Becoming a Salsero

It's been more than a year since I've started this blog and as I'm still posting I thought it was time to move this blog to it's own domain.

This means that, going forward, I will stop posting here and instead will start posting at http://becomingasalsero.com

What does this mean for you?
A couple of things will change.

First of all I have moved to wordpress and unfortunately the current template didn't really work so I had to replace it. So once more a different look

Second, new posts will no longer appear here but will instead be made at the new domain.

And third, if you are subscribed to the RSS feed you will have to subscribe again.
You can do this by either clicking on the tiny rss icon in your browser's address bar or by clicking on the huge icon on the new site:


My apologies for the inconvenience. I hope you'll join me at my new home!

The first thing I saw this morning was a news item stating Alex da Silva has been arrested on charges of sexual assault.

Although I have never met him I was shocked. I have come across a fair number of people that have met Alex but I can't recall anybody ever saying a bad word about him. Aside from that, it seems to me there is no shortage of available women in his life so this came as a bit of a surprise.

It makes me wonder though, how will this affect the reputation of salsa dancing?

Assuming that the charges are true, will one bad apple enough to spoil the bunch? Salsa has a reputation for being a sexy dance. Will people say 'the girls were asking for it' or that 'it was to be expected'? Or will people be able to differentiated between the dance and the dancers?

Either way my heart goes out to all families involved. Let's hope this gets resolved quickly and justice will prevail

This is the third article in a series of 4.

In Learn to dance salsa - part 1 I looked at learning salsa by taking lessons and in "part 2" I discussed some of the advantages and disadvantages of learning to dance salsa by going to clubs.

This time we'll take a quick look at the pros and cons of learning to dance salsa by watching videos

So what exactly are some of the advantages of getting DVDs, watching youtube or subscribing to one of the websites that offers salsa instruction online?

• First of all there is a lot of choice.
  
  Almost all internationally known instructors have their own DVD on the market and there are several websites that offer videos as well. F.i. Salsa Bootcamp, Salsa Dance DVD or, one of my favourite sites, The Secret of Salsa. There are even more sites out there if these don't fit your needs/wants.
• Another advantage is that you can learn at your own pace. Whenever you feel like it you log in to your website of choice, start a DVD or watch youtube clips. As you can start and stop whenever you feel like it you don't have to worry about conflicting appointments, missing classes when you go on holiday, etc.
• A third advantage is that there is a low entry threshold. Some people are intimidated by the thought of having to go to a class or a club. Some people may worry (although unnecessarily so) about what other people may think or they may think that everybody else is an amazing dancer.
  

Unfortunately there are also some disadvantages so now I'll look at the flip side of the coin

• It is just you and the video. You will have to find a partner that is willing to come over and practise with you.
  
• There is no feedback mechanism. If you are doing something incorrect there you will not have somebody around to help you correct your mistake. At best this can lead to unpleasant dancing for your partner once you try new things on the floor but it could even lead to injuries. Both for you and your dance partner.

As with the other 2 methods I looked at so far learning to dance salsa by watching videos is not the perfect solution. Once again there are upsides and downsides and once again you'll have to see what is the best solution for you.

Soon I'll publish Learn to dance salsa - part 4. The article that I consider to bring forth the best solutions so check back for that or subscribe to the RSS feed to be sure you won't miss it.