This Week in Salsa

This Week in Salsa

By TWiSSociety & Culture
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This Week in Salsa episodes

  • TWIS 21: Deliberate Salsa Practice
    This post was prompted by an e-mail from Tony Stubblebine, CEO of Lift, an app for instilling positive habits in your every day life. The e-mail discusses this idea of deliberate practices which is defined as... 
     
    "focused, grueling, repetitive practice in which the subject continuously monitors his or her performance, and subsequently corrects, experiments, and reacts to immediate and constant feedback, with the aim of steady and consistent improvement."
     
    While Tony didn't have salsa in mind, hopefully you can see the usefullness of deliberate practice in your salsa journey. Give this podcast episode a listen to learn more about Tony's thoughts on deliberate practice as well as some of my own.
     
     
    8 min
  • TWIS 20: Interview with Fuquan and Candace of Fuego y Hielo Dance Company
    Fuquan and Candace run Fuego y Hielo Dance Company in Atlanta, Georgia and are fusion artists having trained in a variety of dance styles. But their real dance love is for the mambo, salsa and cha cha. You can check out one of their cha cha routines here. 
     
    The first part of the interview revolves around salsa music, specifically the difference between commercial and artsy approaches to music. From there, we talk about dancing the cha cha, musicality, spinning technique (hint: squeeze your legs together), dance etiquette and much more!
     
    This is a tactical episode chock full of highly actionable advice that you can incorporate into your dancing today. Check it out and leave any feedback in the comments below!
    37 min
  • TWIS 19: Let's Build Our Own Salsa Scene
    Today on the show I revisit a few of my own personal experiences with building the salsa community in Gainesville, Florida. We all have our own communties where we live and dance. 
     
    Too often, we complain that there aren't any good salsa nights in town or wish that we could move to NYC to be around really great dancers. Instead, I want us to shift our thinking. Let's look inward. Let's think about how we can take the initiative and start a salsa group, put on a local social ourselves and otherwise build our own community rather than just whine and moan about the lack of options.
     
    Welcome to the no excuses episode, enjoy!
     
    PS. Here's a clip of me dancing at the house party last night :)
    8 min
  • TWIS 18: Roundtable Discussion on Salsa Congresses

    Today's show is all about the wonderful world of salsa congresses. The TWIS roundtable discusses the social aspects of congresses like meeting other salseros from around the world and how to dance with the pros. We also talk about the practical issues like food during congress and how to take care of yourself with proper sleep so you don't die by the end of the weekend. 

     

    Like with any conversation about congresses, we talk about our favorite congresses and our experiences there. There are plenty of rabbit holes we go down, including:

     

    • Why Frank should wear a dress while dancing

    • Why Cory should shave her head

    • Why Rob only remembers what women wear if they are missing a shoe

      1 hr 3 min
    • TWIS 17: Interview with Franklin Condori of the Boston Salsa Scene
      Franklin Condori is a self-proclaimed salsa addict and is known on the dance floor for his smooth, New York style lead. Frank has been dancing for so many years that he can't quite remember though legends say it begain ~2007 in Gainesville, Florida.
       
      From there, he has improved as a dancer, DJ and event organizer in the Boston area. He has trained with Universal Mambo Dance Academy, Masacote Dance Company and Salsa y Control. Frank now runs the Fuego y Candela salsa social in Boston along with Salsa in the Park. He is also a co-founder of the Gator Salsa Club. 
       
      Frank is passionate about organizing salsa events to build the community. We talked about the elements for a great social and a great congress. We also talked at length about the ideal mindset of a dancer, what makes for a good lead/follow, techniques to improve your dancing and a lot more. 
       
      1 hr 8 min
    • TWIS 16: Interview with Joel Dominguez of MySalsaOnline.com
      Joel Dominguez is on a crusade to dance with feeling. He is a native of Mexico where he was raised in a family of musicians. This upbringing fostered an early love and appreciation of Latin music. 
       
      From this early upbringing, Joel relocated to New York City by way of Dallas, where he now teaches classes with an emphasis on dancing to the musical instruments, especially the conga and the clave. In our conversation, we talk about this relationship between the dance and the music and how to dance with feeling. 
       
      Besides teaching classes in NYC, Joel also runs La Vieja Guardia social which if you are in New York is a must visit! He also runs MySalsaOnline, Joel Salsa and Dance With Feeling which are great resources for aspiring salseros. I personally have signed up for his
      51 min
    • TWIS 15: Salsa Congresses: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
      It's congress season and that means many of you are spending your weekends taking hours of workshops, eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in your hotel room and dancing in the bachata room until 6am.
       
      If you have never been to a salsa congress, this podcast talks about what you can expect from the weekend, both the good and the bad. Overall, congresses are an essential experience to have if you are in the salsa scene. It is a time to make new friends and connect with old ones from around the world.
       
      Check out the show and comment with anything that I missed!
      15 min
    • TWIS 14: Latin Music in the USA, Bridges
      Today on the show, I discuss the best latin music documentary I've ever seen, Latin Music in the USA put on by the fine folks at PBS. 
       
      I consider this required viewing for all serious salseros. It gives you a great base of understanding the history of latin music and how it has evolved here in the U.S. The first of 4 parts is called Bridges and talks about the influences from Puerto Rica and Cuba and latin music in New York. 
       
      This documentary spans 4 decades from 1930-1970, with other parts tackling 1970-today. If you don't know who Machito, Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez are, you need to watch this. Listen to the podcast where we incorporate some of the musical numbers from these artists and others.
       
      And watch out for additional summary podcasts coming out for the rest of the PBS episodes! 
      20 min
    • TWIS 13: Interview with Jose Botta from Jose Botta Dance Shoes
      This week on the show, our guest is Jose Botta of Josebotta.com. Jose is originally from Lima, Peru and came to the states more than 20 years ago. During those years, he got involved with the salsa community and got hooked. After several years of dancing in Washington, D.C. and trying all of the dance shoes on the market, he realized there were no options for a more versatile men's dance shoe that could be worn on any surface and not ruined by weather. JB dance shoes were born as a comfortable, durable, stylish, lightweight and multi-surface option for men.
       
      One of the most important decisions that we as dancers make is what shoes to dance with. Jose is an expert on men's dance shoes and our conversation revolves around what makes a great shoe and what factors to consider before putting down your hard earned cash on a new pair of kicks. What color should they be? What kind of soles are ideal for how you plan to dance? Are there other options besides just suede soles? All of these questions and more are answered as part of today's show.
       
      Beyond dance shoes, Jose is passionate about salsa. We talk about the salsa community as a whole, where it's headed and some of our favorite experiences. Enjoy!
      32 min
    • TWIS 12: The Beginner's Guide to Lucid Dreaming for Salsa Dancers
      You are probably asking yourself: "How is lucid dreaming going to help me become a better salsa dancer?" Now that I've inceptioned your mind with the perfect question to start this post off with, let me answer:
       
      1. Turns otherwise unproductive hours of sleep into time for mastering your dance moves.
      2. Dance with world-famous salseros and learn from them.
      3. Overcome the emotional baggage stopping you from becoming the best dancer you can be.
      4. Try out crazy/high-risk moves in a safe environment with no chance of injury
         
        On this podcast episode, I talk about what lucid dreaming is, how it can improve your dancing, and tactics to increase the incidence of lucid dreaming. Give it a listen!
        13 min

      About This Week in Salsa

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      Your first podcast of the week is the last word in Latin dancing. Join the top salsa and bachata pundits in a roundtable discussion of the latest trends and news in Latin dancing. Publishes every…