March 23, 2008 Salsa Blacklist - Why salsero dancers get blacklisted and what to do about it.
It's the same story anywhere you go. As a salsero, at almost every Latin party,
I find that there are one, two, or even three salseras that come to me asking
to be "rescued".
It usually goes down like this...
A beautiful salsera walks quickly towards me and sits down next to me, leans over
and says one of three things:
1. "Quick! Act like you are going to ask me to dance"
2. "Act like you're my boyfriend"
or
3. "Make believe we are busy talking."
Me, "Why?"
Salsera, "See that guy over there behind you? He's about to ask me to dance,
but I don't want to! "
Its a cry of desperation. These salseras have put certain salseros on
a blacklist. And for good reason.
What put them (or you) on a salsa blacklist?
Most of the salseros are nice guys, but the women just want to run away.
Here is the number 1 complaint
"The guy is too rough!"
Guys, when you are leading the girl, do NOT be too rough! Be gentle! Girls
do NOT like it when they feel like their arms are going to be ripped out
of their sockets!
What's more, it can be dangerous. Women are not ragdolls for you to throw around.
How do you know if you are too rough?
Here are some signs that you are too rough.
1. You find yourself constantly pulling the girl around.
2. You find yourself constantly pushing the girl too much.
3. You feel like the girl can't follow you. Let me rephrase that "You think
all the women you dance with suck, because they can't follow you."
4. You find that she is constantly off balance.
5. You find that women seem to run away from you when you are walking towards them.
6. You find that the women who's run away from you leans over to some other guy
(most likely to be rescued.)
7. You find that the guy she just talked to, tries to discretely look around the
room! (That's a big tipoff there)
8. The women you just danced with is rubbing her arms like they are sore.
Look for these signs! If you see some or all of these signs, you may be on a salsa
blacklist! Kindly ask the salsera who's run away an honest opinion about your dancing.
Simply say
"I'm trying to improve my dancing and want to know how well I'm leading. Am
I too rough when I lead you?"
Then you can ask her to dance and ask for feedback as you dance with her so you
can adjust your lead.
And please.. For the love of God and all the salseras. If you aren't really sure
if you are leading properly, or if the salseras keep running away from you.
Take a private lesson to learn how to lead without being rough!
Miscellaneous Problems
Here's a list of miscellaneous stuff that may put you on the list. These are
difficult for the offender, because you probably don't know its a problem unless
someone tells you.
1. Wet noodles. There's also the opposite problem where guys are considered
"wet noodles" who use no tension what so ever in their lead.
2. No timing/Leading late The best followers can follow the worst
leaders, but a majority of people don't like it when you have no timing. It means
that neither of you are feeling or following the music.
3. Ambiguous leads. Avoid ambiguous leads by making your intentions
clear. Don't continuously move your handles in large circular motions when
you dance. The followe will have no idea where to go and what to do.
Move with a purpose.
4. Bumper cars. Look out for your lady to keep her from bumping
into people on the dance floor. It's your job to keep her safe. She is following
you and needs to completely trust you. It's not going to happen if she ends
up crashing into people all the time.
What do you think puts salseros on a salsa blacklist? How about the girls? What puts them on a salsa blacklist? What are some of the signs that someone might be on a blacklist?
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Salseros that Scare Me I don't blacklist anyone, per se, because I really like to dance. Also, I've had great dances with some men and then danced with them on other nights …
Girls on the Blacklist Believe black listing of other dancers is not a one way street, the leads do it too and you might be surprised to know that we do far much more than the …
Liquid Sunshine I would rather dance with a gentleman who doesn't dance that well, than dance with a very good dancer that is only asking me to dance when the queens of …
Sometimes a male dancer can know many moves and even have good rhythm, but if they are leading TOO roughly, …
Things that will get you on my list quick.... Not rated yet 1. I absolutely hate it when a woman ask me what I dance on. It drives me BONKERS! I so want to tell them "I dance on beat", but my southern up bringing …
It's really important for people to be aware that the connection between dancers is a wonderful/beautiful art …
DustToDawn.....Why saleros get black listed Not rated yet A clear example of why us salseras might not want to dance and might want to put a salsero on the black list might be for the following reasons:
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