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Listen & Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 1 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast! Visit www.salsakings.com Connect with Salsa Kings: Website Facebook Instagram  

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 57 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast This week, Andres wants to go back to when he discussed meeting others halfway. Andres is here to tell you that this give-and-take is not always a pure 50/50 split on the parts of the dancers. While you want to sync physically, emotionally that split will often be a lot of imbalance, be it due to the inexperience of one part, the needs, or perhaps a need to learn how to sync up better. Dancing is of course a type of communication. It isn’t just a physical connection but to feel the person themselves. To connect on somebody’s wavelength, sometimes you can put too much pressure. Don’t scream when your inside voice will suffice. Don’t force your energy on other people needlessly. This will be wasted effort and can alienate your partner. Instead, try and match their energy and try to sync up with them. Sometimes you will also just need to put in more energy or will get it due to circumstances. Maybe you’re tired, or you’re not feeling the music, or are anxious about something. Whatever the reason, sometimes you will need to provide that extra enthusiasm, or have it provided for you. Dance isn’t a purely transactional experience where everyone robotically acts the same way.  Watching skilled dancers can show this, how a lead will give the following chances to show off or how a to follow will push a lead to do it. By reading each other this way they can understand the energy their partner has and needs. By accounting for the other dancer at the time, a good and empathic dancer can realize how much energy he needs to provide. Sometimes it will be more and sometimes it will be less. By reading the needs of your partner, and by having a partner able to read you your dance can excel. While the physical nature of dance is often a very basic give and take, the emotional aspect of dance is much more complicated. A good dancer needs to be able to read not just the physical queues of a partner, but emotional ones as well. By understanding the kind of energy you need to bring to your partner, be it more or less. It’s not always 50/50 after all. “If you’re really going HAM that entire time you’re gonna run out of inspiration. This is why we talk about the breath as well. Allowing yourself to breathe, giving yourself time to shine, giving yourself time to rest giving yourself time to be inspired, giving yourself time to reciprocate that to your partner than receive that inspiration back again after they get the same from being inspired by you.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 50 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast Episode 50! A big deal for all of us! After taking some time to respond to some fan mail, Andres goes into this week’s topic: The Trinity.  The Trinity is arguably one of the key elements of understanding what is supposed to happen on the dance floor. The three parts of the trinity, are the music, the lead, and the follow, with music as the top and and the lead and the bottom are beneath, with the music uniting them. Everything in this is connected and it all has a purpose. Music is the provider. It provides the venue, the opportunity, and the feeling for the dance to happen. Leads use the music to become inspired and to use it to spur on their creativity. Even though they are leading, they are following the music. A lead that simply does the moves with no thought to how the music feels is an uninspired lead. Use the music to express yourself, rather than just follow the rules of the dance that are given to you. While form is important, just as important is to express the feelings the music gives you. Don’t assume that just because you have mastered the technique that you have figured it all out.  Follows also get their feeling from music, but also receive material from the leads, though they add their own inspiration. They take the material given and perfect it, make it beautiful. They add in the finishing touches. It is them that truly make the dance complete. They are the emotional leader. Are you feeling fun? Sexy? Sad? The feelings need to be taken completely and project them as fully and completely and naturally as can be through the dance. This amplifies the material provided by the lead, as well as the music giving feeling and inspiration.  In this trinity, every part provides something and each part is equally important. Without music there is no feeling or inspiration. Without the lead, there is no one to provide the material Without the follow, there is no one to complete the dance and give it the emotion that it needs. By each part of this trinity giving their all, we can receive a truly moving and emotional dance, rather than something that is just technically proficient but unengaging. “Again, the music provides the inspiration for both the lead and the follow to be able to offer to each other what they are best at. From a natural, generic standpoint, for the men that will be raw material. For the follows, it is going to be intangible emotional mood.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 49 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast A Judge’s Formula is (Materal + Technique) X Feeling or (M+T)xF.  Material is the subject matter of the dance. It is what you are doing. Technique is how well you are doing it and executing the material. Feeling is the intangible multiplier. Your feeling and intention multiply what you are doing in technique and material. This is the incredibly important, ineffable factor of the dance. The best score possible is a 200 with tens across the board. Nines across the board is 162, so the difference is scores is dramatic. To achieve the highest score is going to take more work as you get better. Each jump in skill is going to be smaller for much larger work. This is where you need to know yourself and learn where you should be focusing on. Your technique, material, and feeling are all going to need to be focused on at different levels.  Often, Feeling is the one that needs the biggest focus, though it varies from person to person. Some may have a lot of feeling and rank high in that, but very little training would lead to very low technique. Andres use himself as an example with his material being a 7, his technique at 5, and his feeling at 8. Out of a possible 200, he is only at a 96. Even after a decade and a half of dancing, he isn’t even halfway to ‘perfection’.  This isn’t something to be ashamed of, it’s a natural part of the journey. Many get frustrated at the fact that they are not getting to the highest level of dance more quickly. The Judge’s Formula will end up being humbling for many who may want to become masters of dance immediately.  Most people, however, aren’t even aware of the different variables. You can be a 1 on a certain level just because of a lack of education or priority. The Formula gives you a loose criteria that you can follow to understand where to focus. With the judge’s formula, a dancer can properly ascertain what they need to work on, as well as how far they have to go, how much room for improvement they actually have. It may be humbling to have one’s dance put in these terms, but it will also give the perspective of what needs to be worked on. “It’s those three together where you’re ultimately able to make a humbling and realistic score -numbers, mathematical score- and immediately be able to see what you can work on to increase that score. Making taking your technique from a one to a two could be very easy.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 46 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast This week, Andres wants you to meet each other halfway. Sometimes when you dance, the connection is instantaneous. Other times it is not. What makes for some dances to work and others to fall apart? It takes both parties to be able to read each other and how they dance. You need to take some time to figure out how to read each other. There are so many variables that can donate to a dance going well or poorly that without being able to get to know someone, you won’t be able to reliably dance and interact with each other. Andres recommends starting out with a simpler dance, such as the two-step so that you can see how they dance in that manner. Dancers need to feel the waters so that they can be more sensitive to the needs of their dance partner. Many dancers speak of who they connect with or don’t, but the ideal should be to be able to dance with everyone. You should be able to read another dancer and be able to connect with them and adjust yourself appropriately. Many dancers are preoccupied with the techniques and the files that they don’t take the time to read the dance and actually connect. Techniques are tools to be used, not the very reason for the dance. They are simply ‘executable files’ and if not executed at the right moment in the right context as your partner needs it, they won’t be executed properly. The important idea behind dancing isn’t to get things ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. It is to respect the needs and abilities of your partner. Simply reducing everything to how things are being executed makes for a stiff dance and for a lack of communication on the part of the dancers. All in all, a poor dance. This is where the idea of chameleonizing comes in. The ability to adjust yourself to the needs of your partner in whatever situation, rather than becoming preoccupied with their technique is paramount to what dance is trying to achieve. Dance is about communication, and if you aren’t bothering to pick up what someone is communicating then how can you be expected to dance properly with the person. Next time you are on the dance floor, make sure to try and meet them halfway. “What’s the response here? How is this going to play out? And this kind of data that you’re able to collect from each other, which is, of course, a unique energy signature with every single dance that you do, you have to take the time to sync up with each other. To get to know each other from the get-go, to have a little better understanding to know how to lead or how to follow. To respect the other person as a dancer as opposed to ‘oh you’re doing it wrong’ or ‘oh you’re doing it right’. That’s very ignorant.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode  of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast Tonight’s episode is one that Andres has been wanting to do for awhile: styling. The dance industry has lied to the public about styling. A simple fact is: Styling cannot be taught. Styling comes from one’s own personality, and every person is unique. No one will have the exact same style, even if there are overlaps or influences. There may be categories or classifications, but a true style is someone discovering their own self through their style. As a comparison, hats or shoes may be put on a person’s body, but that doesn’t change who you are as a person, or the utility of the garment. Many dancers can lose this fact, prioritizing style over the point of the dance and self-expression. Connection, not style, should be the priority. Style is a unique aspect of the dance, which is fantastic, but the first priority is to make sure that your job is doing its job. Make sure that connection and expression are covered before focusing more on styles. If you had a hose with no roof, it doesn’t matter how pretty it is, it’s not a useful house. Once the house has assured that it will protect you, then you can focus on making it look beautiful. When we talk about style, utility needs to be covered first. Technique, timing, fluidity, motions, and basic mastery need to be covered first. Later, you can play around and find what it is that makes your dance work best for you. The techniques need to become boring. That’s when you start to play, because when it is so easy to do the dance standardly, that’s when you can play with the formula in that standard. Once the important things are done, then you can play around with the style. That’s when the art and the heart come in, once you have covered the basics. And that’s what makes style so wonderful. It’s a sign of mastery and personal expression. By adding style to that boredom of being able to do these moves immediately and in your sleep, that is when you can truly show a stylistic dance that is your own and only your own. If you focus on learning the necessities, by making sure that your dance works, then your natural personality and style with eventually begin to shine through. “The way that styling gets accomplished is by the utility getting accomplished so well to a point where you almost become bored; to a point where you start to discover oneself. You start to play, you start to discover different things that feel good, or that don’t necessarily feel so good. But that only comes with time. That only comes with going after it, and letting the music go ahead and inspire you to make that happen.”  

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode  of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast Andres wants to talk about an important topic: that of humility. It’s important to realize that everyone’s skills and experiences are your own and no one else’s. It’s important to respect the difference between people’s experiences, and their own work on dance, which will be different from your own. The idea that you are a better or more experience than another dancer is only going to keep you from growing as a dancer yourself. The important focus should be on your self-improvement, and you cannot do that if you are focused on how much better you are than others. As dancers, we want the community to grow, and nothing turns off newcomers faster than someone who believes they know more than everyone else. This isn’t unique to dance. In all aspects, you want to be welcoming and nonjudgmental, so more people can come to love what you love.Believing you know everything is just ignorance. There is always growth and new things to learn. Even if somehow, you are the greatest dancer in the world, you should still be expanding, inventing, and inspiring. If you can’t do that, then what kind of number one are you? And most of you, all due respect, are not the number one dancer. That is why it is always important to have humility and to have respect not just for your teachers, but also your fellow dancers. Now, only you can dance like you. You need to take the time to invest and figure yourself out. That takes humility and introspection. Finding out who you are as a dancer and person is very difficult. You’re an amalgamation of all the people you respect and love and influence. Through realizing this and through being self-aware about it, you can become a better dancer. Taking the styles and energies of dancers you like will make the kind of dancer only you can make, and that can only be done by having humility about it.Even among the public social dancers, it’s important to have humility. You’d be surprised what you can learn from people who are watching you, and not as concerned with the ‘correct’ way to do things.  Humility can be difficult, but dance is about self-discovery and self expression. If you can maintain a humble attitude throughout dancing, then you have come that much closer to realizing just the kind of dancer you can be.  “To be able to take any and all growth opportunities and to take advantage of them.  It is impossible to be able to [grow] if you have an attitude of ‘I know all that already’ or ‘I know this already’. Because even if you do, being able to understand that that person had the courage or was inspired to tell you something, that means something. It may not mean a lot, but it means something and it is not wise to simply ignore it.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode  41 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast This episode, Andres wants you to Show him how you feel. According to Miriam-Webster, dance is ‘to move one’s body rhythmically, usually to music.’ Andres finds this definition of reductive and left-brained. He dislikes the idea that simple shaking around while music is playing is considered dancing. Art, on the other hand, has a much better definition: ‘conscious use of skill and creative imagination’. Here, an expression is acknowledged, and those are key to dancing. The essence of dance is the expression. Rhythmic movement isn't automatically dancing. It needs to have intention behind it. The part of art that matters the most is the intention.   In ‘Show Me How You Feel’ Andres expresses the two sides of dance. ‘Show Me’ is indicative of the technical nature of dance and ‘How You Feel’ represents the intent behind the dance and your expression through dance. What are you feeling? Are you feeling the music or are you just counting the beats? And if you’re feeling, then how are you expressing that? Of course, beginners do need to count and take measured steps, but that is a path to mastery. These are tools that you need to learn to be able to use instinctively. These tools are useless if you are not being expressive and unique, showing what makes you as a person and an artist different. The most unique aspect of your dance is going to be you.    Andres wants you to hone in on the feeling you feel at the dance. This is the only way you can bring a unique dance. So many people worry about expressing themselves ‘wrong’ without realizing that there is no way to express yourself wrong. The technique is performed, but the expression is always about what you feel, and what you feel can never be wrong. Now, are you feeling something, or just pretending to feel it because you think you’re supposed to.   In dance, as in anything, there are a lot of people wearing those kinds of masks, acting out the role because they think that’s what they need to do. Andres recommends that those of you who do that should instead allow the music and its feelings to come to you, to let the music come to you. Feelings are something you come into, not that you strive for.    Dance is more like stretching, breathing into and leaning into it. The important thing to remember about dance is your feelings and your expression over specific techniques or rhythm. “Look at your idols. Watch your idols.  See if you’re feeling anything when they’re dancing, or are you just saying ‘oh that’s cool, that’s cool.’? Because if it’s just cool, you’re looking at the movement… but how about ‘wow that’s said or that’s happy or that’s fun.’ It’s more of an energy signature that you’re associating to than that’s cool or that’s smooth.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 40 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast Today Andres wants to help you with something of a sensitive topic for early students: The Second Dance. It’s more simple than a lot of people make it to be. Just ask ‘How do you leave them?’. It’s a question that focuses on the other dancer rather than oneself and it’s something a lot of teachers will skim over too quickly. Techniques and lessons are for a partner, to be the best dancer that you can for them. You’re a good dancer for your partner as much as you are for yourself. Leads dance a particular way so that the follow can enjoy the dance as possible, while follows maintain their standards to make the job easier for the lead. Dancing is always done for the other, so that they will want to dance again. Often times, dancers will be too concerned with impressing their partner with their skill, rather than considering the needs of the other dancer. It’s more important to ensure your partner is enjoying their experience with you, to make it so that they want to dance with you again. Intention is key here. Though it is harder to execute than to simply say, so long as your feelings are present, they can be felt. The important part is making it clear that your partner is being considered and their needs are being attended to. The feelings of your partner are just as important as the technique.  At the end of the day, you have to ask what are the dancer’s thoughts and feelings about you? Have you been Chameleonising? Dance is cooperative and if everyone considered their partner, then everyone would be enjoying themselves. Everyone becomes more connected through the fact that they are both being considerate and being considered. This is a skill much like any other. You won’t be able to consider the needs of every dancer immediately, but as time goes on you’ll be able to understand what the needs of your partner are, and leave them wanting a second dance.  “If you know Japanese so well and someone is butchering the Japanese, you should be able to understand what it is that they’re trying to say and still be able to communicate, not make it a hard time for them, perhaps aiding them in the process and telling them the right way to say it, but still moving the conversation forward. And that goes for whatever social dance that we’re talking about.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 39 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast   What is better? What does that even mean?   In this episode, Andres wants to talk about being better, bettering yourself, and what that means. Of being optimized. It’s to be as perfect or effective as functional as possible. Something that is better simply means that it is the most efficient, the best results for the least effort, technical excellence. Andres notes how this can chafe at some people. They mistake it for speaking about a particular style or genre of dance when that is not what it is about. At its core, being better is about executing the moves as best as you possibly can.   This is where training comes in. There sometimes is just a better way to do something, which is to say it is a more effective way to do it. This doesn’t just apply to dance, everything has more optimal work. With dance, however, what Andres is talking about is that from any specific point you can have the most or even infinite dancing possibilities with the least amount of energy and resistance. With this, you can change and move more quickly and effectively as a dancer. This isn’t about looks or styles, but about efficiency and options.   As the dance scene grows and competitions become more prominent, it’s important to realize that talent isn’t all the matter. Training is also important, to keep up and to learn about the best ways to optimize. The more we connect and the more we tune ourselves to optimization, the more natural it will feel and the better dancer you will be.   There is a difference between liking or not liking how a dancer dances and recognizes what is optimal. Personal preference is fine and in fact unavoidable, but it should not get in the way of recognizing what is better, and what is more efficient. When you’re watching dance, it is important to make that distinction, between what is a choice or what is something that is the most optimal move. Andres points to the plie as an example of this.   If you want your dance to be better, truly better, then it is important to optimize, to realize what is the most efficient. The best option is what gets the most results for the least energy, rather than simply deciding things are subjectively likable.   “There is a misunderstanding towards ‘oh the way that someone looks’.  A great example is when someone will see a picture oftentimes and they’ll look lopsided. Someone will say ‘They’re just into the music’ or ‘That’s savory, that’s flavor’ and that is the farthest thing from the truth. One does not have to be lost for the other to exist. A steak can be cooked correctly and taste bad. … It’s very difficult to have a tasteful, badly cooked steak.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 38 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast On this episode, Andres talks about the question ‘Where are my toys?’. Often, dancers will focus on getting the moves done rather than prioritizing an awareness of what’s going on around you and with your body. Andres says this is more of a problem for leads as they have more of a job to push the dance forward, whereas followers tend to have a more relaxed position. Andres is urging dancers to use their ears, their eyes, and all their senses to have a more full awareness of what is going on around them, rather than simply focusing on the motions. If you aren’t in the moment and have your ‘feelers on’ then you can’t truly absorb the dance and bring yourself into the dance. If you can’t feel the emotions of the music, then you can’t express it through your dance. While dance classes give us the tools we need to properly express ourselves, if you aren’t feeling the music, then you can’t use those tools to express it. It will end up feeling cold and needlessly technical. A dance with no emotion is just an exercise. Andres doesn’t want people who just flawlessly execute the dance. He wants people who are taking the time to feel the music and the experience with your partner. If all you care about it the intricacies of the dance, rather than the music and the emotion, why do you have the music on? What is the point of it if you’re not going to use it? Andres’ advice to dancers is: move your toes. This will bring you back into the moment, into reality, rather than the abstract world of execution. Be aware of your toes and where they are now, to know where you are, what you’re listening to, and who you’re dancing with. Do not become so absorbed by the technique that you lose the joy or the music. Be aware of the dance, be aware of your love for it. There’s a difference between simply smiling because it’s part of the dance or that you are smiling because are you loving the dance you are. While technical excellence shouldn’t be undersold, it is the joy and love, the understanding of where you are in the moment is what makes dance, so joyful. So, if you are feeling simply like you are pulling off basic techniques rather than loving the music, simply ask: where are my toes? ‘Have your heart open. What does that mean? It means exactly what it sounds like... To be open to the feeling that the artist of the song is trying to give to you. But that’s only going to be accomplished if you’re actually listening to it.”  

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 37 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast On this episode of Salsa Kings, Andres talks about three different types of dancers. There is a cultural difference between the three of them. Andres points out that in English, the term ‘dancer’ is all-encompassing. In Spanish, there is more a distinction. This cultural barrier can sometimes make it easy for English-speakers to be dismissive or paint it all with the same brush. Seeing a Bailarine as a stripper can be very insulting to the Bailarine. Things are different in a place like Cuba with a far richer culture in dancing, and the distinctions are more clear. A Bailarine is a professional. They’ve dedicated their lives to getting the rigor and techniques of dancing down. They’re someone who either has or is chasing a genuine career in dancing. They take it far more serious than others, rehearsing and dieting very seriously. Bailadores are a more social type of dancer. They are people who enjoy it on a social level. They are not professional, but they enjoy going out, meeting other dancers, and just dancing for their own personal edification. They’re defined more by passion rather than professional capacity or any monetary dispensation for dancing. Then there are the strippers or the go-go dancers, who are dancing at the club, often professionally. This doesn’t make one better than the other, but the goal is definitely different. The crowd is different and the intent is more sexual in nature. Often times, it is seen as an add-on rather than the main event, though obviously, it is still a very challenging and skilled dance. Andres doesn’t want us to make judgments of any of these types of dancers but simply wants us to understand the difference between them. Just as you wouldn’t call a social dancer a professional, you wouldn’t want to call a Bailarine a stripper. It isn’t necessarily insulting, but it is inaccurate.    Understanding the distinctions between different dancers and dances means you can appreciate the craft that goes into them more, as well as appreciate the kind of dancing you are doing and want to do. “There’s only one word in English that describes it all. They are all 100% dancing, but the intention is very different, and the level of focus required for each, the amount of study required for the optimization and entertaining the audience is very very different.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 36 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast! This episode, Andres welcome special guests Ivette and Iggy Murga of HookedOn2 to talk about commitment. They’ve been dancing together for over twenty years, have been married for 32 years, teaching for 19 years, and performing for 14 years. If anyone knows anything about commitment, it’s these two.   Ivette and Iggy reminisce about their relationship, and how Ivette made the first move on Iggy for her eighth grade prom, which started their 37-year relationship. In Ivette’s junior year of high school, Iggy finally proposed. They stayed into a committed relationship since then and have just gotten their first grandchild. They also start talking about their journey into dance, and meeting a salsa teacher and going to the classes out of curiosity. They ended up enjoying it so much that they went to it every day they could. From there on, they started taking classes with other teachers and moved on and became more curious and expanded their repertoire and eventually found their calling through dance and teaching. Ivette discusses her move into teaching dancing from teaching elementary schools to getting an official career and it becoming a full time job.   Ivette always tells her teachers to always be learning and that YouTube, while not a substitute for teachers, is a useful resource to find new perspectives and ideas that might otherwise be harder to find. Andres talks about accessibility and how it makes commitment difficult. If things aren’t immediately exciting, it’s a lot more difficult to maintain the commitment.   Commitment is obviously the name of the game and Ivette and Iggy talk about their love of dance and the late nights they spent, and how good it felt, that it was something that needed that level of commitment. In addition to the love of the dance, they also discuss the challenges concerning children, family, work, and how those can all interrupt your passion and keep you from doing what you love, and how you can juggle it.   Those who struggle with their dedication to dance owe it themselves to listen to this podcast, not only to hear good advice on maintaining your diligence and passion, but also to hear an inspiring story of people who embody commitment, not just in their dance, but also in their romantic life and in every facet of their life.   “You have made not only a commitment to yourself, but also to the person who is leading that team… they’re gonna lay down rehearsal three times a week. You make sure you’re there three times a week. You’re committed to doing that rehearsal. You’re committed to making that movement. Whatever it is the goal they’re setting for you as a team member, that is the goal everyone is heading towards.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 35 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast! This episode, Andres admits that school sucks! Or does he? Many people find learning, studying, and examining boring. They’d rather do something the find more stimulating. It’s a high consensus that people do not like being in school and maybe don’t even like learning. Andres wants to challenge that notion and contest that learning can, in fact, be very fun. Andres asks ‘Why can’t learning be fun? Why must they be opposite?’ Can’t engaging the mind and learning be fun? Andres urges people in high school and college who might be listening to challenge the idea that they can’t have fun while engaging the mind in particular. Andres insists that growing and challenging oneself can be very fun. Andres admits that often it’s possible that the instructor can fail, and not make the curriculum as stimulating as it can be, and the responsibility does lie on the teacher on some extent. However, there is still a responsibility on the part of the student to learn and to understand the curriculum. For a student, it may be homework they have to do, for dancers it is repetitively doing moves to make them become second-nature. We as a society have become used to instant gratification, but it isn’t that easy in reality. Part of why people find these things so hard is that we’ve entered the mentality that learning isn’t fun. Andres asks for a mental shift so that we can reassess our choices in how learn. Andres puts out two kinds of dance societies: Academies and Clubs. Clubs aren’t automatically dancing bars, but your social network and your friends that you come together to dance. In an academy, the focus is on learning rather than being social or marketing your dance. This all of course depends on what a dancer wants. Depending on what you want, you will get very different kinds of enjoyment from these two different types of dance and you need to figure out which works best for you. If you want to go out for the social merits, then an academy isn’t going to give you what you need. The teacher will assume you are there to learn. Similarly if you want to improve your dancing, then the club is not going to give you what you need. Learning has become a dirty word, but the reality is that learning can be fun both in social and learning situations. Find what works for you, and open up to letting learning be fun. It might just actually happen. “There’s no reason you couldn’t have a blast learning alongside others that want to learn the same as you. ...This goes outside of dance…. There are fitness clubs and then there are fitness gyms that really focus on the wellness aspect, while the others are more focused on the community building of fitness enthusiast… Just know that if your intention is to learn then you will get better results in a place where that is their intention as well.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 34 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast! Before beginning the lesson, Andres tells about his new service of virtual dances at salsakings.com/virtualprivates, which gives an interactive one-on-one teacher to give you answers to the questions you might have. For those with limited time or in a remote location, it’s a great service. The subject of this week’s podcast is Levels. In any study, there is always beginner, intermediate, and expert. Generally speaking, Andres says the classical dancers are more aware of these different levels than other dance communities. Teachers have a responsibility to feed students the knowledge at the levels they need, when they need it so they can progress properly. For students, they need to at a level trust their instructor and realize the information they’re giving is important, rather than to simply rush through the process. The importance of the study is mastery of even the smallest things, such as timing. Andres defends getting bored in classes. The more bored you are with something, the more in the right direction you are going, the more you have mastered the technique. It can limit the growth of a student to move them too quickly. Feeding too much information can overload the student. Teachers and students need to understand patience in the dance process. This is something that teachers need to be clear on. The importance of focus and the ability to thoughtlessly pull something off is more important that quickly learning new, exciting techniques. The foundation is important, because the stronger you are in those, the better you are at more complex things. The poorer your mastery of simpler things, the harder more complex things will become as time moves on. Students may feel like their teacher is trying to hold them back, but that could not be further from the truth. In fact, if a teacher is trying to move you too quickly, that can be cause for concern and discourage you from dance. It can be very tempting for everyone to move too fast, but the important thing of dance is to make it natural, make the movements second nature. Some of these things can become boring, but that simply means that you are actually growing. By establishing the proper level of dance, you can become a better and more enduring dancer. By taking the time to master each level, you are actually ensuring your time in dance. “...the instructor knows that there are specific levels to these things, where those specific rules and those specific pieces of information are for specific entry points along the learning process. So, once you’ve moved on, then you’ll be able to understand the flexibility to those certain things, whereas in the beginning it may not be so flexible because you will need that specific rule strict in order to understand the flexibility later on.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 29 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast! In this episode, Andres wants you to understand others. It’s easy to talk about people in a positive or even negative light, and believe they’ve got it made and they’re geniuses who have everything sorted out. Andres wants you to know that this is clearly not the case. The important thing here is that we will all help each other out and that we have something to offer each other. There are some who do have advantages, or even who have earlier inspirations, but that doesn’t mean they don’t also have struggles. Of course, this extends beyond dance, to work, exercise, and beyond. It’s all easier said than done. It’s something people need to mindful of. What you are doing is difficult. You aren’t broken and this isn’t beyond you. Realizing this is the first important step. This is something you need to understand. There are some people who do manage to push through, but it doesn’t change the need for hard work. It’s easy to get discouraged by hearing people talk about their accomplishments, particularly in this era of social media. It’s important to note, these people also went through struggle, hardship, and sacrifice, and you don’t know what they’re going through now. It’s important to respect the work that has gone into that. It’s important to appreciate yourself in all this, to congratulate yourself for the work you’re doing because this is work that everyone else is doing too. We’re all fighting against our doubts and insecurities, so it’s important not to let those be paralytic. This also ties into a previous episode, where you have to get into a more positive mindset as soon as possible, as time not spent on this is time lost. It easy to get discouraged by others success and that it’s difficult for you, but the fact that it’s easier said than done for everyone. Acknowledge how it’s difficult. That doesn’t mean you can’t do it. It doesn’t mean you can’t succeed. “I challenge you to go ahead, start now, but that that’s easier said than done. Easier said than done but do it. Do it now, as you’re going to be proud of yourself later on. Don’t judge yourself on your delays, don’t judge yourself on how long it’s taken. That’s all extra negativity. That’s all extra things that are gonna hold you back.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 28 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast! This week, Andres is aided by guest DJ Jorge Charun.  Born and raised in Peru among a salsa family, became a soccer player semi-professionally, moved to Washington D.C., the New York, then Miami, and has been a Salsa DJ for a decade and plays internationally and runs his own salsa festival. He is a guru of Salsa and its cultural influence, not just in his home country and America, but worldwide. Jorge talks about his history with dance, and how he learned how to dance and preferences to learning. Charun has had both soccer and salsa as part of his life from the beginning, saying he was into salsa before he could speak. His family inserted it into his life and it never left. He didn’t start truly learning to dance until he moved to the United States and watching the moves of the clubs. Charun’s true passion has always been the music itself, with the dance itself having been something in service to the music. He is what we’d consider a social dancer. He even made most of his friends through salsa and dancing. After a bit of time in New York City, where he was too busy to truly get into the impressive dance scene, he moved to Miami and got more involved with it there. Making friends there, he found himself at a party and was inspired to burn some CDs to play at parties. Impressed by his CD choices, he was eventually asked to use equipment to DJ and people were so impressed that he started getting hired for gigs. Now he’s a professional international DJ. Jorge also discusses the importance of the rest of the culture is for DJs. Crowds are needed to play the music and feel what music is needed, and of course, schools are needed to teach people how to dance to the crowd. A DJ’s success lies in how much of a crowd they can read and keep engaged. Paradoxically, a smaller group will be harder to read and get involved, while a larger group creates an easier wave to ride. For those who want to know about the art of music choices, and how to involve people with music, how to use music on people, and just have a fascination with the intersection of DJing and dancing, or just have music can infuse you with passion, you’ll find a lot of the episode particularly educational. “I think that once you get it, it shouldn’t be something you have to force. Most of us get it, get into it, motivated by something… we don’t just go ‘I wanna be a salsa dancer.’ Because usually, if you’re a guy, it’s a girl, if you’re a girl, it’s a guy that makes you think ‘I need to learn to dance like that’. Sometimes it’s your spouse… you’re like ‘she’s Colombian, and I wanna learn for her’ and then a lot of the time, these guys are out more than their spouse!”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 26 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast!   This week Andres wants you to START NOW. In many ways, it is a follow-up to the step by step story. He wants you to understand the fear that can paralyze you and keep you from doing the dancing or whatever hobby you want to have will always be there, and it is important not to let it keep you from pursuing your passions. Things will happen with or without you, and realizing this will hopefully push you to do more. This is why you need to START NOW. Time delayed is time lost. There is always some nervousness of the inability to see the end goal, or even of how daunting that end goal is, but you can’t let that get in the way of your work.   Andres points out that you don’t need to be able to see the end goal, so long as you can see the next step in your journey.   There is also the initial challenge of actually starting it, the move away from becoming static. It’s the most challenging part, and it’s the most frightening for everyone. There’s no shame in fear, but what must be done is to overcome the fear and do it anyways. Everyone experiences that fear, so don’t be ashamed of feeling it.   To do this, you need to want it and understand that time will not wait, that today is just as good as any to start. The other alternative is realizing that you don’t actually want a goal that much, and that’s fine. It’s fine to not actually want to goal. Be self-aware about it. That kind of honesty is important and means that energy can be put towards other things. You’ll now have other energy towards the thing you really do want to do, which will make you more happy.   It doesn’t have to be active, though. Starting now can also be focusing on what you need to so that you can be able to actively do things. Learn to say no to things, but also learn to say yes to things. Move your schedule around if you need, save your money, go to dance school more often, do what you have to to get where you need to.   When you make the steps towards getting what you want is when things will actually get. Keep in mind, that waiting won’t get you anything. Getting what you want is up to you. You need to START NOW.   “I encourage you, I challenge you, today, tonight, find out what that first step is. It doesn’t matter how small, but you’re gonna feel good about yourself and you’re gonna have that sense of momentum going forward.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 26 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast!   This episode features a guest who has done everything. He’s been a DJ, dancer, instructor, investor, you name it. Rudy Lopez has been working his own dance studio for over ten years, been a DJ for over eight years, as well as an instructor performer, and arranging events. Join him and Andres as they talk about the upcoming dance events and what it takes to reach the top in this industry.   Rudy discusses his history with dance. Born in Rochester, New York, he moved to Tampa at twelve and now lives in Orlando. He gained his passion from his musician family members and his mother who would take him to Latin clubs with plenty of dance. Later on in his life, after leaving a relationship he started looking into salsa dancing and asked a girl to dance, and then, upon failing to impress her, asked a man who was much proficient in dancing to teach him. After a business of his went down, they decided to start a new dance studio.   Rudi talks about his goals and the ways the business worked as well as the division of labor. He also talks about their utilization of Youtube and other parts of social media and how key it was in the success of his endeavors and how it gave them exposure outside of Tampa. He also talks about the development of their pro team and their backdrops. He also talks about the choices that led him to choose the styles of teaching, with his Dominican background as a heavy influence. In addition, he also talks about his history with DJing, starting as humbly as uploading mix tapes on SoundCloud.   From then on, Rudy talks about his experiences in the industry and what is needed to succeed, as well as the mindsets you have to have with the art as well as the business. He talks about you need to separate the music and the dance, as well as the different types of dancers. A balance between these is important and can be a bit of a challenge.   Lopez provides a valuable insight into the industry of dance, the art, and the music and how all of those intersect with each other. Those who want to see dance work and all of its different facets and how they come together will want to listen to this episode.   “Sometimes we have to take a festival away and that’s a lesson you have as a business owner. Sometimes you’re doing too much, spreading yourself too thin. Have that work/life balance. Mental health is extremely important, a lot of people don’t realize that. Sometimes you work too hard and that can affect your relationships, can affect your own mental states. So definitely definitely definitely take those things into consideration.”

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play Welcome to Episode 22 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast! Today, Andres wants to talk about Straw, sticks, or bricks, as in the three little pigs. In this context, Andres is talking about the foundations needed in dance to create a dependable dance routine. For many dancers, it is very easy to ignore the steps and work required to build that solid foundation. The foundation Andres is talking about is ballet. Ballet gives dancers a ‘left-brain’ understanding of the fundamentals of dancing and its forms. Someone who goes back to ballet is always going to have an advantage. It isn’t the only factor and dance can often be simple. However, if you want to learn and explore and bring your dancing to another level, then ballet is where you want to go. Ballet is the study of one’s body and its movement and its connection to the music. It’s about learning how you can use motion to communicate that dance. If you want to become a next-level dancer, then you need to learn ballet, to minimize the inexactitude or sloppiness in your own personal dance. It’s not needed to become a social dancer, nor is it required for female dancers to enter ballet if they do not wish to. Ballet isn’t just a ‘girl’ thing. It’s something everyone should study. It’s a level of training to understand the form and function and dance, and if you understand that, being a skilled and communicative dancer will be much easier. Everyone should have an appreciation for dance. This is a training to understand human capabilities and the math involved instinctually. This isn’t to discount passion or intent, but by using both your passion and your dance knowledge, you can make an unmatched dance. Both sides are needed to complete the whole. There are many who try to cut corners when trying to become dancer and it inevitably shows. While many who get this kind of training start out young, as time is a factor and those hours of practicing the basics lead to mastery that much quicker. This does not mean older dancers cannot study these however. This may not be the path that every dancer wants to take in their journey. However, those who want to pursue true excellence in your dancing then you need to understand the foundation and standards of dance, then you need to understand and respect dance. “Ultimately, if we want to raise the bar, if we want to have the public, understand and respect what it is that we’re doing as a latin dance community, that one of the main reasons why ‘dancers’ and when I say ‘dancers’ I mean of the classical realm, the reason they have less respect for the latin realm is that the latin dance community feels that it is not necessary for this kind of training to take place to express themselves fully.”