Salsa isn't my favourite dance style

Kromat83

Kromat83

Changui
I know what your thinking, why would you be on a site like this then?
I prefer Cha Cha, Merengue, Rumba, English Waltz ... I guess I am biased because I took up ballroom for lots of years.
I take Salsa lessons, but it's far from my favourite and would rather want to learn Zouk instead of it, because it has similar movements to (Samba and Rumba, as well Salsa turns), if the distance was closer, I would devote more time into it, but it's not as mainstream and rarely anyone has heard of it and it wasn't until July of last year that there was a conversation about it.
Is there anyone out there that feels the same?
 
Kromat83 said:
I prefer Cha Cha, Merengue, Rumba, English Waltz ... I guess I am biased because I took up ballroom for lots of years.
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Hate to break it to you but cha cha falls under the "salsa" umbrella; there is no such thing as "salsa music"--that umbrella term includes son, guaracha, son montuno (some of which sounds a lot like cha cha), guaguanco, guajira, cha cha, etc... So if you love cha cha, then you love "salsa" ;)

Also, merengue has nothing to do with ballroom...it's a traditional Dominican dance.
 
Hi Kromat83,

When you mention Rumba, are you referring to the traditional style brought over from Cuba or the ballroom version?

Also Samba - are you referring to the Brazilian dance or the ballroom dance?

I have no problem with ballroom dancing - I've learnt a lot since I used to critisize it but that was due to ignorance on my part, admittedly.

If traditional, then Rumba is one of the roots of Salsa - albeit a slightly disconnected root. The main roots are Son, Plena, Bomba, Guaracha, Bolero, and Danzon (predecessor to Son). Having said that generally traditional Rumba is linked to Salsa.

Like Sabrosura mentioned, Cha Cha falls under the umbrella of Salsa, however I know that in ballroom Cha Cha Cha is largely removed from the traditional dance, just like the ballroom version of Samba and Rumba.

It's perfectly ok to have different tastes - it's what makes this World what it is, and without diverse tastes life would be very boring indeed :-)
 
I prefer West Coast Swing, but there are no good WCS nights here in Phoenix so I changed my focus over to Salsa.

I however can't find any good group lessons for Salsa here, so even though I know more patterns for Salsa, my ability to dance it socially is still pretty far behind my WCS, which I have had plenty of chances of dancing with others in group classes and such.

Either way, I think I really like dancing both dances, but I really hate going out socially for both dances as well.
 
Jag75 said:
If traditional, then Rumba is one of the roots of Salsa - albeit a slightly disconnected root. The main roots are Son, Plena, Bomba, Guaracha, Bolero, and Danzon (predecessor to Son). Having said that generally traditional Rumba is linked to Salsa.
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A bit off-topic, but I doubt that Plena and Bomba could be considered main roots of the music that we colloquially now call Salsa. While one can sometimes hear Plena and Bomba passages in Puerto Rican and NY Salsa, I hesitate to consider them roots. Their musical structure and instrumentation, particularly in the case of traditional Plena (e.g., pre-Cortijo), differ too much from Son-complex musical genres. Cuban rumba has a more legitimate claim as a direct influence, in my opinion.
 
RobotLion said:
I learn them because I like dancing them, it is just both groups have their own unique way of making outsiders feel unwelcome.
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Oooooh, FASCINATING!!! I've been dancing salsa long enough to know exactly what you're talking about. I've only dabbled in a little WCS in Boston though, so I'm not as intimately familiar with WCS culture.

Care to dish on all the scandalous deets in a different thread? Or just P.M. me about it, because I'm very much have a personal stake in it, as I navigate the new and unfamiliar (yet kind of familiar) world of WCS!
 
ColdSalsero said:
Oooooh, FASCINATING!!! I've been dancing salsa long enough to know exactly what you're talking about. I've only dabbled in a little WCS in Boston though, so I'm not as intimately familiar with WCS culture.

Care to dish on all the scandalous deets in a different thread? Or just P.M. me about it, because I'm very much have a personal stake in it, as I navigate the new and unfamiliar (yet kind of familiar) world of WCS!
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Haha, I must admit, my curiosity has been piqued too.
 
ColdSalsero said:
Oooooh, FASCINATING!!! I've been dancing salsa long enough to know exactly what you're talking about. I've only dabbled in a little WCS in Boston though, so I'm not as intimately familiar with WCS culture.

Care to dish on all the scandalous deets in a different thread? Or just P.M. me about it, because I'm very much have a personal stake in it, as I navigate the new and unfamiliar (yet kind of familiar) world of WCS!
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Be careful, you may get "hooked " ! :)
 
I took International Latin :
Cha Cha, Rumba, Samba, Jive ..... International Standard :
English Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot

Did some Salsa, Mambo, Merengue, Rock and Roll .... during the classes as well

Took 1 class of Zouk, learned Bachata on my own and just practiced.

Now I mainly take Salsa lessons and it is challenging for me because it isn't a routine and the partners constantly change, but I am up for and my background helps memorize patterns, just have to work on my timing and leading, and I am enjoying it, and my impression might change, once I finally get a better grasp of this style.
 
Fair enough.

I have to warn you - the very nature of Salsa, that it's entirely improvisational and based purely on spontaneity and lead-follow, can cause it to become very addictive.

Like WCS there are few dances, if any, that are better for lead-follow skills.
 
GroovyMambo said:
A bit off-topic, but I doubt that Plena and Bomba could be considered main roots of the music that we colloquially now call Salsa. While one can sometimes hear Plena and Bomba passages in Puerto Rican and NY Salsa, I hesitate to consider them roots. Their musical structure and instrumentation, particularly in the case of traditional Plena (e.g., pre-Cortijo), differ too much from Son-complex musical genres. Cuban rumba has a more legitimate claim as a direct influence, in my opinion.
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Definitely not a root but certainly a branch of sorts - as you state NY/PR musicians quote plena and bomba in some of their salsa songs and many playlists, albums etc include these genres as songs by themselves. Most dancers in clubs will typically dance merengue to these types of songs or ignore that rhythm component completely if its inside of a salsa song.

What is fascinating though is that salsa is one of the few musical genres that can include other genres like plena, bomba, boogaloo, pachanga, changui and even samba and dancers can choose (or not choose) to pick up on that rhythm part.

So... if the OP states that salsa is not their favorite dance style .. it could be that they have only been exposed to 1% of whats out there. Typically the first 1% people get to dance to are the boring salsa romanticas and overplayed run of the mill commercial salsa tunes.

I know from my own experience (when I started to dance salsa) that the music in the clubs and classes was really boring, but I knew there had to be much better music out there. I had already had wide exposure to other musical genres (reggae, celtic and west african music) so finding the good stuff in salsa meant that I would not rely on a local DJ or local dance instructor as a resource.
 
bailar y tocar said:
Most dancers in clubs will typically dance merengue to these types of songs or ignore that rhythm component completely if its inside of a salsa song.
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I can tell which song fits a Merengue, but usually stick to a slower one.

bailar y tocar said:
What is fascinating though is that salsa is one of the few musical genres that can include other genres like plena, bomba, boogaloo, pachanga, changui and even samba and dancers can choose (or not choose) to pick up on that rhythm part.
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Yep, i have done Samba to certain Salsa songs, i don't mind the music, but prefer Bachata music.

bailar y tocar said:
So... if the OP states that salsa is not their favorite dance style .. it could be that they have only been exposed to 1% of whats out there. Typically the first 1% people get to dance to are the boring salsa romanticas and overplayed run of the mill commercial salsa tunes.
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It's not my favourite, because i wasn't exposed to Salsa as much as the others and it wasn't my first style, and can't relate to someone who has danced it for lots of years.

bailar y tocar said:
I know from my own experience (when I started to dance salsa) that the music in the clubs and classes was really boring, but I knew there had to be much better music out there. I had already had wide exposure to other musical genres (reggae, celtic and west african music) so finding the good stuff in salsa meant that I would not rely on a local DJ or local dance instructor as a resource.
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When i am learning, the music played doesn't matter as much to me, i am more focus at getting better.
I have found that social events have way better selection than any club i've gone too.
 
Kromat83 said:
I .



When i am learning, the music played doesn't matter as much to me, i am more focus at getting better.

I have found that social events have way better selection than any club i've gone too.
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The whole point of salsa ( and ANY dance ) IS the music.
My guess is.. the teachers (s) that teach your class, play the same music for each class (?) .
Your initial exposure to the music in the genre, which is quite extensive, will shape how you develop.

And, dont make excuses about B/room being your background. The main danger about of that, is this.. realising that, the technical aspects of indigenous latin, is often quite opposite to what you have been taught in BR latin ( theres an oxymoron !! ).

Knowing which parts to "keep "from BR, and which to discard, is the bigger challenge.You need to re-think your approach completely, and discard much of the style and theory, you have been taught in BR.

And, Im not sure what you mean by Social events ?, as to clubs..?

Im also not surprised, by the music, to which you may have been exposed. .. , or not, No guarantees by any means. there are.good and bad DJs everywhere , musically speaking .

Maybe you should venture farther afield in the social club scene .
 
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Also, don't assume that Ballroom is more technical. There is absolutely as much technique in Salsa *if* you elect to learn it in depth, and reach a high level in the dance.
 
Jag75 said:
Also, don't assume that Ballroom is more technical. There is absolutely as much technique in Salsa *if* you elect to learn it in depth, and reach a high level in the dance.
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Yes, very true.

The only issue is that, for whatever reason, there are a lot fewer salsa teachers who teach technique in depth compared to ballroom instructors (the average ballroom class will teach a good amount of technique, the average salsa class won't).
 
It's because students who take ballroom classes have the expectation that a lot of technique will be taught, much like students electing to take ballet will have those same high expectations.

Most students wishing to take salsa lessons assume that it's very easy and designed purely for fun, which is true to an extent, but quickly discover that to become at all competent and confident a great deal of learning is involved, and this puts those students off.

It's a reflection of society's attitude towards "street dances" compared to "classical dances". There is also a great deal of snobbery amongst many ballroom dancers towards salsa due to their own ignorance.

Look at hip hop - that's a street dance, yet features a lot more prominently in TV shows such as SYTYCD. This is a sad state of affairs at it skews the public's perception of street latin dances.
 
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