It
was an honor to be able to sit and chat with Eddie Torres
at the studio in Manhattan where he and his wife Maria teach.
Eddie
and I began the interview in a small room, just outside the
dance studio. Even though other rehearsals were going on around
us, and people were constantly coming in and out, Eddie did
not let the interruptions faze him in the slightest. In fact,
when the noise got to be too much, he smiled, motioned for
me to walk out to the corridor with him, but he didn't stop
the flow of our conversation even once.
We continued
that way - walking and talking - for awhile, until we finally
found a place to sit again. Eddie took off his jacket and
revealed a flashy gold shirt and black baggy trousers. He
was also wearing his famous funky, black glove.
Eddie's
down to earth and fun loving nature made for a conversation
full of laughter and learning. I was impressed that despite
all the fame that he has experienced, Eddie remained very
humble and personable.
The
time he took out of his rehearsal schedule to share his thoughts
and expertise was greatly appreciated. And both he and Maria
were very welcoming throughout my visit.
Tasleem:
A friend of mine shared a DVD with me the other day. At first,
I was sitting on the couch watching from a distance. But when
I realized what it was, within minutes, I was on the floor,
up close to the screen. The DVD was A Bailar - Eddie Torres
and the Original Eddie Torres Dancers Featuring the Tito Puente
Orchestra. The footage was amazing. And it gave me goose
bumps to watch it, to see you and Maria, and Tito Puente and
the others, at the time when you were first forming your dance
group. As a mere observer, I was excited. I can't imagine
what it must have felt like to be a part of that. When you
are taken back to that time, how do you feel about how things
have turned out, and how much you've accomplished since then?
Eddie: Well, that simply makes
me realize that what I always thought to be my mission in
life, my purpose, is the truth of what I'm still living, and
doing, today. In other words, I believe I was born to do this.
So what you saw on that video just simply reminds me of the
PIONEERING years, and the times from my youth. And now I can
understand why I had this DRIVE that I've always had, this
desire to see this Latin dance one day become what it is today.
It is probably one of the most popular dances IN THE WORLD.
And this was a vision I had, when I was very young.
Sometimes, I couldn't understand
why I had this desire, this drive. It compelled me. And as
I started to look around, I said, "You know what? I think
every form of dance that's a classic form today had its pioneers
of people that also probably experienced what I have experienced."
Now I know what all this meant - all the hard times, this
kind of real persistence that I had, and this feeling that
I HAD to do this, you know?
And the Latin dance which today
they call salsa, back in the day, we called it the mambo and
the cha cha. It was becoming almost 'unpopular', because the
new-kid-on-the-block was the hustle dance. So that really
made it even harder, because I was kind of going against the
grain, fighting against a changing of time. But as I saw what
was going on, even back then, I said to people, "You
know what? These dances that come and go - some of them get
established, and some of them are fads. But I believe one
day this dance will establish itself as one of the most popular
dances in the world."
What motivated you to
keep going? What inspired you when others thought the dance
was just a fad?
Well, two things inspired me.
One of the things that inspired me TO dance, as you'll read
in my bio, was a little puppy love heartbreaker that I had
(smiles).
Yes, I do remember reading
about that. It's quite a story (smiles).
Yes, that BEGAN the drive, but
as I started to really get beyond that, I realized that this
dance was simply so beautiful because of the music. And I
wanted to share this because I saw that we, as youngsters,
grew up enjoying this dance in the clubs as a social affair.
It was a social interaction. But for me, personally, it was
also something that would help me really deal with all the
problems and ups and downs of my life. So I saw the therapy
in it and the beauty behind that.
And so I started to envision myself
doing it more at an artistic, professional level. And one
of the goals I set for myself was to work with the master
Tito Puente. And of course, what inspired me GREATLY was in
the early seventies, I got to see a team by the name of Augie
and Margo perform at the Roseland Ballroom. And that made
my motivation and my vision CLEARER. I said, "This is
what I want to do." (smiles)
Tito Puente
and Eddie Torres
What
was the next step, after you figured out what you wanted?
Well, one of the things
that was also a driving force for me was that I realized
there were no schools to learn this, there was no one
else doing this. And I said, "How can I aspire
to do something that no one is really doing? It's not
common, it's not even a market yet." I would speak
to people about it -my parents. Even Tito Puente said
to me, "You know what? You have to MAKE the market.
We have to make this happen and you might have to be
the one to do it."
So that's basically what
I had in mind. I think I had that mission in mind, from
then on, to try to set out and develop a market for
this. And things just started happening along the way.
And NOW I realize that those things were not just a
coincidence. This is just how things were meant to happen.
If you think of artists who have come and gone - the
Beethovens, the Fred Astaires - I think we're purposed,
you know, with the desire and so forth. This is how
my life has been. I believe I'm where I should be.
I also met people
that were really key in helping me achieve my mission. A lady
who I love to mention is June Laberta.
Yes, I remember seeing
her name come up in your bio. You attributed much of your
understanding of the teaching of dance, in particular, to
her.
Yes, she was very, very instrumental
in that area.
And now that YOU'VE had
all this experience teaching, what advice would you give to
other people who are teaching dance? – as far as technique,
organization, keeping that energy in the class? What advice
do you have for other dance teachers?
There are probably a few things
I could say.
One of the things that's really
KEY for any teacher is to love your trade - love what you're
teaching. If you're not a person that really enjoys teaching,
it doesn't make it easy for you and it doesn't make it enjoyable
for the student, in ANY form of learning.
A teacher
should be someone that really loves to teach. And I
simply love to teach. I really do (smiles). I really
feel that it is one of the passions I love to transmit.
I love to share what I know.
Another thing I think a
teacher should have is real knowledge. I went through
a very rebellious time of not wanting to study music,
not wanting to learn certain things that are really
important if you want to transmit music knowledge. But
it's important that a teacher have that knowledge, and
is well prepared when he speaks, so he really legitimizes
his teaching.
Eddie Torres
with Griselle Ponce
Students today
are so into the science of the dance. Years ago, the questions
were a lot simpler. Today, the students come at you with questions
that are really deep, and they want to know the answers because
dance has become so much more sophisticated. So again, to
all teachers, prepare yourself before the job of teaching,
and of course, have a passion for it, because you will be
that much better for it.
I just did an interview
with one of your former students and dancers - Frankie Martinez.
He was talking about his various teaching philosophies. And
he mentioned the 'power of the eye' - how observing and mimicking
can be just as powerful, if not more powerful, than getting
an explanation when one is learning.
You also teach without
a lot of verbalization in the class. It seems that the students
are really using their eyes to learn. Is that something you
do intentionally? Or is it a tool that helps manage the large
number of students in your class?
Well, one of the things I really
like to encourage students to develop is something I believe
that the youth of my time had no choice but to use: that is
the ability to be visual. By that, I mean to be able to look,
and analyze BY looking, at what it is you're seeing in movement.
So there was no one back in the day explaining the timing,
the technique, or the structure of anything. So I saw how
POWERFUL the visual was for me growing up. And I still try
to encourage that today.
In class, I try to make the students
aware of how wonderful it is to have that ability to look
and analyze without being explained. I do try to use many
different approaches to transmit whatever it is I'm trying
to get across. But I really believe that the visual is such
a cool and very important way for you to learn movement in
dance.
Eddie
Torres with his wife and partner Maria (left) and daughter
Nadia (right)
And
you've taught various age groups. How is your approach
to teaching kids different? How do you maintain their
focus and interest without losing the technique or skills
that you want them to develop?
Well, with youngsters, one
of the first things I think you have to be aware of
is that whatever you're teaching them (leans in and
smiles) has to be cool and slick.
Tasleem- (laughs).
Of course.
There has to be something
personal about it that will capture their attention,
because if they don't perceive it as such, they may
not pay attention, mentally, visually or otherwise.
So that's one
thing I'm aware of with the youngsters. Even the music you
play for them has to relate to them. One of the things I like
to give as an example of the power of the visual is that most
of us grew up WATCHING Michael Jackson (smiles).
Tasleem – Yes! (laughs)
But how many of us have taken
any lessons with him? -group, private? None of us (laughs).
Our lessons were just that - watching him, and mimicking and
imitating him, or what we saw on television and videos. And
I see some of the people who I know, especially youngsters,
how beautifully they imitate Michael Jackson (smiles), and
I say that's the power of the visual. And that's why I'm trying
to help people understand THAT - that ability to look and
visualize.
Tito Puente was obviously
a huge inspiration to you. And if I have the story correct,
after you approached him, he actually suggested that you create
a choreography to show him because he was impressed by your
dancing.
But now people from all
over the world come to YOUR classes because YOU are a huge
inspiration to them. Now that you're in that position, do
you ever approach students, asking them to join the Eddie
Torres Dancers, or do students approach you to ask if they
can work with you?
You're right. I had the good fortune
of working with Tito for twenty one years. And actually, he
DID give me a chance. He was the first one to give me a real
opportunity to actually not only help me exhibit my talent,
but he gave me a chance to exhibit my talent on stage with
him all over the world.
So I know how important it is,
first of all, to HAVE an opportunity when you're aspiring
to do something. And today, there are so many young dancers
who are doing this. There are so many groups and so many people
aspiring to become professional dancers. The one thing I can
say is that today, people don't laugh at you as readily as
they would have laughed at you back in my time, because the
market is already here. It's worldwide. It's something that
is real. You can do it.
I'm asked very often, "What
can I do to establish myself in this career?"
What advice do you give
in response to that?
What I say to aspiring dancers
is, "You have to really be REAL, and to say, do I have
the talent to do this?" (smiles)
I tell people, is this something
you really feel that you're born with the talent to do? I
mean, it's not that you have to be another Michael Jackson,
but you have to have some degree of talent, to even start
out, to pursue this thing. That's number one.
Number two - put yourself in the
hands of someone that's a teacher who is going to really be
of benefit to you. Someone who will coach you and give you
good knowledge and good teaching so that they can help you
really strive, they can help you along your way, to become
this professional. I find that it's true for anything, including
sports, or arts - you need to have a good coach.
Make sure you have a teacher who
is not really doing harm to you, but is really helping you
to progress positively toward your goal.
Outside of that, it takes a lot
of dedication. There's no secret to this. It's hard work.
It really is. And if you have a passion for it, and you have
talent, and you're in the right hands, I think that's the
formula and the foundation to your start along the way to
becoming a successful performer.
Eddie
Torres Teaches Salsa Nightclub Style Originally released on video in 1995 and
re-issued on DVD in 2005, this was a milestone in
salsa dance instruction. It covers all aspects of
Eddie's pioneering style of on2/mambo dancing from
the basics up, and is as useful a learning tool for
today's dancers as when it was first released.
Tasleem has
a BA in English Literature and Art History. During her
six years of teaching, she encouraged her students to
follow their dreams and believe in themselves. Finally
taking her own advice, Tasleem is spending time on her
passion for writing and love of dancing. She is grateful
for the way in which dancing has strengthened many areas
of her life.
