Salsa open diary

Chris_Yannick said:
I’m surprised you haven’t done this already.
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I've done this and other variations a lot. Partly this is to economy time and energy, because I'm too lazy to look for next dancer and figure out her mood and feel. Still each dance is quite different to me, even if I use the same 5 moves in them all.
Probably it's about energy levels, dancing with people I don't know or don't feel just requires much more energy.
 
Chris_Yannick said:
I dance to the music to alleviate boredom. If all I did was focus on my partner while zoning everything else out, I’d get bored pretty quick.

I put the music slightly above of my partner, which means I still consider focusing on my partner important.

Most of the time, I don’t need to know the song ahead of time before selecting a partner. The reason is that there is not a lot of truly bad Salsa music that gets rinsed at parties I go to and the parties with terrible Salsa music I don’t go to.
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I am very picky about the music. I won't dance to music that doesn't call me. Which can range anywhere from 30% to 70% depending on the DJ. That means I sit out a lot. Sometimes it could be not having a right partner available too because they are all taken.
 
1derpalm said:
I can't agree so much. If I think the song is pants, my partner is not gonna have a great dance regardless of my connection with her., Because my main motivation and inspiration is non-existent.
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:D

I don't know what you are disagreeing with in my post because you are talking about completely orthogonal issue!
 
Smejmoon said:
Are you like 20% serious or this is just pure trolling?

Because I've seen you coming to salsa events on your will. Dancing without being forced. Smiling, sweating, and over all emitting more happiness than I've ever seen from kizomba dancer.
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One thing does not contradict the other :) Some salsa dancers are good at dancing with connection. But most are not. I tend to gravitate towards the ones who are better at connection.

So when you see me smiling, it means I am dancing with someone like that (and/or to music I enjoy).

As for kizomba happiness, for me it is often way more intense than salsa, but I am not emoting it like in salsa because I am much more deeply immersed in the experience and connection (and often for a long time with the same partner when the connection is really good). If you see me (and probably it's the same with other people) at my happiest kizzing, I will usually have my eyes closed (unless we are in open position of course) and a slight smile or maybe even no smile, but inside I am feeling a kind of spiritual euphoria, and it is at a much deeper level than salsa happiness, it feels like a euphoric meditation, I forget all about myself and am just deeply in the experience of the dance.
So, just because you don't see a kizomba dancer smiling does not mean there is no happiness, it is just much deeper and more inward than the more emoting kind of salsa happiness.
 
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Offbeat said:
I am very picky about the music. I won't dance to music that doesn't call me. Which can range anywhere from 30% to 70% depending on the DJ. That means I sit out a lot. Sometimes it could be not having a right partner available too because they are all taken.
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I absolutely hate sitting out when there are enough dancers in the room. If there aren’t enough, that’s more like forced sitting and I dislike that as well. I had enough of that during my beginner/improver days. But I will sit out on mixed nights because surprise surprise, the music usually stinks and the sets are like 3-3-3-3 (salsa crossbody/timba/bachata/kizomba) and you never know if the DJ will troll us by playing some stupid crap that only he likes.
 
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Sabrosura said:
100%

Lol in kizomba people figured this out ages ago :p even though kizomba is much newer than salsa.
Seems salsa people are just not very good with this whole connection thing :p
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We don't like kidnappers in Salsa :P

@Chris_Yannick is an absconder and interpol is on the lookout for him on charges of serial kidnapping :D

P.S. - Stockholm syndrome? :)
 
Offbeat said:
We don't like kidnappers in Salsa :p

@Chris_Yannick is an absconder and interpol is on the lookout for him on charges of serial kidnapping :D

P.S. - Stockholm syndrome? :)
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Whatever! This has become so normal in my scene that I can’t ever go back to dancing only once then switching partners.

At a recent party, I actually told a friend that she’s going to be dancing with me for the last 20 minutes or so until the last song is played. It’s fun.. you should try it!
 
Sabrosura said:
One thing does not contradict the other :) Some salsa dancers are good at dancing with connection. But most are not. I tend to gravitate towards the ones who are better at connection.

So when you see me smiling, it means I am dancing with someone like that (and/or to music I enjoy).

As for kizomba happiness, for me it is often way more intense than salsa, but I am not emoting it like in salsa because I am much more deeply immersed in the experience and connection (and often for a long time with the same partner when the connection is really good). If you see me (and probably it's the same with other people) at my happiest kizzing, I will usually have my eyes closed (unless we are in open position of course) and a slight smile or maybe even no smile, but inside I am feeling a kind of spiritual euphoria, and it is at a much deeper level than salsa happiness, it feels like a euphoric meditation, I forget all about myself and am just deeply in the experience of the dance.
So, just because you don't see a kizomba dancer smiling does not mean there is no happiness, it is just much deeper and more inward than the more emoting kind of salsa happiness.
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Kizomba is not a dance - it's a tantra session :P
 
Chris_Yannick said:
Whatever! This has become so normal in my scene that I can’t ever go back to dancing only once then switching partners.

At a recent party, I actually told a friend that she’s going to be dancing with me for the last 20 minutes or so until the last song is played. It’s fun.. you should try it!
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On Thursday, two days back, I was at an outdoor salsa. It was more of an event with casual vibes. I was a bit early and in one of those rare occasions here where the gender ratio was almost 50:50. There must have been 70ish number of people at its peak, which to me is light. I expected at least twice the number.

I ask a follower whom I never seen before. She was good, you could tell after first few bars. The next song was quicker start, within half a second rather than usual second or two. It was a moment where you realize a split second later that new song has started. Most of the crowd had almost similar reaction, starting to split from their partner a second late than normal. There was that half a second moment where she thought we will continue to dance the next song and I was like "oh! new song, time to quick hug and let go". And there were other followers around that I knew. So I walk with her off the floor asking if she was visiting, etc. Besides being a new face I hadn't seen, I was curious if my hunch was right. I thought there was a half chance she was used to dancing in Europe - because she kept looking at me when dancing and smiling, very common when I dance in Europe.

Anyways later in the evening I asked her for the only bachata that was played and one or two more salsa. After I danced salsa the second time a friend came up to me and said, "you just be very happy dancing with her, I never seen you smiling before when dancing salsa". I said it wasn't because I was happy. She was smiling, therefore I was smiling back.

Which is true, I smile far less when dancing, because people don't smile or look at you when dancing, the way it is much common when I have danced in Europe. Within few bars of the first dance with her, my radar went on alert because she was looking at me and I had to kick myself off my default mode and make conscious effort to look back.

It is very rare for me to dance two in a row in the local scene and if it happens it is with a good friend and never more than two. Which is the same behavior by everyone else too. Two or three dances but not in a row is also uncommon though it can happen on lighter nights like on Thursday. On normal nights I can hardly remember a follower or leader monopolizing for multiple dances, that is three or four of more in a row. Not from couples, not from those hitting on someone or interested in each other. And those that you would want to dance multiple times are usually in very high demand! It is also easier to ask someone multiple times (again not in a row) who was a regular 12-14 years back without your motives being questioned, than most of the new crop from the past 5-7 years.

Trying to dance multiple in row will be like asking someone in the middle east to try walking with jeans shorts or showing much skin. :D
 
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Sabrosura said:
So, just because you don't see a kizomba dancer smiling does not mean there is no happiness, it is just much deeper and more inward than the more emoting kind of salsa happiness.
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Ah yes, I believe there is kizomba happiness. I just don't get why you come here and trashtalk salsa while you obviously enjoy it a lot.
 
Smejmoon said:
Ah yes, I believe there is kizomba happiness. I just don't get why you come here and trashtalk salsa while you obviously enjoy it a lot.
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Well once you've experienced dance nirvana, you want others to experience it too :)

As for me enjoying salsa: in the past 3 months in Paris I went to about 3 salsa parties in total (once because a friend of a friend was in Paris, another time at a live concert, another time at the outdoor dancing), meanwhile I have been dancing kizomba every night, sometimes even two kiz events in a night (usually the outdoor dancing earlier in the evening, followed by a party). I will be going to at least 5 kizomba festivals in France in the next few months, plus mini-festivals in Paris almost every weekend. And I am not planning to go to any salsa festivals anymore, other than maybe the Paris ones.

So...yes I still enjoy salsa, but, for me it greatly pales in comparison to kizomba.
 
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Sabrosura said:
Well once you've experienced dance nirvana, you want others to experience it too :)

As for me enjoying salsa: in the past 3 months in Paris I went to about 3 salsa parties in total (once because a friend of a friend was in Paris, another time at a live concert, another time at the outdoor dancing), meanwhile I have been dancing kizomba every night, sometimes even two kiz events in a night (usually the outdoor dancing earlier in the evening, followed by a party). I will be going to at least 5 kizomba festivals in France in the next few months, plus mini-festivals in Paris almost every weekend. And I am not planning to go to any salsa festivals anymore, other than maybe the Paris ones.

So...yes I still enjoy salsa, but, for me it greatly pales in comparison to kizomba.
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It's good that you have new stuff to explore. I am surprised that you have not done that already. To me, Kizomba is heavily rely on the music itself. When the music suck, it sucks the most for kizomba compare to other dances. Kizomba also took too far with some styles, I find it's difficult to dance with someone who had not trained in those area, hence less fun in social if that's your style. Although they all look nice, but I enjoy one of them more. I give you some examples.

1. The kizomba dance that I like, and enjoy. It's very pleasant. Many current kizomba dancers will consider it's too basic and it won't show how good you are. But I disagree with those people.


2. The kizomba style that I don't consider it's useful. Yes, you can dance like this because you are a good dancer. But this is no different than those sensual bachata dancers doing crazy stuff.


BTW, both instructors are in Boston right now for the Boston Kizomba festival.
 
Sabrosura said:
Well once you've experienced dance nirvana, you want others to experience it too :)

As for me enjoying salsa: in the past 3 months in Paris I went to about 3 salsa parties in total (once because a friend of a friend was in Paris, another time at a live concert, another time at the outdoor dancing), meanwhile I have been dancing kizomba every night, sometimes even two kiz events in a night (usually the outdoor dancing earlier in the evening, followed by a party). I will be going to at least 5 kizomba festivals in France in the next few months, plus mini-festivals in Paris almost every weekend. And I am not planning to go to any salsa festivals anymore, other than maybe the Paris ones.

So...yes I still enjoy salsa, but, for me it greatly pales in comparison to kizomba.
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This is normal part of life. At some point I loved playing football. Then I got bored of it and started doing martial arts.
 
Offbeat said:
Too trigger happy. You should have read the rest of stuff after the opening statement. You don't trust communism? :D
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What's there to trust? Government control. The workers don't get to own anything. Big corporations controlling everything. Money being the be all end all. No commies for me.
 
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