Salsa .... Who Likes Salsa? Hot, Medium or Spicy?

[emeralddancer]

Ok .... while I am a standard dancer ... I got hooked into the studio via salsa lessons.

I love salsa it is so much fun, a stress reliever, and a great source of exercise to burn ALOT of calories and can be quite demanding and challenging to learn to. (yes I know this will be hard for you believe but there are other moves outside of the basic step, LOL)

I learned the basics at my studio and then ventured into the clubs where salsa is danced kinda raw  ... AUTHENTIC ... not the ballroom version. MAN I HAD A RUDE AWAKING!!!!!!! It was great ... but a real eye opener to experience the edgy, sensual dance.

I also was pleasantly surprised in the MD/DC area there are a large amount of clubs that cater to just salsa dancing. AND THEN I also found out about the comps they have to.

Anyone else out here an experienced salsa dancer?

[malakawa]

 

just have to know it. in one way i like better rueda, but i am not such a fan of salsa.

i am tired of the music. 

[dream a little dream]

I'd rather do rueda....but apart from my former studio, don't know where to do it around here.
Salsa can be a lot of fun, accoridng to my salsa dancing friends, but I don't dance it enough to really get into it!

[cdnsalsanut]

I'm a salsero.  Can't really understand the attraction to rueda, though.  If you like square and sequence dancing you'd like rueda, my guess.

I started with rueda but this is what I've learned about salsa.  From someone who dances salsa 4 nights a week and ballroom 3 nights a week - you get the idea, another dance nut!

The big difference between ballroom and salsa if that most salsero's, the majority of latino's anyway, learn to dance to the music first.  They don't learn the dance first, as we do in ballroom.  They don't take the steps and apply it to the music.  They take the music and dance to iit.  Unlike the technical dancing of most ballroomers, it is emotional dancing.  A term my ballroom instructor uses with derision.

In salsa, at the higher levels, there is an emphasis on styling.  Body isolations, shines, freestyling for a couple of bars; setting your partner up to show her stuff, fast footwork, argie tango gancho's, presses, ronde's and so forth.

In rueda there is no such freedom, we basically follow the caller.  I find it pedantic by comparison with club salsa. I never learned salsa in a ballroom, I learned it in the clubs, where there is less emphasis on technique and more on interpreting and feeling the music. 

Don't get me wrong, ballroom is my passion, but I do really enjoy the freedom of salsa and having seen it in the clubs have to say there is a lot of very advanced dancing going on, stuff you rarely see except at the highest levels of ballroom.

[elisedance]

Ah, there you are   I do very little salsa so can't add much - did a few years ago but now I'm rather rusty. 

Its surprisingly quiet here tonight, as it often is on a sunday.  As said, its a good idea to drop a post in the newcomer's area so people can know you are here.
ee

[Ginger]

I hesitate to say "we know some rueda", because I fear that what we've learned is different from typical rueda. A student "before our time" brought a DVD into the studio, the coaches broke what they saw down, sweetheartized the pronunciation of the Spanish terms (Enchufle? I know that Abanico, Adios, Dame, etc. are correct though), so we know 'a few' figures in it, but not enough to be confident in taking it somewhere else.

When it's us and the brats at DW, we do kind of a Rueda Para 4, where we just partner-swap two couples, but that's about it. Tons of fun to do in our own little world though.

Hate the liftsy uppy sit on the shouldersy circley one though. That was the first time Leatherbritches and I got to second-base... Jack just called it, and I was picking Marc Ecko rhinestones out of my butt-cheeks for a week, and SparkleBoy probably had to have reconstructive surgery on his shoulder.

[elisedance]

Shows how miuch I know - I thought this was an eating/cooking topic

[bookworm]

Hot Hot Hot!! although to eat I prefer medium 

[elisedance]

but to dance, the hotter the better

[TangoDancer]

FTR, ...LOVE salsa, cumbia, bachata.... All of it.

[cdnsalsanut]

Heads up: this weekend is the

www.canadasalsacongress.com

in Toronto at the Sheraton center. Best salsa dancers from all over the world, biggest salsa event in Canada. dancing till 4am tonight and tomorrow.  Should be fun - see you there?

[cornutt]

I should start working on salsa.  I've mostly avoided it in the past, because when I was less experienced, I found that doing salsa screwed up my mambo.  But I did a few salsa heats in our comp last weekend; it was intended to be just a goof, but it went surprisingly well.  I wouldn't mind picking up some of that flava.

[QPO]

never really done much salsa....I think I have come to it too late.

[elisedance]

Heads up: this weekend is the

www.canadasalsacongress.com

in Toronto at the Sheraton center. Best salsa dancers from all over the world, biggest salsa event in Canada. dancing till 4am tonight and tomorrow.  Should be fun - see you there?

Have a great time - are you competing?  Give us a report OK?

[cdnsalsanut]

I went last night after the Olympic stars supervised practice, which was quite good. The place was hopping with some fanatstic dancers.  I recognized a few salsa personalities from around the world, including super mario.

BTW, can you tell me more about the westmount collegiate danc?  You mentioned it's on Sat night and we're looking for something to do tonight. The Gardener will be closed so it will problematic to get to the 60 up club.  I see the Leander boat house is having a dance but that's a bit far. I'm hearing about a new venue in Toronto called GJ up on Finch, might check that out.

I'd like to try Westmount if you say it's good...what time, what's the format and so forth?

Many thanks