer will tell you that when dancing to the fullest, one experiences most or all of the following:

• A Feeling of freedom
  
• Total absorption in the activity at hand
  
• Lack of focus on self
  
• Enhanced perception of objects and events
  
• Little awareness of the passage of time
  
• Increased sensitivity to body sensations
  
• Increased sensitivity to emotions

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~ Machismo in Salsa ~
What does Machismo mean? Literally translated it means "male ism". Webster's Dictionary defines it as "assertive masculinity". Why would gender need asserting? How this term relates to our modern society is changing and its very use brings memories of the ever so image conscious late 70's and 80's.

I encourage, at a more advanced level, that the dance become a genuine expression of one's self and feelings. There are many other responsibilities that fall upon the leader, specifically. He must be proficient and clear in his lead, think of what to do next, know how to move his own body, keeping it firm when necessary and he must learn to do these all at the same time.

Then there is one more aspect of importance - rapport and flow with partner. The leader must perform steps which are appropriate to the experience that he is having with any given partner at that moment.

In cases where one is leading or being led into steps which assert virility or simulate romance or seduction (i.e. leading from the woman's legs or hips; running hands along the silhouette of her body; leading her to sit on his lap; dips or turns that simulate pushing; or holding the woman by her jaw or skull), this aspect of rapport is especially important. Following the flow between you and your partner will inspire steps that are appropriate between the two of you.

Although Salsa does have a particular aesthetic which I try to teach at all levels, promoting Machismo to students would be like encouraging them to be image conscious. For my students, I would hope for much more than that, such as the feelings described in the section above (Dancer's Euphoria) -- "a feeling of freedom", "total absorption in the activity at hand", "lack of focus on self", etc.

For those who promote the idea of "machismo in Salsa", I
would suggest taking a survey of what women think. You will probably find that when dancing with strangers, women prefer gentlemen.
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~ The Best Student ~
Sometimes the qualities that make someone a good dance student are exactly the qualities that may make him/her not a great dancer. Following the structure provided by the teacher, even a very good teacher with an excellent curriculum and structure, can get the student into a mode of only learning what is imparted by the teacher. What seems like a contradiction in the success rate of dance teachers may provide insight into the best frame of mind a student can keep in order to achieve the best results.

So often teachers who have the ability to instill confidence in their own skills while actually having poor skills and/or structure, can manage to produce a significant number of good dancers. Perhaps what plays a part is that the student is forced to work at sorting out, understanding and incorporating the information presented without help, since the class does not provide a structure in which to do so under the teacher's guidance. This somewhat protagonistic student activity seems to be a consistent quality in successful social dancers. There is also the possibility that only those students with a predisposition or some kind of 'head-start' will flourish in this type of environment. Nonetheless, it is curious and worth noting.

Perhaps the student's best approach to any teacher's instruction is to combine an acceptance of the structure provided with a curiosity to discover more information than what is presented. Of course, this must occur while still maintaining a confidence in the teacher's skills and knowledge. When this confidence no longer exists, the instruction is no longer effective.

This leads to the issue of the importance of combining practice with learning. When the student's 'dance time' is solely undertaken under the teacher's supervision, it does not give the student adequate time to incorporate the knowledge imparted. Many dance classes always present new material in order to keep the students stimulated and interested in coming back. When the student does not give themselves time to incorporate the knowledge before moving on the new information, they eventually discontinue instruction from that teacher before acquiring all of the knowledge the teacher has to offer.
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