Okay, so I felt like I had to share this experience….

I was at a Florida social not too long ago, having fun with the crew, and the people that I haven’t seen in a few months. Well, I met an older gentleman that asked me to dance. I happily accepted the offer, and proceeded to follow him onto the crowded dance floor. We started to dance, what I thought was a great, relaxing Salsa until….

…he dipped me into my unsuspecting friend behind me. Instead of pulling me up, he lost his footing and fell on top of me…and stayed there for 5 seconds. Yes, although 5 seconds may not seem like a long time, it was the LONGEST 5 SECONDS OF MY LIFE! I was layed out FLAT on the floor with a stranger on top of me. Talk about embarassment. Instead of running away with shame, I finished the song with him, and can I say…he didn’t even apologize!!!

Dipping a stranger — not recommended

Not apologizing after you’ve dropped her — not acceptable!!!

So here’s my view on doing dips/tricks with strangers….RUN! Just kidding. But, I don’t recommend it. Mainly because you’ve never practiced such maneuvers before with this dancer, and ANYTHING could happen. Safety first!

HOWEVER, ladies if you find yourself dancing with someone that may dip you, here are a few pointers to possibly help you keep your bum off the floor.

Footing: make sure that at least one of your feet is completely underneath you – forget making it look elegant at that point, it’s “save your butt” time – this is to be used for regular dips (a full bend backwards, or dip to the side); especially if you have never danced with this person before.

Arm Placement: if your leader decides to give you a neck drop (and rarely is this not foreseen), depending on your comfort level you may want to opt for: A) ducking under his arm to completely avoid the dip altogether, or B) hold on to his tricep with one of your hands while he lowers you. And again remember your footing, make sure to have both of your feet placed directly underneath you, instead of extended away from your body.

*To avoid any additional embarrassment, please be sure that you’re wearing the proper attire before following a trick (ie. skirts are not recomended for neck drops)

Remember, it’s always okay to say “No”. It’s up to you and your comfort level that will gauge what your partner will be allowed to do with you. Yes, he is “in charge” for the length of the song, however, he does not have the right to take your complete well-being into his hands…unless you’ve signed a Release of Liability form

For the Gents:

Please be sure not to try new tricks on strange or non-acustomed partners. Save those for the dancers you practice with. It’s not right to possibly place someone in danger or run the possibility of putting them through an embarassing situation. If you want to try a dip or trick, either A) ask for permission or B) have a track records of never having trick casulaties….I opt for “A”. =)

Dancing is fun, and yes, it’s considered a sport, but be sure to be considerate of your partners and other dancers around you.

Thanks for reading =)

Hello….here’s a subject I was asked to talk about:

Ladies over styling while partner dancing

Okay, so here are my thoughts….styling is wonderful. It’s a great way to express yourself, your personality, your feelings/emotions, etc. However, when your emotions are expressed in such a way as to interrupt your partner, there may be a problem. I’ve learned from the famous Edie The Salsa Freak, that styling should NEVER be felt by your partner. If you are styling, and you literally pull your partner off his feet, there is a problem.

For example, if you’re partner gives you a cross body lead into a single handed open position (a display), ladies, please be sure not to pull even further away in order to accomplish your big, emotional arm sweep. Again, styling should never (or hardly) be felt by your leader. This is, after all, a PARTNER dance. If you feel that your partner does not make you “look good” so now you must, in order to express yourself, style even bigger or dance on your own, then may I suggest taking up Jazz or Hip Hop where partnering is not involved. =) This over styling also goes hand in hand with head whips that more so turn into body whip lashes. Please also bear in mind that there are other dancers on the floor with you; so be very aware as to where and how you style. I do not suggest (and I say this in all of my classes) doing an arm sweep if there is someone near by that could get raw end of the deal. Also, please be sure to pay attention to where his hands are; he asks for them, you have to give it to him. Being caught up styling and looking in a different direction for too long, could hinder a dance.

I’ll share a personal experience to also place blame on myself for over styling:

I remember, a few years ago, back in 2007, I was dancing to a nice, medium speed salsa song. In the midst of the song, I got so caught up with styling, that at one point when my partner gave me a cross body lead into a display, our hands were so sweaty, that during my emotional styling move I slipped out of his hand and onto the floor….hard! Now, would this have happened had I not styled as much, and been able to control my own body weight…99.9% chance that I would have still been standing.

So, we’re all at fault at some point. However, take it from my experience, there is nothing more embarrassing than falling on the floor in a night club while wearing white pants.

Style to YOUR comfort level, but please be sure to control your weight. It’s not about who styles the most, or the biggest…this is not a competition. Dancing, should be felt with the heart, and expressed with the body. But please don’t let your emotions overflow onto your partners’; contain your emotions as to not affect others around you. Let your personality and emotions shine through with your styling, but be considerate of others as well.

Again, your partner should hardly FEEL your “emotions”—he should just be able to SEE them.

BUT…before I leave you with that….Men—-when spinning at high speeds, be sure that you are A) wearing the proper clothing (no unbottoned jackets allowed), B) wearing deodorant at the very least, and C) having your elbows tucked in as to avoid broken noses or punched chests. There is nothing worse than dancing with a gentleman that spins a million miles a minute, expecting his partner to keep her basic going while having her arm outstretched waiting for him to return to reality to finish his pattern….all while having a flailing jacket hit her face, getting a whiff of his armpits, or worse, getting a broken nose because his elbows were not tucked where they needed to be. Men that spin, KUDOS, however, please use caution!

That’s it for today….check out my next blog: “Dips & Tricks with Strangers”

Okay, so we all know that the man or should I say LEADER, has probably the toughest job on the dance floor. The LEADER has to:

· Lead the follower

· Keep the timing

· Think of patterns

· ..and police the dance floor to be sure his partner does NOT end up another casualty on the floor.

So now, my question to you is….do you think the FOLLOWER should know and understand the timing just as well as the LEADER?

I say…YES!!!! Timing, in my eyes, is EXTREMELY important for ALL DANCERS to understand (no matter if you are a LEADER or FOLLOWER). So many times I see followers, mainly females, who don’t grasp the concept of timing. Instead they are shuffling around with no clue as to what beat they are on. Again, in my personal opinion, FOLLOWERS should MATCH their LEADERS. Whether the LEADER is on 1, 2, 3, 4, or 16, FOLLOW THE LEADER!

Now, please don’t get me wrong, I do not condone staying off beat JUST because the LEADER may still need some education as far as timing. If the FOLLOWER has the ability to “style” their movements to the timing of the music in such a way as to bring the LEADER back on beat…by all means do it! At times, your LEADER will thank you =) But please, please, please do NOT style so much that you throw your LEADER off timing. (This also happens more often than not)

Nonetheless, the reason for this blog is this….I have seen FOLLOWERS dancing to what I call “the beat of their own conga”. What I mean by this is, the LEADER, no matter how well of a dancer he is, and no matter how much he grasps the concept of timing, the FOLLOWER is simply NOT FOLLOWING! I see LEADERS dancing on2, and the FOLLOWER dancing on 3 ½. How is this possible? Unless…the FOLLWER is simply NOT FOLLOWING.

Again, please don’t get me wrong; when I began dancing Salsa, timing was the LAST thing on my mind, so I am not saying beginners MUST be on the right beat at ALL TIMES. However, what I AM saying is that dancers who would like to call themselves “advanced” must at the very least understand timing. Period. No advanced or master dancer can receive such a title without understanding one of the most quintessential elements of dancing….timing!

Please be sure to check out any timing CDs or Musicality Workshops/Timing Classes in a city near you. Timing plays a very crucial part in dancing, please take the time to learn it.

“There is no problem with dancing to the beat of your own conga, just please be sure that your conga MATCHES your partners.”

Love…Peace…and LOTS of Cross Body Leads!!!