The best piece of advice that I can give as a DJ , Salsero and Instructor is Stop it! This has finally become a well needed topic for discussion and here it is!
Club owners be aware of this and pay a little more attention to detail because this is the easiest way to loose your crowd of dancers!
Salseros dance to all the breaks, dips and peaks in the music and probably know the songs better than you as a DJ. Salseros also like to end the song with a nice dip or finishing move. This is impossible when you mix the music. Salsero doesn't just pertain to dancers, it also pertains to those connoisseurs of salsa who can tell you who is singing, who is in the chorus and what year they made the album. Dancers don't judge you by your ability to mix music, they judge you by the amount of danceable salsa you play throughout the night. When you mix salsa in the middle of a song it changes the timing and rhythm of the music and make the salsero angry because he has to stop to get on beat again and start all over with the picture that he was painting for the lovely lady he was dancing with. Also keep in mind that you are disgracing the artist of the song who in most cases is turning flips in their grave! Remember that dancers are the biggest voice in the clubs and it is them that decide your fate! Nothing gets around faster than word of mouth. If you want to impress salseros hit them with some vintage old school salsa and see how you pack the dance floor! Last but not least that 2 to 3 second pause between songs allows the dancers to catch their breath and thank that lovely lady for the nice dance! The first sign of a bad salsa DJ is his equipment. The DJ that has the fancy cd players with fancy real time scratch wheels on top and the fancy beat making machines next to them, should probably be in a techno club because he will never play a whole song and you will be lucky if you even hear a salsa song.
When you do it will be a song that you have never heard before that almost lifts your eyebrow completely off your head, while you are wondering who in the !@## is this?
Rueda Question of the Month
Salsera of the Month
Edie the "Salsa Freak"
at the Doral Resort in Palm Springs California.
"Movement never lies. It is a barometer telling the state of the soul’s weather to all who can read it."
Martha Graham
I want take some salsa classes because I
get laughed at by my husbands family because they say I have no rhythm. (They are from Mexico and like to dance, it looks like swing to me from the 50's.) I think I do ok, but it hurts when I'm laughed at and it lowers my self esteem.
The Salsero
Hmmm?, I smell cumbia! This is without a doubt the most popular style of salsa dancing for the huge latino population in the Omaha club scene. I have many friends who are great at dancing this style of salsa.
Now that we have established the style of salsa that they are dancing lets work on your self esteem. Always remember that:
"The same thing that will make you laugh, will make you cry."
After you fill your prescription of salsa classes and learn to become a true "Follower", you will discover that you are only as good as your "Leader". Some men waste so much time trying to look good and show off on the dance floor, that they forget all about the that terrible lead that they are giving you. WOW! If my prescription doesnt boost up your self esteem, I will find a new name!
Salserodalante
This salsera of the month needs no introduction. Dawn Timperley has been dancing salsa for only a year and four months. Its amazing what 4 months of group classes, ladies styling workshops and bringing your "A" game to the dance floor will do for you. I dont think I have to say anymore!
I will agree that the quickest way to get a guys attention is to display those beautiful feet in that sandal with the three inch heel. Its definitely the first thing I notice when I ask ladies to dance and its like looking into a crystal ball.
Want to know your future? Here it is...
The first words that come out of your mouth are:
"Can you take it easy on me?"
"I don't know what's wrong with my spins today."
"I don't know why I wore these stupid shoes!"
"Wow the dance floor is slippery.
"My feet hurt!"
Ladies do yourself a favor and always bring more than one pair of shoes to the big dance. Sacrificing your comfort for looking good makes your game look a little weak on the dancefloor. It makes that awesome dancer that danced with you last week scratch his head. Hmm..? For that new budding salsero it makes his world even smaller for that 3 minute song that seems like a lifetime. Besides trying to put a smile on your face, keeping you from getting board with his dance, giving you a good lead and staying on beat he is now tasked with holding you up!
Protect your precious investment with a pair of quality dance shoes with a 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inch heel! If you like 3 inch heels wear them and bring your "A" game with them!
Salsero's Corner
Take the time to become connoisseurs of those vintage salsa songs from the 70's & 80's and listen for those peaks, valleys and breaks in the music and pause with them before you put the ladies into a cross body lead or turn. Finish those spectacular endings of the songs with a nice dip and leave the ladies with a smile on their face. When you feel the music you become a part of it!
Salsa Bling Bling of the Month Award
Congradulation to Lizeth Alvarenga
for winning this months award at the friday night dance party at the studio.
A Casino Rueda, or Rueda De Casino, or simply Rueda first became popular in Cuba during the late 1950's. Rueda simply means "wheel". Casino refers to the kinds of turns and breaks you might see in Salsa Dancing. Rueda dancing is done in the "wheel", as a group, with the followers being exchanged and leaders using moves in time with Salsa music. Every turn and combination has a name and most have a hand signal. There is always one leader that will either call (shout out) or signal (with his/her hands) the combinations while all the couples in the circle follow. Casino Rueda can be as small as two couples, or as large as every club dancer!
What movie features Vanessa Williams and Chayanne and has a nightclub scene with people dancing Casino Rueda?
