The Salsa Socialite: Role Models
Ashanti Altovese - Professional dancer and instructor
Hola Salseros,
Whenever I go out Salsa dancing, whether at a nightclub or at a social, it allows me to express myself, bond with friends, and relieve stress. It’s so nice that dancing can do all that to make a person feel so good inside – and it shows outside! That happy, bubbly person we see out makes us feel happy and bubbly as well.
Sometimes we don’t think about how we are perceived as people, as dancers and what that means to those around us. Are we polite? Do we say hello? Do we make eye contact? What does our body language communicate about who we are as people and dancers? Dance floor etiquette is a topic that I feel we can’t talk enough about and ultimately effects are respective Salsa scenes in different ways. It can attract or repeal newcomers depending on how seriously people take it. I want Salsa as a dance, a music, and a lifestyle to continue to grow as long as it can and we can all be ambassadors for the cause by the way we model ourselves.
From novice level to the world renown professional, we are all role models for Salsa. When we walk into the club, the congress, or the dance company social, we represent a brand that is Salsa. Furthermore, that brand carries into our professional careers, our family life, and into our own personal grown. So the next time you are out dancing, say hello to someone new, dance with a newbie, converse and dance with those who dance On 1, On 2, Cumbia, or Timba. Let’s show respect to all those around us and we will shine like stars because we are role models. We are Salsa’s finest and it shows through our inner spirit.
Ashanti Altovese
