What is it like dating a dancer? Ray Ray and Annabel were curious about other dancer's experiences so they put out a ten question survey to find out. In this episode they discuss the results.

Annabel suggests that for dating to be successful, both dancers have to be extremely confident and secure, not be prone to jealousy, have clearly established expectations and boundaries which are similar enough to each others' so that conflict and hurt are avoided. Ray Ray adds that when feelings are hurt, communicating it in a mature and rational way is also necessary.

The original survey is here: https://forms.gle/7LpnD73tAkgftmL76 It's open again for more responses.

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Timestamps:

0:00:05 Intro

0:01:04 Survey Question 1

0:02:59 Why Ray started learning Salsa

0:05:01 Do ppl learn dance to meet attractive people?

0:08:28 Dance pulled Ray out of depression

0:09:31 Reasons why ppl begin dancing

0:11:11 Brutus makes an appearance

0:13:20 Partner dancing is physically intimate

0:14:50 Reasons why ppl don’t date other dancers

0:16:59 What Ray’s friends thought about him dancing

0:18:28 Survey Question 6

0:12:10 Survey Question 7

0:20:20 Boundaries while dating 

0:27:54 Message from Annabel

0:28:38 Ray and Annabel’s expectations

0:33:28 Why it’s difficult dating other dancers

0:38:00 Double standard yes or no?

0:46:48 Stories from dancers

0:55:17 What’s necessary for success

1:01:56 Call for Apprentices

1:02:38 Dating as a teacher

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*Ray Ray Salsa teaches Salsa at International Dance Studio in Oklahoma City https://www.idancestudio.com/ 

*Ray Ray Salsa teaches Salsa using the Black Belt Salsa curriculum. 

Find out more about Black Belt Salsa at https://www.blackbeltsalsa.com and https://www.blackbeltdanceonline.com/ 

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Get in touch: 

Send us your questions or podcast topic suggestions! 

Ray Ray Salsa 

405-320-9333 

[email protected] 

www.rayraysalsa.com 

Annabel Valencia 

405-985-6805 

[email protected] 

www.annabelvalencia.com 

Find Ray Ray Salsa on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram

Never stop being a student. This has been Bryant Ayala's philosophy as he continues his dance journey from childhood to champion level dancer. Bryant Ayala grew up in a dance family and now teaches, performs, directs and judges. His specialty Salsa style is Mambo On2. He will be in Oklahoma City for the OKC Salsa Bachata Weekender July 21-22 2023. Find out more about it here: www.salsabachataworkshop.com

www.linesdanceacademy.com

www.salsabachataworkshop.com

Dancers mentioned in this podcast:

Marco Ferrigno

Eddie Torres

Adolfo Indacochea

Edie, The Salsa Freak!!

Lawrence Garcia

Musicians mentioned in this podcast:

Cuban musician Perez Prado

Latin Jazz musician Machito

00:24 Wedding ceremony

01:30 OKC Weekender July 21 

02:05 Introductions 

04:01 growing up in a dance family

05:41 areas of dance

09:26 Never stop being a student

11:12 Training in Italy with Marco Ferrigno

12:26 Mambo On2 style

12:54 Learning On2 with Adolfo IndacocheaForget the numbers

16:34 What is Mambo?

18:05 OKC workshop focus 

19:41 Sponsor Annabel Valencia Photography

20:25 Advice for young dancers

22:34 Directing 80 dancer performance

24:07 Challenge of creating

25:54 Being a good choreographer

28:15 Lines Dance Academy teams

30:15 Being a humble dancer

33:52 OKC Salsa Bachata Weekender details

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*Ray Ray Salsa teaches Salsa at International Dance Studio in Oklahoma City ⁠https://www.idancestudio.com/⁠

Let's geek out with Neuropsychologist Dr. Mark Wexler, also known as Salsa Moshe about the qualities of a healthy dance community and how to avoid creating a toxic dance community.

Follow Salsa Moshe:

Instagram: @medancer21

Facebook: "Salsa Moshe Mark Wexler"

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro to guest Salsa Moshe PART 1

00:03:46 TEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A HEALTHY DANCE COMMUNITY

00:04:45 #1 it’s growing, welcoming and challenging

00:06:35 #2 it encourages (affordable) lessons

00:08:03 # 3 it gives positive encouragement

00:08:34 #4 it has several instructors or schools

00:11:50 instructors with toxic fear & scarcity mindset

00:13:28 when students start their own school

00:15:20 #6 there is respect for school “territories”

00:20:44 #7 not talking bad about other dancers/instructors

00:23:23 ATMOSPHERE & ATTITUDES AT A SALSA SOCIAL

00:31:30 look for *these* women

00:34:38 advantages of Salsa

00:36:00 dealing with unhealthy motives

00:39:31 why Annabel & Ray didn’t meet earlier

00:43:29 sponsor Annabel Valencia Photography

00:44:12 #8 it has amateur performance groups

00:46:48 #9 there is community within the community

00:54:00 students are not “owned”

00:55:47 advice for studio owners

00:58:57 WHEN TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL THERAPY

01:08:37 your dance instructor is not your therapist

01:10:26 #10 there are healthy boundaries

01:13:11 Outro

*Ray Ray Salsa teaches Salsa at International Dance Studio in Oklahoma City https://www.idancestudio.com/

____________________________

Get in touch:

Send us your questions, comments or podcast suggestions!

Ray Ray Salsa

405-320-9333

[email protected]

Annabel Valencia

405-985-6805

[email protected]

Find Ray Ray Salsa on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram

Bonus juicy tid bits from Edie, The Salsa Freak!! Edie talks about how her Black Belt Salsa curriculum is designed to enhance the alpha masculinity and alpha femininity inside you as a dance partner and how it has the surprising side effect of helping you attract better partners. What are your thoughts? Let us know.

Edie will be in Oklahoma City on Memorial Day weekend 2023 for the Black Belt Dance World Summit. Details at the bottom...

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Timestamps:

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The Black Belt Dance World Summit 2023 OKC

Attend one or both days!

Join us for 2 full days of intensive training with world renowned Salsa legend Edie, The Salsa Freak!! She is the creator of the Black Belt Salsa system which trains world-class dancers.

Day 1 of the Summit will be Salsa dance training for dancers with any partner dance experience.

Day 2 will be Studio management and Best Practices for how to run a successful studio, covering real world topics, such as how to deal with difficult situations.

- Find out more about Edie, The Salsa Freak!! at www.salsafreak.com/bio 

- Get tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-belt-dance-world-summit-tickets-519931307537 Early Bird pricing ends March 31, 2023

This event is hosted by International Dance Studio and Ray Ray Salsa www.idancestudio.com

- Contact Ray Ray Salsa at 405-320-9333 or [email protected]

Ray Ray Salsa and Annabel Valencia interview Edie, The Salsa Freak!!, a legend in the Salsa world. Edie talks about how she created a successful apprentice program for her dance studio, which runs and grows her classes even if she's not there. What are your thoughts? Let us know.

Edie will be in Oklahoma City on Memorial Day weekend 2023 for the Black Belt Dance World Summit. Details at the bottom...

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Timestamps:

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The Black Belt Dance World Summit 2023 OKC

Join us for 2 full days of intensive training with world renowned Salsa legend Edie, The Salsa Freak!! She is the creator of the Black Belt Salsa system which trains world-class dancers.   

Day 1 of the Summit will be Salsa dance training for dancers with any partner dance experience.   

Day 2 will be Studio management and Best Practices for how to run a successful studio, covering real world topics, such as how to deal with difficult situations.  

 - Find out more about Edie, The Salsa Freak!! at www.salsafreak.com/bio  

- Get tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-belt-dance-world-summit-tickets-519931307537 Early Bird pricing ends March 31, 2023

This event is hosted by International Dance Studio and Ray Ray Salsa www.idancestudio.com 

- Contact Ray Ray Salsa at 405-320-9333 or [email protected]

Ray Ray Salsa and Annabel Valencia interview Edie, The Salsa Freak!!, a legend in the Salsa world. Here she talks about her Black Belt Salsa system and her thoughts on dancing Salsa On1 versus Salsa On2. What are your thoughts? Let us know.

Edie will be in Oklahoma City on Memorial Day weekend 2023 for the Black Belt Dance World Summit. Details at the bottom...

____________________________

Timestamps:

Intro to guest Edie, The Salsa Freak!!

Join us for 2 full days of intensive training with world renowned Salsa legend Edie, The Salsa Freak!! She is the creator of the Black Belt Salsa system which trains world-class dancers.   Day 1 of the Summit will be Salsa dance training for dancers with any partner dance experience.   Day 2 will be Studio management and Best Practices for how to run a successful studio, covering real world topics, such as how to deal with difficult people.   - Find out more about Edie, The Salsa Freak!! at www.salsafreak.com/bio  - Get tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-be... - Find out more about Black Belt Salsa at www.blackbeltsalsa.com and www.blackbeltdanceonline.com  This event is hosted by International Dance Studio and Ray Ray Salsa www.idancestudio.com - Contact Ray Ray Salsa at 405-320-9333 or [email protected]

How do we create a good connection with our dance partner(s)? Cindy Velez addresses this topic, from the angle of her background in Urban Kizomba. You can watch the YouTube video of this conversation here https://youtu.be/ikb24sHqQFM

Timestamps:

Opening: Intros, Info on KUA Weekender, How Cindy & Ray Ray first met

08:15 What makes a good connection? Is it skill level or is it something else?

09:12 Our mindset going into a dance

11:15 Being present in the dance and getting out of our own way

12:34 Having the attitude of "Et alors", meaning "So what"

13:40 Having grace and forgiveness with ourselves and our dance partners

14:56 Technical skills needed for a good connection - a good Body Frame

16:30 How to identify the skill and comfort level of your dance partner

19:00 The connection in Urban Kiz

20:30 Background of Kizomba and how Cindy first saw it danced

22:41 Contact points and focusing on your partner

24:00 Dancing "dumb" and the "dance high"

30:43 Connecting before you get on the dance floor

31:43 The challenge of truly following and staying focused

36:43 Details on KUA Weekender in OKC March 31 - April 2

For those interested in attending the KUA Weekender in Oklahoma City Hosted by Cindy, see the link below.

KUA Weekender in OKC Tickets, Fri, Mar 31, 2023 at 8:00 PM | Eventbrite

Contact Ray Ray Salsa:

Email: [email protected]

Find "Ray Ray Salsa" on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram and send us a message

Ray and Annabel are back with a review of what happened in 2022 and preview of what to expect in 2023

2022 was full of ups and downs

- in January Ray's mom passed away

- in March was the memorial service for Ray's mom in Ohio

- in September Annabel moved from Lawton to Oklahoma City

- Hazel Lopez named Ray co-director of International Dance Studio

- in October Ray proposed marriage to Annabel (hear the story in the episode)

- in November Annabel opened her photography studio inside International Dance Studio

- we launched the Black Belt Dance apprentice program