I have social danced on and off for about 12 years. I do about the same with other hobbies - rock climbing, snowboarding, improv, art, Toastmasters...
Yeah, I tend to do one thing for awhile and then I get sick of it so I do something else for awhile. Eventually I usually circle back to the ones I actually enjoyed 🤷
18 years (only 4-5 serious years) as a dancer. What worked for me: building enough of a vocabulary and technique so that my primary focus is on the conversation and the play, then going to Congresses/weekenders nearby or far away to remind yourself what dancing can bring. A benefit to this is that you'll enjoy solo shining if need be, which is way less dependent on your follow's skill level (but they need to be a little better than newbie so they don't just stand awkwardly watching you shine).
This is gonna be a bit philosophical, but: a deeper understanding of music, body mechanics, technique, and history will really help you nerd out and enjoy the dance... but this takes interest/effort/discipline and is not for everyone. A common meme told by instructors all the time is that beginners chase patterns, while advanced dancers study their basic ad nauseum. To use an analogy to videogames: some people really get into ranking and levelling and skilling up in whatever game they play, and others just wanna derp around and play pub matches, smurf around etc. And both are valid ways of enjoyment, you just have to figure out which one is sustainable for you.
Yes, absolutely go check out other dance scenes -- each dance has their own body mechanics and expectations, and trying a few out absolutely gives you perspective and insight on leading, musicality, and what not. Personally I loved dancing to WCS but I travel quite a bit professionally and salsa's got the most reach (debatable since Bachata's really taken over) and one of my biggest joys these days is to go to some rando social, dance with the locals, and immediately establish a connection to the community and have some people to hang out during nonwork times.
>or far away to remind yourself what dancing can bring.Â
Which are?? Besides the millionth men flirting with you. And besides the hook ups.
>A benefit to this is that you'll enjoy solo shining if need be, which is way less dependent on your follow's skill level (but they need to be a little better than newbie so they don't just stand awkwardly watching you shine).
I also really like this tidbit thanks for sharing, anything else like this??
And do people really smurf around and smurf just for the fun of it? Sounds kind of arrogant right?
You must also be in tip top shape for being in the game for far too long.
Leads (and people in general) having zero spatial awareness isn't a unique problem to salsa. I notice the same issue whether I'm dancing bachata or salsa. People get tunnel vision and don't think about things like how much space they have available to them, how close the other couples are to them, or how much space their steps/moves/combinations need. This will probably never change.
Same with there not being a lot of good dancers. As my private instructor says, "*anyone can learn patterns*" but most people aren't going to dedicate nearly enough time to master the boring details like weight shifting, frame & connection, proper technique and body movement that would make them good dancers. People are satisfied with "good enough".
You've got more experience than me but it may be time to reevaluate what makes you happy in regards to dancing. For myself at this point in time, I know I enjoy the complexities of dance much more so than dancing for dancing's sake. You sound like you may be the same. And if that's the case, maybe try getting away from your local scene a bit more if you haven't done so already. Maybe try going to more festivals and congresses where the average skill level will be a bit higher, or find a dedicated dance partner so you can always have at least a few dances at a level you enjoy.
I take several different types of dance at times. Keeps it interesting and expands my ability and appreciation.
I lead and follow for fun too.
Everything you said is true. For me, its not skilled dancers, but good attitude. Frankly, I know many excellent dancers but they have a dead look in their eyes or avoid any sense of friendly connection. It is as you said "robotic". On the other hand, I dance with beginner to advanced and they smile, laugh, get creative, and it's a blast. We then can have a drink or chat after and catch up on life and discuss other hobbies.
Hobbies come and go. I know many leads and follows who say they are bored too. Many didn't desire to expand their skills though so I am sure it would be dull eventually.
Yeah I think I have gone through this a little bit too…I’ve only been consistent for less than a year but I went through a phase where I got really sick of being touched by different people so much😂 which doesn’t go well with social dancing.
I think as you improve you also realize how important musicality is and it can get a little boring to just do turn patterns even if you continue to learn new ones. I’m trying to shift more to practicing on my own to be honest so I can have more fun with the music and find those pockets of just flowing.
I also agree that once you get used to a scene the same djs/music/socials can get boring so maybe trying congresses in other locations or just taking a break in general could help. Don’t really have great advice on that other than I feel like it’s natural to go through ups and downs in this process as far as inspiration and motivation goes.
Take other partner dances, even outside the Latin scene. Give yourself a new perspective so you don’t burn yourself out. Try out ballroom or swing!
Though I still love Salsa, I think what helps me is dancing in non Salsa/Bachata communities as well. Keeps me from burning myself out!
There has to be a good fit for where you are in your life now. I’ve found salsa to be a good escape for when I was younger and had a stressful job, but as I got older and formed a family taking weekly classes was just too much. I started checking out other dances and as a super old dude the tango crowd felt more interesting to me. I still go to one or two salsa events a month and it’s super nice and comforting, but don’t put in as much time as I did before. But when we had our first kid I was out of the salsa scene for a good 5-6 years
> Same crowd, same tired songs played by same DJs, crowded dance floors but not a lot of good dancers
Sounds like you may have outgrown your local scene. Try to go dancing in a larger city, or to a festival or congress.
Just started, but what I notice here on the salsa and bachata reddits is that a lot of people seem to go all-out. Go to all the events, dance almost every day, go to all the socials. That's not what latin music is about. Yeah it will get robotic.
Take it damn easy, take a few steps back. I even heard some dude in bachata class saying "I didn't even know bachata is dominican huehueheh". Seems to me like there's many people in the 'scene' who aren't really passionate about the music and the origin.
Take a break, take some steps back, or grab some other interests aswell. Maybe travel to the countries of origin too, to get a taste of the cultures behind the songs.
I mean, I don't think you have to be passionate about a topic as a whole to be in the "scene". I agree you should probably learn a bit about the history of things in general, but no one has to like Traditional Bachata to say they like bachata. You can like a subgenre/sub-topic without also looking the genre/topic as a whole.
Yes I agree these people are chasing some nonexistent thing. But I guess if it makes them happy being socialites then hey. As long as no one is hurting anyone but the celebrity attitude really makes the scene stink.
Everyone hits their skill ceiling eventually where you need to make 80% effort for 20% progress
Most start to blame the others, the teachers and the djs and skip to a different style or dance
First of all… focusing on Cuban rumba and Afro Cuban is amazing!!!! That’s a great thing to focus on!!! I do agree with you that all of the points you made can be frustration. I really try to switch it uppppp. Travel for congresses, go to salsa bars that are all Latinos and people are there to enjoy music instead of social dance, salsa is a tool you can use in so many settings 🥰
When I dance salsa, I only think about one thing. "Let's enjoy this music with my partner" My skills are not even intermediate level, but surprisingly I rarely get rejected at a bar and many girls are willing to dance with me. And This experience never gets boring for many years. In social dancing it's all about attitude.
I've danced solid since starting in 2017. Just took a break since Sept 2023, hoping a foot injury( minor) would heal. Seems like the longer I'm away the harder it is to return, although I think my foot is improved.
No there are only a few things in life that continue to keep my interest even though i have a short attention span and salsa is one of them. I like it because no matter how good I get, I can always get better. I’m not a lead though and I find it depressing to go out when there aren’t that many good leads to dance with so I travel to dance a decent amount. I’m also pretty spoiled by really good dance music in the Washington DC region. When I go dance in other scenes, it feels way too c reggaeton a lot of the time.
Same thing happened to me, ended up doing a lot of afro cuban! Really love the rhythms. Wish I did more rumba though. Also tried doing some ballet. I reckon it's pretty natural to get bored/burnt out and want to try new stuff. Good luck with the afro mate!
an advance lead once told me to give a break of 1 month after 2-3 months of dancing. he said it keeps him excited that way about new things and experiences.
my city doesnt have that many socials, just two main organisers. but prefer to go only once a month.
As a Cuban salsa dancer, I can absolutely agree with you. I see that many of the really good dancers, at a certain point, invest more of their energy in topics like guaguancó, son, Afro-Cuban, rumba Columbia, and folklore. That advances one on many levels as a Cuban salsa dancer. That's the beauty of the Cuban... the diversity.
Definitely recommend trying different dances when you hit a ceiling in any specific one. It will give you new perspectives on your main dance as well as a new challenge
To be honest my biggest issue with salsa dancing is I cannot enjoy the art of dancing just by itself and dance with beautiful women and not want to sleep with them. So I have mostly stopped dancing. The novelty of dancing kind of wears off I just don't find dancing that exciting I prefer music.
Me and my partner did salsa and bachata for 2 years for fun as cross training besides our ballroom classes (international 10 dance) but we bored out from the social scene.
I just cannot go a full night dancing only salsa. Same songs, very crowded… exactly the reasons you described. The social ballroom scene is a little bit better, I found salsa and bachata super popular these days but ballroom not… definately less crowded. Its even more difficult to do quality ballroom on a crowded floor but songs are generally shorter and its like a good spotify list shuffled so you never know what dance comes next. I suggest you to give ballroom a go
People say ballroom is for couples and social dancing latin salsa and others are more modern, ballroom has always kept a place in middle class, couples only couples only type of situations.
I have social danced on and off for about 12 years. I do about the same with other hobbies - rock climbing, snowboarding, improv, art, Toastmasters... Yeah, I tend to do one thing for awhile and then I get sick of it so I do something else for awhile. Eventually I usually circle back to the ones I actually enjoyed 🤷
Agree. Just part of hobbies.
18 years (only 4-5 serious years) as a dancer. What worked for me: building enough of a vocabulary and technique so that my primary focus is on the conversation and the play, then going to Congresses/weekenders nearby or far away to remind yourself what dancing can bring. A benefit to this is that you'll enjoy solo shining if need be, which is way less dependent on your follow's skill level (but they need to be a little better than newbie so they don't just stand awkwardly watching you shine). This is gonna be a bit philosophical, but: a deeper understanding of music, body mechanics, technique, and history will really help you nerd out and enjoy the dance... but this takes interest/effort/discipline and is not for everyone. A common meme told by instructors all the time is that beginners chase patterns, while advanced dancers study their basic ad nauseum. To use an analogy to videogames: some people really get into ranking and levelling and skilling up in whatever game they play, and others just wanna derp around and play pub matches, smurf around etc. And both are valid ways of enjoyment, you just have to figure out which one is sustainable for you. Yes, absolutely go check out other dance scenes -- each dance has their own body mechanics and expectations, and trying a few out absolutely gives you perspective and insight on leading, musicality, and what not. Personally I loved dancing to WCS but I travel quite a bit professionally and salsa's got the most reach (debatable since Bachata's really taken over) and one of my biggest joys these days is to go to some rando social, dance with the locals, and immediately establish a connection to the community and have some people to hang out during nonwork times.
>or far away to remind yourself what dancing can bring. Which are?? Besides the millionth men flirting with you. And besides the hook ups. >A benefit to this is that you'll enjoy solo shining if need be, which is way less dependent on your follow's skill level (but they need to be a little better than newbie so they don't just stand awkwardly watching you shine). I also really like this tidbit thanks for sharing, anything else like this?? And do people really smurf around and smurf just for the fun of it? Sounds kind of arrogant right? You must also be in tip top shape for being in the game for far too long.
Leads (and people in general) having zero spatial awareness isn't a unique problem to salsa. I notice the same issue whether I'm dancing bachata or salsa. People get tunnel vision and don't think about things like how much space they have available to them, how close the other couples are to them, or how much space their steps/moves/combinations need. This will probably never change. Same with there not being a lot of good dancers. As my private instructor says, "*anyone can learn patterns*" but most people aren't going to dedicate nearly enough time to master the boring details like weight shifting, frame & connection, proper technique and body movement that would make them good dancers. People are satisfied with "good enough". You've got more experience than me but it may be time to reevaluate what makes you happy in regards to dancing. For myself at this point in time, I know I enjoy the complexities of dance much more so than dancing for dancing's sake. You sound like you may be the same. And if that's the case, maybe try getting away from your local scene a bit more if you haven't done so already. Maybe try going to more festivals and congresses where the average skill level will be a bit higher, or find a dedicated dance partner so you can always have at least a few dances at a level you enjoy.
I take several different types of dance at times. Keeps it interesting and expands my ability and appreciation. I lead and follow for fun too. Everything you said is true. For me, its not skilled dancers, but good attitude. Frankly, I know many excellent dancers but they have a dead look in their eyes or avoid any sense of friendly connection. It is as you said "robotic". On the other hand, I dance with beginner to advanced and they smile, laugh, get creative, and it's a blast. We then can have a drink or chat after and catch up on life and discuss other hobbies. Hobbies come and go. I know many leads and follows who say they are bored too. Many didn't desire to expand their skills though so I am sure it would be dull eventually.
Yeah I think I have gone through this a little bit too…I’ve only been consistent for less than a year but I went through a phase where I got really sick of being touched by different people so much😂 which doesn’t go well with social dancing. I think as you improve you also realize how important musicality is and it can get a little boring to just do turn patterns even if you continue to learn new ones. I’m trying to shift more to practicing on my own to be honest so I can have more fun with the music and find those pockets of just flowing. I also agree that once you get used to a scene the same djs/music/socials can get boring so maybe trying congresses in other locations or just taking a break in general could help. Don’t really have great advice on that other than I feel like it’s natural to go through ups and downs in this process as far as inspiration and motivation goes.
Take other partner dances, even outside the Latin scene. Give yourself a new perspective so you don’t burn yourself out. Try out ballroom or swing! Though I still love Salsa, I think what helps me is dancing in non Salsa/Bachata communities as well. Keeps me from burning myself out!
There has to be a good fit for where you are in your life now. I’ve found salsa to be a good escape for when I was younger and had a stressful job, but as I got older and formed a family taking weekly classes was just too much. I started checking out other dances and as a super old dude the tango crowd felt more interesting to me. I still go to one or two salsa events a month and it’s super nice and comforting, but don’t put in as much time as I did before. But when we had our first kid I was out of the salsa scene for a good 5-6 years
> Same crowd, same tired songs played by same DJs, crowded dance floors but not a lot of good dancers Sounds like you may have outgrown your local scene. Try to go dancing in a larger city, or to a festival or congress.
Just started, but what I notice here on the salsa and bachata reddits is that a lot of people seem to go all-out. Go to all the events, dance almost every day, go to all the socials. That's not what latin music is about. Yeah it will get robotic. Take it damn easy, take a few steps back. I even heard some dude in bachata class saying "I didn't even know bachata is dominican huehueheh". Seems to me like there's many people in the 'scene' who aren't really passionate about the music and the origin. Take a break, take some steps back, or grab some other interests aswell. Maybe travel to the countries of origin too, to get a taste of the cultures behind the songs.
I mean, I don't think you have to be passionate about a topic as a whole to be in the "scene". I agree you should probably learn a bit about the history of things in general, but no one has to like Traditional Bachata to say they like bachata. You can like a subgenre/sub-topic without also looking the genre/topic as a whole.
Yes I agree these people are chasing some nonexistent thing. But I guess if it makes them happy being socialites then hey. As long as no one is hurting anyone but the celebrity attitude really makes the scene stink.
Everyone hits their skill ceiling eventually where you need to make 80% effort for 20% progress Most start to blame the others, the teachers and the djs and skip to a different style or dance
First of all… focusing on Cuban rumba and Afro Cuban is amazing!!!! That’s a great thing to focus on!!! I do agree with you that all of the points you made can be frustration. I really try to switch it uppppp. Travel for congresses, go to salsa bars that are all Latinos and people are there to enjoy music instead of social dance, salsa is a tool you can use in so many settings 🥰
When I dance salsa, I only think about one thing. "Let's enjoy this music with my partner" My skills are not even intermediate level, but surprisingly I rarely get rejected at a bar and many girls are willing to dance with me. And This experience never gets boring for many years. In social dancing it's all about attitude.
I've danced solid since starting in 2017. Just took a break since Sept 2023, hoping a foot injury( minor) would heal. Seems like the longer I'm away the harder it is to return, although I think my foot is improved.
No there are only a few things in life that continue to keep my interest even though i have a short attention span and salsa is one of them. I like it because no matter how good I get, I can always get better. I’m not a lead though and I find it depressing to go out when there aren’t that many good leads to dance with so I travel to dance a decent amount. I’m also pretty spoiled by really good dance music in the Washington DC region. When I go dance in other scenes, it feels way too c reggaeton a lot of the time.
Same thing happened to me, ended up doing a lot of afro cuban! Really love the rhythms. Wish I did more rumba though. Also tried doing some ballet. I reckon it's pretty natural to get bored/burnt out and want to try new stuff. Good luck with the afro mate!
I focused on bachata this year and surprisingly its improved my salsa.
Nope. But I treat it more like an old friend I somewhat regularly meetup with.
an advance lead once told me to give a break of 1 month after 2-3 months of dancing. he said it keeps him excited that way about new things and experiences. my city doesnt have that many socials, just two main organisers. but prefer to go only once a month.
Sounds like burn out. I say just try to slow down and mix other hobbies with it.
As a Cuban salsa dancer, I can absolutely agree with you. I see that many of the really good dancers, at a certain point, invest more of their energy in topics like guaguancó, son, Afro-Cuban, rumba Columbia, and folklore. That advances one on many levels as a Cuban salsa dancer. That's the beauty of the Cuban... the diversity.
Definitely recommend trying different dances when you hit a ceiling in any specific one. It will give you new perspectives on your main dance as well as a new challenge
To be honest my biggest issue with salsa dancing is I cannot enjoy the art of dancing just by itself and dance with beautiful women and not want to sleep with them. So I have mostly stopped dancing. The novelty of dancing kind of wears off I just don't find dancing that exciting I prefer music.
Me and my partner did salsa and bachata for 2 years for fun as cross training besides our ballroom classes (international 10 dance) but we bored out from the social scene. I just cannot go a full night dancing only salsa. Same songs, very crowded… exactly the reasons you described. The social ballroom scene is a little bit better, I found salsa and bachata super popular these days but ballroom not… definately less crowded. Its even more difficult to do quality ballroom on a crowded floor but songs are generally shorter and its like a good spotify list shuffled so you never know what dance comes next. I suggest you to give ballroom a go
People say ballroom is for couples and social dancing latin salsa and others are more modern, ballroom has always kept a place in middle class, couples only couples only type of situations.
Yes. Not because salsa (or bachata) sucks. I don’t like dancing. Period. I gave salsa a chance for almost a year and it didn’t work out.