What would it take for salsa to have a revival?

I had no idea what T-stance means, but Google lead me to an SF article from 2005 finally explaining it to me - lead standing still while having his firm hands palms down (like bachata madrid step) and let the follower shine alone. I faintly remember it, will try it out. Maybe Yuca caused a huge revival now just by mentioning his detest :p
 
MamboJazz said:
I had no idea what T-stance means,
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That shows which generation of salsa dancers you belong to :P.

There was a time when everyone knew or did it!! You saw it everywhere. Don’t know if NYC scene also was infected by it.


MamboJazz said:
but Google lead me to an SF article from 2005 finally explaining it to me - lead standing still while having his firm hands palms down (like bachata madrid step) and let the follower shine alone. I faintly remember it, will try it out. Maybe Yuca caused a huge revival now just by mentioning his detest :p
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Yeah we should all start doing t-Stance (10 times in every dance) just to irritate @DJ Yuca :D
 
MamboJazz said:
I had no idea what T-stance means, but Google lead me to an SF article from 2005 finally explaining it to me - lead standing still while having his firm hands palms down (like bachata madrid step) and let the follower shine alone. I faintly remember it, will try it out. Maybe Yuca caused a huge revival now just by mentioning his detest :p
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I too hate it but for Yuca's sake, I'll make sure to lead it at least once this weekend, and let the follow know, "this one's for Yuca". Proposal to change its name from T-pose to "the Yuca" in honor of the man who revived this lost art?
 
rheemixed said:
I too hate it but for Yuca's sake, I'll make sure to lead it at least once this weekend, and let the follow know, "this one's for Yuca". Proposal to change its name from T-pose to "the Yuca" in honor of the man who revived this lost art?
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Sounds good. I'll plan to take Yuca out dancing in LA one day. Maybe my old favorite Third Street Promenade outdoor social in Santa Monica on a Sunday evening :)
 
azana said:
Sounds good. I'll plan to take Yuca out dancing in LA one day. Maybe my old favorite Third Street Promenade outdoor social in Santa Monica on a Sunday evening :)
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That's the best offer I've had this morning and I accept, thanks. I can't imagine anywhere in LA is frozen in time with the majority of people doing 1990s LA style or an update. I expect a few people may be stuck in a time warp, but the music and dance must have slowed down and chilled since the LA style heyday.
 
DJ Yuca said:
I've only listened to it once and it didn't grab me, but maybe if I heard it a few times it would grow on me. There are a few salsa/son albums and tracks from this century that I really like, but not loads, and for whatever reason SHO have never grabbed me.
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Ahh, that's because SHO, much like El Gran Combo, play too "clean" and perfect, but as my friend and I said, they need to f**k it up every once in a while. Haha. Let me get you on this SHO stonker, brothercito. The first two minutes feel like most SHO songs, but just keep listening.

MamboJazz said:
I had no idea what T-stance means, but Google lead me to an SF article from 2005 finally explaining it to me - lead standing still while having his firm hands palms down (like bachata madrid step) and let the follower shine alone. I faintly remember it, will try it out. Maybe Yuca caused a huge revival now just by mentioning his detest :p
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rheemixed said:
I too hate it but for Yuca's sake, I'll make sure to lead it at least once this weekend, and let the follow know, "this one's for Yuca". Proposal to change its name from T-pose to "the Yuca" in honor of the man who revived this lost art?
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I youtubed T-Stance and kept finding martial art vids, so I was like, let me bounce back to the forums and you posted. Yeah, I used to see that like 15 years ago, and on the rare occassion I'll have a lady do that without me actually leading/getting in to a Yuca, I mean T-stance. I just let it roll because...it's best that way.

theemixed,
If I go dancing this weekend, I think I'll do a dedication dance too.
 
Jaime_Pipoca said:
Ahh, that's because SHO, much like El Gran Combo, play too "clean" and perfect, but as my friend and I said, they need to f**k it up every once in a while. Haha. Let me get you on this SHO stonker, brothercito. The first two minutes feel like most SHO songs, but just keep listening.
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I'll give the vid a spin when I have the opportunity. Thanks. Congahead has a lot of really good vids.

However El Gran Combo are one of my favourite bands. Their back catalogue is full of monsters. Maybe nowadays their sound has become too polished (or maybe not), but for decades they were heavyweights.
 
Jaime_Pipoca said:
I youtubed T-Stance and kept finding martial art vids, so I was like, let me bounce back to the forums and you posted. Yeah, I used to see that like 15 years ago, and on the rare occassion I'll have a lady do that without me actually leading/getting in to a Yuca, I mean T-stance. I just let it roll because...it's best that way.

theemixed,
If I go dancing this weekend, I think I'll do a dedication dance too.
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You're the guy in a vid recently right? I'm glad you weren't doing any t stance then.
 
Richie Blondet said:
That's the reason I dig Baile Inolvidable. First of all it swings like F&%#. It's literally adopting the "less is more" appraoch of the golden age and doesn't feature an incessant amount of notes as was common on Salsa Romantica tracks. He let the rhythm section be heard and doused the horns until it was time to let them roar again. I happen to dig his vocals for the same reason I dug Angel Canales and Mon Rivera. They didn't sound like ANYONE else. They were distinct unto themselves. I rather hear Benito than another pretty boy vocalist or grizzled veteran singing love songs with a Salsa Romantica backbeat. I'll tell you this much. I think his "Salsa" track appeals to both the pop commercial crowd who dig Marc Anthony's music, and the folks who immerse themselves with Ray Barretto or the music of Orchestra Harlow. MUCH more than what the SHO and other alleged "Salsa Dura" artists of the 21st century have produced thus far.

I sincerely hope he records more.
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I totally agree. What I love about Baile Inolvidable is that it feels alive — raw, groovy, and honest. He lets the rhythm speak, keeps things simple but powerful. And his voice has real personality, not trying to imitate anyone. That’s the kind of salsa I connect with — timeless, not formulaic. Hope he keeps making music like this.
 
I started this thread out of frustration with the anemic attendance at events in my scene, but frankly since then, I'm happy to report things have improved substantially. Been to multiple events in the past month with attendance in the several hundreds, not just with advanced dancers (I think a lot of them took a while to get back into it post pandemic), but also newbies starting out who will grow into good dancers in a few years. also several salsa-heavy regular events are doing pretty well. was afraid the growing bachata scene would eventually engulf the salsa scene, but it seems there's enough room for both to grow.

I hope everyone else's scenes are seeing similar growth and success!
 
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As I started learning follower this year (me being lead since more than a decade) I see several salsa beginner classes rather full in my area. Bachata and WCS beginner courses are also full, I don't have statistics but they all seem to go well. But hard to say how many will stay in the scene and who is there only for a year.

When you started this thread in summer 2023 there was still the covid shock amongst organizers. Now they don't hesitate any more to plan events.
 
Salsa will only have limited appeal moving forward with less and less young people joining or giving up rather fast and that is because it's very difficult to learn(takes years to get good), practice time required and money, pressure at socials, etc.
It'll be only people over 40 dancing it in the next 5-10 years.
 
rheemixed said:
I hope everyone else's scenes are seeing similar growth and success
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Lucky you. I'm back in my dance pandemic mode where I train and solo dance almost exclusively due to the slow death of Salsa here. Local parties are down to about one every 2 months and attendance is horrid.
 
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