Salseras - How do you adjust to different Salseros?

[sbsalsera]

Over time, I've found some useful ways to adjust to certain types of leaders. I'd like to hear about other people strategies too.

Wild Salsero
You know the type - he uses enough force to throw you clear across the dance floor and/or detach one of your arms from its socket. Three things I do in this situation: I loosen my arms more than usual so I don't get hurt. I bend my knees more to lower my center of gravity, which helps me stay balanced. And I twist my hips more to absorb the extra energy from the lead.

Novice Salsero
Try to be gentle with the budding salseros! Personally, I tone down the styling a lot. I save most of the hijacking, changes in timing, and other creative stuff for those leaders with the experience to take it in stride. Also, I take full responsibility for avoiding collisions on the dance floor and staying out of the way of territorial salseros...

Bold Salsero
(aka "El Pulpo" [1])
Ways of dealing with these guys has been covered pretty well in previous threads. Of course, there are always the Salsa Ninja Kung Fu moves :twisted: divulged by SG.

[1] pulpo = octopus (this nickname for certain salseros is a local joke...)

[Sagitta]

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

A budding salsero :notworth: :D

[youngsta]

:lol: Love the description sb! So what about Smooth Salsero?

[borikensalsero]

:lol: Love the description sb! So what about Smooth Salsero?

Smooth Salsero
AKA.. Youngsta :D

[Genesius Redux]

:lol: I want to hear more about Territorial Salsero. We've got a couple of those where I go clubbing. I usually CBL my salsera out of the way and with my back turned, deliberately start lengthening my steps where I know the budding Alpha Male to be, but where I can't see him, and can thus claim the luxury of plausible deniability!

But what does salsera do in that situation?

[salsachinita]

But what does salsera do in that situation?

:lol: In a word: FOLLOW! :lol: Hopfully her lead knows to do as you described :wink: !

[youngsta]

Smooth Salsero
AKA.. Youngsta :D
I didn't say that :nope: :lol:

[salsachinita]

So what about Smooth Salsero?

Do your best to follow him while showing your unique sabor.......hopfully he will stay dancing with you 8) ........

:P Ahhhh.....*flutter, flutter!*

[youngsta]

That sounds nice! :bouncy:

[salsachinita]

What about Off-Beat (but 101 tricks) Salsero.......?

And the Disappeared-in-the-middle-of-a-song Salsero........?

Of couse, we never have to know how to cope with the Never-says-yes-to-a-dance Salsero, as we never get a dance with them :lol: .......

There is the I'm-too-cool-for-u-baby-this-is-a-mercy-dance Salsero :roll: .........

[Sarah]

:lol: I want to hear more about Territorial Salsero. We've got a couple of those where I go clubbing. I usually CBL my salsera out of the way and with my back turned, deliberately start lengthening my steps where I know the budding Alpha Male to be, but where I can't see him, and can thus claim the luxury of plausible deniability!

But what does salsera do in that situation?

Heh. Backwards and in high heels.

Cheers
Sarah

[Sabor]

:lol: funny thread

ok .. what about the Romantic Salsero?

[Pacion]

What about him Sabor :roll: :mrgreen:

[Genesius Redux]

:lol: I want to hear more about Territorial Salsero. We've got a couple of those where I go clubbing. I usually CBL my salsera out of the way and with my back turned, deliberately start lengthening my steps where I know the budding Alpha Male to be, but where I can't see him, and can thus claim the luxury of plausible deniability!

But what does salsera do in that situation?

Heh. Backwards and in high heels.

Cheers
Sarah

And you're a martial artist too! :lol:

You rock, Sarah!

[borikensalsero]

Smooth Salsero
AKA.. Youngsta :D
I didn't say that :nope: :lol: :tongue:

[sbsalsera]

You guys are so funny!

Territorial Salsero
Dancing with one of these guys can be an issue on a crowded dance floor if they "dance big" or lead me too close to other couples in an attempt to clear space (I refuse to participate). If they themselves collide into the people around us, I'll apologize for them. :evil:

There's not much the salsera can do about a territorial salsero dancing nearby, aside from pulling her own lead out of harm's way if she sees an elbow-to-the-ribs or heel-to-the-foot coming!

Smooth Salsero
Besos to smooth salseros everywhere! Thank you for being gentle yet precise with your leads, for not pulling or pushing me off balance, and for sharing such enjoyable dances!

(Youngsta - I hope you're coming to the LA Congress and are willing to save me a dance :D)

[youngsta]

I will be there in full effect Thurs-Sun!! Dance is saved...now, how am I gonna find you? :lol:

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

I will be there in full effect Thurs-Sun!! Dance is saved...now, how am I gonna find you? :lol:

Ahh! Can I dance with you also SBS? I´m kind of a mix between a Wild, Novice and Territorial salsero. It would be a good challenge for you... :D

[Genesius Redux]

Hey MapleLeaf-

Been meaning to ask you. What's up with the "MapleLeaf" handle? Every time I see your name, I think of Scott Joplin.

Genesius

[Pacion]

I will be there in full effect Thurs-Sun!! Dance is saved...now, how am I gonna find you? :lol:

Ahh! Can I dance with you also SBS? I´m kind of a mix between a Wild, Novice and Territorial salsero. It would be a good challenge for you... :D

If this happens, I am going to be SOOOOO unimpressed! :x We live closer to each other (Lisbon-London vs Lisbon-LA) so if you dance with sbsalsera before me :shock:


:lol:

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

If this happens, I am going to be SOOOOO unimpressed! :x We live closer to each other (Lisbon-London vs Lisbon-LA) so if you dance with sbsalsera before me :shock: :lol:

Well Pacion, I just assumed you didn´t like dancing with the Wild, Novice and Territorial salsero type... :wink: OK, I promise I´ll dance with you before anyone on the other side of the Atlantic. :D Before I go to London, I´ll try not to forget anything while packing. Let me see, kitchen sink... 8)

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

Hey MapleLeaf-

Been meaning to ask you. What's up with the "MapleLeaf" handle? Every time I see your name, I think of Scott Joplin.

Genesius

Well GR, if you´re talking about "Maple Leaf Rag" it has no relation to my handle. The Maple Leaf is special to me for several reasons. One of the reasons was that I used to have a Maple Tree in my front yard when I was a kid. I spent a lot of time playing there. Miss that tree. :(

[mellody43]

The Larger Than Life Salsero

This gentleman makes BIG moves, and usually treats your arms with careless abandon. He has no "floor craft" and often sends you spinning into others; in a dip, you may find your face in someone's rear end. Not fun. How to deal with him? I try to keep my steps small so at least I am not contributing to the hurricane effect, and resist multiple turns (i.e. act like I can't do more than two) so I don't get completely out of control. I also give much more arm resistance to try and keep things small.

The I Ain't Got Rhythm Salsero
This fellow may or may not have moves. It's actually tougher to dance with a guy who has moves but no idea when to do them. As much as my body yearns to follow the music, I try my best to figure out what beat HE is following so at least we don't look like a disjointed mess. If he doesn't have many moves, I stick with the K.I.S.S. method (Keep It Simple Stupid) -- I encourage open position moves or try to pull off some solo shines (I don't even HAVE a shine repertoire -- so this is a risky move LOL!).

[vey]

It's actually tougher to dance with a guy who have moves but no idea when to do them.
Mellody, this is SO true :!: :cry:

[Genesius Redux]

The I Ain't Got Rhythm Salsero
This fellow may or may not have moves. It's actually tougher to dance with a guy who has moves but no idea when to do them. As much as my body yearns to follow the music, I try my best to figure out what beat HE is following so at least we don't look like a disjointed mess.

:lol: But he's not following a beat! :lol:

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

The Larger Than Life Salsero

This gentleman makes BIG moves,

Mellody, if he is a beginner, I would say to try to understand. Beginners seem to think it´s necessary to take big steps. You have to give them a little slack. I know I used to do this when I was starting off :oops:.

What amazes me is why so many intermediate/advanced guys do this. :shock: There´s simply no excuse for this type of behaviour from people who should know better and are sufficiently proficient to do so. If the dance floor is crowded, it´s obvious you should dance tightly. If not, you can do bigger steps.

There are a number of ladies who do this also. Just the other day, I was to a club with around 250 salseros/as. There was simply no room! This lady asked me to dance and I was already getting worried. I rarely ask her to dance because she takes enormous steps and flaps her arms like an albatross :shock: . Anyway, before we danced I told her, "Wow, it´s really crowded tonight, we´re going to have to take very small steps". Well, to my amazment she completely disregarded my advice and just started flying away from me. She was stepping on everyone, her elbows were completly out of control and everyone was looking at me as if it was my fault (I was leading) :shock: . While doing the basic step she would completly stretch her arms out while mine were nicely tucked in and flexed to mimimize floor space. After a while, I just did the basic step and an ocasional turn. She looked at me and said, "Do the moves we learnt in the studio". I explained to her that I couldn´t because there was no room - we would just smash into the other couples. She replied, "Who cares". I never danced with her since then...

[mellody43]

Oh I definitely give beginners a chance -- I hope I didn't sound too heartless in my post! :-)

I had experienced dancers in mind for both of those 'categories'. Sometimes I'm surprised that they don't use feedback (i.e. your partner bumped into a neighboring couple 3 times) to adjust their dancing style.

Melissa

[tj]

Territorial Salsero
Dancing with one of these guys can be an issue on a crowded dance floor if they "dance big" or lead me too close to other couples in an attempt to clear space (I refuse to participate). If they themselves collide into the people around us, I'll apologize for them. :evil:


On a related but different note, a local "instructor" got himself banned from one of the local clubs by (so the rumor goes) claiming a corner of the dance floor to "be his". :shock: He got into a fight because of it, and thus, was banned.

[borikensalsero]

Territorial Salsero
Dancing with one of these guys can be an issue on a crowded dance floor if they "dance big" or lead me too close to other couples in an attempt to clear space (I refuse to participate). If they themselves collide into the people around us, I'll apologize for them. :evil:


On a related but different note, a local "instructor" got himself banned from one of the local clubs by (so the rumor goes) claiming a corner of the dance floor to "be his". :shock: He got into a fight because of it, and thus, was banned.

Man!! Talk about territorial salsero! he should be labeled the Hippopotalsero

[Genesius Redux]

Territorial Salsero
Dancing with one of these guys can be an issue on a crowded dance floor if they "dance big" or lead me too close to other couples in an attempt to clear space (I refuse to participate). If they themselves collide into the people around us, I'll apologize for them. :evil:


On a related but different note, a local "instructor" got himself banned from one of the local clubs by (so the rumor goes) claiming a corner of the dance floor to "be his". :shock: He got into a fight because of it, and thus, was banned.

Man!! Talk about territorial salsero! he should be labeled the Hippopotalsero

:lol: Those are ornery suckers, aren't they? :lol:

[tj]

Man!! Talk about territorial salsero! he should be labeled the Hippopotalsero

So what should we name the couple that squeezes themselves into the 3' of space right next to you and your partner?

[borikensalsero]

Man!! Talk about territorial salsero! he should be labeled the Hippopotalsero

So what should we name the couple that squeezes themselves into the 3' of space right next to you and your partner?

The Squidsero

[tj]

Man!! Talk about territorial salsero! he should be labeled the Hippopotalsero

So what should we name the couple that squeezes themselves into the 3' of space right next to you and your partner?

The Squidsero

Lol! I thought there was some fishy about them! :wink:

[sbsalsera]

I will be there in full effect Thurs-Sun!! Dance is saved...now, how am I gonna find you? :lol:

Ahh! Can I dance with you also SBS? I´m kind of a mix between a Wild, Novice and Territorial salsero. It would be a good challenge for you... :D

Youngsta: :lol: :lol: :lol: We'll figure out a time/place to meet up (send me a pm).

MapleLeaf: I'd love to dance with you too! Challenges are fun... :wink: