Pro's and Con's of Gossips & Rumors in the Salsa Dance Scene

Gossip is as old as the human race. Psychologists, historians, sociologists and linguists have been studying the pro's and con's of gossip for decades. The Salsa dance community is no stranger to this natural phenomenon. Gossips in Salsa have been responsible for breaking up Salsa show teams, but it is also partially responsible for Salsa dancers achieving a better social awareness within the international Salsa community.

One common definition of gossip is “a conversation between two people that concerns a third person who is not present”. I would like to add that the more a person stands out, the greater the chance he or she will be subjected to gossiping. Translated to Salsa dancing, this means that the Salsa dancers having an advanced or master Salsa dance level, who are successful, extrovert, hedonistic and displaying “odd” or “unconventional” behavior will be more likely to be gossiped upon than their more conventional Salsa dance colleagues.

The following clip has a nice theory on the evolution and the general implications of gossip.

Gossips in All Salsa Ranks
Starting with the basic, which are the Salsa dance schools, you will find "Salsa Gossip" among Salsa students about each others dance prowess and also about their Salsa instructors' behavior and personal lives. The Salsa teachers will gossip about their students who display odd behavior in the class and/or complain about their lack of progress. Salsa dance instructors and school owners gossip about their colleagues' faults, Salsa show team members gossip about each other, the dance routines and their choreographers, and Salsa dance parties & congress organizers gossip about each other and everyone else in the Salsa business.

Salsa Gossip vs. Salsa Rumors
The difference between gossip and rumor is that the first is based on facts while the latter is based on hypothesis. For example: you tell another person that you have seen a male Salsa dance teacher dancing very erotic (or in a very scandalous manner) with a lot of women is a gossip. You saying that the same Salsa dancer has sex with most of these women is a rumor, because you have not actually seen the erotic dancing Salsa teacher actually having sex with them.

Pros and Cons of Salsa Gossip & Rumors
The following are some pro's and con's of the gossip and rumor mentioned before:

The Pro's

• The Salsa dance teacher will be respected by Salsa dancers with a “Macho” mentality.
• Women in search of a (sexual) relationship with this “Salsa Player” see their chances increased.
• The “Playboy Salsero” does not know that his behavior is criticized, so he thinks that it is generally accepted and will therefore continue with his “illicit” conduct.

The Con's

• The Salsa dance teacher will not be respected by the other Salsa dancers, his colleagues or his employers. He will lose respect, gigs and clients without knowing why.
• Women looking for “just a normal dance” (= the majority) will not dance with this “Salsa Pervert”.
• The Salsa teacher will be eventually become an outcast within the (international) Salsa community.

Alex Da Silva's case is an excellent example for the ultimate consequences of gossips and rumors for a Salsa dancer.

You can write your own experiences or examples concerning the pro's and con's of gossips & rumors within the Salsa scene in the comment box below.