01 Saturday Feb 2014
Tags
Beginners, Cape Town, Cape Town Salsa, Dancing, DJ Taliep, Frank Paco, good dancers, Just Dancing Salsa, Loves, Masquerade Salsa Party, Myserious, Party, Party on Long street, Salsa, salsa dance floor, Salsa Party, Salsa Party at Zula Bar, salsa practice, Sassy, Sexy, where to dance, Zula Bar
Posted by Lani Strumpfer | Filed under salsa, Salsa Party, Uncategorized
14 Friday Dec 2012
Posted in Dancing Tips, salsa, Salsa Party, Uncategorized
Here are some tips to remember when social dancing:
Ladies when a man asks you to dance, do not say no! This poor guy has used a huge amount of his courage to ask you.. he has put himself out there..his ego is on the line.. there are people watching.. don’t leave him hanging! If you say no and he happens to have a healthy salsero ego (usually these are rather large), it is quite likely that he will never ask you again…if you do this with enough men, you may run out of partners to dance with… your choice ladies!
Gentlemen, when a lady asks you to dance, she has gone against convention, gotten tired of waiting for you to ask her, gotten tired of waiting around for the men to man up in general, just wants to hit the dance floor, thinks you may help her to enjoy her few minutes on the dance floor, and no she probably doesn’t want to date you… Be a man and dance with her!
When you are on the dance floor, gentlemen, it is your job to protect the lady you are dancing with from all the other wild dancing people around you. Protect her from being bumped and jostled or knocked off balance. Most of all protect her from being tread on by another salsero or worse another salsera’s heal! This hurts, and if it happens she will be VERY tempted to walk away and leave you on your own in the middle of the floor, even if it is purely out of pain! Don’t tempt her, protect her!
Ladies, likewise, you need to be aware of where you put down your feet. When you are dancing in a crowded area keep your weight off your heals. This way when (I say when because it will happen some time or other) you accidentally step on someone the pain will be considerably less. You can also take much smaller steps which will minimise the pain you and those around you may otherwise be forced to feel.
3. Don’t be smellyShower and put on antiperspirant and something nice smelling and VERY clean clothes, and brush your teeth, before you go dancing. Just do it! No dance can be enjoyed when you are trying to hold your breath!
4. Drink lotsBuy at least one drink from the bar. If every salsero and salsera always only drinks the provided tap water, the venue owners will very quickly get very sick of having you all there, unless they are themselves addicted to salsa. This is not usually the case. So buy a drink (mineral water counts, if you buy two… 🙂 ) and in this way say thank you for having a place to come to and dance with your friends.
5. Don’t drink so muchIt is totally legit to say no to dancing with a drunk man or a drunk woman. They will forget what you said by morning! Only dance drunk, if you have proof on YouTube that you are just as spectacular, and in control and aware, when you are drunk as when you are sober. Also when you are drunk it is very likely that your breath stinks, so I’ll point you back to rule #3.
This is the most important rule of salsa. Enjoy yourself! Have fun, be playful! Be nice and help others enjoy themselves, this will very likely mean that you enjoy yourself more.
Till the new year then…
Happy Dancing Everyone!
21 Wednesday Nov 2012
Posted in Dancing Tips, salsa, Uncategorized
Tags
Dancing, Dancing Tips, good dancers, Just Dancing Salsa, Loves, Pointers for Beginners, Salsa, salsa classes, salsa dance floor, salsa practice
What takes a dance from being a series of spins and steps to being that 3-minute-moment you want to repeat over and over again? Is it the song? Is it your partner? Is it your own dancing?
I say, all of the above and more!
There are several aspects for me which takes a dance from just a dance to that dance, the very reason you came out that evening.
The first aspect is the music- when the music strikes its first note within your being and you start moving to it before you hit the dance floor, you know its going to be a very good three+ minutes, but there are several more aspects which come into play.
One is your partner during that song. Is your partner enjoying the music? Do they connect with you by looking you in the eye and smiling? Is there laughter between you when a mistake is made by either of you? Or is he or she too worried about the next step? Or too worried about the people watching so that they are forgetting to enjoy the moment with you? Or too worried about his leading or her following? These things make a huge difference in a dance. Are you overly worried while you’re on the dance floor? Your partner can tell and it is minimising their enjoyment of the dance. The next time you dance with anyone, look them in the eye, allow that connection between you, smile and laugh and enjoy yourself!
But there is another aspect in making the dance that dance. That dance is
a dance which includes what I like to call play. Play I will define as spontaneous movement originating from either of the partners, to which the other partner responds spontaneously without either partner taking away from the current step or beat. Therefore play at a simple level could be seen as styling, but it is also so much more than styling. It is dancing! It is styling that involves spontaneity within a four-way connection. It is your connection to the music, your partner’s connection to the music, your connection to your partner and your connection to yourself.
To play in a dance you need to be able to dance with more than your feet and the steps and patterns which you have been taught. You need to dance with your entire body! Play can involve popping or rolling, flicking, combing, twisting and even hopping and so much more!
Play can make a dance, and a lack thereof can break it…
Do you play when you dance?
If you’re keen to learn a little more about how to play within a dance, pull in at our BODY MOVEMENT WORKSHOP on SATURDAY 24th November at 3pm at Barbosa Social Café! Contact us to book your place!
23 Thursday Aug 2012
Posted in Dancing Tips, salsa, Uncategorized
Tags
Beginners, Dancing, Dancing Tips, good dancers, Just Dancing Salsa, Salsa, salsa classes, salsa dance floor, salsa practice, where to dance
Many beginner leads complain about not being able to remember the turn patterns they learnt in class. And they do not feel confident that they will be able to remember their steps and leads when taking a lady onto the floor.
Here’s the thing: YOU DON’T HAVE TO!
All you need to do is remember a few simple steps: You need to be able to do the salsa basic, a cross-body lead and one simple turn. Apart from that, just smile and enjoy it!
When you want to grow from this, do not try and remember the entire routine you learn each week. Rather pick one step that you particularly liked, or the only one you remember and add that to your repertoire. That way, over the year you could possibly add 52 steps to your collection. Since the most experienced dancers usually use less than 20 actual steps/patterns and then repeat them, you will have more than enough to allow any salsera to enjoy her 4 minutes on the dance floor with you! And that is really what you are after- nothing fancy, just simple enjoyment!
So be confident men… the ladies are longing to dance with you!
I’ll see you ALL on the floor at the MASQUERADE SALSA PARTY!
