One thing that you learn as a salsa dancer is that you have to adapt to change very quickly. What kind of change do I mean? Try the kind of change that happens once the live band comes on to perform and that great big dance space shrinks into a little, tiny piece of floor.

It is at this point that you can separate the average dancer from the truly exceptional one, not based on routines or moves but on how careful they are to respect other dancers around them. Indeed, the mark of a truly expert salsa dancer in my opinion is one who can still dance with their partner given a tiny dance area but without giving everyone around them a black eye.

Recently I went to a newer salsa venue here in San Diego and saw this play out first hand right in front of me. Although there were dancers of all levels on the dance floor, you could easily see that some of them were crashing into other people without so much as a nod to say they were sorry for the intrusion. These folks were not beginners mind you…

I think it’s important to emphasize that little to no dance space means you have to change your style of dance accordingly. This doesn’t mean you can’t execute moves you want to, it just means those moves may have to be smaller in scope and more focused on the immediate space of your dance area. I call this the “art of small space salsa dancing” because when you see it in action it truly is art in motion to see dancers having a great time within the space they have on the dance floor.

If you have any comments or personal experiences regarding this topic feel free to share them here.

John ;-)

Ritmo Bello