Salsa Hygiene: A few tips to stay fresh on the dance floor
I rarely hear people make complaints about their experiences with Salsa Dancing, but nine times out of ten it has to do with personal hygiene. While it's easy to assume that most of the odour offenders are Salseros; I've heard just as many complaints from men about the fairer-sex. Whether you're a guy or a girl, one thing is for sure; unpleasant odours make for an unpleasant dancing experience.
So what should a dancer do? Here are a few tips that I've discovered during my dancing experience that has kept everything in check:
Put the following in your shoe bag:
deodorant, body spray, breath mints/gum/melts, hand towel - with these items in your shoe bag, you'll be reminded to freshen up each time you put on your dancing shoes.
Refrain from smoking right before or during dancing:
As someone who's really sensitive to cigarette smoke, it's very hard to enjoy a dance when it's hard to breathe.
Try to have breath-friendly meals before dancing:
If you do partake in that oh-so-tempting garlic spinach dip, be sure to brush your teeth or breath mint it up before dancing.
Bonus Tip:
One item that I find keeps me smelling good is sun tan lotion. Not only will it keep your from getting sun-burned; but you'll also smell like the beach: in my opionion, the greatest smell of all time!
On a final note:
Salsa is a sweaty, calorie-burning affair and if you don't keep on track with your personal hygiene; you're going to lose out on a lot of great dance opportunities. Hopefully with a few of these tips in mind, you'll be smelling and dancing great at all of your outings, classes and performances!
Well, it's official, the Salsa Addiction Centre has hit it's 100th post! From Nina and Alfred to Manuel, it's been a fun journey this far and I hope to continue the great tradition of providing great salsa info to you all! Here's to 100 more!
So the Helper Team's first performance was this past Sunday and we thought we'd give you a little treat by posting the video taken to give you a sample of what to expect when we do it again on April 25th, when we, and many other great performers hit 6 Degrees for the Annual TDS Competition!
I hope you like the video and that it inspires you to take the stage whether its performing or competing!
Performing a salsa routine is like riding the scariest rollar coaster of your life. The whole time that you're waiting to go on you're over-thinking all of dips, drops and safety but then when you get on, feel the rush and hear the cheers all you want to do when you're done is get back on for another go.
I don't know if I have ever been as nervous as I was last night, waiting for our team to go on at Dovercourt house. With a packed house featuring some of the greatest dancers in the city we took the stage and really nailed it! The funny thing is that once you take the stage, all of your nerves, worries and counts seem to melt away to just having one of the best experiences of your life.
Trust me, as of today there are 4 spots left on the student performance team... sign up, you will not regret it.
Don't feel like you're not good enough or ready, Tracie will take you to the next level of dancing. When my dance partner Elise started she had just finished level 3... now she rocks level 6 moves like she's been dancing for years... all in a span of two months!
There is nothing better than performing and I want to say thank you to Sharon, Evan, Tracie, The Pro Team for their constant support/advice, the people who came out and cheered us on and mostly, the great TDS Helpers who challenged and inspired me on this incredible experience!
If you haven't seen the routine yet, come to the TDS Competition at 6 Degrees on April 25th as we're doing our first home-team performance and can't wait to tear the roof off!
Here are a few more tracks to check out while you're practicing for the Salsa Competition or warming up for Sunday night's performance from the Helper Team at Dovercourt!
Sey - Thione Seck ( I think this may take over Yo no se mañana as my favourite salsa song )
Hong Kong Mambo - Tito Puente
Lo Dudo - Frankie Ruiz
Speaking of Salsa/Bachata music, have you checked out Dj Duck's Salsa mixes? Each month he posts great tracks from current hits to Salsa classics!
Helper Only Performance Choreography: FIRST PERFORMANCE THIS SUNDAY
Nervous, excited and a hot pink tie.
This Sunday, the Helper Team will be tearing up Dovercourt House at 8pm with our very first performance! Let's just say that while a little anxious, I'm also very pumped to see how we fare outside of Empress Walk and in front of a mixed-school salsa audience. With the ladies looking fantastic in their dresses and the guys rocking pretty sharp ties, it's going to be a great test-run for our second showing, at the TDS Competition, April 25th!
Speaking of Performance Teams, I'm glad to see that the Student Performance Team class is filling up quite quickly. Trust me, I've learned so much from this experience that I'm sure you'll have a blast taking the class. I'd also love to hear about your experiences when you start practicing for your performance! If you're undecided if you want to take the class or not, feel free to come out to Dovercourt this Sunday and hopefully the team will inspire you to get on board!
On a side note, I must apologize for not posting as many blogs as of late, but I've been working on a top-secret project for TDS and it's been taking much of my time. All will be revealed soon, and I'm striving to get back into my regular posting routine soon enough!
At the last outing, I was asked by a reader of the blog to write about why people get into salsa. Hearing the dancer's interesting back-story (which shall stay in the vault), it inspired me to ask a ton of people for their own backstories. It wasn't too long before I started to see some common themes so I thought I'd list a few stories as well as some of the more common themes.
Sharon's Story:
"I got into salsa by accident. I walked into Babaluu with some girlfriends one night and completely fell in love with the dancing and the salsa scene but I was too scared to dance :) I watched 3 or 4 separate nights without dancing before I accepted a dance with someone, not even knowing my basic step. It was awful (I was awful!). I tried it a few more times and was going to give up, thinking I was a terrible dancer, when my friends encouraged me to dance with someone who was a good lead. I danced with him and completely changed my mind about giving up. I started going out every night of the week to Babaluu, El Rancho and other clubs that were popular at the time and within a year I started competing and teaching."
"I fell in love with the freedom, excitement and fun factor. Nothing that I have ever tried has allowed me to meet so many people so quickly, gather a whole network of new friends, let me exercise my body and spirit until 2am every morning, keep me in shape, keep me de-stressed and so much more. It was a real high!"
Sarah's Story:
"I got into salsa because I wanted to do something other than science (Which is what I did when I was doing my masters) while I was doing my PhD. I told myself, I need to be active and social, to complement the brain work and quiet time in the lab work during my PhD, to make the experience of graduate school more pleasant the second time around. The rest was history!"
Chris' Story:
"I signed up originally to learn some merengue then got hooked on salsa and realized most of the moves could be transferred over to merengue...so in a way it was a bonus i guess"
My Story:
I was really considering about getting into capoeira when I had a nasty, wrist-breaking fall. Unable to do capoeira, my friend Neel had suggested that I get into salsa as it would help my balance, flexibility and most of all, meet tons of new people. Since I've started, I've lost close to 30lbs, have met so many great people and have found myself hooked beyond belief.
Here are some quick quotes that represent a lot of people who get into salsa:
"I was getting over a bad breakup and didn't meet anyone worthwhile using i-dating"
"I really wanted to get fit without spending hours on a boring treadmill"
"I've always loved the music...it's so romantic"
"My friends dragged me to a salsa club and I've been hooked since!"
"Thanks to salsa I have one less, left-foot"
There are so many intriguing salsa origin stories out there. If you ever get tired at a club, just ask anyone about their reasons for learning how to dance and you've got yourself a great conversation!
So, why did you get into salsa? I'd love to hear about it...
Just wanted to quickly post a few songs that have been repeating on my iphone lately...
Hasta El Sol De Hoy - Edgar Joel (killer melody, super chorus)
Cantinero De Cuba - Semino Rossi (this song drips with sex appeal)
Lagrimas Negras (guitara) - Cachao y Maria Dolores Pradera (another sexy track)
Non-Latin Songs:
I Can Transform Ya - Chris Brown (I know, I know, but this song is amazing and it's more Swizz Beatz than Chris)
This Too Shall Pass - OkGo (The video is brilliant, the song simply rocks)
Soldier of Love - Sade (My favourite female singer returns, I'm dying to make a bachata version of this)
Why Non-Latin Songs you ask? Why not. Get out there, experiencing all genres of music help only improve your understanding of Salsa and the other Latin styles.
Are you level 3 or higher? Have the 'Eye of the Tiger'? Want to shake what your Momma gave ya? Then enter the 4th Annual TDS Amateur Competition! With amazing prizes, tons of adoring salsa fans and an event that's so popular that it fills 6 Degrees, you'll have the time of your life!
Here's the details:
What: 4th Annual Amateur Salsa Competition Where: 6 Degrees (Yonge & Eglinton) When: April 25th (preliminary round), June 20th (Final Round) Who: Any Level 3 or higher TDS student, helper and assistant who haven't been paid to teach or to perform
How It Works:
Preliminary Round: All couples will dance to the same song in a freestyle, non-choreographed dance, the top 5 couples will go on to the Final Round
Final Round: All couples will perform to a 2.5 min song of their choosing using their own choreography
Here's a small sampling of prizes that you could win...
Addicted 2 Salsa Shoes
Century Wide Shoes
Acrobat Lounge Yearly VIP Passes
Six Degrees VIP Passes
Lula Lounge Gift Certificates
Go Dance Mambo Class Certificates
El Rancho and Plaza Passes
TDS Gift Certificates
And more!
And while not confirmed, I've heard a few rumours that there will be passes to the Toronto & Miami Salsa Congresses!
Stay tuned for more information and hope that you're feeling up to the challenge!
Salsa Spring Celebration: Are you signed up for Salsa, Cha Cha, Raggaeton and more?
Are you signed up for what looks like one of the best season of class offerings of classes at Toronto Dance Salsa? If you've got the Winter blues, or you just need an energetic pick-me-up, here's a sampler of the classes that are being offered:
Casino Rueda Workshop & Social:
In case you haven't read my previous post about how much I enjoyed the first Casino workshop, let me just say that everyone who took this class had a blast! Learn a ton of Cuban moves (that can easily transfer into your regular salsa routine) and dance with everyone in a large circle. It's rapid, it's super fun and taught by Tracie & Daniel!
Bachata, 9 week course (already SOLD OUT!!!) :
As soon as I saw the class being offered, I quickly signed up. Lucky I did as it sold out so quickly that there's a waiting list!!! Only goes to show that after taking the winter off from Salsa, people are back in action and taking multiple classes!
Cha Cha, 9 week course ( 3 Women needed until it sells out!!) :
Another hot course, Cha Cha is going fast! If you've ever wanted to learn this sexy dance or are tired of sitting out each time they play a Cha Cha song, then you've got to check out this course!
Student Performance Class :
Feel nervous about performing? Don't worry, I did too... but I'm loving the Helper Performance Team classes and can guarantee that you will too! It's made me a better dance in all regards and it's been amazing learning from Tracie and hanging with tons of great Toronto Dance Salsa dancers! Trust me, once you hear the crowd cheering you on you will be as hooked as Miro and Julia!
Raggaeton Funk Class :
In case you missed the episode of eTalk, Tracie was teaching Raggaeton to Leah Miller of SYTYCD!!! I love, love, love Raggaeton and am looking forward to this course! Learn how to tear up the dance floor to the music of Daddy Yankee, Pitbull, Winsin Y Yandel! Focusing on body isolations, styling and co-ordination, you'll be owning on the dance floor in no time!
Salsa Levels 1-6 :
Have you signed up for your next level yet? Trust me, sign up soon as they tend to go just as quickly as our specialty courses!
With the entire team working hard, we're slowly getting closer and closer to the official first performance! While an official date hasn't been set, we're aiming for the end of March or early April. While there's still much to be done, I'm getting so excited (especially after seeing such amazing performances at the Salsatine Outing last weekend at Acrobat). The Pro Team has set the bar extremely high, and I can only hope that can come close when we finally hit the stage!
Did you see that Toronto Dance Salsa is offering a 'Student Performance Class'? Trust me, if you'd like to amp up your dancing as well as have a pretty fun time doing so, then sign up. While I was nervous at first, I'm really enjoying the whole process of learning great choreography and am pretty pumped for our first show. If you're level 3 or higher, then sign up as I'm sure that you won't want to miss such a fun and great learning experience!
The Helper Workshop: Helpers Make Sweet Music Together!
While some would say that 'love' is the 'international language' but I would disagree. When you have an amazing beat and great melody, our bodies naturally match it with movement. Timing are our words and Musicality is our punctuation. Last week the Helpers were treated by Emely to an amazing workshop to enhance our dance vocabulary.
Teaching Timing in music is tough. While one can't learn to be perfectly on time in an hour, last weekend's workshop helped us all get that much closer to metronome-like precision. Using time-tested methods and some pretty creative techniques, the Helpers were not only improving their timing but expressing salsa better than they had ever before!
Having been formally educated in music theory and timing, it was impressive to see Emely's understand of musicality, from physical expression right down to time signatures. This was shown by a fun 'jam session' where everyone played instruments to mimic the salsa rhythm. While you can get away with being a bit off when dancing, instruments are not forgiving.
From the jam session we all played with timing, dancing on1, on2 and even on3! I have to admit, that even with pretty solid timing, it took me some time to adjust. I have to say that it felt really cool to be able to dance on3... it's a completely different feeling.
Speaking of feeling, our next session was all about how to feel the music better. By learning how to make our dancing match the music better (dancing softly or hard), one felt the music channelling through them. To be honest, this is my biggest beef with most dancers is that they just do the moves with the same feeling they do for every song. I've seen certain dancers look truly sad when they dance to songs about lost love and others who drip with sex appeal as they dance to the more racy songs.
I mean, if we are not truly expressing how music makes us feel, why are we dancing?
Thankfully for Emely's workshop, we all learned how to better express ourselves on the dance floor with better timing, rhythm and musicality. Enjoy the workshop? Feel free to comment on your experience or if you'd like to see more of these kinds of workshops!
Dips N Tricks II - Dips, Drops and Daniel's Trick!
Last weekend TDS put on a second Dips & Tricks Workshop as the first was so popular! In true Tracie and Daniel fashion, this second workshop featured moves that were both impressive and exciting to execute! From the Tower to Repetitive Dips, everyone left feeling like a pro and had a pretty intense core workout.
Once again the main focus of the class was how to safely preform show-stopping tricks in social settings. Learning how to utilize our core muscles and proper technique, we learned a series of slick moves that not only round out the ones learned in the first session, but stand on their own. It was great to see people trying out their moves at the Sunday Social.
One of my favourite moves was to learn Daniel's signature move. While I can't give away the secret, I can say that it's a very cool move that involves the leader getting down on one knee!
If you weren't able to attend these workshops you may want to attend any future ones as eventually you'll find yourself wanting to know how to safely dip yourself and/or your dance partner. If you want to check out the workshop again, be sure to email T.D.S. and request another one... you won't be disappointed.
Did you take the workshop? Let me know in the comments about how you liked it.
Well the moment that I've been told would happen has finally come... I'm absolutely loving this whole performance experience. I must admit that throughout this whole process that I've been quite anxious... what if I'm not good enough... what if I can't lead my partner... what if I forget the routine? It's taken a while, but I'm finally over the hump and now am really enjoying the whole process.
Today was also a cool day because there was a level 1 condensed class waiting outside the door and it kind of felt like we had an audience. Being that much closer to the reality of being in front of people makes it that much sweeter. Speaking of sweet, we went over the costume situation and I'm so relieved to know that we're not wearing any skin-tight, glittery outfits... I always think classy trump glitz.
If you are thinking about joining a performance team I highly recommend it. Maybe you'll love it from the get-go or maybe it'll take a little longer? Once thing is for sure, give it about 4-5 weeks and I'm sure the performance bug will hit you just like it has with me!
When Your Shines No Longer Shine : The Dreaded Salsa Slump
When asked, almost 99.9% of you would say that you love to dance Salsa because it's so much fun...but what do you do when it no longer feels as fun? You, my friend are in a Salsa Slump. What hurts about a slump the most is that it feels like when you get your heart broken by something you truly love. I've just been getting out from my first real salsa slump and I did a lot of soul searching and reading. I discovered an excellent blog based in Toronto detailing a Salsa Gigolo's life, most importantly, his beliefs on why he was in a slump. [ Read it here ] It's a very interesting blog that combines a Sex and the City vibe with philosophy, personal reflection as well as great humor! It inspired me to go out and try different methods to get over this slump... Here are some of the things that I did to get out of the slump: Get Your Grind On: Showing my true geeky colors, 'Grinding' is a term used in gaming to engage in repetitive and/or non-entertaining gameplay in order to advance your character. I started forcing myself to go out to salsa clubs and socials and dance. While I felt very disconnected and couldn't produce very many good combos, at least I was getting exercise and at least 'faking it till I make it'. I find that sometimes when you force yourself through it, you re-discover what you love about salsa. Get Away: I know that I just recommended to 'grind' your way through it, but perhaps you're suffering from too much salsa... some would cry blasphemy but I say that burnout can happen so quickly with something as addictive as salsa. I was speaking to a renown salsa leader last night at a social and he said that to get over his slump he goes out and does anything but salsa, whether its see a few movies, go bowling or maybe a good road trip! Get Inspired: I think this may have been the most effective tip for me as I spent a lot of time trying to get inspired. I think I must have watched 'This Is It' about ten times as my main inspiration for dancing has always been Michael Jackson. His effortless movements, precision and showmanship are all it took for me to get my practicing my shines again. Other sources of inspiration? Check out Youtube for 'Dancing With the Stars', 'So You Think You Can Dance' and other great dance films! Want to see my favourite inspirational speech of all time? If you haven't seen 'Any Given Sunday', go rent it, even if you dislike sports films. The speech Pacino gives is unreal and easily transferred to salsa (talks about steps and inches) [ watch it here ] Here's another great speech which I watch when I feel like blaming others for my woes... [ watch it here ] Go Early to Plaza Flamingo or Babalúu's on a Saturday Night: I picked these two clubs because this is where people who are new to salsa go to learn and attempt to dance. Why go? Because you get to see how much fun they are having trying to figure out their basics, right turns and just dancing. Fun is contagious and you may see in these people what you once felt. Not based in Toronto? Every major city has at least one salsa club that touristas and neewbs go. Have Fun: This goes along with the previous tip. Salsa is all about having fun. It's just dancing after all. The moment you start thinking of it as a job then you're going to start losing that loving feeling. To me it's not the ones who are doing the biggest turn patterns, drip or tricks, but the couples who smile and laugh the most. It sounds cheesy, but honestly, it's why we're all here. Retail Therapy: The best part of being a dancer is that we can always justify buying a new pair of shoes. Sometimes all it takes is going out and getting some new duds to inspire you back into your usual styling self. Don't want to spend a bundle? Go out to Puma or American Apparel and get some wicked looking wristbands. Privates: We all plateau from time to time so maybe it's the right time for you to finally go get a few private lessons? I used to do this when my guitar playing would stagnate and you wouldn't believe how much I would learn doing a quick session with a teacher who's been in your shoes! Not sure where to start? Check out TDS's Private Lesson info. Happy Salsa Songs: Here are a few songs that I'm really into right now that keep me smiling during these cold months: Marc Anthony: Tu Amor Me Hace Bien Celia Cruz: La Vida Es Un Carnaval Junior Gonzalez: Lady in Red
Take a Chance on Connection:
This may sound weird but when I get in a slump, I shy from connecting with others. This type of isolation is very bad for a Salsero and definitely showed in my combos and even in my expression! The best part of dancing Salsa is to gaze into your partners eyes and feel that amazing connection. While it can be romantic, to me usually the gaze is more like an endearing
Let Go / Feel the Force / Wu Wei: Sometimes we have to let go of all of the things that we learn and just feel the music. When you're truly feeling the music you're timing will be better, you'll style when your body feels it should and you'll be smiling. Many of my best moments have been when I was just letting go and having fun.
Hug It Out:
Sometimes when you're sad, you're sad. Sometimes a tan helps, sometimes it's Ben & Jerry's but whatever it is, make sure that you've got someone there for you for support. I've found the Salsa Community to be made up of caring people who will be there for you when you need help. Winter can be really hard on all of us so make sure that you're doing what it takes to get you back to good. Hugs are awesome and I'm always down for giving them ( depending on how long I've been dancing/sweating, lol ). I hope these tips help, there are probably many other great tips so feel free to comment about how you've dealt with your own Salsa Slumps. While I may feel like the end of the world, trust me, it will end and you'll fall back into your salsa groove in no time. I can't wait to see you back on the dance floor once you're ready! Till then, Stay Shining Salseros!
