The N.Y. City Salsa Scene
By Laureano Ralon Facchina*

I just happened to spend two amazing weeks in Manhattan, and during my time there I had the chance to experience first hand the vibrancy of the New York City Salsa scene. Jennifer and Stephen asked me to share my impressions and experiences about NYC. I would like to thank them for allowing me once again to partake in the development of their fabulous website. A few days prior to my trip to NYC, I was lucky enough to have been directed to salsanewyork.com – a highly resourceful site which, nevertheless, made me appreciate how infinitely more lucky we are here in a middle-size city like Vancouver to have such a classy, user-friendly guide as salsavancouver.net. Just like good Salsa, good communication isn’t always so much about “what” as about “how”, in this case, the information is presented. “The Medium is the Message,” said a wise Canadian man more than 40 years ago.

When I was first approached to write this article about the NYC salsa scene, I had doubts about being able to produce a resourceful, informative piece that would not reduce the discussion to a pointless, never-ending debate about On1 versus On2. In retrospect, I believe the task wasn’t as challenging as I first thought it would be. One of the big lessons I learned in NYC is that the whole On1 versus On2 debate makes no sense whatsoever. Much like comparing apples and oranges, I learned that On1 and On2 are not so much two competing styles of salsa as they are two completely different dances altogether (in N.Y. they often refer to them as “Salsa” and “Mambo” respectively in order to emphasize this distinction, even though the real, old-school mambo dance is really something else. We’ll get to that later.). What I’m trying to say is that it makes more sense to talk about two distinct dances or interpretations of the music – each unique, each with its own, inherent characteristics and intricacies – rather than two competing styles. I believe such a notion is less threatening and definitely more conducive to explorations into the unknown. By implication, I also believe that having the right state of mind is crucial when learning a new dance, because good dancers not only have skill and talent; they are also intellectually curious and, more often than not, possess an open mind.

In spite of what I just said, simplistic comparisons that treat Salsa and Mambo as ‘competing’ styles (and the distance between them as “evolutionary”) abound all over the Internet. The most sophisticated one I’ve seen so far is an article entitled Salsa Technicals: On1 versus On2 – Spot the Differences? In it, the author goes as far as conducting a “controlled experiment” that compares and contrasts two video clips of two male dancers leading the same woman to the same song, performing similar moves on the same dance floor. It is said to be a “controlled experiment” because the only variable between both clips is that the male dancer to the right dances On1 and the male dancer to the left dances On2. The ingenious experiment means well: it aims at elucidating the differences between L.A. and N.Y. style salsa through ‘pseudo-scientific’ means. But why do things have to be so complex? If anything, salsa is an art form, not a science. Pseudo-scientific comparisons about looks are futile; in the world of aesthetics, there’s only room for normative statements, personal, subjective opinions, and matters of taste. Yet, as we shall see further ahead, social dancing is about more than mere aesthetics.

Let us return to NY City. “Complex” seems to be the best word I can think of to describe the salsa scene there. For example, I was told by a Puerto Rican mambo dancer that in NYC they have an issue on how to properly dance on2: Eddie Torres style (marking the "1" so you step on 1-2-3 shift 5-6-7) or Razz M'Tazz style (involving the passing step more seen in On1 styles of breaking on the "2", so you effectively step on 2-3-4 pass 6-7-8.) This shows that the On1 vs On2 debate that we are exposed to in the West is further complicated in NYC. When you think about it, they have 4 different dance styles to accommodate: On1, On2 (Eddie Torres style), On2 (Razz M'Tazz/ Mambo), and Puerto Rican On2 (forward break On2). Now, despite how confusing all this may seem to an outsider like me, the fact of the matter is there are a lot of amazing dancers in NYC. Guys look super suave and smooth, and their spinning technique is virtually flawless; woman have fabulous styling, and display a powerful mix of attitude and elegance.

I believe it is the large number of advanced dancers – not the venues – that accounts for the vibrancy of the New York City salsa scene. After exploring every single venue in NYC, I can confidently say that I haven’t run into a Law Courts Inn or a Four Seasons type venue. In a way, this speaks highly of our local promoters. But it also says something about the crucial role that the “human resources” play in any given community. Incidentally, having checked out virtually all regular, weekly salsa events in New York City, I must say that this city is all about its “socials”. Mambo dancers in NYC prefer informal settings to regular night clubs. These socials offer a casual atmosphere where beginners and wannabe’s share the same floor with instructors and professionals in a non-intimidating environment. I highly recommend the following spots:
• Thursday nights at Club Cache – 221 West 46th Street.
• Friday nights at Dance New York – 237 West 54th Street.
• Saturday nights at Alegrias – 239 W. 14th Street.

As paradoxical as it may seem, I think that any highly developed scene (and I’m guessing the same must apply to the L.A. salsa scene) is also – inevitably – a highly indoctrinated and at times even pretentious scene. As an On1 dancer, it is needless to say that I felt pretty inadequate and alienated in such a complex, multifaceted environment as NYC. (If you think this is because there are more guys than girls in NYC, which is true, check this out: my girlfriend actually got turned down like three or four times by guys in a single night). I acknowledge that my On2 is close to non-existent. However, it’s equally true that their Mambo tradition is so deeply rooted that most dancers there don’t even bother to either learn or even recognize On1 as salsa. Surprisingly, during my time in NY City, most women I approached claimed not to know On1 salsa and politely refused to dance; some of them were curious to try but had just as much difficulty dancing On1 as I had dancing On2 (the very few women I actually danced On1 with actually described it as “speaking a different language”); and only a very selected few – mostly instructors and professionals – danced both styles with the same ease and grace. On my second night out in NY City, I was fortunate enough to have a dance with a lady named “Magna”, a top international instructor from Toronto and an habitué of the NYC salsa scene. She’s clearly an On2 dancer, but on the dance floor, she followed my steps and style (which is very much On1 even if I’m hopelessly trying to fake it by merely breaking on the 2) with elegance and grace. It was from this particular dance that stemmed the most important lesson of my trip: good dancers adapt and enjoy the ride; they don’t lecture you on the dance floor. This lady looked just as good and managed to have just as much fun dancing a style which, despite breaking On the 2, both looked and felt like On1. Clearly, not every female in N.Y.C. has the technique, the experience and the professionalism to adapt as easily as Magna; and, nobody enjoys looking like a fool, not me, not them. We all have our comfort zones. As for me, another lesson I learned in NYC is that there’s more to dancing On2 than dancing on the 2 (and, by implication, I also learned that the On1 style suits me better.) Dancers there were generally sympathetic when I explained that I came from Canada, but from time to time, my On2 limitations were met with long, disappointed faces. I started this article with the promise of not reducing it to a pointless debate about On1 and On2. I would like to make very clear that when I complain about lack of variety, I’m not talking just about L.A. style salsa. In NYC the mambo tradition is so deep-seated that there's virtually no room for anything else; good luck dancing to anything other than slow mambo songs and the occasional cha-cha. The funny thing is, I thought I hated bachata, merengue and cumbia until it was taken away from me.

While I am not fond of generalizations, I would like to conclude by summarizing my impressions about NYC using three seemingly universal statements: 1) mastering one style (On2, On1, Cuban, Colombian, you name it) will not necessarily make you master the other; 2) you can learn valuable things from both styles (remember, indoctrination is the opposite of being open minded); 3) advanced dancers not only can dance any style but they look good – and for a moment even make you believe that they’re having fun – doing it; and 4) good dancers adapt. Talking about Martial Arts, Bruce Lee once said that styles divide people. In salsa terms, this notion implies that, at the end of the day, it’s all about connecting to your partner. One of the good things about the salsa scene in a middle-size city like Vancouver is that, as we try to grow and define our collective identity, nothing seems to be written in stone. Since there is little or no indoctrination, people usually feel less threatened by different dances and styles and dancers are more predisposed to try new things. During one of those frank, outspoken conversations that characterize him so well, Jack Ellard once told me that “he/she who calls himself/herself a dancer can not survive dancing only one dance.” He was absolutely right. Advanced dancers adapt.