This month, several world-famous Salsa dancers visited Portland for a weekend of dancing and workshops. I had the opportunity to take a private lesson from Juan Matos and a workshop on ladies styling from Olivia Dasso.
I had a lot of fun learning from the two of them, and I realized that I still had years of learning ahead of me – what fun! You might be wondering, why do I bother taking workshops, ordering instructional videos, researching salsa articles and continuously looking for more information? After all, I’m in a performance group and I put together Salsa choreogprahies so what more could I have to learn?
Good question. It was refreshing to learn from two dancers who really know their S$%T. Olivia and Juan are experienced dancers who have truly studied their craft. They didn’t just learn a cross-body lead and assumed that is it – that’s all there is to Salsa. It was obvious they both had the depth of knowledge that should be expected – if not demanded – from any teacher.
I often get asked why I don’t teach formal classes, and my answer to that is, “I’m just a beginner dancer.” It’s true. After nearly 10 years of Salsa dancing – I still have a lot to learn. The more I learn, the more I realize that there is so much more to Salsa than just a basic and a cross-body lead. And, I would be doing this dance a dishonor if I started teaching before I truly knew my S$%T.
Plus, I’m not ready for the responsibility of being a teacher. Once you become a teacher, you have a responsibility to your students and the community in which your students will then go dance. You wouldn’t expect someone who watched C.S.I on T.V. to then go teach a class on Forensic Science – that would be silly. It’s the same for Salsa. Why do people assume that when they learn a basic and a few turns that they are ready to be teachers? Unfortunately, this seems to be the case in Eugene and other places in the Northwest.
Sure, we’re a little more isolated than the mega-Salsa centers like New York, Miami and L.A., but that should not be an excuse to live in a box. There’s tons of Salsa information on the Web and when opportunities like the Portland Salsa Festival come up – take a class or two. And I’m not just addressing our local teachers – this message is to anyone in our area that is interested (truly interested) in learning Salsa. I was shocked that hardly anyone from Eugene took workshops up in Portland during the festival. And there have been numerous other Salsa learning opportunities that have come this way. Yet, not that many people have participated, especially our local teachers. What’s the problem?
I’m proud to admit that I’m just a beginner dancer and that I still have lots to learn about Salsa. I enjoy the learning process; it’s one of the major reasons why I have stuck with Salsa for so long. And to anyone who is teaching or is considering becoming a teacher – I just have a few words of advice...get out of your box and discover what’s out there. If you just learned a basic and a few moves –you too are just a beginner dancer (and pretty much all teachers in Eugene are beginner dancers). It’s okay to admit that. I tell it to anyone who asks me why I don’t teach.
If you are looking for more Salsa resources, check out the Links section of www.rumbanana.org. We’ve put together a collection of some of our favorite Salsa Web resources, and many have information on videos you can purchase or video clips you can watch online.
Photos -
Top: Simona and Juan Matos. OK - it's not the best photo of me, ah well.
Middle: Simona (left), Olivia Dasso (middle) and Stephanie - talk about goof balls.
Bottom: That's Stephanie and Olive Dasso doing their best impression of "Super Star"
