Salsa in SD

[Salsafan]

A few comments:
- The dominicans not only dance mostly on 2 but (which ist very strange) the man starts with his left foot forwards, also in case he dances on 1.

Sorry, my mistake, but its here already 10:30pm and I had my first workday. But nobody noticed it so far
It must of course be: the dominican man starts with his right foot forwards.

 

[Africaida]

My experience at several salsa congress...

Listen, we had a lot European coming to my school here in NYC and most were advanced dancer and goods ones are that. But compared to the natives I have seen in Cuba, NYC and Colombia, they look like amateur, no matter how many learned shines and spins they could do. You will never have their swagger sorry. Just my opinion.

 

[Combo]

I agree with most of what you wrote. Mainly, anybody that doesn't know and appreciate on1 vs on2 must not follow the dance scene that avidly. And yes, though there are some great dancers in Europe, most are Latinos from the US or the Caribbean. Juan Matos lives in Milan. But he is originally Dominican. Adolfo Indacochea also lives in Europe, but is from NY (and I believe Puerto Rican). Caribbean Latinos (mostly Cuban or Puerto-Rican) are generally the top dancers. But obviously, people of any background can excel if they work and study.

However, I disagree with your reason for on2 being the preference of top dancers today. The main reason is musicality. Dancing on2 is much more in tune with the percussion in Afro-Latin Musica. Nuyorican Eddie Torres is credited with being the founder of the on2/mambo/NY style. Eddie has said that, many years ago, he wanted to perform for Tito Puente's live performances. Eddie was at that time a "street-taught" on1 dancer. Tito told him that if he wanted to perform for him, he had to dance on 2. Julliard-trained Puente's reasoning was that breaking on the 2 was much more in sync with the percussion of his music. And percussion is the "heart" of Afro-Latin Music.

Anyone that is truly interested in the genre should learn to play some percussion. Once you experience playing the Congas, Clave, y timbales, you will likely come to appreciate dancing on2 that much more.

You are wrong on so many accounts.

Firstly, there is no such thing as Cuban Salsa. The OP referred to it to describe Rueda de Casino, a group dance where dancers take turns improvising in the middle of a circle. Salsa is generally attributed to Cuban music rythyms not Cuban dance.

In the second case, if you express as an expert on salsa and dance ("we take it seriously"), then you must know the difference btwn 1 and 2. 1 and 2 refers to the emphasis placed in the 8 count salsa dance cycle. It makes all the difference. On 2 is the preferred method today for a reason. It evolved from On 1 as the dance gained popularity in NYC night clubs. Clubs would get so filled w/on 1 dancers that typically turned their partners and danced around in wide circles, that a lot of bumping into and stepping on other dancers in the jam packed dance floors resulted, and so caused many problems and many times brawls. The solution was dancing on 2, a more linear version that featured controlled turns within the linear axis.

Finally, there is no way that Europeans (the stiffest of all) are the best salsa dancers. Puleeease. Nor is your point on using mirrors as a learning technique an insight. All dance studios have wall-to-walls.

 

[Niny]

Hi Everyone!
I'm a salsera living in Cabarete... I'm so sad there are no salsa ni dancers there in the North Coast.
I need your help to find place and salsero in the DR. I know I will have to move just for a few salsa's time.
So if you are dancer write me please! I hope to see you soon

 

[Viajero]

I'm a salsera living in Cabarete...

Where are you from? What style of salsa do you dance (Cuban, On1, On2, Colombian, etc.)?

 

[jabejuventus]

I agree with most of what you wrote. Mainly, anybody that doesn't know and appreciate on1 vs on2 must not follow the dance scene that avidly. And yes, though there are some great dancers in Europe, most are Latinos from the US or the Caribbean. Juan Matos lives in Milan. But he is originally Dominican. Adolfo Indacochea also lives in Europe, but is from NY (and I believe Puerto Rican). Caribbean Latinos (mostly Cuban or Puerto-Rican) are generally the top dancers. But obviously, people of any background can excel if they work and study.

However, I disagree with your reason for on2 being the preference of top dancers today. The main reason is musicality. Dancing on2 is much more in tune with the percussion in Afro-Latin Musica. Nuyorican Eddie Torres is credited with being the founder of the on2/mambo/NY style. Eddie has said that, many years ago, he wanted to perform for Tito Puente's live performances. Eddie was at that time a "street-taught" on1 dancer. Tito told him that if he wanted to perform for him, he had to dance on 2. Julliard-trained Puente's reasoning was that breaking on the 2 was much more in sync with the percussion of his music. And percussion is the "heart" of Afro-Latin Music.

Anyone that is truly interested in the genre should learn to play some percussion. Once you experience playing the Congas, Clave, y timbales, you will likely come to appreciate dancing on2 that much more.

If Eddie created On2 (I agree), how is it that Tito told him about it? I own 3 congas, a set of timbales, bongoes, and a tambora and don't see the correlation.

 

[Salsafan]

Hi Niny.
Not much chance in NC. Maybe with a little luck on Fridays in El Flow in Sosua, at least they play it there, but to find a good salsa-dancer could be difficult.
A long ride, but in Las Terrenas La Bodega is good for dancing salsa (at least for the situation in DR): In high season you can find a few tourists who dance good, otherwise they have twice a week animation from the salsa-clubs and the teachers dance very good, also some expats.
For me you have to wait a few months

 

[Niny]

Thanks for your post Salsafan!