//also its true that indian women and men have reservations about touching or feeling each other while dancing.in cuban dance the partners dance as one..they flirt and feel each other .its different .indians would percieve it as vulgar and indecent ……but again its an art.

//“Indian men don’t lead well,” says Jaquelin, who learnt salsa in Geneva. //

i dont agree with dat! indian men nonetheless are very good salsa dancers.its true that they love to lead and they do so very well.

//The thing with demanding leads that a lot of women don’t realize is, men have to invest much more time learning than women to be even passable salseros, because they have to learn and lead the patterns. I’ve seen female novices led through some basic steps in one or two lessons, and the women come away thinking they know salsa.// Manish i agree that it one has to invest time to learn to lead a woman….its like the boy has to make the girl dance.if the boy dance well the girl dances well..else…..!but there again its not so easy for female dancers to get used to being pulled,spinned,twisted and then suddenly dropped in less than a minute..it happens so fast that everything in front of the eye goes dark!its amazing dancing to sals music..its breathtaking…..after dancing you would be like….wow! ya but the point is that female dancers may get their basic steps right pretty fast……but agin they have to invest time to learn to trust her partners evey move…match up his speed….to sway her hips even as she does the simple walk…and never try to lead him instead even when he forgets his next step…..
its like she has to be flexible….and oh boy….my body used to ache after each class….but its worth it!salsa really does give you that adrenaline rush!

Manish, I think the real reason you are so upset is because someone else attempted a pun. No longer can you hold your monopoly over our heads.

“Give me punnery or give me death” -Puntrick Henry

Yeah, that’s no fun. Try telling them your salsa ability when they ask you to dance. If you’ve told them up front you’re not an expert, there’s no point in them giving you a lesson instead of just enjoying it. On the other hand, the advantage of dancing at a serious salsa club is there’s less unwanted romantic attention.

Maybe you’d enjoy it more if you went to a casual salsa club in a group and politely declined to dance with people you don’t know? That way you feel comfortable and don’t run into demanding dancers.

The thing with demanding leads that a lot of women don’t realize is, men have to invest much more time learning than women to be even passable salseros, because they have to learn and lead the patterns. I’ve seen female novices led through some basic steps in one or two lessons, and the women come away thinking they know salsa.

… everything is so performance oriented that there’s really no magic. There’s very little dancing for the love of dancing…

Presumably those who perform do it because they love it. And I hear you on dancing for the love of it, but there’s a steep learning curve for the leaders. You can’t really just pick it up if the women are good dancers, you’re gonna need lessons. I was already a decent (non-salsa) dancer, and it took me six months of weekly lessons before I was comfortable asking just anyone to dance.

… for virgin salsa dancers the Gypsy Kings invoke images and thoughts of salsa music and are thought by many to be synonymous with it. Especially this song.

Yes, but then many also confuse Iran with India, it’s the imprecise exoticism we rail against so much on this blog. ‘Volare’ and most other Gipsy Kings songs use all 4 beats in a bar, while salsa, as you know, relies on 3 of those beats. Off topic, we should take a group out salsa dancing in LA sometime…

… there are more time efficient ways to pick up women.

Yes there are! And you should go do them. Salsa is for those who love to dance. Thank you, come again

cough Not that I’d know anything about that. Seriously.

What’s the point then? Dude…for real. If I’m going to bust my ass doing some unenjoyable shiznit generally enjoyed by non-heterosexuals (not-that-there’s-etc.), I’d better get some action for it. As it is, there are more time efficient ways to pick up women. Who wants to be “Lord of the Dance” if the only people on the floor are prudish women worried about you grabbing something and gays trying to grab your somethings?

I’ve spent many a night salsa dancing (in Denver of all places) so I know that this is true. However, for virgin salsa dancers the Gypsy Kings invoke images and thoughts of salsa music and are thought by many to be synonymous with it. Especially this song.

This is what really bugs me about most salsa places I ‘ve been to, everything is so performance oriented that there’s really no magic. There’s very little dancing for the love of dancing, atleast among the non-latino people. I’ve seen this phenomenon in India as well as in Australia.

I think its possible to love salsa without being too preoccupied with PERFORMANCE.

Serious salseros who take themselves and their dancing too seriously take the joy out of it for me, by rolling their eyes, and expressing exactly how heavy and important perfecting this double turn or that slide is. All this in the middle of the floor and music. Thats just one example.

I hope we can agree that a fun night at Nell’s, which does not imply sloppy dancing, is not the same thing as taking the floor in a salsa competition. And I prefer the former to the latter.