salsarhythms
11-24-2003, 06:57 PM
Let me tell you a story...This is a story about a myth...NOT
a fiction, but about myth...
This guy was out at the clubs all the time. So of course
he was able to refine his dance through all the practice.
Never had a problem with the ladies turning him down
when he would ask for a dance, and he was basically
always having a good time. (Both he and his partners.)
He then starts taking lessons to learn new routines
and patterns to use as part of his arsenal.
He had to "un-learn" some things so at first he was having
a bit of a hard time.
The way he looked at it though was that because he was
never "formally" trained, he had to get rid of some bad
habits...at least that's what the instructor said.
Anyway, after learning a bunch of routines, he realized
that as he danced, he could only remember a handful of
them, so he would obviously repeat his routines.
It had gotten to the point where he was quite boring
on the dance floor...at least that's what his partners were
saying...
And this was strange because he was always so much fun
to dance with.
After some time, he goes back and learns
more and more routines...perhaps in the hope that the law
of averages would allow him to remember some more routines
when the time came.
Then that night...
The band was on the stage...the drummer starts off with his
2/3 clave beat:
TA-TA TA-TA-TA
Congero comes in TUM-TUM TA-CU-TU-CU TUM-TUM
TA-TA TA-TA-TA
TUM-TUM TA-CU-TU-CU TUM-TUM
TA-TA TA-TA-TA
TUM-TUM TA-CU-TU-CU TUM-TUM
Ther goes the singer singing his first few notes and BAM
the band goes into a mambo frenzy...
Looking around all you see is smiles, people clapping as they
get up to dance this number.
One couple gets on the dance floor and start dancing
with their eyes closed, because, for this song, they don't need
to see anything...they will let their other senses do all the work.
And there goes our guy, girl after girl turning him down, and
with each rejection, his smile gets smaller and smaller...
His one girlfriend turns to him and says...
..."Hey Pa, don't take this the wrong way...but you just got
boring on the dance floor..."
THE END
What happened here guys?
Well, by no means am I saying that salsa instruction is bad
but the thing is that there are times where we have put
so much structure into our routines that we tend to
become boring.
What happens when you've done all the partnerwork
and routines you can remember? Exactly, you'll be
repeating.
That's when salsa gets boring.
Salsa DOES NOT get boring when you feel the music.
Salsa DOES NOT get boring when you improvise.
Salsa DOES NOT get boring when you connect with your partner.
However, these are the things that are sometimes lost at the
hands of an incompetant instructor.
And by me saying that I want to make something clear...
I blame the instructor because I have seen instructors that are
so rigid in "their" way of doing things that they will literally water
down and kill what's inside of you.
If you're even in a situation like that, RUN.
Another point this brings out is that even if you do know a ton
of routines and spins, nothing beats a dancer who clearly feels
the music and dances to the music, not to some steps he/she
learned the night before.
I have nothing against learning more and more routines, but
don't do it at the expense of being original...the last thing
you want to be is a copy of everyone else, and guess what...
THAT'S WHEN SALSA BECOMES BORING.
a fiction, but about myth...
This guy was out at the clubs all the time. So of course
he was able to refine his dance through all the practice.
Never had a problem with the ladies turning him down
when he would ask for a dance, and he was basically
always having a good time. (Both he and his partners.)
He then starts taking lessons to learn new routines
and patterns to use as part of his arsenal.
He had to "un-learn" some things so at first he was having
a bit of a hard time.
The way he looked at it though was that because he was
never "formally" trained, he had to get rid of some bad
habits...at least that's what the instructor said.
Anyway, after learning a bunch of routines, he realized
that as he danced, he could only remember a handful of
them, so he would obviously repeat his routines.
It had gotten to the point where he was quite boring
on the dance floor...at least that's what his partners were
saying...
And this was strange because he was always so much fun
to dance with.
After some time, he goes back and learns
more and more routines...perhaps in the hope that the law
of averages would allow him to remember some more routines
when the time came.
Then that night...
The band was on the stage...the drummer starts off with his
2/3 clave beat:
TA-TA TA-TA-TA
Congero comes in TUM-TUM TA-CU-TU-CU TUM-TUM
TA-TA TA-TA-TA
TUM-TUM TA-CU-TU-CU TUM-TUM
TA-TA TA-TA-TA
TUM-TUM TA-CU-TU-CU TUM-TUM
Ther goes the singer singing his first few notes and BAM
the band goes into a mambo frenzy...
Looking around all you see is smiles, people clapping as they
get up to dance this number.
One couple gets on the dance floor and start dancing
with their eyes closed, because, for this song, they don't need
to see anything...they will let their other senses do all the work.
And there goes our guy, girl after girl turning him down, and
with each rejection, his smile gets smaller and smaller...
His one girlfriend turns to him and says...
..."Hey Pa, don't take this the wrong way...but you just got
boring on the dance floor..."
THE END
What happened here guys?
Well, by no means am I saying that salsa instruction is bad
but the thing is that there are times where we have put
so much structure into our routines that we tend to
become boring.
What happens when you've done all the partnerwork
and routines you can remember? Exactly, you'll be
repeating.
That's when salsa gets boring.
Salsa DOES NOT get boring when you feel the music.
Salsa DOES NOT get boring when you improvise.
Salsa DOES NOT get boring when you connect with your partner.
However, these are the things that are sometimes lost at the
hands of an incompetant instructor.
And by me saying that I want to make something clear...
I blame the instructor because I have seen instructors that are
so rigid in "their" way of doing things that they will literally water
down and kill what's inside of you.
If you're even in a situation like that, RUN.
Another point this brings out is that even if you do know a ton
of routines and spins, nothing beats a dancer who clearly feels
the music and dances to the music, not to some steps he/she
learned the night before.
I have nothing against learning more and more routines, but
don't do it at the expense of being original...the last thing
you want to be is a copy of everyone else, and guess what...
THAT'S WHEN SALSA BECOMES BORING.