How to get your salsa groove back...

How to get your salsa groove back...
by Rose Lau (aka Rose Knows...)
December, 2001
Thanks to the great feedback from many dancers on and off the dancefloor, I decided to turn this story into an article as it seems to be a universal problem at some point in a dancer's lifecyle...


Thanks to my chats with two fellow salsaholics recently, they reminded me of where my dance inspiration comes from when you think you've hit saturation point with salsa." After living and breathing it every day (and feeling like I had to be out every night) -- it started to feel more like a job than a passion; plus like any "addiction", it can start to take over every free moment of your spare time. Obviously, that's not reality, and that's when you need to say stop. The only problem with stopping is finding the "groove" again when you are so used to getting that fix or you feel out of sorts when you do go out. Well, there are a couple of cures for that, such as:

1. Remembering why you got addicted to salsa in the first place.

2. Think about all the things that motivate you or keep you motivated to become the dancer you want to be, such as dance classes in other forms of dance (my favourites were ballroom, argentine tango and west coast swing), watching great dancers in the clubs, going to other cities to dance, watching great dancers from other cities, watching dance shows in other forms of dance you enjoy watching, such as ballroom or how about bringing out the old dance movies or dance convention videos to watch.

3. Go out and "dance as if nobody's watching". Who cares if you don't do it perfectly, dance is also about how it makes you feel physically and mentally; and if you look great doing it at the same time, then that's gravy. If you think of every dancer you admire in Toronto or somewhere around the World, and if you watched them progress, you will remember that they were beginners at one time too. They took time, training and practice to be where they are today; and don't forget they all looked awkward at some point in time.

4. Don't feel you have to try and keep up with your peers that improve unless you are willing to invest the time also to train or practice.

5. If you're frustrated from all the new stuff you're learning and it's not coming together, take a break and just dance any way that makes you happy without a care in the world.

6. Have you ever had a dance to your favourite song where you just groove to the music and your partner feels your energy and feeds off of it too? Or vice versa, find a dancer that's so into the music, that you can't help yourself but emulate what their feeling by using that dance connection where you have a "conversation" with your dance partner on the floor through body movement. Use that connection, that's one of the things that makes partner dancing so much fun. When you are out dancing, find partners that enjoy the song/dance as much as you do; and you'll notice the difference.

Did my theory work? A big YES! I hit Smokey Joe's on Monday and closed the place! There were enough dancers to get my fix, but I centered my energy into my dancing and connecting with my partners, and the whole night was a blast with all my partners. The finale was a free-style shine salsa with my jacket on, ready to go home, but the music had me pumped and I just "danced as if nobody was watching" and moved whichever way the music took me.

PS If you never danced with your coat on, try it sometime, there's something indescribable about the feeling you get, similar to walking in the rain without an umbrella without a care in the world.