Why do people give up salsa?

[Captain Price]

One explanation is that where ballroom orchestras play up to ten different rhythms (including the five Latin rhythms, and sometimes the odd salsa/mambo), salsa events feature mostly salsa and the odd cha-cha-cha (but the majority of salsa dancers do not dance it properly). The low cost of entry into salsa relative to ballroom/Latin ultimately leads to monotony, so there the salsa scene is bigger, but the turnover is much greater.

 

[Captain Price]

Dancing with somebody clearly less skilled can be trying. And I speak from my experience in ballroom - my salsa is mediocre at best. But if all the women only dance with the "good" leaders, they will in essence be driving away guys who won't have a chance to improve, no?

But is that not the role of a teacher, rather than a (social) partner, to foster the progress of a student? Clearly there is a lot to be learned from a peer, but when the skill difference is too high, it is preferable to work on the fundamentals with an experienced professional.

 

[opendoor]

..where ballroom orchestras play up to ten different rhythms ...salsa events feature mostly salsa...

what? Lucky one!

I often have to wait one hour or more, till one typical salsa piece is played. Salsa parties usually do not play salsa, they play
bachata, merengue, timba, reggaeton, cubatron, pachanga, bolero-son, mambo, rumba, kizomba and other unidentified rhythms.
So my questions is: which part of the world do you come from? What sort of parties do you attend? It makes such a great difference if you are going to a "social" of a dance school, or to an independent party some DJs use to organize. And did you go to the parties where the latinos gethrr or did you go to those fake-parties ballroomers organize?
Seems you have missed the true pista, have you?

 

[EricInPitt]

So my questions is: which part of the world do you come from? What sort of parties do you attend? It makes such a great difference if you are going to a "social" of a dance school, or to an independent party some DJs use to organize. And did you go to the parties where the latinos gethrr or did you go to those fake-parties ballroomers organize?
Seems you have missed the true pista, have you?

I'm in Pittsburgh, PA. There are socials at the various schools after lessons. There are socials held by schools for the sake of socials. There are several organizers who simply hold social dances. Off the top of my head, I think we have 4 social ballroom dance organizations (one of which I'm the secretary of the board for full disclosure's sake), three independent schools doing salsa/bachata, one doing kizomba, one school doing nothing but Argentine Tango, one organizer working with one of the Latin schools to organize & teach Zouk, three branches of Arthur Murray franchises, one organizer turned teacher who focuses on Dominican/Cuban Bachata, few independent schools who have ballroom events after group lessons, a west coast swing community that has gone a bit dormant because of Covid, and 4 or 5 organizers who do east coast swing at various Elks, Eagles, community centers, etc. And a restaurant that turns into a club after 8pm that brings in touring Latin American singers from all over Central and South America that is latino that occasionally has salsa nights too. And a few traditional night clubs that have "Latin Nights" that play pop music. Oh, and there's a Line Dance organizer just south of Pittsburgh in McKeesport who holds an every other Friday line dance social. And four local Universities have Ballroom dance clubs that also branch out into the various latin dances.
The one school who does Latin socials typically plays salsa and bachata with the occasional merengue, cha-cha, zouk, or kizomba. They also are friendly with the kizomba and zouk organizers, so sometimes they open their basement studio during a social and have a kizomba/zouk room at the same time as the salsa/bachata, and you can go up and down the stairs to each as you see fit. One new school teaches ballroom and latin, but has so far only held latin social dances where they've played salsa, bachata, and samba.

 

[Steve Pastor]

Yo, Pittsurgh. McKeesport ! LOL Grew up there. That line dance thing is at Palisades where I saw George the Animal Steel when my aunt took me to see "Studio Wresting" WAY back when. I was quite shocked to see some of videos on YouTube that paint a pretty bleak picture of how things have gone there; especially a couple from my childhood home in Crawford Village. Glad to hear the dancing is still going on "downtown" there. I danced once at the CW place that used to be near Station Square. Used to see posts from someone at Pitt about Argentine Tango happenings back when Tango-L was the thing.
Oh, and was seriously looked at a Lindy Hop thing in Squirrel Hill a few years ago when I was visiting.

 

[ZephBonkerer]

I came back to salsa last year after a long absence. I now live in Cincinnati where the scene is vastly superior to what I experienced in the San Francisco Bay Area years ago. This has been my experience here so far...

People here actually know each other. You can go to a variety of socials around here and chances are you will see someone you have met before.

I found it to be for the most part, open to all levels. I dance with follows at every level. While I did have one person say she doesn't like dancing with me ("personal preference" per her words), the feedback I receive tends to be more often than not favorable.

I never felt like this scene was cliquish or that I was on the outside looking in. And I usually had no trouble finding a willing dance partner. Then again, I am no longer an "outsider" to this community.

I haven't noticed much trouble with creeps or anyone making women uncomfortable. Sometimes that happens at Fountain Square, but not much with the socials.

Am I unusually lucky to have a scene like this? Or does it tend to be what we make it? I suppose it does help that the nearby cities also have scenes to explore.

 

[dncergrl2]

I have just given up salsa. I’m tired of being man-handled and yanked around by leads. I did it, learned lots of patterns and styling, it was fun, but I’m done. At least l can hold my own now at a social if a salsa is played.

 

[ZephBonkerer]

I have just given up salsa. I’m tired of being man-handled and yanked around by leads. I did it, learned lots of patterns and styling, it was fun, but I’m done. At least l can hold my own now at a social if a salsa is played.

Wow. I'm sorry to hear that. What kind of place is this that the leads would not know how to lead properly? That is without yanking her around?

 

[dncergrl2]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear that. What kind of place is this that the leads would not know how to lead properly? That is without yanking her around?

I think the problem is that I am small and light and average follows require a stronger lead. Some leads are better than others at adjusting to a smaller person.

 

[ZephBonkerer]

I think the problem is that I am small and light and some other follows require a stronger lead. Some leads are better than others at adjusting to a smaller person.

Now that makes sense. I did have someone say they wanted a "stronger" lead - I tend to be more gentle. But then again she was not petite at all. If you're anywhere near Cincinnati, I would reckon you wouldn't have that problem with me.

 

[ZephBonkerer]

I gave up salsa because I was getting thrown around, grabbed, injured, belittled, or berated whenever I went dancing. Leaders I danced with week after week for over a year never learned my name, despite asking "what was your name again?" each and every time we danced. This was a time and place when the leaders significantly out-numbered the follows, some nights it was 2 to 1, and I was one of the better follows on the floor (per my partners, and I could definitely do things that no one else could do; deeper dips, more turns, subtler flourishes).

Two observations here: (1) follows were treated poorly in that scene and (2) the scene had far fewer follows than leads. I'm going to speculate that this is not a coincidence.

 

[DoWrongRight]

I dip my toes into the Salsa waters in my area. It is the one dance style that has the most dance opportunities in the area. There seems to be a core group of folks that go to most of the events. There is typically a good balance of leads to follows, at least in my limited experiences with the scene. I have never fully taken up with the Salsa scene; it isn't my favorite style of dance and it is probably my least favorite music style. On the other hand the opportunity to dance is better than no opportunity. I have also found the Salsa scene in the area to be welcoming, especially considering I am not a frequent participant.

 

[firsttimedancer]

From what I've seen, many people feel intimidated when it comes to making turns, even with the CBL they get scared.

 

[Pryn]

I can understand the challenges with the rhythm and some of the more common turning movements taking a while to really get comfortable. Salsa can defintely be intimidating for some. (When learning the basics, I threatened to quit Salsa every week.)

Years of perseverance and support from my dance family has given me a style of dance that I love.

For me, I haven't given up salsa. Nor will I ever - willingly. It stirs my heart and moves my soul. But family responsibilities make starting my dance night at 10pm, hard.

I can do it on occasion, but it can't be a regular occurrence. The ballroom crowd is on to something starting dances at 7p and ending before 10p. Much easier to manage family life and get sleep for the early morning wake-ups that come with that same family life.