The Perfect Evening Ruined, by The Angry Salsero

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salcero2005

(This article is from the StuckOnSalsa website. How do you feel about performances at night clubs?)

OK, today is the day. I've been working hard all week, and my staff and customers are driving me nuts. I need a break! Something to rejuvenate me and put a spring in me step. I know what I'll do - I'll go salsa dancing. So what if it's the middle of the week and I have to work tomorrow? It'll make me feel like a new person. I'm going to leave work early, fight the traffic, go home, grab a quick bite, take a shower, get dressed, pack my dance bag and go out for a night of salsa dancing and fun. So, that's what I do.

When I walk into the club the DJ is hot! (hmmm, must be an out of town DJ), my friends are there, they smile when they see me, they transmit their friendly energy and I feel that I'm in my salsa home. Oh yeah! I 'm going to have fun tonight! So, I sit down and change my shoes, go to the bar to get a rum and coke so that I can sip on it while I survey the scene before I start dancing, and then, right then, a voice on the microphone announces, "Please clear the dance floor so that we can present our performers for tonight." Performers? Oh G-D, not a performance! This can't be happening again. I hustled all the way down here in the middle of the week, paid a cover charge at a so-called dance club on the only night of the week that they play salsa just to watch someone else dance. These performances are cutting into my salsa time, the time I dedicate to dancing. They are eroding the quality of my leisure time. If I wanted to watch a performance, I would've gone to the Kennedy Center, or stayed home and watched music videos. I don't go salsa dancing at a dance club to watch other people dance. Standing on the edge of the dance floor watching someone else have fun dancing salsa is just not fun, it's more like having a root canal.

So, as the crowd dutifully obeys the dictator on the microphone commanding them to stop having fun, and the DJ takes 3 tries to find the right track (I guess he's not from out-of-town after all), and the announcer fills time by talking about all the future salsa nights that are going to be filled with performances ("...and next week we're going to have all the groups performing at the Bosnian Salsa Congress, and then after the Congress we're going to have them all perform again without the mistakes so they can practice for the Galapagos Island Salsa Congress, and the week after that we're going to celebrate aliens from outer space night by having 17 dance groups, so please mark your calendars and get here early!"), I linger around the edges of the crowd hoping it won't be so bad. Then, somehow the announcer finally shuts up, the Cro-Magnon in the DJ booth finds the right track, and the performers enter the dance floor and start their thing. They're good---mostly death-defying tricks that I can't use socially, and the lady could loosen up a little and the guy doesn't have to loosen up so much, but they're good. Then it's over, the crowd applauds politely and they exit the dance floor. Thank G-d that's over. But then comes the time when people try to recapture the spirit. Some people start to chill and decide to make it an early night, some people sit down and start chatting with their friends, and some brave souls (bless their hearts!) try to revive the night by dancing to the folkloric themes that the Cro-Magnon has started to play, but above all, the mood has changed, and for me the night is over.
 
I too am not a fan of performances when I go dancing. I just want to dance. If I want to see a performance I'll go and pay to see one - which is why I never do it - not interested in performances...
 
Ditto. Also not interested in performances. I usually just want to get moving. I was in the DC area this past week and was disappointed that a series of performances cut into my dancing time. Only had about an hour of dance time before I had to leave to catch the train home. It was annoying.
 
Agree with this whole heartedly! Heck, even as a beginner I wasn't a fan of performances disrupting social dancing (and most promoters I've spoken with claim that attracting newer dancers is the point of this idiotic practice).
 
I'm glad the performance bug has not caught on over here ... unless they are damn good, I start yawning when performances come on. It seems that in some places, everyone and their sister is on a team.
 
I mostly hate performances, too. I get tired from waiting around, and I feel uncomfortable watching bad dancers showing off their need of approval. It's okay to love dance, but why do so many amateurs need to do it on stage? :roll:
 
sos

I thought that 'stuck on salsa' originated in the DC area --> fitting then the other experience already on this thread about their visit to DC and having to wait for pefformance groups.

I agree that it can break up a night in a bad way, but on the other hand it can be a nice occasional break while you sip your drink and rest your feet for a moment. Also a positive way to cheer for folks who are really working hard to get better.

But if the performance leads to an increase in the $$ cover then I sometimes become an angry salsera ;) and may avoid the venue that week.
 
Re: sos

peachexploration said:
bailarina said:
I thought that 'stuck on salsa' originated in the DC area --> fitting then the other experience already on this thread about their visit to DC and having to wait for pefformance groups.....
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Huh? :?
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Salcero 2005 cites article from Stuck on Salsa (DC). Bailando cites experience in DC.
 
I mostly find performances boring as well. But I consider that sitting through them is a way of supporting the scene. As somebody posted, performers are dancers working to get better. More dancers working to get better = livelier scene, and better dancers. (I know performance practice does not equate to better social dancing necessarily, but I think it can be a good adjunct to polish someone who already has lead/follow under control.)

Also performances can sometimes give you cool ideas for your own dancing.
 
I went to a social last weekend where a big name (in UK anyway) was advertised. They arrived late, came totally unprepared, (and told the organisers so), did a bit of a 'warm up line dance' when everyone was well and truely warmed up anyway then no-one saw them again until they came out in the last half hour of the event to do their performance. A performance when there is only half an hour of dancing time left really sucks :evil:

If this person would have mingled and danced with some people during the event maybe they would have come across a bit better, but they just came across as unprofessional and unapproachable. Maybe they weren't seen on the dancefloor because they were practicing their 'routine' :roll:.
 
I love shows. They give the show-offy dancers a time to perform safely without trying their dangerous dips in the middle of the crowded dance floor. Also it is fun to see what other couples think is their "good stuff". It is also hilaroius to see good-but-not-so-great dancers trying to do the same choreos that the real professionals do. A bit like "So you think you can dance?"

I especially like student shows. It is so encouraging to see what beginners with a lot of determination and a good teacher can do. Inspirational.

As for cutting into salsa time, well, the solution is to go out dancing more often.
 
From a show I usually get the feeling it's more about the promoter and the performer rubbing shoulders than anything for the audience's benefit. It's weird performing salsa shows to salsa dancers, where it doesn't come across at all "exotic". Better performing shows to the bingo crowd or corporate gigs, where they don't see -and do - triple spins half the nights of the week themselves.

I also think shows will not encourage people to take up dancing in most towns, I think they will intimidate people who have already started dancing. What will encourage people to take up dancing is seeing people who are not all that good -- who they can identify with -- having the time of their lives.

Shows may well encourage non-dancers to go to a salsa club, e.g. if it's a restaurant or cabaret format that has a salsa show later in the evening. That's not the same as encouraging people to take up salsa though.
 
I wouldn't want a show on regular club nights, but I like to see one or (just maybe two) show dances on 'party' nights. Max ten minutes for two dances. I'm not keen on longer periods of show dancing.

Promoters sometimes seem to leave the shows until rather late. Is this because they think people will stay (and drink) longer in order to see the show? It contributes to the feeling that people leave immediately after the show and the atmosphere is punctured. I get irritated if a show is not at the advertised time, but much later.... Would it be better to have a single show dance earlier in the evening, d'you think? i.e. classes, one hour's dancing, show, three hours' dancing....
 
Jambo said:
I went to a social last weekend where a big name (in UK anyway) was advertised. They arrived late, came totally unprepared, (and told the organisers so), did a bit of a 'warm up line dance' when everyone was well and truely warmed up anyway then no-one saw them again until they came out in the last half hour of the event to do their performance. A performance when there is only half an hour of dancing time left really sucks :evil:

If this person would have mingled and danced with some people during the event maybe they would have come across a bit better, but they just came across as unprofessional and unapproachable. Maybe they weren't seen on the dancefloor because they were practicing their 'routine' :roll:.
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name and shame jambo :twisted: . maybe not but location of the 'professionals'?
 
I have one to top all this-- I frequented a top latino club for many yrs-- walked in one Sat. nite ( well tried to, it was so damn crowded, thought , wow, good nite tonite )
I was then informed they were having the " Miss Brazil ? " comp.-- 45 minutes went by-- STILL no dancing--went back to the door -- got my money back and left . ( me among others ).

Word must have got back-- never happened again .

Ive noticed in the UK upcoming events at " Dance " venues-- please-- keep them at congresses, theaters, or where ever .
 
Well, the Twelfth Night event in York, England is going to have a raffle, which I'm certain is going to massively eat into the evening. The organiser did one at a similar event in March this year and the raffle lasted almost 30 minutes and then he decided to auction off prizes that people didn't want for another 20 minutes or so, which is a laudable idea but completely ruined the evening because it took ages for the atmosphere to recover.
 
KP-salsa said:
Well, the Twelfth Night event in York, England is going to have a raffle, which I'm certain is going to massively eat into the evening. The organiser did one at a similar event in March this year and the raffle lasted almost 30 minutes and then he decided to auction off prizes that people didn't want for another 20 minutes or so, which is a laudable idea but completely ruined the evening because it took ages for the atmosphere to recover.
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I am one of York's fastest raffle-holders, I will offer my services for free...

(true! after being involved in over half of York's annual juggling conventions since 1996 there are a number of us all too aware of a raffle's ability to kill an evening)
 
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