r/Salsa

I’ve loved salsa music since I was in my teens, and used to go to salsa bars frequently back in university - though just social dancing no formal lessons. Last year April I tried lessons at two different companies up until around July on and off. Then I didn’t get back into salsa again until January this year, tried a range of mostly Cuban and a few cross body to see which style I like better, and company I enjoyed it for a while but then of course frustration kicked in, wether it was the teaching or the environment. I didn’t particularly enjoy the various socials I went to and felt like a lot of people weren’t there to dance but to find romantic partners.

So by March I lost interest and switched to Bachata (traditional - Dominican). And I found I enjoyed it much more than salsa and the music! But then after June I found it boring and repetitive again - I was going 1-2 times per week.

Went to DR even enjoyed the music there and danced but when I came back to the UK the momentum was gone and I felt bored with Bachata.

Since then I’ve stopped dancing completely. I just want to know if anyone else has experienced the same?

Since that time I’ve been to 2 Brazilian Samba classes (I have tried first time 10 years ago and last year in Brazil). Found I prefer Samba much more to both Salsa and Bachata but haven’t been consistent. Is this just burn out?

I noticed that over the years, I have become exactly the type of dancer I never wanted to become: Someone who prefers dancing with the best dancers.

There are basically three two I enjoy about Salsa:

• Getting into a flow state (aka this state where the dance works super well and I feel like I am on drugs.
• Positive interactions with women (not in a dating sense, but like, they smile at me, they enjoy dancing with me etc, also note that this is really "women", not "followers", unlike the other two points)
• Being seen by others while dancing.

There are other things that are more "around Salsa" like the social aspect, meeting my friends etc, but I am speaking about the dancing itself in the narrower sense.

The third point is new. And it's problematic. I know. But I can't deny that it started happening. Sometimes people walk up to me after I danced and they said that they enjoyed watching this dance. It feels great. I am addicted.

And now it gets even more problematic: For the first and last point, the skill level of the follower matters. I still dance with beginners sometimes, mostly if I know them, sometimes if I see a beginner follower that looks a bit underdanced. But it does feel a bit like a "sacrifice" sometimes, which is not a good mindset. (also, an interesting corollary is that I really don't like dancing with beginner men because they cannot fufill any of the three points).

I used to not be this problematic. The third point wasn't a thing yet. And I was much more shy asking good dancers for a dance. Now I lost this shyness and I went right on the other end of the problem. It's so addictive, good dancers are just soo great to dance with!

Also note, I am not actually *that good*, I am just a slightly experienced dancer, but I am still shit if you look closely.

So how do I get out of this problematic spiral?

After dancing for a while, it seems like I dance with less people than I used to at socials. I am more selective with dances. I used to dance with anyone and everybody pretty much, but after some interesting experiences, now I feel like I take more breaks, and dance more selectively, for some reason I can't seem to put a finger on why, and if it is normal?

I feel like I know more moves, and more stamina, but now, ironically, I dance less. Does that happen to you too? Also, do people judge others when they dont ask them to dance?

I've been noticing more and more leads in socials (and in social media too) who lead intricate patterns but barely even step their feet while dancing. The worst case I've seen is someone just tapping their feet instead of actually stepping. Meanwhile, the follow is doing so many turns and keeping up with so many arm tosses while adding so much styling. It truly pisses me off haha. Do you have examples of the opposite: leads who have great body movement, even though they execute relatively simple patterns? The last part is optional. I really just want to see examples of leads with great chest and hip movements. Thanks!

I started Cuban salsa around 5 months ago in a school that focuses a lot on Rueda de Casino. As the sequences that the class do have become faster and more complex, I've noticed that some (around a third) of the followers feel increasingly heavy and unresponsive to lead. To compensate, I've been using some force throughout the figures to maintain momentum in order to not fall behind the beat. I know this isn't good, and I'm keen not develop bad habits. I'm sure there are plenty of flaws in my own leading, but I see these as my options here:

1. Try to improve my preparation but continue providing force throughout the moves in order to get through the sequence on time.
2. Focus on just giving clear but gentle preparations, continue the sequence if it falls out of time, then try to recover before the next call.
3. Focus on just giving clear but gentle preparations, and if the sequence falls out of time, abandon it and reset to basic step until the next sequence is called.

Which of those would be the most appropriate? And is there anything else I can do to make things work better, for example, in moves that involve a change of place, I take bigger steps to travel more of the distance so she can travel less?

Thank you for your advice!

Hey guys

I recently tried out Bachata dance communities, but noticed that they are heavily lead heavy. Which sucks, because I don't want to practice and dance alone.

Is it similar for salsa as well?

Where are you located?

Im from Czechia, Prague.

Hi there! I’m looking for a place in Sydney that has Latin American Social Dancing.

Somewhere where it’s low pressure, can learn a few things, and spend most of the time dancing socially.

Anything like this happening regularly in Sydney?

Thanks!

I have been trying to find really slow salsa songs that are similar to Qué Lio to no avail. Should I be checking out other genres for better results?

Hello everyone!

I thought I’d give an update since my last post because a LOT has happened since then and in a great way! First, I took the salsa class and actually decided to add the bachata class that’s afterward. I’m really glad I did because they were both AWESOME! I fell in love with it right away. It’s definitely a challenge to learn though I did find bachata a little easier than salsa. Either way I’m IN it!
I also went to my first social over the weekend! I probably should’ve waited a little longer because I had no idea what I was doing but I made some friends, danced a tiny bit, and had a really good time. I wanted to wait to make this post until I had actually done everything so I could talk about how it went.

Salsa/Bachata Class: Amazing! Everyone was nice and talkative and I met plenty of people. I was pretty nervous at first but I quickly got into it. Salsa was definitely a bit harder than bachata but I actually like the challenge.
I’ve been doing a lot outside of class to learn the beat and I think I’m finally starting to get it. I’ve also been practicing what I learned in class whenever I can, I’m just in it!

First Social: The instructor invited me to one of the weekend socials and a few of my classmates wanted me to go too so I decided to go even though I was super nervous. We started with an intro type class before the social opened up for dancing and that really helped with my nerves. I got to dance with different partners while practicing a bachata move set and it was a lot of fun! I even met someone from class who helped me get used to the social setting. They eventually pushed me to actually dance. I was hesitant because I didn’t really have a good feel for the beat yet and my basic step and turns are meh at best. I didn’t want to subject anyone to my terrible dancing! They gave me a good pep talk though, so I went ahead and asked a girl to dance with me.
And we danced!
I mean, it was only for a short while toward the end of the song but I led, had her do a turn and then I did a turn myself. I think I got a high five at the end too but honestly I was freaking out so much that I’m not even sure lol!
My instructor even came up to me a little while later and told me good job for getting out there and dancing. I just felt so much support from everyone. It honestly makes me wish I had started all of this sooner. It’s so much fun and just awesome!

Therapy: I’ve only had a sort of introduction so far but they were really happy that I took the class and went to the social. I told them it was way outside of my comfort zone but I felt more alive there than I have in years. It honestly feels like I got my spark back. I’ll certainly have plenty more to talk about and work through here but I feel like I’m on the right track.

Overall, I’m very happy I decided to get into this and I’m definitely in it to learn, improve, and get better. I wanted to thank everyone who gave me advice and wished me luck after my last post. I’m truly thankful for this community as a whole and I’m really looking forward to seeing where this takes me and hopefully getting better along the way.

Thank you!

Salsa may be my favorite music genre, but I feel modern salsa is stuck in the past, so many “new” songs just sound like the same stuff that was made in the 70s and 80s. I’ve recently discovered Chuwi from Puerto Rico who have this great salsa/electro fusion thing going on that I find both classically salsero and really new.

I feel like one of the reasons Bachata generally attracts a younger crowd is because the music continues to innovate and stay relevant. For instance the new Romeo/Prince Royce album, plays with lots of new rythm ideas, or Pinto Picasso who sounds so different from classic stuff like Monchy y Alexandra for instance.

For me Chuwi (also Rawayana) is a concept of how salsa could evolve.

There is a girl I (M) knew from dance for few weeks and she is a beginner. Yesterday we spoke for quite long then she kinda asked for my contact directly and we exchanged. We texted a bit and she was quite flirty and bantered but last week she said she went travelling with her other half. So I am confused what her intentions are and also should I pursue knowing she has a spouse and grown kid in uni. We met at salsa party again she looked out for me voluntarily spent time talking, sharing about herself and asking things and danced entirely with me before she left, also invited me saying 'come to our house I can teach and make you food. Now she is actively texting too. I don't want to have unnecessary drama unless she is going through breakup/divorce/open relationship/swingers but not cheating on her husband. Has anyone experienced something similar?

I'm originally a tanguero who took up salsa over a year ago. I have attended several local socials and dance mainly with people I know. In tango we never ask verbally. It is always through an eye-contact (cabeceo-mirada). It has been an adjustment to ask verbally lol! But I have a question to those who are more experienced, both leaders and followers. Does/should an eye contact play a role in salsa dance invite? Does it help to establish an eye contact and make a "wanna dance?" gesture before the words come out of your mouth or you extend your hand? Both leader and follower perspective appreciated.

Follower here! I joined one of the very few on2 studios in my area about two months ago as an absolute beginner. I initially fell in love with salsa at socials, taking the short classes at the beginning of the socials. For context, i’m in Houston so On1 is the most popular style of salsa.

I decided I wanted to challenge myself and make this a full time hobby so I’ve been taking progressive salsa courses at a very well known studio in my area, where they teach On2. I’m really enjoying it so far and have attended a couple of my studio’s socials but find that most people still dance on1 even at my studio’s socials. So i find myself struggling going from On1 to On2 and it’s kinda sucking the fun out of it for me😭

I have always enjoyed social dancing but am wondering if maybe I should stop attending socials? I feel like it may be confusing me even more and I’m starting to not necessarily enjoy socials as much. I’m even considering switching studios to one that teaches On1 so that I can maybe focus on just one style.

Any advice is welcome!! should i continue my on2 journey and still attend socials? or should i switch studios and just commit to on1???

My husband and I have been married for 8 years now. At the start of the year, I picked up a new hobby with his encouragement: Latin dancing. I've always wanted to learn to dance but was too afraid to, but I decided that it was time to get face my fears for good. What started as a once a week class gradually turned into a consuming hobby. I get a lot of dopamine from it and, as someone who grew up in a conservative and religious environment where dancing was never encouraged, find it incredibly liberating and life-giving.

I now go for dance parties at least twice or thrice a week now on top of class. These usually begin late and end late (at midnight). People around me (including my husband) tell me that I've become more confident, fitter, and attractive.

However, recently, my husband has been getting upset about the frequency that I go dancing. He rightly pointed out that all of my friends who go regularly to dance parties are all divorced or single. It also doesn't help that a classmate is actively pursuing me, despite me telling him that I'm married — I told my husband about everything so he knows, and he was not pleased. I tried to get my husband to join me in dance, but he's told me that that's out of the question.

I'm just wondering: Married dancers whose partners don't dance, how do you balance your dance addiction with your marriage? How many times a week do you indulge in your hobby?

Hi! I’m a very new follow (I’ve taken two months of classes) but I feel like I’m learning quickly! I’d love to attend beginner friendly socials in NYC to practice more, meet new people and conquer social anxiety lol. Does anyone have recs where to find such spaces?

I'll be going to London for a week on Tuesday, I'll arrive early in the day on Tuesday so I have the evening to dance as well! I would like to hit as many parties as I can! What are the best recommendations for each night of the week?

Thanks 🙃