This Week in Salsa

I came across a super cool technology this week, SoloShot, which follows you around and records you! I know, sounds creepy, but also super useful for salseros who want more video of their dancing. Today I discuss this tech (with myself), enjoy!

Oh and here's the link to the prior episode I did on cool future technologies for the dance floor.

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Back in October of 2014, I met with the organizers of TEDxUF, the largest TEDx conference in the southeast, about an idea for a talk. Over the past six years, salsa dancing has completely changed my life and I wanted to share my experiences on stage. The organizers loved the idea and so did I, so I got the green light for A Brave New Salsa Dancing World.

Flash forward a month, and I've made no real progress on my talk. I had a rough outline but there were lots of holes in the story and, most importantly, I had no ending. Driving in the car, I was thinking of how to end this talk. Could it be with a dance, something motivational, funny?

Then, I got a text. It was from my girlfriend (who I first met at a salsa social) and it read "Love you, muah". BAMMM!  It hit me like a train. I knew exactly how I was going to end this talk. I was going to propose to my girlfriend on stage. It both excited and terrified me at the same time.

I spent the next 4 months living a double life. On one side, I worked with my girlfriend to build up the talk that she thought I was going to give, which included her dancing on stage. And on the other side, I worked on the talk I was actually going to give. The whole facade came close to crumbling down on numerous occasions: almost sending her the wrong draft of the talk for review or saying lines seemingly out of order to her as we practiced together.

Then the day finally came. I don't know which made me more nervous, giving a complete TED talk from memory (c'mon, powerpoint is for amateurs) or getting down on one knee to ask the love of my life to marry me. Probably a little of both.

Once I began my talk, all of the nerves that had built up over the past 5 months, the planning, writing, editing, re-editing, re-re-editing....it all just melted away. I was in the zone, hitting on every point in my Memory Palace.

But as I neared the conclusion of my talk, something dawned on me. I was about to propose in front of 1500 people! You can see the exact moment where this realization occurs, right after we finish dancing for our second time. I sound quite winded from the dancing. Lies...all lies. I dance salsa all the time, so 30 seconds of dancing is not going to put a dent in me. Me sucking wind is entirely due to forgetting to breathe for a moment as I let my girlfriend head back off stage. I suddenly realize that I have 4 more lines before the backstage organizers will re-introduce her into the talk (push her back on stage).

As I delivered those last few lines, it felt exactly like going skydiving. When you head up in that plane, the instructor

This week on the show we are revisiting Jason Haynes great post putting together his salsa congress dream team, entitled "The Greatest Salsa Congress....Ever!". 

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Today on the podcast we are recapping a great article written by Jazley Faith entitled "Bailando! College Students Get Their Salsa On". I dance salsa in a college town and teach for the Gator Salsa Club here in Gainesville so this recap of a night out salsa dancing at college definitely sounds familiar. Enjoy!

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Today on the LDC podcast, we are doing a recap of one of the posts from this week, When your non-dancing spouse doesn’t support your dance life. It's a very relevant and timely post for me since I just got engaged last week!

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Daybert Linares Diaz is a contributor to LDC and recently published a post entitled "CUBAN MUSIC: TO BE OR NOT TO BE PLAYED FOR SALSA DANCERS?". Today on the podcast, we are speaking with Daybert about this post and elaborating on the current lack of Cuban music in the salsa scene and why this music should be reintroduced at socials and congresses.

Daybert is a Ph.D. student of contemporary Latin American Literature with a focus on the Caribbean at the University of Maryland, College Park. Born and raised in Cuba, Daybert has taught Cuban dance in the United States for over five years now, having held workshops in cities such as Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, New York, and Washington, D.C. He is also the editor of "Son y Casino," the only blog dedicated to both the Cuban dance of casino and son music, which he updates regularly with informative pieces which deal with this small part of Cuban culture.

Some Resources From Today's Show:

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2013 GRAMMY® Winner the Pacific Mambo Orchestra (aka the PMO) is a 20 piece musical group leading the rebirth of the Latin Big Band Sound. The PMO uses the traditions of the classic mambo-craze orchestras of the 1950s to deliver their original music and clever, modern arrangements of hit songs. Currently the only fully active Latin Big Band on the West Coast of the United States, this elite group of the Bay Area's finest musicians performs in both English and Spanish, and even some French and Portuguese selections.

We are speaking with band co-leader Christian Tumalan about what's next for PMO and about salsa dancing, music and the intersection of the two. Some resources from today's show:

Soldiers Who Salsa is on a mission to enhance and enrich the lives of active and retired members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families through a unique program incorporating therapeutic and social dancing with a variety of music and professional instruction.

Today on the LDC podcast we are interviewing founder Jennifer Ables and former patient/volunteer Matt Owens to learn more about the program and the good that it is doing in the lives of those in the armed forces around the world.

Today on the LDC podcast, we are doing a recap of one of the posts from this week, How do I tell him - he smells??? by Chilly Alisar. Some resources mentioned in today's show include:

Thompson Tee w/ reinforced arm pits

10 foods that make you smell

We hope you enjoy the show and don't forget to tell friends to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher!

Today on the show I am chatting with Richie Kirwan, contributor at LDC and The Dancing Irishman, about some of his latest posts including The Best Salsero You Can Be and What to do when you F&#K up while dancing. If you read Richie's stuff (and really who doesn't), this is a must-listen where we take a deeper dive into the ideas behind these posts and plenty more. Enjoy!