Your equipment

For the ladies, as soon as you decide you want to be a salsa dancer, it is time to invest in some shows. I currently have about four pairs, two are actually usable and have six pairs of ballroom shoes in my entire life.

I buy my shoes from Very Fine shoes. They have a warehouse in El Monte. With a coupon, you can get buy one get one free. A pair of shoes is about $90 so with this deal you can get two for $45, which is not bad.

Here are some guidelines.

Leather vs. Satin
The first pair of shoes I ever bought were leather. They are now donated to Goodwill because they didn't last long. Leather (this is referring to the straps of the shoes) scratches off really easily. The best was to go is satin. They don't scratch off, you just have to try and keep them clean, especially if it's a nude shoe.
If you have already bought leather shoes, once the leather does scratch off and you want to be cheap you can buy some paint from Michaels and fill them in.

Heel height
If you want to compete at a non-professional level you'll need at least a 2.5 inch heel. 3 inches is the the norm. The first year I started dancing I started out with 2.5 inch heels. It took my a while to practice being on the balls of my feet. Then after a year I moved on to 3 inch heels, which is what I dance in now. A lot of people were surprised that I wanted higher heels because I'm already very tall (5 feet 9 inches) but 3 inch heels makes your legs look longer, skinnier and overall are just more cool. If you are worried that less men will ask you to to dance because you are now "too tall" screw them, they are just too short to dance with.



Color!
Picking out salsa shoes is always very exciting. When you go in you can get pretty much any color you want. If you are starting out it would be best to first be boring and build up your salsa shoe closet with a black and nude shoe. Black goes with everything and nude shoes extend the leg. If you are going to be competing or performing, you'll need a nude shoe.

My nude shoes

After that, what color you want is all up to you. Red and leopard prints are popular. I have a bright blue shoe that is really pretty but hard to match with outfits.

Crystal Hernandez performing (with nude shoes) with the CSULB Salsa Spirit team

One of my favorite people to dance with

It's not often that you will find a dancer as great as Matt Blanchett. Blanchett is one of the nicest guys I have met and a true gentlemen.

Who he is:
Blanchett started dancing at the Cal State Long Beach salsa club in spring 2006 and has been dancing ever since. He is now Assistant Director/Associate Choreographer/Principal Dancer at Salsa Intocable Dance Company. 

Here is his most recent performance with the company

Why he is great: 
Blanchett has a way of quickly assessing his partner's strengths and weaknesses. What this means is that if you are good a free spins or other particular moves, he will make sure to make the you look good, which is what a good lead is supposed to do. Blanchett is also charming and can put a smile on anyone's face. A good partner is someone who can make his partner look like a better dancer she is and have fun too and that is Blanchett is-the perfect partner.


His advice to dancers:
"[The] best thing you could do on a dance floor is have fun," Blanchett said. "Whether you're doing fancy stuff or just the basics, your partner will enjoy dancing so much more when you have a smile on your face."

And he has an additional tip just for the gentlemen:
"Make sure your salsa etiquette is on point," Blanchett said. "Always present yourself in a gentlemanly and classy way. The ladies will respect you on and off the floor."

Words from a true gentleman.,.. 

The salsa club fashion police

Salsa dancing is an expression. It can be feisty, smooth and sensual. The same can be said of the way you dress. The way you dress yourself says a lot about personality.

Unless a salsa club has a strict dress code, you can dress casual or more formal. But here a few forms of self expression that have gone wrong.

1. Showing too much

Photo by Kasia Hall

Latin dance is not for prudes, but if you going to be touching someone AND be practically naked, you might as well get your own room. In general, my advice is when you go out, choose one part of your body that you want to show off whether its your boobs or your legs. But not both.

2. Too much on

Photo by Kasia Hall

When dressing for the salsa club its always important to keep your partner in mind. If you are wearing something complicated, you can get tangled. Or if you decide to tie a sweatshirt around your waist, it can hit him when he is turning you. From my experience, it's safe to put your sweatshirt down, no one is going to steal it. 


3. A little too dangerous

Photo by Kasia Hall

 When you're in the club be aware that you are moving around so wearing a dangerous top such as this can lead to a wardrobe malfunction. 

4. Overdone

Photo by Kasia Hall

Men always have it easier than women when it comes to fashion. There are just less options for them. But I am tired of seeing the fedora hat. You and everybody's brother has one, don't bring it to the club. 

5. Scarfs

Photo by Kasia Hall

Scarfs are actually pretty common in the salsa scene and I'm not really sure why. Unless you are David Nieto, who actually makes a disclaimer about his scarf, you can't pull it off.

Domincan Bachata by Peter Arazia

Although I've been dancing bachata for two years I have never learned dominican style bachata, a style that is based on a lot of footwork and being able to count the music. I have long admired this style of dance but have been too scared to try it - until Peter Arazia taught a class.

Peter Arazia, co-founder of the LA Influence (LAI) Dance Company based in Long Beach, is one damn good instructor. Peter never messes up counts, he challenges you in the lesson, he is encouraging and he teaches the class proposer manners.

Arazia's class was one of two taught at the Latin Motion Social, a social that is coordinated between the Cal State Long Beach salsa club and LAI. Latin Motin Socials are on the third Saturday of every month at the Long Beach Dance Center and I highly recommend them. The floor is great and you get a variety of dancers.

Peter's class started off by learning footwork all together. Then he broke up the class into two groups (ladies and gentlemen) and Peter would teach the men footwork without a partner and the female instructor would do the same with the ladies.

Now here comes to the best past. After the men and women learn their footwork, Peter would instruct men how to properly go up to a crowd of ladies, ask them to dance and would tell ladies to smile and be nice. I really like Peter for his manners. If you ask him to dance (something I don't really have the confidence to do with most men) he will accept, walk you on the floor, take care of you on the floor and then walk you off. He is a true gentlemen.

Overall I consider Peter a great instructor. His class is challenging and he is able to not only say the counts but also which foot you are stepping on. He can switch off saying the ladies footwork or the mens footwork without any hesitation. 

I can't really judge the combination because I have never dance Dominican up to this point. So I'll let you judge for yourself. Comments are welcome!

PCH Club advanced lessons

 Before we start the review I think its important to note here that:
1) I am not an advanced dancer. I am really more of an intermediate dancer. I do however take advanced lessons which is why I feel that I have some kind of authority to review advanced lessons.

2) To me, an advanced class is a technique class. Any class you will take at a club, will not be a technique class.

On Thursday night I took two advanced classes, bachata and salsa, at PCH club. Both were taught by Alex Montilla. I have taken classes by Montilla before, his classes rotate quickly and he is nit-picky that everyone should face the same way as him and his partner. Overall, though when you personally dance with him he is very encouraging.

Montilla likes to teach intimate bachata lessons. The bachata class had about 12 people total. Bachata can really depend on the partner you are with and if you are stuck in a class without a partner you like (like I was)...you're almost kind of hoping the lesson will end.

Overall for the bachata class I liked the combination.

As for the salsa class I though the combination was a good challenge. There was a part in the pattern where the lady would have to duck under her partners arm and I thought Montilla did a good job teaching the men how to lead this move. The class was about 30 people, a good size.

The price for both advanced lessons were $10. If you are a person looking for more combinations to use on the dance floor (especially the men), I would say taking the class is worth it. If you are a lady and would like to familiarize yourself with combinations so you can follow better, the classes covered uncommon moves. Overall though, I would recommend for the ladies to also seek a technique class, which can really tell you how to follow, give your partner tension and where to place your weight.

The Do's and Do NOT's of the salsa club.

 Henderson (on left) and Tevanyan (below) dancing at the salsa club. Photos from facebook.

Co-presidents of the Cal State Long Beach salsa club Athena Henderson and Nare Tevanyan have spent their fair time in salsa clubs as well as managing one on campus. Henderson has had many years dance experience including ballet and has been dancing salsa LA style for more than two years. Tevanyan has taught private salsa and bachata lessons and at Sevillas and PCH club.

They have been through the good and the bad. The tips from these ladies can apply to men of all level, because sometimes the worst experiences can come from advanced dancers.


Tips for the Gentlemen

• Be aware of your space, if the floor is crowded do NOT bring your partner in the middle, bring her to the sides
• Respect the drip rule, if you are sweaty do NOT bring your lady in close
• Know your partners level, start with a basic step to see how advanced your lady is  

 Photo from facebook

Keving Ngo is the founder of the CSULB salsa club. In addition to his experience at both the CSULB salsa team and club, Ngo also teaches bachata and salsa at PCH club.

Ngo and Crystal Hernandez dancing before they teach the beginning bachata class at PCH club

Tips for the Ladies

• Be aware of what you are wearing- Keep it as light as possible when it comes to accessories. Remember it's partnered dancing with spinning so think how those accessories will affect your partner. (Hint: avoid long necklaces and large rings).
• Smell nice, make sure you have showered and go light on the perfume.
• Pay attention to your partner, in other words, give eye contact. You would not want your partner to show off and check to see if other people are looking at him.

Tips for Everyone

• Smile, make some eye contact but do NOT stare
• Have fun,  dancing is about having fun, your partner should never feel uncomfortable or strained
• Ask people to dance, the worst they could do is say no, and then there are many people in the club. 
• Enjoy the dance, do not ask your partner 21 questions (i/e where do you live, what do you do, where do you go to school...etc) while you are dancing, it is a club with lots of moving people and loud music. If you want to know this info ask them on a date, the dance floor is not the time for this game.