Exclusive Interview with Salsa Dance Stars Adrian & Anita Part 2

This is the second part of the exclusive interview Adrian & Anita had for OnlineSalsa.com. The first part can be read here. Adrian continues to talk about their worst experiences in Salsa dancing.

Adrian: One of the worst experiences for us as professional Salsa dancers traveling so much by plain are the airports. We cannot sleep, we are unable to keep a diet, etc. There are so many of these things people don't know. Our situation cannot be compared with the lives of professional 'classical' dancers. They have to work a lot, but they are free to do as they please after their performances. So, many of them go to sleep or rest. This is not the case with us. After our performance, we have to go on dancing on the social Salsa dance floor. Then, we head on to the airport without having had any sleep and fly to another Salsa congress to give Salsa workshops, still without sleeping. And this cycle goes on and on. When we arrive at the next congress, we're pretty much exhausted, but we have to appear fit and happy because the people paying for the congress expect that from us.

Sederick: So, what has been your best experience ever in your joint Salsa dance careers?

Anita: After only one week of working together, we were hired to work for a Spanish television channel. I like working for TV, so that was a great experience. Furthermore, Adrian and I had a big fight the day before we won the Puerto Rico World Salsa Championships for the first time. I told him, “We're going to compete tomorrow and after that I never want to see you again!” I went to the finals thinking, “I don't care, because I'm not going to work anymore with him. We were a love couple and we broke up, so it does not matter anymore.” We started dancing feeling pretty much angry at each other, but at the end, we won the competition. After that, we sat down and had a good talk, which resulted in our situation getting much better. People didn't know that the day before the finals we had been crying and yelling to each other, and to us it seemed as if we had won the Salsa competition 'out of the blue'.” In retrospect, I find this to be a very beautiful experience as well.

Adrian: My best experience would be having met Anita and being able to dance and work with her.

Watch this video clip of Adrian & Anita performing during the Salsa school Extremos' 10th Anniversary Salsa Weekend in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.  I did this interview the day after their incredible performance.

Sederick: Last but not least, how do you see the international Salsa dance scene evolving over 5 years?

Adrian: Adrian and Anita will still be going strong in 5 years. And, the international Salsa scene will still be growing. We just arrived from Brazil and Salsa dancing is very popular there, we went to Mexico and their Salsa is also very strong. The people are not interested in mere social Salsa dance anymore, but they only want to learn even more intricate dance moves in order to shine on the dance floor. I think that the dance level will be much higher than it is today and the Salsa scene will be even more prominent.

But, I hope that the social context of Salsa dancing – to just dance and have fun - will not be lost. When I go out Salsa dancing, I like to enjoy myself and have a drink. I think that people tend to forget this important aspect of Salsa. Now, I see a growing number of dancers only focused on making as many turns as they possibly can, or looking out for the dancers making the fanciest moves on the dance floor.  It is starting to resemble a competition on the social dance floor. But, the competition should be taking place on stage and not on the dance floor! When dancing Salsa on the social floor, people should think of just having fun with each other and with their dance partners. And, we can better dance together, instead of you trying to figure out if your dance steps are better than mine.

Anita: We want to thank you very much for this interview. And we also want to thank you for following our workshops.

Adrian: We have known you for four years now, and I always wanted to know the reason why you dance Salsa on wooden clogs.

Anita: Yes! Tell us about your shoes!

Adrian: I've always seen you with your very unique style and we want to know more about the story behind those shoes. Now, WE are the ones doing the interview! LOL..

Sederick: I told them my story...

I would like to thank Adrian and Anita from the bottom of my heart for giving me some of their precious time to do this interview for OnlineSalsa.com. And, I also want to mention that these world class Salsa superstars will be teaching and performing at the 8th Austrian Salsa Congress 2011.

For more information on Adrian an Anita and their many activities, go to www.adrianyanita.com