Salsa Dancing

SALSA DANCING
Not really wanting to address”leading” in Salsa dancing from a feminist perspective but . . . The reason (one of the reasons) for the Women’s Liberation movement back in the 1960’s was to liberate both men and women. How could you not include both sexes in a movement that was destined to impact social engineering for generations to come. To anticipate a relationship on the dance floor where the man”leads” and the woman “follows” is ludicrous. Let us discuss.
The word follower will be substituted for woman to include the myriad of gender identifications.
You may understand the description of a “leader” if you acknowledge the following observations. The responsibility of leading in Salsa dancing is analogous to one half of a couple defined as the bread winner. What women said in the 1960’s Liberation Movement was that housework is significant for the total life of a couple/family. Educated women wanted to have a career in their lifetime. Sometimes the exigencies of a couple’s life together dictated rearrangements of gender identifications.
On the dance floor, of Salsa on two, a mis-step or a misinterpreted lead is a social exigency. The “shine” may be a deliberate reinterpretation of a lead. A follower may be inspired by the poly-rhythms of contemporary salsa music. A trumpet quartet blaring amid symphonic jazz can be trance inducing.
There is a consent implicit in accepting a dance leader. This is a limited opportunity for two people to dance together. It is not a behavior guide for the evening. A salsa dance relationship is not a relinquishing of decision making. There is a nanosecond of meanness in enabling grandiosity. A follower has to be cautious to not “lead on” the leader. The follower may not be too keen on housework.
When two people are dancing together the follower is a part of the together. Without a follower you dance alone. (Mondays Underground Hudson Hotel) If a follower missteps or doesn’t turn fast enough whose fault is it? What if the follower reinterprets a lead; who feels threatened? Who can laugh it off? If the follower does not like the style of the leader, for example grabbing, pulling/pushing or jerking a follower may a) say “gentle.” b) end the dance in the middle of the 1…2…3…
If a man is a leader why do women take Salsa Dance classes? The lead is a suggestion of choreography. Followers notice a variety of leads in the dance classes. All are leading somewhere. The success of the lead may be about dancing skills because men take Salsa dance classes too. The success of the leader may be about something else!