the cuban salsa blog

Paso’s next practica will be held next Thursday, June 3rd at 8pm.

This week’s topic is Bachata.

Covered:

• Bachata music – its rural origins, antecedents, and arrangement.
• Dominican Bachata vs American/European style. What are the physical and philosophical differences?
• Footwork, bodywork and coordination exercises.
• Syncopations that would bring joy to any bongocero.

For this lesson, we will be sticking to the Afro-Dominican roots of the dance. So…no salsa-derived turns, dips etc.

Focus will be on rhythmic movement and connection with partner.

Look for an upcoming article on http://www.thecubansalsablog.com where I will discuss some of the drastic differences between the way it’s danced here compared to how it’s danced over there!

How would you look and feel dancing Salsa?

What would change?

These questions are essential.

The answer to which will lead you to truly understand yourself as an individual in the dance…

And may remind you that ultimately, you are responsible for your own movement.

Leads, if your partner disappeared, would your dance be reduced to a series of dry steps or orchestra conductor-like arm movements with your legs set awkwardly astride?

Follows, if your partner suddenly went, “poof” would you be caught in a predictable pattern of turns and spins?

Are you dancing within the dance?

Or are you engaged in aerobics?

Watch Salsa videos on YouTube. Imagine that the follow or lead is no longer in the dance.

Did it suddenly become boring as hell? Take away his follow, and did that lead suddenly appear as if he were not dancing at all?

I think leads may tend to “give the frame to follows” because it’s a whole lot easier to lead and do nothing, than to lead and dance.

Polyrhythmic movement is not natural for most.  We like to do one thing at a time and we are reared from an early age on very simple rhythms. Not to mention most are taught that the turn pattern itself IS the end when it’s barely the beginning.

I proposed the question to students in Wednesday’s class the other night, and the changes were incredible.

Both follows and leads carried their own weight, and danced not only for each other but for themselves as both individual AND couple.

It was if they were instantly reminded that turn patterns are NOT necessarily dance, they simply offer you a framework that you can choose to dance in.

Or not.

Sometimes I wonder if gender politics play a role here.

Are men not allowed to “get sick” on the dance floor in American culture? Guys, do we really have to look like ass when dancing with a beautiful woman? Hate to state it so harshly, but damn..!

Why can’t both partners interpret and break it down while talking to each other?

Something to think about. We need to do polyrhythmic movement at the next practica…get into some of that nitty gritty stuff.

Comments…???

If you are comfortable here, then Cuban dance may not be your best bet.

Have any of you ever read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success?

If not, well, shame on you.

It’s an amazing work, somewhere along the lines of psychology and sociology, that looks at factors -often counter-intuitive or overlooked- that contribute to high levels of success.

And lately, I have found myself wrapped in discussions on why certain people excel at dance and why others simply can not, or do not.

It got me thinking in about 100 different ways and directions. The resulting ideas became more complex than I ever would have ever imagined. Such a daunting project reminded me of two things: 1. I am no Malcolm Gladwell and 2. people like to read short blog posts.

So…writing about why some people succeed at dance might be a bit overkill. But opening up a discussion on some of the contributing factors of success in Cuban Salsa is definitely feasible -and you might actually read it!

Keep in mind that this is an anecdotal treatment of a complicated subject. It stems from years of experience teaching people from all different walks of life.

Let’s begin with preference. Generally speaking, you don’t succeed at what you don’t enjoy, right?

What type of personalities gravitate towards Paso and the Cuban style of dance??

The hippie.

Yeah, you know who you are. If you could take the joint out of your mouth long enough to practice, you might actually remember that turn pattern.

Because of the ‘free and natural’ approach to movement theory and an inseparable connection between music and body, both Paso and the Cuban style of dance are a cult hit for those who like to shop at Whole Foods, wear crystal deodorant, and pack guitars in the trunk of their cars.

The musician.

A disproportionate number of musicians have walked on through the Paso doors to learn Cuban dance. Many of them Latin or Jazz musicians. Why? I am guessing because music and the bodily interpretation of it, takes highest priority in our studio.

Music matters most.

This plain and simple truth which appeals to those who have developed a very intimate relationship with music and would love to have their body join in on the action.

The super creative type.

Physically or conceptually, nothing in Cuban dance is linear. Down to the way we twist ourselves up if only to find a way to get out, Cuban Salsa is a creative approach to the question of movement. Answers are not given, they are pointed to.

If you like to do your own thing, in your own way, you will love the creative license intrinsic to this form of dance.

It’s been said that in Tango, “imitation is the worst form of flattery”. I will apply this to Cuban Salsa as well. If you are hell bent on imitating your way to becoming a dancer, you will have a big problem with Cuban dance, period.

The introspective-new-age dreamer.

Finding yourself as a dancer takes some deep digging. Very early on we encourage dancers to find their own way of doing things, within the limits of basic fundamental principles.

There is a certain profound spirituality to both Cuban dance and  music. Because of its firm roots in Afro-folkloric tradition and religion, those who can see the spiritual significance of dance movement beyond steps, numbers and styling routines, will tend to gravitate towards the Cuban style.

Learning any dance is a journey. Ironically, one of the most socially infused dances, tends to lead you on the loneliest journey.

A journey that begins and ends with you.

The exception.

“Eduardo, I don’t fall into any of the prior categories.”  Well, then you are just weird.

But seriously, we get all sorts of types. And like I said before, this is anecdotal stuff at best. But after almost three years out here and teaching around 1000 students you tend to see a patterns form.

So what are you?

Would love to get some feedback on why you click with Cuban dance.

DJ Radar and Charanga Carolina Perform Tonight

Very interesting indeed…fresh and unchartered territory.

Check out Sylvia’s blog for a sneak peek at what’s going down tonight.

Seems that DJ Radar has a gift for integrating turntable scratches right into the rhythm section.

Not quite sure what to make of this, BUT for the longest, Cuban Timba bands have combined classical orchestra music with Afro-Cuban percussion, creating the some of the meanest dance grooves known to man.

I recommend every one from Paso attend this event, not only because it’s free, or because of the inviting wood floors, but because you may never hear anything like this for a long long time…

Cost: Free.

Location: Gerrard Hall at UNC (On the left side of Memorial Hall) on Cameron Ave.

Time: 8-10pm

RSVP for Hip-Hop Workshop on Saturday

Remember to RSVP ahead of time for this Saturday’s Hip-Hop workshop!!

Look for the Evite in your email.

Paso.

Last night I had the privilege of attending a workshop taught by Alicia Pons, here on her 5^th visit to the Triangle.

A renowned Milonguera, she is known for all sorts of cool Tango things like her display of feminine elegance, precise footwork and the list goes on and on…

But for me, it’s her incredible PASSION for the dance that makes her a world-class instructor, a term that is used far too often and far too casually.

She outlined five basic principles of connection. These were meant for Tango, but they can and should be applied to any dance.

In dance, true progress comes from re-examination of the self. Not from patterns, tricks, techniques etc. Anyone can do these, and everyone does these.

Any good dance instructor should, first and foremost, lead students on a journey of self-examination.

Examine what you do over and over again, and never settle in or become too comfortable with your dance or the philosophy that underlies it.

1. Connect with yourself.

Be aware, plain and simple. Be aware that your are breathing. Far too often we forget that we actually exist while we are dancing. We become so focused on the next step that our own movement becomes lost and end up looking like choreographed machines.

2. Connect with the music.

LISTEN before you do anything. Resist the urge to just grab your partner and go through the motions. Music leads, always.

Sometimes, I think we fall back on a mental routine that tells us to activate some pattern simply because a certain type of music is playing.

3. Connect with your partner.

In the words of Alicia Pons, “The embrace is handmade”.

Of course it is! It’s woven from the thread of partner and music.

I think every dance should be handmade. I am in love with this idea.

If for nothing else, out of respect for your partner, tailor the dance to them and the music.  And if you view dance as a gift, is it really appropriate to give every partner the same gift?

4. Connect with the floor.

Cut the string, relax the shoulders, and break the egg.  Allow your energy to travel into the floor and avoid sustaining it all in the shoulders in one big ball of tension.

I was corrected on this one. It’s easy to do, so watch out.

5. Connect with other couples on the dance floor.

She didn’t touch on this one too much, probably due to time constraints. But, it goes without saying that you probably won’t be the only one on the social dance floor.

I think you should always exercise special awareness. Be aware of where you are in relation to everyone else.

I urge our readers to ponder the above points. Take a second to examine yourself, if your priority is growth and fulfillment as a dancer.

I understand that some “dancers” may view the above as total bullocks. These are usually the men out there who boot up and sequentially execute their dance routines like a Windows PC.

If you think this kind of computerized dancing is cool, remember that it’s usually the men who love to wrap their arms around technology and cool gadgets.

Women on the other hand …

I will leave you with my favorite Alicia Pons quote.

“Men, sometimes the embrace feels so good, it’s more than enough.”

If memory serves me right, there was not a single expression of disagreement from any of the ladies in attendance.

Many of you have been asking for a list of good songs for Cuban Salsa dance.

I thought it would be a good idea to go through the dances I enjoy most, and list 5 of my favorite pieces.

For Cuban Salsa I might dance to…

El Solar de California – Issac Delgado
Yo No Me Parezco a Nadie – Bamboleo
Santa Palabra – NG La Banda
Tu Experiencia – Mikail Blanco
El Huracan del Caribe – Arturo Sandoval

For NY Salsa (ON2) I might dance to…

Un Puesto Vacante – Eddie Palmieri
Sabroso Guaguanco – Eddie Palmieri
Quitate la Mascara  - Ray Barretto
Yay Boy – Africando
Periodico de Ayer  - Hector Lavoe

For Argentine Tango I might dance to…

La Yumba – Osvaldo Pugliese
El Pollito – Carlos di Sarli
Negracha – Osvaldo Pugliese
Toda mi Vida – Anibal Troilo
El Amanacer – Carlos di Sarli

For Rumba Guaguanco I might dance to…

Obsesion Sublime  - Los Munequitos de Mantanzas
La Siteria –  Los Munequitos de Mantanzas
Canto a Mantanzas – Los Munequitos de Mantanzas
Several songs from Clave y Guaguanco
Many songs from Los Papines

For West Coast Swing I might dance to…

The Boogie that Be – Black Eyed Peas
Billie Jean – Michael Jackson
The Way You Move – Outkast
Kiss – Prince
The Way You Make Me Feel – Michael Jackson

For Bachata I might dance to…

Voy Pa’lla – Antony Santos
Pena de Amor – Antony Santos
Pegame tu Vicio  - Antony Santos
El Asesina  - Juan Bautista
Me Alejare – Antony Santos

For Orishas I might dance to…
Many pieces from Lazaro Ros or Ballet Folklorico Cutumba

Relax..it's just an illustration.

Due to the awesome support of Haiti benefits by our local dance community, we decided to step out of the box a bit and attack poverty right here in the Triangle.

Mark your calendars folks.

Saturday February 20th, at 2pm, Hip Hop instructor and choreographer J. Wess will be giving a blockbuster beginner workshop for dancers and stiff bodies alike.

I have seen this man turn young children and adults into Hip-Hop BEASTS. Personally, it’s been years since I have taken a Hip-Hop class, but I am confident J Wess can hook me up.

The workshop will be $10 and 100% of the proceeds will go towards Urban Hope of Durham, a non-profit group, headed by none other than our own Bahari Harris.

Just a little of what’s in store..

1. Body movement and isolations for dummies, with authentic style and flair.

2. Mini-routines and footwork. Short and sweet for improvisation, around the 2-4 bar mark.

3. A special treat for Salsa dancers: some short additional phrases that you can actually USE in your Salsa dance.

Keep in mind, your admission will be directly impacting a local organization, headed by Bahari, a  local Salsa dancer.

More details to come…

Paso Goes Ice Skating in Raleigh

For this month’s Paso community event we decided to try something a little different…

The Ice Plex in Raleigh is the only Olympic sized sheet of ice in North Carolina, with plenty of space for you to glide around and perform your double or triple axles -I know I will.

What’s even better?

If you are with the Paso crew, you get 2 hours of skating and skate rental for only $5.50.

Thank Dale Vanderpool down at Ice Plex for the sweet Paso discount.

If you would like to come but don’t attend classes, let us know and we will put you on our list.

When: Sunday, February 28th @ 1:30pm
Where: Ice Plex, 2601 N Raleigh Blvd.
Cost: $5.50 for Paso crew or associates. Includes skate rental.

The follow’s game is a psychological one…

Here are 4 simple guidelines that we believe every follow should ponder on before getting out on the dance floor.

1. Keep your head out of the game.

Easier said than done, right?

Figuring out your lead is not your responsibility. Once you truly accept this, your dance will change. You will become flexible.

If your body does not understand the lead, compensating with logic and using your “head”  is bad business. You can’t think your way through a dance, and although many of you have tried, you probably learned by now that it doesn’t work.

2. Don’t stick to your style.

When social dancing, let go of your ideas and preconceptions about what Salsa is and isn’t. If you dance Cuban and your lead is NY, congratulations, you just became a NY follow, and vice versa.

“Now what if I don’t know X style of dance, and my lead is trying all these moves that I don’t understand?”

Choices:

A. Learn to dance like your lead so that you can “follow” him.

B. Try your best to guess what the lead is trying to do.

C. Do only what you physically felt compelled to do.

Choice A is just plain backwards, learn for the love of the style. Choice B is what most follows do and the results are usually horrid. A follow hopping around through her own moves is just not cute.

The answer most beneficial to following is C.

3. Avoid commitment.

Think twice before taking that big step, literally.

This is the only technical advice that is applicable in most situations. Do not commit yourself to any one direction with large steps. It’s kind of hard to take them back.

I see it all the time.

New follows taking step sizes well over the length of their foot and going everywhere but where their lead intended. It looks awkward and goofy. Salsa is a spot dance, save the large steps for accents.

It’s much easier to recover from a small misstep than a big one. Taking smaller steps is the fastest way to improve several aspects of your follow.

Keep the length of your steps somewhere around the length of your foot and avoid radical deviations. Minimize your commitment ladies, and always keep your options open.

Preferences are fine, but if a partner who dances a foreign style of Salsa renders your lead limp and impotent, it's time to improve your clarity. No excuses.

“I didn’t dance much  because I couldn’t find any good dancers that could dance XX style Salsa.”

Sorry to say this guys, but there is no need to find a partner that “knows” your style be it Cuban, On1 or On2.

We speak the same language, just with different accents.

All forms of Salsa derive from the Cuban Son, which comes from the Danzon. With slight variations -negligible with sound lead- we are all dancing in 4/4 time with a 3-step rhythm.

Translation: On a fundamental level our dances are not that entirely different. Most of my social dances tend to be with beginner-intermediate dancers who have never danced Cuban. It requires a solid lead and a good imagination, not advanced patterns.

When I  dance with X style follows, my moves don’t work!

Ah. Then you need to make your your lead more clear. Hard reality.

You didn’t notice that in the studio your partner was helping you make those movements work?

It is NOT  your partners job to figure out what you are trying to do.

Depending on our follow to  fill in the blanks of our lead will reap disastrous results -especially if they speak Salsa with a different accent!

Translation: When you are dancing with follows who do not understand your accent, be it Cuban or American, you must make your lead 10x more clear to remain effective.

But I learned this move and the follow puts her hand HERE on count…

Stop bro.

It ain’t going to work in real life unless she knows it.

Instructors must take responsibility and breed leads who are hard-nosed and skeptical about turn patterns.

Pulling this crap out on the dance floor confuses follows and makes them follow the next lead horribly -trying to guess what the lead is doing and screwing up the next man.

Translation: Choreo is fine. But we as teachers need to give our students healthy doses of hard reality about what can be led intuitively and what requires a follow to “be in the know”.

Leads, let’s kill the excuses in 2010.

If it’s not working on the dance floor, either you didn’t say it clearly enough or you said something too complicated.

But never bring someone on stage who isn’t familiar with your magic trick and try to make them disappear.

You might be quite embarrassed once the smoke clears -and they are still standing there!