Name: Brian Pagán
Age: 30
Nationality: US American
Currently residing: Amsterdam
Profession: User Experience Consultant
Salsa Style: Puerto Rican and Cuban, advanced beginner
How long have you been dancing for?
I have been Salsa dancing for eight months.
What made you start with salsa?
My family is from Puerto Rico, so I have been around it pretty much all my life, but taking lessons sort of happened by accident. While living in Germany, I met a Salsa dance teacher, Rafael, and it grew out of that meeting!
Where do you take your lessons?
I just moved to Amsterdam in The Netherlands, so I’m still looking. Any tips?
What’s your best salsa tip for a night out ?
My best tips for a Salsa night out are: Coco Dancing on Sundays in Bitburg, Germany and Club Roses on Fridays in Amsterdam, Holland.
What is your best salsa memory?
“Tele-dancing” with a very close friend in Germany. I led and she followed, but we did not touch each other at all. It looks cool if done well!
What is your worst salsa experience?
A guy I knew once asked me to dance with his mom. At the time, I knew nothing about turns, so we danced a whole song without turning, and I was nervous the whole time.
What are the best salsa tips you have for [men/women] dancing salsa?
Not that I am in a position to give tips, but I think it's good to stay in the Salsa flow, even when not dancing. Listen to Salsa music at work, watch tutorials on YouTube, and make the music a part of you. Feeling and improvisation is more important to me than memorizing long, mechanical turn chains.
Which song will get you up on the dance floor?
The song which will get me on the Salsa floor every time I hear it is “Castellano Que Bueno Baila Usted” by Tito Puente.
Which salsa dancer/teacher/choreographer inspires you?
The dancer who inspires me the most is Yaofei “David” Huo, who is a Salsa Casino Champion.
Where do you see salsa going in 5 years from now?
I am still researching this one….
What inspires you on the dancefloor?
A woman that can laugh on the dance floor inspires me very much.
Lastly, if there was one salsa wish you could make, what would that be?
I want to dance Salsa barefoot on a beach…. Not completely unrealistic!
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