I started Latin dancing because I wanted to be able to dance like this

And you replied very late, even though I challenged you immediately with "international in the true sense".
What are you talking about? You were replying to DanceMentor.

And I don't even disagree with your usage of "international". [ International Latin ] is a single indiomatic vocabulary term, which does not have the same meaning as the phrase [ international ] [ Latin ]. That's not a controversial concept, or an interesting one. I had nothing to add to your statement, and no reason to try and rebut anything about it.

You appear to be tilting at windmills.

*****

ETA: or maybe it's like Pryn is suggesting, that your local scene has a lot of snooty Ballroom competitors that look down on social dance? If so, I sympathize--competitors are frequently annoying people in a great many ways. But you'll notice that none of them are here, so there's no need to bring out your defensive weapons.
 
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It’s worth noting that a lot of what we think of as Latin dancing, under the umbrella of ballroom dancing, came from the British and their interpretation and from there similar interpretations were created in America with Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire. There was a specific teaching style designed to teach people under a system designed to sell lessons.
 
..I'm sorry that you must justify your dancing every night to ballroom dancers..
I phrased it incorrectly. Club dancers are in constant competition with each other: Cuban vs. Dominican vs. Puerto Rican vs. LA, and so on.
In cities, ballroomers don't meet club dancers because the scenes are separate. In rural areas, there's practically only ballroom dancing. Some regions in southern Spain are an exception, as they experienced a wave of returning expatriates in the last century.
 
I believe this would be referred to as Son Rumba which is what the international style rumba was derived from. And absolutely it looks like salsa at times just as international has a similar pattern.
Exactly. Until the middle of the last century, two different dances were offered in the International Latin category in Europe. Both were called rumba. One had a basic step in a square and was danced on1, the other began with the sidestep on2. The former corresponds to the Cuban bolero-son, the latter to the son montuno. Neither has anything to do with Cuban rumba (aka Guaguancó). The square variant now is extinct in my region. I seem to recall, however, that it survived in American style.
 
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Club dancers are in constant competition with each other: Cuban vs. Dominican vs. Puerto Rican vs. LA, and so on.
Yes, I have seen this in clubs in the US... it's usually a friendly competition. It is one of heritage and pride usually by someone who is 1st-2nd generation from the country/region of the style. So I understand what you are saying there.

But while there is a definitive pride in their heritage, so many peoples are coming together from various nations/regions to support local Latin nights that (from what I've experienced over the years) is that aggressive confrontation, justification, and defense of their dance forms is not a routine occurrence.

They dance with pride and further removed generations tend to blend.
 
But I constantly encounter this inherent disrespect towards the club scene among ballroomers. I didn't mean to accuse anyone, but rather to defend myself and the club scene against these constant pervasive accusations every day.


WCS dancers talk crap about ballroom dancers. Argentine Tango talks crap about ballroom dancers. It's just the way of group think. Who the f cares? Just dance what you love.
 
Just dance what you love.
This part here! It doesn't matter what others say. It just matters what's in your heart to dance. Some people will always find something negative to say about it.

Yes, @joy! Just dance what you love on that great equalizer called the "dance floor".
 
If this couple were NOT very good, such that it is possible that they were "trying and failing," I would not draw that line (other than the fact that music and step choice would indicate Mambo, which is an American Rhythm dance). I might guess that they were newbies trying to do a show that pushes boundaries--two things that I generally appreciate.

Wilmer is well known instructor in - let's call it "international cuban salsa" world, you can find his demos from various workshops back in at least 2012 on youtube and probably even earlier. Like "international latin", this also isn't some traditional dancing in Cuba, it's a thing that gradually evolved worldwide under influence of Cuba, dance is mixing usual elements of "cuban salsa"/casino, son and some guguanco styling, as usually used by cuban salsa dancers in various parts of the world ... interestingly, it's on 2 (like son and international latin rumba that was derived from it), while most cuban salas dancers dance on 1 or 3 (meaning break is on beat 1 or 3)
 
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WCS dancers talk crap about ballroom dancers. Argentine Tango talks crap about ballroom dancers. It's just the way of group think. Who the f cares? Just dance what you love.

I think I've come to tune that out. I just hear it as people have different interests.
 
I started latin dancing ...said Latin dancing, this is the kind of thing I always wanted to be able to do..
My English isn't very good, DanceMentor. So could you please clarify whether you've actually booked a Cuban style class, whether it's a statement of intent, or just the start of a new thread?
 

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