Salsa-club vs Salsa-ballroom?

I've been talking Salsa lessons at my college, which generally emphasis the "proper" way to do things as seen by the particular dance professor. With Lindy it meant I learned a very Savoy Lindy first, then went out in the real world and watched it morph into a very Smooth style Lindy.

So now with Salsa, I'm learning a very latin salsa, with a lot of hip movements and leading with the ribcage and such. It looks very latin-ie, kind of ballroom formal, and I just think it's okay.

I went out tonight to a local bar that was having a Salsa night (I DJ the swing night, wanted to see what other dance nights were like, and get a little practice in) and saw two very different styles of Salsa. One was the stuff I'm learning. The people who were doing it were at or below my skill level (which isn't very good at all, although I do a lot of other dances well, so my salsa basics are pretty solid). The other kind looked NOTHING like what we are doing. It looked more like Salsa and West Coast had been thrown in two trains heading twoards each at high speeds and slammed into one another.

It was really cool.

So my question (ya, I'm long winded, sorry) is, is this a different style of Salsa? or does this sort of ballroom-ie salsa morph into something more spectacular once you get good at it? or do clubs just have an entirely different flavor of salsa than formal dance?

Club salsa is different from ballroom salsa.

Learning real salsa

You might find the above thread useful.

While every individual case is different, nine times out of 10 I’d say that these are two totally different forms of salsa. The ballroom version is, essentially, American Rhythm style mambo just shifted over to on1. Stylistically, however, it is much more rigid and codified then most club/street style salsa where the only real “rules” are basically “does it work?”

I started my salsa “education” at a ballroom studio that, ultimately, turned out to have no business teaching salsa. Let me tell you, the first time I went outside the studio to a salsa event I could only dance with others from my studio and, especially compared to the organic dancing of those around us, have never felt so white in my life! :shock:

I’m in no way disparaging ballroom dancing! I dance both ballroom and salsa myself…but I consider them very different things that involve different styles, skills, and prioritizations.

Just my opinion though, others may disagree…

Right!! I actually disagree. I don't like ballroom salsa! I enjoy both club and ballroom cha cha etc, but not salsa. That's one dance that stands on it's own for me. And though this is a little off topic I actually prefer ballroom style waltz better then club waltz.

Sagitta said:

I actually disagree.

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Hmm, maybe I wasn't clear... :?

I do not like ballroom style "salsa" in the least! I actually don't think it can really be called salsa, only ballroom dancing done to salsa music. More than this, however, I think that many, many ballroom studios and instructors do an incredible disservice to students telling them that they (the studio/instructor) can teach them salsa when, in essence, the only thing behind such a claim is that they don't want to give up the money involved. I can think of one ballroom teacher, for instance, who teaches a regular "salsa" class but hasn't been to a local salsa club more than a time or two a year for the past four years!

If I did not accurately convey this it may be because there *are* ballroom dancers who really are crossover dancers and are as equally respected in the salsa world as in the ballroom. What such instructors teach, as salsa, may, indeed, borrow heavily from ballroom dancing's excellent and highly developed ideas about partnering and frame... but their salsa still exhibits a different character from their ballroom dancing (Enio Cordoba & Teryl Jones and Tony Meredith & Melanie LaPatin comes to mind as just two examples of such top notch crossover dancers).

Here, here SD! Ballroom salsa sucks.

Ok, I have to clarify that by saying I adore ballroom anything and started learning ballroom salsa and loved it, but I had the same experience as you, Jmatthew...I adored my ballroom salsa...until I hit the salsa clubs and saw REAL salsa.

There's absolutely no comparison. Street salsa is more free and fluid and there's nothing like watching a ballroom salsero/salsera do their little hand in the air thing in the midst of real salsa dancers...it's quite amusing, but ballroom salsa sticks out like a sore thumb, much like ballroom merengue (though less so) and, even to some extent, ballroom Argentine Tango, cha cha, samba and even rumba.

I remember going for a comp last year and only two couples out of about 10 did real salsa, the others did ballroom salsa and it was quite a site...I don't think they won (it was probably too radical) but watching the two styles side-by-side only highlighted how far ballroom salsa has to go!

i agree ballroom salsa eeeeeeee,luv other ballroom dances but (not) the salsa taught in ballroom. however some of the top male& female salsa dancers whether la style- miami -ny had ballroom backgrounds or ballet or jazz, one example is jose neglia.ps only some.

dancin/dj said:

i agree ballroom salsa eeeeeeee,luv other ballroom dances but (not) the salsa taught in ballroom. however some of the top male& female salsa dancers whether la style- miami -ny had ballroom backgrounds or ballet or jazz, one example is jose neglia.ps only some.

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Hilarious. Ballroom salsa isn't. It's mambo on a different count. :lol:

But some folks do manage to make the transition, as you say, dancin/dj, and fit into both worlds. My ballroom styling coach is another good example -- I won't use her name, but she's up there in both the ballroom and LA-style salsa worlds, as well. The crossover can be made.

SDsalsaguy said:

Sagitta said:

I actually disagree.

Click to expand...

Hmm, maybe I wasn't clear... :?

I do not like ballroom style "salsa" in the least! I actually don't think it can really be called salsa, only ballroom dancing done to salsa music.

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Perhaps you weren't, or perhaps I was too hyped up after a night of dancing. It happens!! It's great to see that everyone so far agrees that ballroom salsa/mambo is nothing like street/club salsa etc etc.

Now I'm getting confused... :?

Just from reading all these posts which make the distinction between ballroom and club Salsa I'm wondering which one am I actually doing.

Salsa is not IMO one of my better dances, but I enjoy it and while I learned in the ballroom environment most of it came from an instructor who learned his dancing from his grandfather who was from Cuba and not from any studio and thus is suppose to be teaching something authentic.

I had previously thought that both were done basically in the same manner, but one being more rigid with more flash and flair - which I'm not doing IMO, and the other more "let it all hang out" in it's approach.

Maybe if one described a basic club style pattern in detail I'd get a better idea - which I think I did ask in another thread, but can't recall the reply or the thread it was in.

Spitfire... I'd have to say that the distinction we all seem to be making has far less to do with what patterns might be used and far more to do with how they are done.

Spitfire if you learned salsa at Arizona Ballroom, you're probably ok. That's where I started and when i finally started going out to the clubs there wasn't any culture shock :lol: I WILL say that it wasn't until I started dancing out in LA that I discovered sabor. Personally I don't believe it matters where you start because almost everyone looks robotic in the beginning. But I think it's imperative that beginners get in the club environment as soon as possible.

As another Salsero who started in a Ballroom school and am still making the transition to club dancer, I can certainly relate to this.

I took Salsa lessons at two different Ballroom schools, and both only taught the forward basic, on1. When I asked one of my teachers if she could show me on2 Salsa, she mentioned that she not only didn't know what it was, but she also hadn't been out to a club in a decade! She was a sweet person and a great teacher...but she couldn't provide the fundamentals I would need for going to the clubs.

Regarding the mambo basic, there was absolutely no mention of stepping side to side, or having any variation on this. We then learned patterns, were told to make our hips move but weren't given a lot of direction how. Toss it some cha-cha and Rumba and the focus on pure Salsa becomes even more diluted.

Even one in class is taught to move the same, and the main thing lacking any type of variation. No one ever said anything about an 8 count cycle, or explained what a conga or clave is. All we got was "quick, quick, slow" and not much else. We never were told to hold our hands up and letting go of your partner to do a shine was an almost unheard of occurance.

Going out to the clubs...you see some people with similiar techniques as yours...but there is so much passion, soul and energy behind how these folks dance. For instance, I've seen so many different approaches to doing a cross body lead, and I have a few different ways to do it myself now.

I felt like a Ballroom clone when I first went out, now I am working hard to develop my own personal style and I have a very long way to go.

I do heartily agree with the others, get out to the clubs as soon as you feel confident to do so. I love the freedom of the dance, even though I'm still a bumbling beginner. :wink:

SG

youngsta said:

Spitfire if you learned salsa at Arizona Ballroom, you're probably ok. That's where I started and when i finally started going out to the clubs there wasn't any culture shock :lol: I WILL say that it wasn't until I started dancing out in LA that I discovered sabor. Personally I don't believe it matters where you start because almost everyone looks robotic in the beginning. But I think it's imperative that beginners get in the club environment as soon as possible.

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Youngsta, did you ever go dancing at a place known as El Parador when you were here? it's about two miles west of where I live.

The ABC is where I first learned in the group classes.

Have any of you seen Josie Neglia's instructional videos?

For those of you who have is what she teaches comparable to the club style?