Foreseeing a period without salsa

S

suitz

Changui
Hi all,

I did a quick search, found this which I felt only half-answered my query and also its approach was 'from the other side'... How long can you go without it??

I am facing the very real prospect of potentially having to go 2-4 months (potentially even more! :() without being able to dance salsa. This will be due to very significant changes to my: work commitments, travelling, new locations, transportation issues.

Maybe in that time I *might* (I say more out of desperate hope really...) be able to sneak in a handful of nights out but, it doesn't look likely.

I suppose I am still at that relatively early stage (dancing for one full year now), where there's still lots and lots left to learn, to do and to get better at - so the enthusiasm and eagerness to dance is still very high. Previously the longest I have gone without dancing was about 2.5 weeks... and that was only due to bad weather along with the run up to the Christmas period. Even then I was feeling very twitchy!

In the past couple of months, I have been cramming in an insane amount of dancing... at least 4/5 times a week is normal... and most recently a marathon of 9 consecutive days, sandwiched between a load of other party nights.

Coming from that frequency down to potentially 2-4 months without... it sort of scares me a little!

I think a break would be a good thing for me, I am wary of burning out, but this sounds like going cold turkey...

I was hoping if anyone could give me any advice on how to manage this?

For example, but any other advice is always welcome!
  • how to get through the barren months?
  • how to deal with starting back up with dancing once I get the chance to?
  • how do best I prepare myself for this barren spell?
I know how I'm like, I have a feeling my first dance back in salsa again after the break, is going to be SO supremely frustrating. I'd be annoyed at how rusty I will be, and how I have forgotten to do the things I used to be able to do... this combination of rustiness and frustration will not be a good thing, especially if I can't counter it by going to a class the day immediately after... it may be another long while before I can dance again... before you know it... my mind will be suggesting I should not bother going... which leads to, well... I don't want to even say it!

HELP!
 
Firstly, DON'T PANIC!

4 months is not a long time. I went 8 months with hardly any real dancing when I moved back to England.

Yes, you may go a bit stir crazy for a while, but there are lots of substitute Salsa activities which you can do to both keep your Salsa addiction alive AND also improve at the same time.

Yes, improve! There are all those things you always mean to do, mean to practice that you put off because you can go out and dance instead.

This is your chance to:
- Purchase and study DVDs in detail.
- Study social dancers on video clips and break down the movements.
- Practice and refine your basic steps, turns, spins, shines, body movement etc.
- Improve your Salsa music collection.
- Learn more about the concepts and technique of dancing.

If you practice, the only thing that will suffer is your partnerwork but you can gain that back much more quickly than it took to learn it in the first place. A break often helps to give you a new perspective when you come back and can often help you improve your leading.

You mentioned Travelling. Will there not be Salsa clubs where you're going? Into space? under the Ocean? North pole? ;)

Also, if you can only go out once during that period, make it a Salsa congress! If you haven't been to one yet, the whole weekend of dancing, workshops, shows and parties will blow your mind. You could schedule it half way into your hiatus. There are multiple Salsa congresses and weekenders in every month of the year, assuming you're flexible about where to go.
 
suitz said:
For example, but any other advice is always welcome!
  • how to get through the barren months?
  • how to deal with starting back up with dancing once I get the chance to?
  • how do best I prepare myself for this barren spell?
Click to expand...

Already covered the first one.

As to how to start back up ; just walk into a club and start dancing again. Take lessons, do what you've been doing. Yes you may need to revise the basic stuff again (always a good thing in my opinion) and you'll probably find it a bit of a struggle again but with practice your beginners hell should be a lot shorter because you know what to do already.

How do you best prepare? Plan. Write down what it is you're going to focus on. Make a list of DVDs that you want to get hold of. Try to cover all the different areas of dancing in your studies/practice/entertainment.

Or you could just focus on enjoying the music and forget about everything else then pick it up again when you've got more time.
 
You know, I'm in a similar position. Work commitments, studying, and family obligations all hit me a few months ago and it's gotten to the point where I have no time for Salsa right now. I know I mentioned in another thread that Salsa has stressed me out and that's why I'm stopping, but most of it is really due to my life getting so busy all of a sudden. Salsa does require a lot of time and commitment in order to improve, so it's important that I have as much time as possible to devote to it. So, that's why I stopped going for lessons for now. I estimate that I probably will not be dancing for another 7 months. :(

I will definitely go back to Salsa sometime at the end of this year or early next year if/when my busy life settles down. And yeah, my life is THAT busy. It's too personal to get into detail, but it has gotten to the point where it's almost impossible to go to even one class or social per week. But like I said, I would love to go back to Salsa at the end of the year or early next year when my schedule hopefully frees up. And it does scare me. How rusty will I be when I go back dancing? Will I have to start from scratch? Will I get used to living a Salsa-less life that I won't be motivated to go back anymore? Will my 10 months of lessons be thrown in the garbage because of this?

It's scary thinking about this, to tell you the truth. I try not to let it bug me right now because there's nothing I can do about it.
 
Yes, such a situation is not uncommon. I'm accustomed to going 1-2 months at a time between salsa outings due to the demands of my job, for which the responsibilities simply seem to grow annually. Nevertheless, you'd be surprised how everything just comes back to you - a few months is not sufficient to render you rusty. When you do get a chance to go out, it is sooooo sweet!

Of course, the main issue is the psychological impact of the horrendous thought of not being able to dance for a while. The first task is to surmount this, and breathe.

Azzey's advice works for me - watch DVDs when you can and practice your shines. However, Azzey!!! Do you want me to rattle off the countries I've been too which are bereft of salsa? Travelling does not just entail developed/Western countries (and in this case Latin America, China etc). The -stan countries, the Caucasas, many in Africa and the Middle East, not much luck there! (superb trekking and historical sites though, sigh...) The trick is to find a nearby place to go on short trips or weekends to indulge in civilisation and possibly salsa.
 
azana said:
However, Azzey!!! Do you want me to rattle off the countries I've been too which are bereft of salsa? Travelling does not just entail developed/Western countries (and in this case Latin America, China etc). The -stan countries, the Caucasas, many in Africa and the Middle East, not much luck there! (superb trekking and historical sites though, sigh...) The trick is to find a nearby place to go on short trips or weekends to indulge in civilisation and possibly salsa.
Click to expand...

Ahem, not to mention some places in Europe... :(
 
suitz said:
  • how to get through the barren months?
  • how to deal with starting back up with dancing once I get the chance to?
  • how do best I prepare myself for this barren spell?
Click to expand...

Indeed this is not such a long time and you might not forget as much as you think you would. But you might want to help your memory by making videos of the turn patterns you now know just in case.

As for the rest:

Buy a good shines DVD that you can practice with on your own.

Buy a book on salsa music/dance/etc. - for example Alex Wilson's book got very good reviews.

Extend your music collection, put everything on your MP3 player or laptop and have it with you when you travel.

Watch a lot of videos - it might not be possible to learn new moves from them without a partner to try them with but at least it will keep your enthusiasm.

Stay on the forums!
 
azana said:
However, Azzey!!! Do you want me to rattle off the countries I've been too which are bereft of salsa? Travelling does not just entail developed/Western countries (and in this case Latin America, China etc). The -stan countries, the Caucasas, many in Africa and the Middle East, not much luck there! (superb trekking and historical sites though, sigh...) The trick is to find a nearby place to go on short trips or weekends to indulge in civilisation and possibly salsa.
Click to expand...

Of course but *I* didn't want to stress him even more than he already is. He doesn't say where he's travelling to and it may be somewhere with Salsa.
 
azana said:
and the Middle East, not much luck there! (superb trekking and historical sites though, sigh...) The trick is to find a nearby place to go on short trips or weekends to indulge in civilisation and possibly salsa.
Click to expand...

Where specifically ?... I know there are some areas that have a decent scene.. like.. Lebanon, Israel, Dubai , Egypt, Kuwait,and Abu Dhabi to name a few...any of those good for you ?
 
I agree with the advice so far, if you can't go out dancing for some reason, whether or not there are salsa clubs, spend your evenings watching some good DVDs and practicing. It never hurts to work on the basic steps and then you won't feel so much like you have lost time.

Also about the music, I don't know how obsessively you listen now but make sure your MP3 player is loaded with songs and listen as non-stop as your circumstances permit and I mean non-stop. I really do believe that the more you listen to the music the better your musicality becomes, even without classes. It helps immeasurably with your ability to "feel" the music, that illusive, vague ability that people talk about all the time.
 
A break is not such a bad thing.
I have improved A LOT after my two months break last year (I hurt my leg in a road accident - it's all fine now). Perspective is great.
Just keep up exercise, eat well, you don't want to get fat ^^

timberamayor has a very good point about musicality too

cheers
 
terence said:
Where specifically ?... I know there are some areas that have a decent scene.. like.. Lebanon, Israel, Dubai , Egypt, Kuwait,and Abu Dhabi to name a few...any of those good for you ?
Click to expand...

After all of this, he's probably just going somewhere in the UK countryside!!! Suitz? He just seemed to be seriously panicking.

I know Jordan, Egypt and Dubai have salsa and I can't imagine Beirut not having any. I didnt' come across salsa in Iran, Libya, Turkmenistan, Syria... I tell you where it would be gorgeous - in the tastefully illuminated, walled Islamic quarter in Baku...dreaming... We all have different definitions of travelling. I need to get back to the real world, see how other people live, get some perspective, feel alive again - i.e. don't usually need to carry the dancing shoes ;)

Terence, you should put some places up on Bailar y Tocar's thread. It sounds like you've had a rich worldwide salsa experience - awesome! I could definitely use your advice for some of the places you mention; never know when you might be passing through.

(oh dear, arguing with the great Terence is as scary as questioning Azzey...)
 
I'm glad this thread was started. I am seeking work now and really need to be open to any type and any shift, and my goal is to get 2-3 part time jobs. I likely will have very little time for dancing once that gets going. A US military career is also a definite consideration now, which would obviously eliminate dancing for the foreseeable future.

My take on it is... Yes it's fun, it's even a passion, but there will always be time to do it. First things first, let's take care of our responsibilities and careers, and then add dancing salsa as a well-deserved treat. And if we can't, we find other forms of recreations or diversions.
 
sonrisa said:
I'm glad this thread was started. I am seeking work now and really need to be open to any type and any shift, and my goal is to get 2-3 part time jobs. I likely will have very little time for dancing once that gets going. A US military career is also a definite consideration now, which would obviously eliminate dancing for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...

Okay, so now you're suggesting a break for the right reasons, not because some silly critics are getting to you. Now, this is more positive! Just don't kill yourself with too many jobs - that can be very stressful.

Has anyone else noticed Suitz posed the question then disappeared? :rolleyes: Meanwhile we may well have blown the question out of all proportion :D
 
suitz said:
Hi all,

I know how I'm like, I have a feeling my first dance back in salsa again after the break, is going to be SO supremely frustrating. I'd be annoyed at how rusty I will be, and how I have forgotten to do the things I used to be able to do... this combination of rustiness and frustration will not be a good thing, especially if I can't counter it by going to a class the day immediately after... it may be another long while before I can dance again... before you know it... my mind will be suggesting I should not bother going... which leads to, well... I don't want to even say it!

HELP!
Click to expand...

I'm like you. I don't like to leave something i enjoy, especially when my interest level is at its highest.

I've been through a dry spell (two, in fact), though the circumstances were a bit different. I just lost the enjoyment and had to take a break. Went 6 months without even thinking about salsa, then came back for 2 months, then went awol again for another 8 months. For all intents and purposes, I was done with it.

The resurgence came back almost unexpectedly. I can't explain it, other than I just got "it" back. Of course I was rusty, but it didn't take long to get back into form. I am a better dancer now than I ever was.

Anyway, my point is, you'll find a way to get through it. You may feel like you can't survive without it, but believe me, worse things can happen. If you truly love it, you'll find a way to keep a foot in the door.
 
azana said:
sonrisa said:
I'm glad this thread was started. I am seeking work now and really need to be open to any type and any shift, and my goal is to get 2-3 part time jobs. I likely will have very little time for dancing once that gets going. A US military career is also a definite consideration now, which would obviously eliminate dancing for the foreseeable future.

Okay, so now you're suggesting a break for the right reasons, not because some silly critics are getting to you. Now, this is more positive! Just don't kill yourself with too many jobs - that can be very stressful.

Has anyone else noticed Suitz posed the question then disappeared? :rolleyes: Meanwhile we may well have blown the question out of all proportion :D
Click to expand...

Oh boy.. well slacking off has been going on way too long, needs to end, but its cool.

And I'm going to update my thread now that I think of it...
Click to expand...
 
sonrisa said:
I'm glad this thread was started. I am seeking work now and really need to be open to any type and any shift, and my goal is to get 2-3 part time jobs. I likely will have very little time for dancing once that gets going. A US military career is also a definite consideration now, which would obviously eliminate dancing for the foreseeable future.

My take on it is... Yes it's fun, it's even a passion, but there will always be time to do it. First things first, let's take care of our responsibilities and careers, and then add dancing salsa as a well-deserved treat. And if we can't, we find other forms of recreations or diversions.
Click to expand...

Maybe there's already a salsero/salsera or two in the army?...Or maybe they're a bunch of swing dancers ;)
 
From what I've heard, the salsa scene in Okinawa is thriving because of the US base there (Oki_on2 - yes?)
 
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