Using 'Beauty and Brains' in Salsa Dancing

Budding Salsa dancers all over the world are confronted on a daily basis with beauty and the art of getting as much good dance partners as possible for their for Salsa dancing. Many studies in human psychology and beauty gives us basic guidelines which are very much applicable in the wonderful world of Salsa dance.

Several studies have concluded that by nature, girls are more attracted (or occupied) with external beauty than man. When a group of women outside the Salsa dance scene have a discussion about their 'top 3 attractive males' they will usually compare their favorite male movie stars with each other. The German philosopher Kant stated that you can only achieve a 'true and objective opinion about beauty if you do not desire the person or the thing on which you are forming your opinion'. So, the opinion of friends and relatives on the good looks of your life partner are not relevant: these persons desire to have a good relationship with you and will therefore tell you what you would like to hear. But, Salsa dancing brings another criteria to the mix, which is the Salsa dance abilities of potential dance partners. You can have a (biased and subjective) opinion about the attractiveness of your (candidate) Salsa partners, but with Salsa dancing it has become very important to judge their (objective) dancing abilities as well.

How you Look is Very Important!
As stated earlier: Salsa dancing is not a charity initiative. Your potential dance partners will be for more than 80% attracted to how you look, feel and smell. Salsa dancing has evolved from 'dancing because it feels good' to 'dancing because it looks great'. There are some general guidelines to secure Salsa dance success for everyone. Here are some great tips for you to 'get ahead in the Salsa dance game'.

1. For women  AND men: start wearing Red instead of Black clothes!
The research of Andrew Eliot of the University of Rochester concluded that men wearing red clothes have a great chance to be successful in attracting women. Eliot concluded after a series of experiments that women found pictures of men taken with a red background or wearing a red T-shirt more attractive than men photographed against a white background or wearing a green or blue shirt. The researcher says that we associate the color red with strength, power and dominance. Eliot showed in a previous research that women clothed in red are perceived as being more attractive to men. Men will also spend more money for ladies wearing red. For Salsa dancing, this result means that Salseros will do a greater effort to please female Salsa dancers wearing red clothes than the ones who does not. This is quite the opposite of what this article suggests.

See Salsa Champions of 2007 Abel & Zulmara perform in Red and Black.

2. Copy the Salsa Moves of your Dance Partner
The French psychologist and researcher Nicolas Gueguen shows that copying your partner also works in love. His conclusion after completing a speed date experiment was that the men's favorite women were the ones who copied their words and gestures. But, speed dating is not the same as Salsa dancing. It is not wise for male Salsa dancers to imitate the styling of the ladies whilst Salsa dancing. But, copying each others footwork whilst keeping your own (gender orientated) 'Salsa Styling roles' can be a successful strategy on the dance floor!

3. Be Sexier than the Competition!
The most important goal of women is not only to be sexy, but to be sexier than the women in their direct vicinity. The results of a recently done research shows that women put on high heels, short skirts and tight tank tops only when they are in their most fertile period. One of the the sound tactics for women to get as much great Salsa dance partners as they possibly can is to go to each Salsa dance party wearing the same clothes as they would wear when they are 'in heat' once a month.  

4. Your Salsa Dance Ability goes Hand in Hand with your External & Internal Beauty
David Buss's research showed that - generally speaking-  the way you look  is becoming more important in the world. Therefore, it is normal to conclude that the better you look, the more Salsa dance partners you will get. You can compensate a lack of physical beauty with beautiful dancing. But, you will get less dance partners if you are not a social person.

The Salsa dancers getting the most dance partners are the ones who found the right balance between their I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient), E.Q. (Emotional Quotient), their Salsa dance abilities and showing off their strongest physical features.