Saturday, September 29, 2012

What Salsa means to me

The first thing that comes in mind when people hear the word "salsa" is sexy ladies in sequined dresses and high heels twirling around the dance floor lead by a handsome guy on the beat of a saucy Latin number. But if you really get into the heart of it there is more to it than just the music and the steps. Its the emotions involved with those movements which makes the dance so special. Each step speaks a story in itself. It describes a relationship in all its stages.
First there is  the glance, the connections that the eyes make when they spot their partner. And if you can hold on to that connection throughout the dance, you know you got something special. Then comes the simple flirting. The back and forth game of both the partners testing the waters, with the Basic step. They want to see if how far can this game go. And then things get a bit serious and the fun begins!! 
Salsa is about flirting, about love, about passion about trust. For that moment on the floor he owns her. She is his to do what he wants and he takes that responsibility seriously and is a perfect gentleman. She knows that he will not let any harm come her way. He wants to show her off to the world. Show off the fact that she is with him. He knows that while dancing all eyes will be on her and he will just be a background presence and he is OK with that. She does her best so that she looks good for him.
With each turn he leads her into, he tries to imagine what his life would be without her and the moment she turns away he cannot bear it and pulls her back towards him. At the same time he knows that there are times when they both need their own space. And so, when he leaves her to do her shines while he is doing his, he knows that there is a chance that she might just walk away, or might get whisked away by another partner, but he has that faith in her and the confidence in himself that she will come back to him.. The same for her, she knows that when he is letting her go, it might be for good. But in the end they both come back to each other (or find a new partner ;) ). With each drop he lets her know that no matter how hard she falls he will always be there to catch her and lift her up. Every time they get tied in a lock they know that no matter how tricky the situation is they will come out of it sooner or later.
All these stories, these feelings, these emotions form the beautiful dance of Salsa, and  I have just listed a very tiny portion of it and I hope I have done justice to it. There is still so much to explore.
Ps. This is just my personal interpretation of the dance. There can be different thoughts too! :)

5 comments:

Nil Arte said...

Lovely...
would like to hear ur take on "Jive"!

Nil Arte said...

Lovely...woulf like to hear ur take on "Jive"

dreamy said...

Thanks Nilesh. I think almost all latin dance forms originate from the same emotions. They might depict them in different ways.
But yes, Jive tells a quite different story. I have not done much of it, but from what I have done, I would say Jive is about letting go of yourself and living in the moment. It tells us to not think about the small things, but just kick your troubles away and move on and that too with a bounce. It is about us being happy no matter what :)

Nil Arte said...

Well said Dreamy,

Jive is my the most fav. dance for precisely all these reasons n beyond

Dreammy said...

Pretty interesting ...!!!