Can you dance salsa? Does it matter?

[Stevieboy]

Any you guys that have been there learned to dance salsa first? Anyone NOT know how to dance, and still had positive results? I for one was told by a girl to at least know the basics before going.

[mambocowboy]

it certainly wouldn't hurt to familiarize yourself with the music and be able to dance on time (on beat). However, the styles and steps of salsa dancing in Colombia with a partner are alot different than in the States, and vary by region (Cali has the most distinctive style)....of course, it all depends on what type of woman you want to hang out with. If you're looking for a home loving woman who doesn't go out to clubs, it's of very low importance. On the other hand, the more of a rumbera (party girl) she is, the more important your being able to dance with her could be...

[Ricardo1]

I agree with Mambo....
The more your lady is into going out dancing - or partying for that matter, the more she'll expect you to be able to dance with her.  Or she'll get bored fast, and maybe go out just with her girlfriends - that means,without you even.
Some ladies, especially younger, are really into it.  Others are just content to be with their man, with the family, and only occasionally go to the club. 
But if you know the basics or latin dancing (salsa, etc), that will  make her happy too!  coz you won't embarrass her.

[benjio]

I can salsa dance pretty well...but that was more from living in Houston all my life and dating Latinas there. In Barranquilla the most common form of couples dancing involves holding your partner closely, and doing a 1-2-3 step pattern to the rhytm of the music. That's about as complicated as it gets. The most popular genre of music along the coast of Colombia, Vallenato, is not fit for salsa dancing anyway. I have never seen what we would consider traditional salsa in Barranquilla...not even in dance competitions. Not to suggest that no one there can do it. It's just not very popular. Mamacowboy is absolutely correct though. In Cali it's an entirely different story. They have a very complex form of salsa with difficult step patterns and lots of twist and turns. It is quite a spectacle to watch a couple that has danced together for years go at it in a Calena Salsa Club. Check this video out.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEuhOR_Arh8
 
No worries Stevie...I won't be taking you anywhere you'll have to be an accomplished salsa dancer to impress women. As many times as I've been to Barranquilla, I have yet to find such a place.

[whitey]

I haven't heard of a barranquillera yet that likes to be spun like they do it in Cali ... they all seem to complain about getting dizzy if you start moving too fast ... or maybe that's just my small sample pool ...

[htown]

I can salsa dance pretty well...but that was more from living in Houston all my life and dating Latinas there.

You must've been dating latinas who moved to Houston from somewhere else, late in their life.  Salsa music is from the carribean and texas latinas (mexicanas) don't have the slightest clue how to dance to it, though many of them can dance a mean cumbia.




Stevieboy just listen to some salsa and vallenato music at home and get the feel of the rhythm.  Just being able to move to the salsa rhythm is really all there is to it.


Of course I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out what you think you're going to find in south america that you can't easily find in your own hometown lol.

[Stevieboy]

DAMN! That video has got to be of a competition. Yeah I'd better go and practice though if I'm hanging out with you Benjio. I havent danced it in years. Infact, to add to what you guys say about the girls who are interetsed in partying rather than being with their man, yeah, the same goes here in Texas (different area than Benjio),  if all my girlfirend wants to do is dance salsa, it's because she's an attention freak and she likes to flirt and flirt with the club dudes that frequent there. At least that's from my experience.   

[Stevieboy]

[quote Of course I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out what you think you're going to find in south america that you can't easily find in your own hometown lol.quote]

 
I live in Austin. The girls are very liberal here, of which I don't care for. There's not one without tattoos, they have bad language, and would be downright offended if you asked her to make you a PBJ sandwich.   As for latin ladies, yeah I sometimes as myself why don't I just invest more time into going where the nice looking ones hang out instead of spending thousands of dollars and miles in some strange country. It's because I'm hispanic, that I know that finding a decent hispanic gal here that's not selfish or doesn't already have kids is next to impossible, unless she's under 25, and then the family would probably want to kick my ass . I remember the days when friends' girlfriends or wives would set you up with their friends. I also remember there were a hell of a lot more weddings to meet women at, but that was another generation ago at least. Times have changed, and I havent had any friends get married in over ten years, and I'm too old to be working the night clubs. Not to mention don't have any single friends that don't act stupid to go with. I figure go to Colombia to learn something new and come back with a new prospective and attitude. And if I get lucky, bring bring a nice gal home and let the inhabitant hags look on with hatred that I thought so lowly of them to leave to another country to find a woman instead of here.  I wonder, are there any sites out there of women looking outside the US for decent men? Would any even want them?[/quote]

[Stevieboy]

I'm having a hard time quoting one liners instead  of the whole piece. I was trying to quote htown's one sentence. Can someone explain?
 
 
 

[V_Man]

She wont jump out and hit you with this but she will be happier if she can do a little dancing with you.
I met this Colombian guy who was very socialable but he had a lot of problems getting a girlfriend because he could not dance at all. He is the only Colombian of any age that I have met that can not dance. In Cali I even met a guy in a wheelchair that can dance.

Being able to dance does matter in Colombia. They don't only dance in clubs. They dance at parties, weddings, family events, you name it and there is always a party somewhere. Colombians learn to dance right after they learn to stand on two feet. You at least need to be willing to try. Refusing to get up and have a little dance will not cut the mustard.
However no one expects much dancing skills from a gringo. Hence the bar is set low for you. You are not searching for a party girl hence she wont be expecting to dance away every night with you either.

On top of that, few people dance only one style. You are likely to hear salsa, vallenato, marenge, reggaton, bachata and maybe more.
Having said that you only need the very very basics of 2 or 3 of these.

For example, it would take a year to be a decent LA/new york style salsa dancer. This is linea style salsa. In Colombia they dance a much simplier folkloric style of salsa. In Cali they take this Folkloric style to acrobatic extremes but you don't need to worrry about that. All you need to know is the very basic salsa step. Basically what they teach in the very first salsa lesson. You could pick it up from You Tube. If you want to learn more, just learn to step back on 1 and also 5 rather than forward on 1 and back on 5. Don't waste your time learning much more than that because you wont need it.

Likewise learn the very basic Marenge step. This will take you no time because it is basically marching on the spot while you bend your hips.

Likewise with Vallenato and Reggaeton you really don't need to learn much moves. Just watch some videos and/or copy everyone else. Keep it simple.

What you really need to do it teach yourself to get the rythm. This is sometimes easier said than done. You need to listen to the music and stay in time.

So yes learn the very basics and listen to the music to get used to the different rythms. However don't bother doing more than that.

I was an intermediate level salsa dancer LA style. I have only once used those skills in Colombia. It was in Cali with an excellent dancer who has done public performances. If you've seen a dance performace in Cali you'll know this is a very very good dancer. She had no idea what I was doing with this linea salsa business. She had never danced salsa that way before and found it confusing. So I've never again used those linea style dancing skills in Colombia and my wife has never seen me do it.
The rest of the time I have just danced very very simple salsa. And not even particularly well.

I was an intermediate level bachata dancer. I have occationally used those skills in Colombia. Once with a drop dead gorgeous woman half my age and a few times with other women such as my gorgeous wife. But that was only because these women discovered I liked bachata. If I knew nothing about bachata I don't think I ever would have been asked to dance it in Colombia.

At our wedding my wife and the band decided on the spot we would do a wedding dance, without warning me. For our wedding dance, we danced to a vallenato song infront of EVERYONE with a hunderd cameras.
http://youtu.be/inySMqgPRYc
I had no chance to practice this so I just moved to the music and it was fine. Later after everyone had been drinking I also had to do a little solo reggaeton in front of everyone which I don't know how to dance. I tried to back out of this but of course it is complusary to at least have a go. I just copied another guy who was dancing across the floor and it was a hit.

I can't dance vallenato and this is one dance my wife always wants to dance with me. However rather than seeing this as a issue. I see it as an opportunity for her to hold me close and teach me.  It's actually very simple but sometimes it pays to give her a reason to take my hand and show me how she wants me to move my hips! 

Failing all that, any one can dance merenge. It is basically like marching on the spot and having fun.

Personally I really enjoyed formal latin dance lessons. So I'd recommend them just for the fun of it and also because you will get used to moving to those different rythms and leading a girl. However you don't need to do it.

So yes listen and learn the very basic salsa step and/or one or two others. However don't waste a lot of time learning how to dance well unless you want to. Listen to these types of music and get familar with doing very simple moves to the music. That is all you need and it really will help you in many social settings in Colombia - not just clubing.

[htown]

I'm having a hard time quoting one liners instead  of the whole piece. I was trying to quote htown's one sentence. Can someone explain?

Hit the quote button on the post you want to quote.  Then just delete out everything except the part you want to quote.




And about what I said about you going all the way to south america to find a woman.  Most of the guys who go to colombia to find a wife are non-latino guys, who speak little to no spanish, who live in areas where there are little to no latinos.  You don't fit that profile.  You're a decent looking latino guy, who speaks fluent spanish, and you live in a city that's heavily populated with latinos.


One thing that popped out at me right away was if you're interested in learning to dance salsa and going to salsa clubs, you can do that right in there in austin.  Actually I've done the salsa lessons here in houston and I'd highly recommend it. It's an awesome way to get out and socialize.  Not only will you meet the women who are taking lessons but you'll find the salsa clubs where many more women hang out.  And many of these women who hang out in the salsa dance scene aren't big drinkers or party girls, they simply just love to dance and also want to socialize.


I definitely get what you're saying about the liberal-minded chicks with tatoos in austin.  These are mainly chicanas who were born and raised in austin.  You're right, you gotta totally forget about trying to date any of those chicks.  I'm talking bout the latinas who grew up in other countries and came to texas later in life.  Go to the Honduran restaurants and chat up the waitresses.  Don't be shy about telling them what you're looking for, a good girl to marry and settle down with.  If the waitress isn't your type I guarantee she has a friend who is.  Go to the latino hair salons to get your hair cut and do the same thing.  Make friends with the women working there and let them know that you're looking for a wife.  Chances are they know a young lady who is looking for the same thing.


I'm not saying don't go to Colombia.  If you have the time and money, heck yea go to Colombia.  You'll have the time of your life.  But the other 11 months of the year that you're in Austin you can still be out socializing and who knows what you might find.

[benjio]

You must've been dating latinas who moved to Houston from somewhere else, late in their life.  Salsa music is from the carribean and texas latinas (mexicanas) don't have the slightest clue how to dance to it, though many of them can dance a mean cumbia.




Stevieboy just listen to some salsa and vallenato music at home and get the feel of the rhythm.  Just being able to move to the salsa rhythm is really all there is to it.


Of course I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out what you think you're going to find in south america that you can't easily find in your own hometown lol.

I was first exposed to Salsa about 10 years ago because I went to Salsa Night at Scott Gertner's Sky Bar in Houston. Every Thursday they use to give free lessons for a couple of hours and then you could stick around to dance or just watch some professionals go at it. I got back into it when I started going to Barranquilla because Jamie use to have a great sound system at his house in Salgar. While my ex was at work some days, Jamie's maid would blast salsa music and we'd practice for hours.
 
In a city with a population of over 4 million and a metropolitan area of over 6 million, not to mention the significant percentage of that population that are Mexicanos, I think it's a little arrogant to make the blanket statement that "Mexicans don't have the slightest clue how to dance it." I know dozens of Mexicans that are pretty good salsa dancers....regardless of where they were born or where they learned. I'm very aware that Salsa is not a traditional Mexican dance, but the simple fact is Latinas love to dance...and if they are exposed to Salsa they will usually pick it up pretty quick.
 
We're not talking about rocket science here gentlemen. Once you get the 1-2-3 step pattern down, you get comfortable with swaying your hips with the rhytm, and you rotate your forearms in small circles, you've won 50% of the battle. The more you dance with partners, the more comfortable you become with twist, turns and synchronized movements. It really isn't that difficult if you have rhytm. You'd never know by looking at him but Jamie is an excellent Salsa dancer. No offense to him, but if he can get that good at it, I think anyone can be decent enough.
 
Regardless...not something you have to worry about in Barranquilla.
 
 

[buencamino]

I'm learning "baile de choque"  . The first place I saw it was some years ago in Capurganà. Now it's all over including Cali.

[bcc_1_2]

fake it til you make it!

[beulah]

I cut a mean rug maybe 25 years ago, but I think I would feel a little ridiculous doing a faster type dance at this time.  Slow dance no problem.