Salsa City Forum » Salsa Music and Dance » Mixing

Popalock - did you actually READ this thread before you charged in with your "explanations" about why DJ's mix?

The DJ's around cardiff are DANCERS!!! Not Fatboy slim wannabe's wanting fame and glory. I will explain my points again. These are only my opinions however and I'd like to remind you that I don't like mixing either!

YES - we do get bored - that's because we're DANCERS and want to dance. Also - since we are teachers aswell - we HAVE to dance with people or we are labelled as "Salsa Snobs".

Silence on a dance floor or in an entertainment venue is UNACCEPTABLE - NO EXCEPTIONS! How do I know? Because of my professional background which I'm not going to go into just take my word on this. I know a lot about the industry.

So - how do you avoid silence? You start the next song immiediately after the previous one finishes which is what all of us try to do.

Since the DJ's are usually dancing - this means cutting a dance off short and making a mad dash to the booth (usually knocking over countless other dancers in the process)

As I've said - we DJ because we have to, not because we want to. Personally all I ever want to do is dance.
If you want a TOP DJ then Steve West, in my book, is the best. He purchases approximately 10 - 20 CD's a month - why? Because he is a DJ - not a dancer.

If you think we're all loosers - then stop hiding behind an Alias - let the scene know who you are and YOU come and DJ for a night if you think we're all so rubbish and by the way - I'd like to hear you explain your thoughts to Henry Vena - probabily the world's greatest Salsa DJ who, a-hem mixes!

Posting under an alias is permitted and encouraged, so it cannot be construed as "hiding". Popalock said "DJs are mostly a bunch of losers". Which is just his opinion and not an attack on any particular individual or even all salsa djs.

Get George to do the Mixing & DJ stuff. Then we will have 'THE' greatest dancer & DJ for entertainment!!! :-)

Welcome to the forum, Minime. Perhaps you could tell us a bit about George so we can recognise this salsa paragon when we see him.

I think I second the notion of George!

Certainly the stories of him have kept me entertained; unfortunately though I've not been present to witness any of his 'triumphant' moments. (If you want to call them that!) But I'm sure I will someday soon!

I live in hope... :)

George is, of course, unquestionably the best dancer in Cardiff (in fact, nobody in Cardiff is actually good enough to dance with him). He combines this with the outstanding personal qualities of modesty, tact, charm, sportsmanship and generosity of spirit.

: )

Handbags at the ready please Ladies :-)

The sad thing is he is a very good dancer and his leads are excellent - I will always defend him on this! Let me throw my salsa philosophy to the "floor". I expect some people won't like it but I've retired so I don't care Ha!

The majority of people who dance salsa in Cardiff are hobbiests (think I've spelt it wrong... never mind) None of us will ever dance like the "pro's" as it takes hours of dedication everyday and we've all got better things to do with our time like work / family / study! IMHO most of us just do salsa for a bit of a laugh, keep fit, and to have some social life and I'm including myself in this comment.

The trouble arises when dancers (or teachers) start taking it all a bit too seriously, Who cares if the lead isn't textbook perfect? Who cares if the body isn't "rippling" like JC's can. So long as one can hold the beat and have some fun. This is what our Greek friend (and many others) appear to have forgotton - it's a fun dance.

Even the ELITE Cardiff dancers / teachers are only AVERAGE by world standards. Rohan, Phil Heath, JC, Andy, George,Yours truly, we're all OK, but you only have to mention names like the Vasquez brothers, Al Espinoza, Alex De Silva etc to see how "normal" WE ALL ARE. Once people get their standard into perspective,give up caring how good they are and say bol*ocks to the politics (excuse the french) - Salsa becomes much more fun for everyone involved and funnily enough - when you stop caring how good you are, generally you improve at a quicker pace!

One final comment before I go into hiding from every "uppity" salsero in Cardiff - Happy New Year everyone!

Dead right Paul.

"Dance like nobody's watching" - my philosophy is that the only person I should be trying to entertain or impress is the person I'm dancing with at that moment.