Musical Dancer vs. Non-Musical Dancers

One can be a good Salsa dancer but not necessarily a musical dancer. Put a musical dancer next to a non-musical dancer side-by-side and the differences are apparent.

Musical dancers stay attuned to the rhythm, melody and mood of a song; while a non-musical dancer is unable to transmit the musical emotions or paint a colorful image of what the Salsa son is about.

A musical dancer reacts to the story being told by the song and emphasizes on each up-beat and down-beat; non musical dancers just dance and are incapable of recognizing any nuance in the song.

A musical dancer focuses on the music and each instrument being played and morph his/her moves and pattern to embrace the music; a non-musical dancer focuses on his/her partner and execute random moves and pattern, many time off the beat.

A musical dancer is like a gymnast competing with music; a non-musical dancer is like a gymnast performing without music.

A musical dancer let his/her partner shine and style at the right time by establishing a common understanding, which is based on a mutual respect; a non-musical dancer focuses on his/her self, interrupts their partner in the middle of a shine or styling move, does not communicate with their partner and at times violates their partner’s personal space.

Becoming a musical dancer takes time and effort. Many advanced dancers get frustrated when a song is wasted with someone perhaps who does not understand the foreign language of Salsa. Getting to know and understand each instrument in the music is fundamental in becoming a musical dancer because each instrument brings a different feel and mood to the music. The more we understand the musical language the better musical dancer we become and the more fun we will have dancing.http://youtu.be/nDQXbMHoGYQ