Final Aventura Dance Cruise

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How To Become a Better Lead?

As we progress through our Salsa learning, it is important to keep in mind how we make our partner feel. Many novice or inexperienced dancers believe that dancing Salsa requires moving, turning or spinning your partner around; or, simply that all they need to do is get through a dance by any means necessary. Dancing is fun to do and watch, but it can be dangerous if not mastered properly. Here are few gentlemen tips, which I am sure can help anyone become a better lead.

Establish your control: This starts from the very first eight counts you execute with your partner. Make sure that you have good eye to eye contact and clearly maneuver the follower through a cross body lead. This can also be the time when the lead evaluates the follower’s level of experience. Many times gentlemen go into a dance blind, without taking the time to get to know their partner; what style of dance they do or how to handle their new partner. A good way to establish control is to always ask the lady “do you dance on one or on two?” Doing so will avoid missteps, drop in confidence and make the lady feel important, because it is all about them.

Avoid using your thumb: Forcing your partner through a move is not enjoyable to experience or to watch. Ladies don’t enjoy being thrown around, handled like a toy while trying to dance. Remember there is a difference between “dancing with your partner” and “dancing your partner”. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes when dancing with a novice follower, we may need to use a bit more effort, but it should never be to the point where it becomes an eye sore. Our lead should be subtle, clear and precise.

Stay macho: A gentlemen who stays on the beat, owns his ground, spread his arms during certain move (such as a right turn), keeps his elbows at 45 to 90 degrees and body fully engaged is so much more enjoyable then one who bumps into other dancers all the time, is off beat, keeps his arms soft or along his body (noodle hands) and bends forwards to lead his partner. Staying macho also means keeping a good posture; your chest should be pumped, stomach tucked in, knees slightly bent, hands at tray level, chin up and eyes on your partner. This is not to be confused with being an arrogant dancer! Always be courteous and act like gentlemen. Next month we will write an article about how to become a better follower.

Drink Up!

Many ask the question, when it comes to dancing, which is better to drink, water, sports or energy drinks?

When a person sweats during your dance classes, their body is losing valuable water and electrolytes. Electrolytes are essential minerals such as salt, potassium and chloride. The electrolytes we lose can easily be replaced with our next meal, but it’s vital that we keep ourselves well-hydrated. Why? Left unchecked, dehydration can lead to fatigue, poor performance, and possible injury.

Sports drinks are really for people who will be exercising long term. So it is great for marathon runners and professional athletes (and dancers) who spend several hours a day working out. The main key is to not get dehydrated.

Quick and Easy Spanish Rice

This is a great side dish to go with beef or pork, or as a quick snack.

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 1/4 cups rice

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

2 teaspoons chili powder

3/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon cumin

Preparation:

In medium saucepan, combine all ingredients (mash tomatoes with potato masher or give them a quick spin in food processor if desired). Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer 25 minutes or until rice is done. (Unless you like sticky, gooey rice, don't take off the lid and stir at all until it is done). Garnish with green onions and/or cheddar cheese. Serves 8.

What's Happening With Want2Salsa?

Hello again W2S Friends and Family! Hope that the month of February was as exciting for you as it was for all of us here at W2S.

North Carolina: We started the month supporting our local clubs, Hellas and Via 216 Bar and Grill, in Fayetteville, NC. Thanks to Via 216, we got to enjoy the music from the Nueva Era Bachata band, who performed all of their best songs for Bachata lovers in this All-American city. For all of you Salsa lovers, if you are ever on this side of the country, stop by Fayetteville, NC, during your travels and we will show you a good Salsa time.

We took the W2S energy on a road trip to our sister city of Charlotte NC, to celebrate, dance, learn new moves, and party at the Charlotte Salsa invitational 2013. We partied and took workshops for two nights and three days, with some of the best dancers in the USA and around the world like the "Mambo King" Eddie Torres, Francisco Vasquez, the creator of LA Style Salsa, and Nery Garcia , the creator of Salsa Elegante, and lots of other fantastic dancers. The W2S crew also enjoyed watching performances from out-of-state performers, like Ingrid La Gringa Buxbaum. A highlight was also watching some of the Charlotte home-grown dance groups perform.

We also took our new W2S t-shirt (Chillax I've got this Salsa) to the invitational and Eddie Torres became an instant fan of it! Don't forget to get your very own and join the growing group of Salsa lovers that are sporting the W2S look.

Salsa in a Nutshell

Salsa music is a general term referring to what is essentially Cuban popular dance music, which was internationalized outside Cuba. The term "Salsa" was initially recorded, promoted and marketed in New York City during the 1970s. The various musical genres comprising Salsa include the Cuban son montuno, guaracha, chachachá, mambo, bolero and, to a lesser degree, non-Cuban genres such as the Puerto Rican bomba and plena, the Dominican merengue, and the Colombian cumbia. Latin jazz, which was also developed in New York City, has had a significant influence on salsa arrangers, piano guajeos, and instrumental soloists. Salsa occasionally incorporates elements from North American rock, R&B, and funk. All of these non-Cuban elements are inserted onto the basic Cuban son montuno template when performed within the context of salsa.

The first salsa bands were predominantly "Nuyorican" (New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent). The music eventually spread throughout the Western Hemisphere. Ultimately, Salsa's popularity spread globally. Some of the founding Salsa artists include Johnny Pacheco (the creator of the Fania All-Stars), Ray Barretto, Willie Colón, Larry Harlow, Roberto Roena, Bobby Valentín, and Eddie Palmieri.

http://www.answers.com/topic/salsa-dance#ixzz2KwXMN7FY

What's Happening With Want2Salsa?

Hello Salsa Lover!

Welcome back and hopefully you had a fantastic time with the family and friends here at W2S. January 2013 had a slow start, mainly because we were recovering from all the eating, drinking and partying that we did with our families and friends during the holiday break. Here is what’s been going on in the different places where W2S has spread its wings.

North Carolina - We started the New Year supporting or local Salsa clubs Via 216 Nightclub and Hellas Restaurant & Sport Bar.

Via 216: It was a pleasant and surprising direction that it has taken this New Year. Thanks to the influence of the W2S group and our home base studio Baile con Sazon, Via 216 has become more of Salsa Club than what is has traditionally been; a Latin/ hip hop club.

Hellas Sports Bar: We are happy that a new location has been open on Friday nights, which is an exciting, fun, and beautiful place to go out and have a great night. This is not a pure Salsa club or anything close to it is more of a Latin/ hip hop dance club with a clear club feel to it, but it is great news that we have a new location to go to on Friday nights.

Wilmington NC: Part of the W2S group went and supported our friends in the beautiful city of Wilmington. We had a fantastic time with the dancers of the city and Wilmington dance group. These are some of the happiest, funniest, and nicest people you will ever meet! They are 100% Salsa lovers and we can't wait to go back next month to party with them. The location is at a Mexican restaurant where we started the night with the special they were offering a $1 taco. After that, we joined the free Salsa lesson given by our beautiful friend and head instructor of Wilmington Latin dance studio “Summer”, and after the class was over the real dancing started!

Bachata Sensual: This was the highlight of the month for us here at W2S. On Jan 24th Fifth Star Ent., in association with W2S, and Via 216 had two work shops with “Christian Sola” teaching his world renowned Bachata Sensual style of dancing. This event was a total success and we had dancers from all over NC and SC. The dancers and W2S had a fantastic time with Sola and his partner. There was an additional event that day, the local female dance group “Las Fieras” in association with dancers from W2S and Baile con Sazon who put together a Bachata routine for the dancers attending the work shop.

Want2Salsa took a road trip to Charlotte to attend a workshop given by Antonio Doza-Williams, a well-known ladies spinning and styling and men’s body movement and styling instructor. Antonio taught three workshops, turning and spinning On2, footwork, body movement, and cha cha. We were able to learn some nice routines incorporating a lot of body movement and styling. Want2Salsa is looking forward to learning from Antonio again in the near future.

Want2Salsa also produced and showcased their new limited edition t-shirts, "Chillax, I've got this Salsa" at the Sensual Bachata Workshop given by Christian Sola and Marina Orlova at Via 216. The new t-shirts were well received by those who attended the workshop. Want2Salsa will be coming out with new limited edition t-shirts in the future. So be on the watch.

Arizona - This month Want2Salsa Arizona had a very exciting time at the Salsa Sunday Social held at the Arizona Ballroom Company 5536 E Grant Rd, Tucson, AZ 85712 by Gerardo Armendariz (https://www.facebook.com/garmendariz), founder of Tucson Salsa (www.tucsonsalsa.com). This is the premier Salsa Social in Tucson and it is held every 2nd and 4th Sunday in an environment free of alcohol, smoke and drama. All ages are welcome! If you just want to hang out with friends or meet new ones, the Salsa Sunday Social is the perfect place to start. This event starts with a Salsa Class from 5pm until 6pm then a Social dance from 6pm to 11pm. On top of the outstanding crowd and great dancers, who religiously show up, the modest cover charge of only $7.00, which includes the Salsa Class and Social dance makes it even more attractive. https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/312352_520303304680516_1645492447_n.jpg