The Netherlands as Europe’s Salsa Dance Petri Dish Part 2

This is the second and last part of the article on the leading role of the Netherlands in the development of the Salsa Dance industry on the European continent. In the first part I explained how the Dutch mentality has been paramount to its success. The first part of the article can be read here . From the year 2000 onward, international Salsa Congresses in Europe flourished by following the Dutch example.

As the European Salsa industry started to overheat, the Dutch went into 'Salsa Remission' by making the social aspects of Salsa more important.

Boiling Dutch Salsa Dance Industry

Key persons in the Salsa world in Holland such as Morry Krispijn (Salsaventura) and Eric Lalta (Salsa Dance Squad) had a big influence on the further development of Salsa in Holland. Salsa Dance Squad has been the number one international award-winning Salsa Showteam for years. Many of its ex members started their own Salsa show teams and became Salsa Dance instructors. Some of them went to work at the Salsaventura franchise. Morry organized his own Salsa Congresses and went on to organize the annual Dutch Salsa Championships as his organization kept growing. The Zouk Dance scene also  grew in popularity and was lead by the Zouk franchise “Zouk Lovers”, a company Claudio Gomez started. The Dutch Salsa scene flourished like never before with lots of Latin Dance styles co-existing together in what seemed to be total harmony, but the first cracks soon started to show up.

Before the 'Salsa Big Boom', most Salsa students thought all Salsa Dance instructors were dancers with official academic qualifications. Dancers writing on Salsa Forums told the truth to the Dutch Salsa community: anyone can teach Salsa, as it is a 'Free Profession'. This is one of the many reasons why a large percentage of the Advanced level Salsa students became Salsa Dance instructors themselves. Now the Netherlands has an average of 180 known Salsa dance schools spread over a population of about 17 million inhabitants. Its major cities, like any country worldwide, not only has the most Salsa dancers/students, but they also have the largest Salsa schools. This makes the Netherlands one of the Western countries with the highest concentration of Salsa Dance activities in the world. The fierce competition between the Salsa schools grew worse because of Ballroom and Latin dance schools, which were highly organized but also declining in popularity, starting to dabble in the Salsa Dance Instruction business.

Salsa-United

American Latin dancers who turned their backs to the world that formed them did to Salsa what they hated the most about the strict Ballroom/Latin world: they made Salsa more 'goal-driven'. And the foreigners teaching Salsa in Holland made the competition escalate to a whole new level. All of these developments started a discussion which lasted for years in the Dutch Salsa scene about forming a Salsa Teacher's Union. Many initiatives failed. On August 30, 2008, a few of the larger Salsa Dance schools finally joined forces and erected 'Salsa-United', the first Salsa and Zouk Teachers Union in the world with direct links to the World Dance Council. The main goals of this Salsa Dance organization are: to facilitate and encourage mutual cooperation between the Salsa and Zouk Dance schools which are members of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, to enhance and promote Salsa and Zouk as Amateur and Professional Dance Sports, to separate the 'good' schools from the 'illegal' ones with a trade mark, to organize Dutch Salsa Championships which are officially recognized by the WDC, to develop and install an official Salsa Instructor's Training and Certification Course, and to pay less taxes. 

Now, about 40 Salsa schools are members of Salsa-United. The regional and national Dutch Salsa Championships having no money prizes are becoming more popular than the preliminary rounds of Albert Torres' World Salsa Championships held in the Netherlands. More Salsa Party organizers are inviting Salsa student Show teams to perform at their parties, and the first 'Dutch Finest' Salsa Weekend, which is a Festival with only Dutch Salsa instructors and performers, is about to take place (June 18 to 20, 2010).

Michael of the popular 'Salsa Casa Loca' parties is one of the first to organize a 'Dutch Finest' Salsa Weekend, which brings 30+ of Holland's top Salsa and Zouk instructors & performers together to do the job most European Congress and Festival organizers do not dare: believe in your local talents.

Salsa Royale's second Holland Summer Salsa Congress, which is held between August 27 and 29, 2010, will have some extra surprises which will revolutionize the European Salsa scene once more. The long list of all-star international Salsa instructors and performers is just an appetizer for more to come.

All European Salsa dancers and the whole international Salsa Dance community would be wise to follow the developments in the Dutch Salsa scene. I know that I certainly will!

Tickets for the Dutch Finest Salsa Weekend can be bought at www.thedutchfinest.com, and tickets for the Holland Summer Salsa Congress can be reserved at www.summersalsa.nl