Scarlet Salsa Thursdays at 360 Lounge are heating up even more. Every Thursday night, we host the coolest, trendiest, party in Central Jersey. This week (November 6th), we are celebrating 360 Lounge’s 1-Year Anniversary with Brazilian Rum Leblon and the Leblon models! Drink specials: Capirinas, beer, shots!

Thursday, November 6th 2008 - 10pm

Drink Specials
$5 Capirinas, $3 Buds, $2 Shots

Free Cover before 9pm.
Reduced before 10pm.

DJ Dany J & DJ Leonard
Classic Salsa, Cha Cha, Merengue, Bachata
For serious dancing!

Free Salsa Lessons - (2) Levels
by Scarlet Mambo at 9:30pm

ALSO, celebrating Andrea’s Birthday!

360 Lounge, 120 Albany St, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Flash News! Extra! Extra! The Scarlet Mambo team and yours truly were quoted/mentioned in an article, So You Think You Can’t Salsa? in the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/arts/dance/29sals.html

“Salsa has its own networks. At clubs and socials, dancers promote their events. Camila Danielle Sanchez, 25, who was at the Chelsea social, teaches in Highland Park, N.J., near New Brunswick, where she and her partner, Dany Joshua, also host a salsa night called “Scarlet Mambo.” “If you look at the fliers,” Mr. Joshua said, “the dancers are organized. It’s a lot of ‘I’ll come support you,’ and a lot of ‘you come support me.’ Everything revolves around certain Web sites, and a MySpace and a Facebook effect has also taken place. It used to be rude to hand out fliers; now when it ends you’ll see everyone hand them out.”

(Read Complete Article):
So You Think You Can’t Salsa?
By JULIE BLOOM
Published: August 29, 2008
Read the rest of this entry »

Hopefully this short article (and video) will persuade you to spend some time on your shines.

Beginner dancers usually shy away from learning Salsa shines (footwork) because they do not understand their practicality or value. The following video is an example of improvisational fluidity.

Why Salsa shines are good for you:

1. Improve your timing - If you get lost in the middle of a turn pattern, you will be able to get back into the beat more easily.
2. Improve your body movement - If you want to dance salsa like a fish swims in water, shines are a perfect way to loosen your body and look more “latin”.
3. Expand your spinning abilities. - It is more difficult to spin by yourself that to have a partner spin you. If you can spin in shines, then you can spin twice as much in partner work.

A complete and succinct explanation of the basic On2 Salsa step by Jai Catalano, host of the ESPN 2007 World Salsa Championships.

Last Sunday, July 29th, the New York Times printed a story about Salsa dancing and its development through the last four decades. It is very entertaining to read because it discusses issues that, both, beginner and veteran Salsa dancers can appreciate.

It is apparent that the writer did her homework because this article contains quotes from seasoned Salsa gurus in diverse professions in the Salsa industry. But, as many other aficionados and newcomers to the Salsa dance scene, she makes the mistake of confusing Salsa The Music with Salsa The Dance. In my next post (very soon), I will politely disagree with a few assertions that she makes in her article. My disagreements are mainly rooted on the fact that the author groups Salsa participans (DJ’s, musicians, promoters, instructors, casual listeners, casual dancers, and veteran dancers) as one block entity of people, when in reality there are many players with conflicting business interests. More on this soon.

Ok. I am done debating and getting technical… for now.

So, enjoy the article because it DOES tell a colorful story with good quotes from important Salsa figures.

Salsa Spins beyond its Roots - NY Times

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40A15FE38550C7A8EDDAE0894DF404482

By JULIE BLOOM

(Salsa, which once ruled nightclubs across New York City, has trouble finding havens there today. The Taj Lounge, in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, offers salsa dancing to live music once a week.)

SOON after Héctor Lavoe, the great salsa singer, arrives in New York in the new biopic, “El Cantante,” he finds himself immersed in a vibrant scene in the Bronx: a nightclub crammed with bodies drenched in sweat moving to the pounding beat of congas. As the film, which is to open nationwide Aug. 3 and stars Marc Anthony as Mr. Lavoe, shows, it could have been any night in New York in the late 1960s, when dancing was a genuine physical manifestation of the energy of the streets. Read the rest of the story…

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a response to an email that I received commenting on a previous post (On 2 SalsaBeat - How to dance On2).
I will answer a couple of questions presented on this comment: “Why an 8-beat measure? I hear salsa in 4/4 time.”

Steve, Thanks for your email. I appreciate the invitation to discuss the starting step for men in mambo (Salsa On2). But first I think I need to address the music, then the different styles of dancing.

Musicality

Your assertion that salsa is written in 4/4 timing is correct. For a musician (piano, bass, trumpet player, etc.), the music is best organized with a 4-beat measure. Wearing my guitar player hat, I like to feel salsa music in 4/4 time (count 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4…) because I’m interested in the harmorny (chord) changes and basslines of the songs. I come from a rock/blues background and I like to hear the chord changes on the 1st beat of every measure. So, Yes I agree with you that I can feel 4/4 timing in salsa. In salsa, it is very common to hear chord changes in the 1st beat of the 4/4 measure (or the 1st and 5th beat of the dance measure).

Rhythm and Dance

Things change, however, when I listen to melody and rhythm. Let me differentiate by defining the following:

Musical measure is 4 beats. Following is two (2) musical measures

|1 2 3 4 |1 2 3 4|

Rhythmic and Dance Measure is 8 beats

|1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | Read the rest of this entry »

There is no right or wrong way of dancing salsa. The most important thing is to be able to enjoy dancing Salsa with your dance partner. Listen to the salsa beat, pick a style, and throw down!

But given the fact that some people dance On 1 and other people dance On 2, it’s important to dance well in both styles. In Salsa congresses, I have noticed how certain dancers only dance with a specific few dancers of the same style. Let’s not limit ourselves to dancing on only one style.

So how do you dance On 2?

Short Answer:

In musical terms, assuming an 8 beat measure (or 2 repeating 4-beat measures), the simple answer is trivial: On 1 you break on the first salsa beat, On 2 you break on the second salsa beat. This is the I-don’t-feel-like-explaining-it or I-really-don’t-know-the-answer answer. But the real answer has various layers in depth.

Succinct and Complete Answer:

If we expand a bit more, the answer can be contained in the following diagrams. Read the rest of this entry »

OK, so we have all experienced dancing on floors that are either too slippery or too slow and rough. You’re trying to do some crazy shine or styling move and your feet either get stuck to the floor or you can’t stop yourself. Ahhh!! It’s a dancer’s biggest nightmare, especially for the ladies!

So what can you do to solve the problem? I found a great article that outlines all of the quick fixes and permanent solutions to many of the problems that dancers face. Everything from do-it-yourself suede soles to purchasing a different shoe for every type of floor out there (too expensive though). This article also addresses all of the things a dancer should NEVER, and I mean NEVER EVER do to alter the surface of a dance floor.

Fast floors (Slippery floors)

1. Try wearing shoes with more of a grip.
2. Scuff the bottom of your shoes. Alternatively, go to the bathroom and wipe clean the bottom of your shoes with wet toilet paper. Then dry the soles of the shoes with dry toilet paper.
3. Takes smaller steps, bend your knees more than usual.

Slow floors (Sticky floors)

1. Try wearing shoes with non-rubber soles or actual dance shoes.
2. Stick a name tag Read the rest of this entry »
   

Lately, we have been discussing multiple turns during class. I found a little article with a few pointers.

1. Make sure to prep (be warned to spin a whole lot)
2. Keep your legs closed, and slightly bend your knees
3. Make sure your arm looks like this–} L facing your partner
4. Keep your stomach tight and butt tight (You can squeeze a penny if you do it right)
5. Never take your eyes off him: SPOT!!!!

The whole article was written by Erika Briones and can found in addicted2salsa.com (Thanks for the tip, Randy)

What makes salsa dancing so great for the ladies? Is it the beautiful styling which includes beautiful arms, isolations, and body rolls? Yes, styling is fun to do but Read the rest of this entry »