Salsa Dancing versus Alcohol

For many Salsa dancers drinking water from the rest room is a normal way to satisfy their thirst when they are dancing Salsa all night long. Latinos at a Latino party can not enjoy the party without a large bottle of their favorite alcoholic beverage on their tables. Response from a Salsera: ‘Oh no, thank you. If I drink alcohol I will not be able to do my triple spins any more, and I will fly right through my Cross Body Leads’.

The main difference between the behavior of ‘Salseros’ and Latinos is their intentions when going to a club. Dancing Salsa is not the main reason why the gross of Latin Americans and Antillean natives go to a Latino Club: they are more content with just a night out in the company of their friends and relatives. And having a large bottle of strong Liquor (Havana Club rum or Black Label whisky), a bucket of ice, and a bottle of a non alcoholic drink (Coca Cola) on their reserved tables is also a status symbol. They will sing their favorite Salsa songs together and dance occasionally. This is quite the opposite to the needs of Salsa dancers. For most of them Salsa is a Dance Sport, and the main objective they have when they visit a Salsa bar is to dance as much Salsa, Mambo, and Bachata as they possibly can. This sport mentality in the (Western) Salsa dance scene makes it difficult for the owners and organizers of Salsa parties to generate the same revenues as their Latino counterparts does.

DJ’s will also notice this difference. DJ’s playing at Latino parties will often receive a bottle of the special brand of spirit from the management, which has been already put in the DJ booth, as part of their fee. Salsa DJ’s get vouchers for the consumption of a limited amount of non alcoholic beverages or beer. The generosity of the Salsa dance party organizers will disappear if the DJ’s are (too) expensive. In recent times there are more Salsa party organizers inserting a ‘non alcohol drinking clause’ into the contract of the Salsa spinners. 

So the only way to generate a lot of income with organizing Salsa parties is to have lots of dancers in the club. This could explain the explosive growth of large Salsa parties with lots of dance performances in their programs. And the bar income also explains the growing number of international Salsa Dance Congresses which are being organized all around the world, where hundreds of dancers consume many liters of (no alcoholic) beverages in one hour. It is attractive for the producers of these intoxicating drinks to sponsor these large dance events. A well known example of this joint venture is the famous Bacardi World Salsa Congress in Puerto Rico. Bringing a certain class to these large parties (‘gala parties´) is also a way to promote alcohol drinking. But Salsa dancers generally will stick with only drinking a couple of wines or mixed beverages.   

Another reason for the difference in alcohol consumption between Salsa dancers and Latinos is the (high) price of strong alcoholic drinks in comparison to the total amount of money being spent on other dance related products. The so called ‘die hard Salseros and Salseras’ will go Salsa dancing 3 times a week, pay for their Salsa dance courses/workshops and private dance classes, travel  every year to 2 or 3 international Salsa Dance congresses which are organized abroad, and buy lots of Salsa dance related products such as Salsa Dance DVD’s and clothes. This makes it easier for (Western style) Salsa dancers to prioritize and to choose not to consume alcohol as it only deteriorates their dancing abilities. But there is good news. A Salsa dancer can enjoy a dance night while drinking alcohol if he or she follows the next guidelines:

For starters: consume small amounts of alcohol spread over a certain time period. Just enough to stay clear minded. Drink only 1 type of alcoholic beverage. Do not turn or spin too much at the beginning of the evening. And your alcohol consumption must not disturb your dance partners in any way: belching combined with an Alcohol odor is not done! This is why drinking (too much) beer is not a brilliant idea.  Make sure to eat a good meal for a minimum of 3 hours previous to your Salsa dancing in combination with alcohol. Dancing and drinking on an empty stomach is not good for your own health, but dancing and drinking on a full stomach is also not healthy for the rest of the dancers on the Salsa dance floor. Discover your personal limit for alcohol. Persons who are not capable of ‘holding their liquor’ must refrain from consuming alcohol. Make sure you drink enough (tap) water when you are drinking alcohol and sweating (heavily) on the dance floor. Start with drinking mixes of alcohol with non-alcohol beverages with( lots of) ice cubes to get your body accustomed to alcohol. You can increase your tolerance to alcohol gradually, but you will never reach immunity. Please do take in account the addictive nature of alcohol. It is not a good idea to drink alcohol knowing that your body has a problem with drug addiction.

And last but not least: do not drink and drive.