Salsa (the dance, not the spicy tomato sauce)

The state of dance from your average Joe

Hello my loyal subcribers, its good to be back. I haven’t written a blog since January, but here I am, finally with something I think is worth discussing. And thats the topic of Dance.

I was at a bar in downtown San Diego back in May 2023 with some friends; the bar is called Trailer Park After Dark. It looks like an old trailer park (after dark), stocked with all American favorite drinks like Coors Light on draft and jell-o shots galore. When you walk in you’ll find yourself among circles of friends jumping up and down to Blink-182 and Panic! at the Disco songs. The place has a barrier that splits the floor in two, making it difficult to move around; and also keeping you squeezed nice and close to the bar, presumably to get you to buy more drinks.

That night I couldn’t help but find myself filled with dissapointment; that this could be the pinnacle of nightlife in San Diego, getting wasted on cheap yet expensive alcohol and head banging to punk rock. I could write an entire blog about how I perceive an extremely toxic alcohol culture in the United States; plagued by consumerism and evil marketing strategies. But today I’ll stick to talking about what I believe has become a healthy nightlife alternative for me, Latin Dancing, and why you should come dancing with me.

Vedanza

Later that May, at my friend’s encouragement, I signed up for a Salsa dancing class at Vedanza Dance Studios in Oceanside California. Long story short, I spent the summer taking classes here, and eventually turned to attending social dancing events on weekends throughout the city. While I had a feeling I would like it, to my surprise, I feel like I made a discovery that has changed my view of nightlife and of relationship to it. Through salsa dancing, I have overcome a deal of anxiety, made some incredible new relationships, and developed a stronger overall sense of belonging and community in my city. Despite whatever your preconceptions of what dancing would look like for you in your life, I strongly encourage anyone to try it, as it has helped me in surprising ways.

As Shia LaBeouf once said, JUST DO IT

I’m 29 years old now, and I feel like I’m running out of time to be scared to do things. Otherwise I might not ever get the chance to do them, because I presume it only gets harder with time. With that said, specifically when it comes to dancing, and specifically with men, I hear consistently “Oh, I know i’m going to suck at dancing”. Culturally we have developed an expectation that men are shitty at dancing and thats how its supposed to be. Women are expected to be the dancers while men just kind of teeter side to side and wave their arms around. With these assumptions the barrier to entry seems high for a guy. But as we all should know, going outside your comfort zone is almost 100% a positive experience, and experimenting against cultural assumptions is a must in order to progress. I feel like I’ve had to learn this over and over, but as soon I finished my first Salsa class, I felt like I had gained a new sense of confidence in doing something new even though I was previously afraid to do so. I also felt like I had activated some dormant energy inside me that was begging to be released!

If you don’t think you need to go outside your comfort zone in order to grow, then let me propose my next point; you are biologically designed to dance.

Takes two to Tango

I think if we dimmed the lights in the halls of Congress, lowered that disco ball hidden in the ceiling of the house chamber, slapped on Prince Royce’s bachata cover of “Stand By Me” and told our representatives to dance, we might actually get some laws passed (let alone avoid government shutdown this weekend). Salsa dancing is the fastest path to human connection I’ve personally experienced at an individual level, pair level, and group level.

Most people today experience this “Collective Effervescence” at music festivals and the occasional concert. The term coined by Emile Durkheim refers to when a group of humans coalesce simulataneously into the same thought or action; like moving to the beat in music. Presumably we evolved to be able to do this as a way to develop stronger relationships and form stronger societies.

Is the easiest way to experience this human phenomenon really through $200 festival tickets, often involving drugs and alcohol? I enjoy festivals and concerts myself, but what if we could treat collective effervescence as the norm, the regular experience you expect to get while walking into the nightclub or bar; not just$2 off a $12 cocktail. All I can say is that I’ve felt so alive leaving the Salsa bars after having danced with several new people; its like I made a bunch of new friends even though I may never see them again. We might actually find ourselves feeling societally closer together, connected, at ease around one another; like dance has done for societies historically.

Dance might not be the only solution, but I think we should invest in these types of activities, especially as we seem to be drifting apart over time. Also I want to clarify when I say “Dance” I don’t just mean sexual grinding up on another human. I’m talking about something a little more learned and rehearsed; but it doesn’t have to be Salsa dancing.

I concede that in order to make this happen healthily, a lot of other problems must be addressed first; for example toxic masculinity and drinking culture.

Duality of things

Modern times place emphasis on the individual rather than the group. I’ve embraced this belief fully over the last decade, as I try (to pretend) to be a self sufficient adult. Even modern dance (among other things) feels individualistic. We move to our own beat because being individualistic is widely regarded as a strength. But I’m starting to feel that, like with all things in this universe, theres a duality here. The idea of being part of a collective energy, a singularity, a piece of the whole, is important too. Without the collective, we are merely individuals with potentially self-serving ends.

I see dance as an inherently collective activity, bringing together people of all backgrounds to communicate through means other than words. The shared energy and movement of dance bonds us, and reminds us that we aren’t so different in the end. It may sound a bit hippie and bohemian but let me tell you I’ve made more 65+ friends, and more generally friends of different upbringings in the last few months than I have most other years of my life. And despite the relationship being different (we may not know each others’ last names or jobs), there is a mutual understanding of each other through the communication of movement. And thats pretty cool.

If none of this rings true to you, I suggest you purchase this game, and play it until you change your mind.

Shout out to Vedanza Entertainment, Vera Tinoco, Raymond Francisco, and Amy Hill for helping me discover salsa dancing. https://www.vedanza.com/#/ https://www.instagram.com/vedanzaentertainment/