Comments on: The Art of Small Space Salsa Dancing

By: Jaime Pretell

Jaime Pretell — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:43:49 +0000

I have danced on top of coffee tables and bar tables many times, so it can be done.

By: Angelica Romero

Angelica Romero — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:21:48 +0000

AMEN to this John! Although I will admit that starting out social dancing I was dancing too big and was not aware of my very small space. But as you mentioned we learn to adapt & quickly. Vidal you make a great point that if we start out in the dance studio setting it is a great benefit for our instructors to make us aware of how quickly your dance space will shrink when you social dance. At least I hope that next time when I go social dancing I will not have to think of how many times will I get elbowed and/or stepped on during a song. Thank you for this article!

By: John ;-)

John ;-) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:28:21 +0000

Thanks for the kind words. I’ve received some really good feedback here and via twitter…

By: Vidal Cordova

Vidal Cordova — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:22:55 +0000

I second and applaud you for posting this, John. I’d add that, if you think about it, many, if not most of the dancers here in San Diego are not native dancers, that is, they learned salsa dancing at a dance instruction studio. I believe a great deal of responsibility falls on us instructors to educate the dancers in the class setting, so that they develop good social dancing etiquette along with whatever moves they are learning. I emphasize this to my students regularly in our classes, which given the nature of Cuban salsa, includes not only dancing one-on-one with a partner, but also the social Rueda. If there isn’t space to do crazy wide-arm turns, spins or patterns, don’t do them. If there isn’t space to do a Rueda, don’t do it. Respect for other dancers around oneself is the only way the dancefloor will be a friendly, happy and safe place. Great article!

By: Meyer

Meyer — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:01:19 +0000

Great article John thanks for addressing the lost art of a true soical dancer. It not how much space or how great your moves are. . . the sign of a good/great dancer is, how is the space used with other dancers around them. This is truly is the “art” of a good/great dancer.