Salsa Dancing and Large Egos

Social Salsa Dance, just like any other dance forms, has a psychological factor at its root, which drives the dancers to excel in their art form:  they have egos. Finding the right balance between having an ego and being egocentric determines the amount of success dancers have on and off the dance floor.

Dancers who dance without paying attention to their dance partners or care for the safety of other dancers, men who force women into doing uncomfortable and dangerous dance moves, and women using lots of styling, which makes them very difficult to be lead,  are some examples of the normal ego turned into egocentrism. It seems that the better the dancers get, the more egocentric they become. There are many reasons for this development.

Edie the Salsa Freak stated that most people starting with Salsa Dance classes have had a problematic life. All their trials and tribulations cause them to develop a relatively low self-esteem. In many Western societies, it is not a costume to pay compliments to people doing the right thing. People tend to get more complaints about wrong decisions or actions instead of them being rewarded for a good deed or a ‘job well done’. Most of these budding Salseros and Salseras do not even dare to dance. The main reason behind this ‘cowardness’ is the society being ‘performance based’: someone has to give a great performance in order to be respected, admired, or to enjoy other benefits. This performance drive and self-consciousness have some advantages and disadvantages. The undeniable advantage of a dance student aspiring to be the best he or she can be is of him or her becoming more popular. The loss of perspective would be the main disadvantage for the persons who are not accustomed to – or do not how to cope with - getting so many compliments. 

Tips for keeping the proper Perspective

It is natural for people to covet positive attention. This is human nature, but dancers should be well aware of the persons paying them these verbal and non-verbal compliments. Most of these persons who are paying the compliments have a lesser dance level. They also dream of becoming as good as the dancers they admire, and most of them have no knowledge about ‘good dancing’.  ‘In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man or Woman is King or Queen’. Others have hidden agendas such as business opportunities and parasitic behavior.    

Other fact ‘good’ dancers should consider is the temporary nature of their popularity. There have been great dancers before them, and there will be even greater dancers than they are in their near futures. Many great dancers of the past are now unknown by the current Salsa dance generation. 

There is a difference between ‘being good enough to please and impress your dance partner’ and ‘to be the best dancer in the middle of  the dance floor’. Dancers have to give their very best when they perform a Salsa or Mambo Dance routine in front of an audience, or when they are competing for the first place during Salsa Dance Competitions. This drive is not necessary on the social dance floor. People trying to be the best they can be in a social setting tend to forget other dancers around them. Performers and competitors should be able to know this difference and act accordingly. The dancers should adapt to the available dance space. The following video of social dancing by Arelis, Junior Alabi, Carlos Moises, and Alexis Omar during the Curacao Salsa Tour shows how it can be done properly. The dancers are having fun together without disturbing the other dancers dancing at the centre of the dance floor.

Final Notes

The most dangerous ego-trippers are narcissists.  These self-absorbed dancers should not be allowed to dance on the social dance floor or teach dance classes, but fact is most Master Class Dance performers and instructors who think they are the centre of the universe are the ones who are most admired. It does not make sense if teachers instructing Salsa Ethics set bad examples on the social dance floor themselves. ‘Practice what you Preach.’ Advanced Dancers, Dance Instructors, or Performers should not ‘create’ or ‘clear’ the dance floor with their excellent dancing. They should excel only when and where there is enough dance space available.