You don't have mixed parties where you are?
Salsa open diary
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You don't have mixed parties where you are?
GentleDancer
Son
I said we don't have a mixed scene - meaning with great amounts of both on1 and on2 dancers.
98% here are dancing on1, just a handful of instructors and professionals dance together on2.
So there was never a need to learn on2, it's just some interesting add-on for advanced people.
There is no such a thing like a venue were mostly on2 lovers go.
That was struggling me when I read that in NYC and Paris the great majority dances on2.
I found the explanation that there you already start learning with on2.
Ok gotcha. I have not found many scenes with a great number of both On1 and On2 dancers. Sounds like a first world problem. When I think of mixed, I think of non Salsa dancers and non Salsa music.
Yes.
That is a very foreign concept here. We are super siloed. To an extent the untrained dancers go to particular places only.
My recent scene in a mid-size city has a couple of popular schools in Casino, LA style, On2, Mambo, and some BS.
Some of the socials were definitely more inclined to a particular style but the leaders would mostly dance their own style while the followers adapted to whatever the leader lead. Particularly some of the Cubans were at every event lol.
Some of the socials were definitely more inclined to a particular style but the leaders would mostly dance their own style while the followers adapted to whatever the leader lead. Particularly some of the Cubans were at every event lol.
I have been in a scene with mostly Salsa dancers with dancing every night of the week and it wasn't all that great due to the sheer number of abysmal dancers clogging up the clubs.
Sure, there might have been 100+ people who call themselves Salsa dancers going out, but most were trained to do only cookie cutter patterns, while lacking rhythm, passion, technique and connection.
Only a few of those venues were worth going to. Having so many options but very few materializing into very successful nights out was an exercise in frustration most of the time.
These days, I might find only one good party a month but it's worth the wait.
GentleDancer
Son
Wow, that's a special problem: having too many options making it hard to find the few good ones.
Sounds like online dating
I know I am happy at the moment to find good dancing every night I go. For whatever reason few beginners show up, but lots of good dancers. Maybe it has to do with Covid - only the addicted show up. So I already fear a bit that things might change and clubs get flooded with bad dancers again.
Some people are okay with going out dancing every night of the week as long as they find warm bodies to dance with. It was more beneficial when I was a beginner since any dance was a good dance when I had next to no experience.
Back then, it was more about finding new dance partners, being inspired by other dancers and finding that elusive great dance connection with a beautiful stranger. Dancing was definitely more 'on demand' since it was plentiful and accessible any day of the week. Quantity over quality.
Now, I don't seek out those same experiences. I mostly go for the music and good, reliable dance partners. But I'm not too bothered if I don't find it 'on demand'. I am perfectly okay having the best dancing experience by myself when I train at home to my own collection of wonderful music. When I go out, I have already primed myself for a good dance experience and I no longer need to prove myself to anyone.
It was like that here for a while with mostly good dancers coming out, but constantly going in and out of lockdown is wrecking havoc on people's rhythm. Whenever I think we're back to recovering what we've lost, another stupid lockdown happens. The problem is that people are getting older and even younger dancers have opted to start their own families and so I expect even less people to return the next time we re-open. It's not like we're pumping out new dancers, either. Once the old guard disappears, there will no one to take their place.
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GentleDancer
Son
Here at least I know quite a few Twenty-Somethings who are committed to Salsa, acting as instructors etc., and are seemingly not willing to easily leave for something other. They can keep on dancing and teaching for the next two decades, that's a long time. And latin america as well will not forget Salsa the next twenty years, staying so a constant source of new input.
But predictions are difficult.
Sabrosura
Son Montuno
Latin Americans don't really dance salsa or even like listening to salsa dura
(other than Cali and PR)Peru used to be a salsa dura haven but they prefer timba nowadays.
Last night was very thinly attended. One of the two places that doesn't check vax status because the city doesn't mandate it. Everyone wears a mask. Either due to covid or San Diego salsa festival there were very few people. Smaller bachata room had more people. I saw flyers of visiting instructors and some local that I don't know offering BS classes. I didn't recognize the DJs in bachata room. They claim to be playing freestyle. Few times I peeked in, it was half bachata and half sensual sounding crap.
In salsa room there were three leaders on the sideline waiting to pounce on every one follower walking off the floor after dancing! That's very bad even by our lead-heavy standards.
In salsa room there were three leaders on the sideline waiting to pounce on every one follower walking off the floor after dancing! That's very bad even by our lead-heavy standards.
Spotify used to have a function where you could see the demographics of artists' listeners. I am pretty sure for all salsa dura artists I checked out, all the top 10 cities were Latin American with no exception. Don't tell me you think Paris is where people listen to the most salsa duraLatin Americans don't really dance salsa or even like listening to salsa dura
Peru used to be a salsa dura haven but they prefer timba nowadays.
Apparently last summer's weekly events (friday and saturday) where I currently live had more people on a regular basis than ever before, throughout the whole summer.
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Sabrosura
Son Montuno
Don't tell me you think Paris is where people listen to the most salsa dura
So here is a story, I saw a dentist in Paris a couple months ago, and while chatting after I arrived and me mentioning I was going to a salsa festival, he asked me what kind of salsa music I liked. I started to give him the short version of salsa dura history (for people who know nothing about salsa), how it was mostly happening in the 60s-70s and most of those musicians aren't around anymore etc, and he goes, knowingly:
Yes, so what's your favorite old salsa music?
At that point I was shocked as he seemed to know what he was talking about, and he was a white, non-Latin 40-something French guy I would not expect to know anything about salsa.
So I go, tentatively: Well, Fania had some of the best music
He goes: So, Cheo Feliciano for example?
My jaw drops that he knew about Cheo Feliciano..!
I go: Yes, I love him!
Dentist: Let me play you one of my favorite songs of his (starts looking for the song on his computer)
Me in my head: If he plays El Raton - one of my all-time favorite songs - I won't believe this is happening...
Dentist: begins playing El Raton and says: "I prefer this particular version of it"
Me:
He then did my dental procedure with El Raton playing and it was my best dentist experience ever
And no, he is not a salsa dancer, I confirmed. He is just a random Parisian who apparently loves salsa dura
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Sabrosura
Son Montuno
Spotify used to have a function where you could see the demographics of artists' listeners. I am pretty sure for all salsa dura artists I checked out, all the top 10 cities were Latin American with no exception. Don't tell me you think Paris is where people listen to the most salsa dura
I don't deny Spotify stats but I have never in my Latin American travels heard salsa dura (outside of salsa festivals I mean), other than Cali and PR.
I believe salsa dura is mostly only listened to in NYC, and more generally mostly kept alive at salsa events worldwide.
As for dancing: Latin Americans for the most part can't really dance salsa, except for Cubans.
As opposed to?
The main problem we have is that our veteran teachers don't produce students who dance socially. The other problem is that those twenty-somethings that are becoming teachers are doing the exact same thing, which is teaching classes but not producing social dancers. When someone doesn't develop a habit of social dancing early in their dance life, it's very hard to encourage them to do it later in life. Salsa is impacted the most since there are less and less Salsa only events on the calendar.
You can go to any Salsa Dura on youtube and read the comment sections. Most of the comments aren't exactly saying "Saludos desde Nueva York" but rather "Saludos desde Barranquilla" or some other major city.
I think dance events worldwide don't represent even a tiny fraction of salsa dura fans worldwide. According to a lot of people here, most of the people that go there do not even like salsa anyway.