…. to give me your opinion!
Thats right, I said it. For the next couple of blogs, I want all Salsa Dancers and non salsa dancers to give me their opinion on some-things Salsa.
My next few blogs will ask you (the Amazing people who take time of your busy day to read my blog) some questions.
Questions like:
- What do you prefer. Should Salsa DJ’s fade songs seamlessly from 1 into the other or should they let a song finish completely and even leave a few seconds break in-between?
- Why are Salsa People so Passionate, yet so Peaceful? Have you ever seen a physical fight break out at a Salsa venue about between Salseros or Salseras?
- What would you like to see most of in a South African Salsa Congress? workshops, International stars teaching? Performances? Longer parties? What?
- Who are your Salsa Crushes (The person you wanna dance with the most)?
- What is your favorite Salsa Congress in the world? If you have never been to one, which one would you like to go to first?
- Who are your favorite Salsa Musicians?
These are just some of the questions buzzing in my head and I cant wait to get your opinion on them.
So this is how its gonna work; Whenever you see a blog post starting with a “?” in the title, that means I want your opinion. So once you are done reading any of these kind of posts, make sure you leave a comment at the end of the post with your opinion.
I really want your honest unbiased opinion, so feel free to sign off your comment as anonymous if need be.
Lets get the ball rolling right here and now:
What would you like to see more of in the Salsa community???
& GO!
Remember to Live….Love & Salsa!
Chillys Blog 
Acceptance (stop discussing and teaching people on the dance floor and include beginners / accept every dance style, even if it’s not your cup of tea), Consideration (watch where you are dancing, keep the elbowes to yourself, dance according to your partner’s level), Smiles (YES, somehow it looks like SA people – or Cape Town especially – have very little fun on the dance floor, or are just too busy competing!), more Bachata and Zouk! and please people, consume 1 or 2 drinks to keep the venue happy…. (or yourself for that matter) 🙂 and… MORE PEOPLE 🙂
Taking care of hygiene is very important (ie. Changing shirts when they are soaking wet, putting on deodorant). It is much more enjoyable to dance with you when you are not sweaty and smelly 🙂
I can´t comment on the Salsa in SA yet. But I can tell you I think the DJ should fade the songs together so the party never stops. If the end is a MUST PLAY ending, then just make sure the next song starts ASAP after the good part, but no quiet breaks in between.
I also agree with Amanda regarding acceptance and consideration.
Nice Points Amanda. More Bachata and Zouk for sure!
Anonymous – check out my blog post – Always know where your towel is . I am sure you will appreciate it. https://chillysblog.com/2011/01/07/always-know-where-your-towel-is/
Andrea – The DJ Article is not out yet, though I see you have a strong opinion about it. 😉 Lets Save that comment for later. Right now, I wanna know what you wanna see more of in the salsa community. Tell me about Sweden & let me know what you got….
– Play full songs and cross mix. Silence on the dance floor is not cool at all.
– I’ve seen a fight at Buena Vista. I’ve pushed a few people- and you frowned at me Chilly. Enough with people standing on my feet enough. I’m small. Baby steps…you don’t need to take over the whole floor.
– More of TOWELS, DEODERENT, FANS, and AIRCONDITIONERS – otherwise more parties like the valve use to throw and some serious competitions. I’d love to see some real dance hall parties. FUN FUN FUN FUN!
– Crushes? I want you Chilly ;p
– Congress – only been to LA and my heart stopped a couple of time. Those Mexican bois did stuff to me I never thought possible – DAMN
1. These answers are to questions I have not asked yet. Wait till these articles actually come out. For now, I just want to know what you want to see more of in the Salsa community.
2. Was the fight between Salseros or just random people? I REALLY doubt it was Salseros.
Sorry, I missunderstood =)
Ok, then in general I would like to see more dancing for fun and not thinking about the dance floor as a stage. It probably happens everywhere in the world, people forget to have fun.
Less Politics – so i guess more synergy – venues supporting each other, teachers interacting to lift the teacher standard in CT, the ability to dance anywhere at anytime without the chance of offending – let’s face it the more diversity and variety of styles the better ppl will dance so it would be quite cool if there was more synergy and less competition between those salseras / salseros who are passionate enough to make a living out of salsa – i am pretty sure there is enough pie for everyone to have a piece!
And while i am at it …. how about more conversation! I have danced with quite a few people now who i know by face and by name (only because i have bothered to find out after, not because they introduced themselves) who i can quite happily pass in a venue and not even be greeted. I know it is about the dancing predominantly but surely salsa etiquette extends to ‘off the dance floor’ – how about a few niceties, even if it is the bear minimum it would be great to know a little more about people with the same passion!
And on my last point that would encourage more people to say ‘yes’ when asked to dance! The human brain is highly social and likes the certainty of social norms – so instead of just sticking your hand out try a sentence that introduces you … Goes a long way to developing a trust relationship!!!