might have to stop dancing for a month

nycsalsero

nycsalsero

Member
I'm going to my hometown for a month, a town completely isolated with no salsa anywhere close by. My question is this:

Is there any upside to NOT dancing for a month? I've been dancing now for 9 months, going out 6 nights a week in Manhattan. Will my dancing suffer after that month break, will it stay the same, or will it get better as things subconsciously sink in while I'm not dancing?

Or maybe I could just work on my shines? Is it worth it to grab a non-dancer when I'm back home and manhandle her to practice my partner work? :)
 
I say enjoy that month off and reintroduce yourself to some things that you stopped doing because the salsa started taking all your spare time away from other things. Your dancing will not suffer from a simple month away. I bet when you get back to it, your desire to dance will be really strong and you will have a new appreciation of your dance time. Your dance partners also will be extra excited to see and dance with you. Taking a break is a good thing!
 
Yes, there are upsides to not dancing. You'll go crazy for a little while but when you get back, you'll have a new understanding once you get re-familiarized. You'll feela litttle awkward on the dance floor when you get back, but here ar elikely some new things that you may have learned that had a chance to settle into your mind and make more sense subconsciously. It's weird, but when I take a break form my dancing, I invariably get better when I come back. Sometimes a rest is good. And you can enjoy how you feel inside, knowing what you do about salsa, when you're not dancing. Observe how you carry yourself differently, and how you can feel the dance inside you. You'll enjo it. And bring some music with you. That'll juice you up during the dry spells.
 
You'll feel rusty and out of rhythm after not doing it for one month. I did that once after I had been dancing for about 1 year. Boy was it hard getting what little groove I had back. I swore I would never do that again. Now I've been dancing close to 4 years so it probably wouldn't be as bad because it is so ingrained in my body now.

You need to take this as an opportunity that will force you to work on other things like footwork, body movement, spins, timing. Get a good timing CD, study the music. Before you leave, go to Frankie Martinez for a few of his body isolation classes. Buy his DVD and do that workout at least 4 times per week. Do 100 spins per day. You'll come back a better man. What else are you gonna do? Bake chocolote chip cookies with Mummy?
 
nycsalsero said:
I'm going to my hometown for a month, a town completely isolated with no salsa anywhere close by. My question is this:

Is there any upside to NOT dancing for a month? I've been dancing now for 9 months, going out 6 nights a week in Manhattan. Will my dancing suffer after that month break, will it stay the same, or will it get better as things subconsciously sink in while I'm not dancing?

Or maybe I could just work on my shines? Is it worth it to grab a non-dancer when I'm back home and manhandle her to practice my partner work? :)
Click to expand...

That is a good occasion for you do things u couldn't do because of salsa. you had a life before salsa do you remember? From time to time i have some non salsa weeks just to be away from salsa and make something else, have time for me. I had to stop dancing for about six months 3 years ago. it was hard at the begining but after a while it was acceptable. then i would look at my salsa dvds for instance, meet friends and relatives and have the luxury to sleep the whole night.
Introducing a non salsera/o to salsa would have an advantage for you to master your basics! but while doing that u cannot do all your fancy moves because it might not fit into the dance and discourage the others.

You will come back more relax and in my case i came back with new moves and new inspiration. After the first songs you will be completely fine.
u might have big problems if u use almost the same turn patterns and shines u learn without (little) change on the dance floor. if u are one of those who let themselves be guided by the music nothing serious might happen to your dance. We will pray for you.
 
when i can't dance, i make sure i have lots of salsa music with me and i get real intimate with my walkman. i like listening to the music and imagining myself dancing - get a lot of ideas and inspiration that way. by the time i can dance again, i'm bursting at the seams with new moves.
 
thespina13 said:
Yes, there are upsides to not dancing. You'll go crazy for a little while but when you get back, you'll have a new understanding once you get re-familiarized. You'll feela litttle awkward on the dance floor when you get back, but here ar elikely some new things that you may have learned that had a chance to settle into your mind and make more sense subconsciously. It's weird, but when I take a break form my dancing, I invariably get better when I come back. Sometimes a rest is good. And you can enjoy how you feel inside, knowing what you do about salsa, when you're not dancing. Observe how you carry yourself differently, and how you can feel the dance inside you. You'll enjo it. And bring some music with you. That'll juice you up during the dry spells.
Click to expand...

Taking a break from something that you've been doing continuously for a while does have some beneficial effect. The effect is mostly pyschological and not tangible though. It's not like you're going to be better than you were when you left for the break because you're not practicing. But rather, you'll have more confidence in your ability and you'll be more inspired. You see, the mind plays weird tricks on you. When you practice, you pretty much do the same thing over and over again for tens if not hundreds of times while trying to getter better each time. Yet with all this labor you put into perfecting a move...you could only get marginally better over a certain period of time. Soon enough your patience starts to wear and then frustration starts to set in. So, when you take a break from it all you allow yourself to relax, to rejuvenate, and to recover from the physical exertion. And when you get back, you'll probably have to spend only one session to get back to the same level where you left off as oppose to months you spent before you took your break. Your mind will go "Wow. Only one session. I didn't forget that much." Then your confidence will build and you'll develop a new outlook on your dancing, so on and so forth... So, unless you have a competition to go to right after you get back, if I were you, I'd just not even think about dancing. Just try to enjoy the world and the things outside of dancing.
 
oh my dancing is markedly better (not just in my head) after a break. it's kind of ridiculous how obvious it is.
 
I had danced for about 4 months, when I had to take a 2 month brake. When I came back it really was hard for me to stay on the beat and I kept on messing up all the patterns. This year I had to spend another month and a half without even listening to salsa. And this time when I came back it was different. I still was on the beat and all the moves were going smoothly... But I just wanted to dance so much more!
After such a tight schedule, the brake will be good for you. Think of it like eating a lot icecream. At some time you have to stop and rest, but that doesn't mean you don't love it anymore ;)
 
alemana said:
oh my dancing is markedly better (not just in my head) after a break. it's kind of ridiculous how obvious it is.
Click to expand...

That's true. Except for this year for me. My August vacation break did me no good. I was rusty and not any better or more connected.

T_E
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Dance Ads

Advertise on Dance Forums Reach dancers, teachers, studios, event organizers, and dance-friendly brands. View ad options
Back
Top