Expressing Yourself

There are numerous dimensions to what makes a good dance.

The song is one important part. It is, after all, the aural foundation of dancing, dictating the pace and placement of particular movements. Depending on its style—vocal or rhythmic, uptempo or slow, defined by a traditional genre or a modern interpretation and fusion—it can inspire dancers to create physical synergies that complement its composition.

The style of the dance also plays a crucial role. Some dances favour spontaneity and choreography-free movement; others require synchronicity and moving in harmony. Some dances require partners in order for certain steps and patterns to be executed properly, some do not. There are dances performed in a straight line or a grid, others are a mosh pit of jumping and heaving bodies. The simple two-step can be done to almost song while the intricate choreography needed to compete on Dancing With The Stars requires practice and mastery. There are, to simply put it, different bops for different folks.

Of course, the occasion and place are factors to be considered—“location, location, location” applies to more than just real estate. A wedding dance, for example, will have more romantic significance attached to it while club nights with friends might be fun but not individually memorable. Dancing in the streets of Havana, Cuba or Cali, Colombia where so many Latin American musicians, bands, and dances trace their origins will have a particular emotional or historic value; but so might dancing in one’s kitchens to a particularly good song while cooking at the end of a long day. There is no hard and fast rule that defines the alchemical content of a good dance.

At The Salsa Club a good dance is defined by the simplest of parameters: whether the dancers, individually or together, are able to express themselves and move in ways that feel authentic to them.

Reaching this stage of self-expression is the gateway to being comfortable within oneself and having fun, experimenting with steps and patters, and moving to the music in interesting and original ways. It is how, for example, steps like The Volker and patterns like the Eric Tangle are invented on the spot by The Salsa Club’s members by instinct and by accident. In this way, dancers follow the great tradition of inventors who create through curiosity and feeling.

Room for self expression is one of the many reasons why bachata is a popular partner dance. It has numerous cadences, rhythms, and interpretations that allow dancers to find the groove and style that is for them. Whether traditional or contemporary, cover or remix, there is always room for a dancer to add their own particular spin to a bachata song and, ultimately, to express themselves in the way they want.

In this latest curation of songs, Romeo Santos, Prince Royce, Maluma and Leslie Grace, Destiny’s Child, Kygo, Jasmine Thompson, and Massimo Scalici provide the perfect soundtrack to self expression, proving that bachata really has something for everyone.

Proquesta Indecente—Romeo Santos