When you started your social, did you envision it becoming as popular and as international as it has?

I never thought that it was going to be that popular. When I first started the social, salsa was not really popular with the younger generation, only with people who were fifty and up.

What made you decide to start the social in the first place?

I started the social because the only places you could go to for salsa at that time were clubs. At the clubs, the dancing would start late, or would be during the week. And sometimes, you couldn’t sit at the tables unless you were going to drink. And you had to pay over forty dollars for the night. People were smoking or drinking and the floor was so crowded. The sad thing was that the music was good. But it was hard to enjoy it and to dance in that atmosphere. So I decided to start a small social.

What did the social look like when it first began?

Well before my social, there was a big salsa social with a lot of the ex-students of Eddie Torres. It was a social for the mambo society. That was really popular with people of our generation, dancing only On2. There were a lot of good instructors there at that time, with group classes. It was really good at that time.

Well, I hope you know how popular your social is, and that people from all over the world know about it.

Actually, it’s funny because there was this couple who came to my social a few months ago. They were visiting from this place, a town - Chenove, I think it is called. And they said that my social is really well known over there! (smiles) And I thought “Wow!" They said, “People really like you there, and they like what you’re doing.” That felt good.
And I’ve heard there are a lot of people from small towns, especially in Europe, that want to come to New York and can’t wait to come to Jimmy’s Social.

This year it will be seventeen years.

What do you think it is that helps maintain the interest and popularity of your social for so many years? What’s your secret? (smiles)

It’s not a secret, actually (laughs). I tell everyone the same thing. Firstly, it’s about the host, and about the karma he has. Next, it’s about the DJ. The third thing is to not think about making money as your main goal because that destroys everything. If you do this for the fun of it, the people that come to your events can feel it. It’s not easy to do. I mean, I charged the same price for over eight years for my social. But it makes a difference. It makes a difference when you are doing it for fun and for the people.

The people I do blame are the ones who have the nerve to bring in their own drinks from outside because they don’t want to pay for a bottle of water in the club. But blame dancers for not drinking? No, because I don’t drink either. But when I go to other people’s parties, I try to buy OTHER people drinks, and spend as much as I can, because I realize that working a salsa night is kind of hard, as far as making the bar.

And the biggest problem I find, especially now in New York, is that real estate has become so out of hand. Years ago, I used to be able to go out seven nights a week. You could go to a nightclub, hear a band, and a DJ and get some entertainment. And we’d even get a buffet in some places, all for ten dollars or eight dollars. But now, to get a salsa club on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday in New York?...

The bar owners and nightclub owners will give Sunday, Monday and Tuesday away. But when it starts to get to Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, they need to make their bottom line. And salsa just doesn’t support that. The economics of it just doesn’t support it.

You have to get a tremendous amount of people in there consistently, to really turn a profit. And it’s unfortunate, but I can’t even blame the people who own the nightclubs because they’re being taxed so much by the city and they have their bottom line. That’s why people choose to run hip hop clubs or lounges. Those parties will definitely sell a lot more drinks than salsa parties.

And the music shouldn’t be played just for the people who come out to dance. There are a lot of people who just come out to listen to the music. Sometimes, there are a group of people who prefer listening to the music than dancing on some days. And you have to consider that.

I’m also very strict about the sound. My system is really not expensive at all. But I spend a lot of money on sound equipment, for better quality. That way, when you go to listen to the music, it doesn’t come out very thick, or too loud, where you have to cover your ears. Sometimes, I go to clubs and they have good music on, but it’s really too loud. It’s not good to your ears. So I try to create a nice atmosphere for everybody. Some people even talk on their cellular phones near the speakers when the music is on. I don’t know how they do it (laughs). But the point is that even if the music is loud enough at my social, it’s sweet at the same time. People want to enjoy themselves and relax, without having something really crazy in the background.

Also, I was the first person many years ago, to have a social where nobody smokes. And we still have a no-alcohol policy at the social. We could have alcohol, and make more money, but we try to make it a healthy atmosphere. I mean, I LIKE to drink (laughs), but at the social, we just have water, and vitamin drinks, and snacks - pretzels - and that kind of thing.

Yes, I have to admit that I eat A LOT of the snacks when I’m there (laughs) They are so good! But you’re right. They give people energy, but in a healthy way.

And that’s what I try to do - I try to create a healthy atmosphere.

And the DJ at the place is really important. To me, the DJ is like a chef at a restaurant. If you don’t cook well, people won’t come back.

I like it. You should be a writer with all your similes and metaphors- the music like a poem, the DJ like a chef. I like it.

Well, it’s true. It’s a combination that works well.

And I’m very specific about details, because I was a teacher for many years. And as I said, in my country Peru, I was a musician before, and I studied sound systems. So I listen to the speakers. I see how they sound, how they feel. Volume is important, but that’s not all that is important. Some people think that if they turn the music up really loud, that’s all that matters and it will sound good. But there is more to it. I always check the turntable. The music is not always the same on different records. Some music is different because of the recording. The quality might be different. So you have to look at all of that. I check everything - the sound, the recordings. And this part of entertainment I love. And because it’s not a club atmosphere, I don’t need to have security, which is great.

Really?

Yes, and that’s the thing. My name is so popular for my DJing and my social, but people don’t all know I’m an instructor. But I’ve tried to keep my distance as a teacher here in New York, because sometimes teachers are very popular and they have lots of students. And they come up with nice routines for a while, but then they go away. And then the students leave after some time too. But for me, I have to keep myself working all the time. I want to have something more constant. I want to be more responsible with my students. To be an artist is one thing, but to be a teacher is another.

I’m very laid back. But it’s hard to be an instructor and be a business person. And mostly, people are either instructors or business people. This happens a lot in New York where there are good dancers, but they don’t have very good managers. Even the very first dancers here, they don’t make that much money. They come up with just one or two ideas and then they disappear. Of course, they have talent but sometimes the commitment is not there.

I’m trying to make commitments with my social and I want to keep teaching. I love to teach. I really do.

As far as dancing goes, I used to do ballroom. And I have a lot of training from competitions. I did competitions, but that was eight or nine years ago. I have a collection of DVDs from back then. A lot of people don’t know about that.
At that time, when I was doing competitions, they would mix everything - tango with salsa and lifts, and people dancing On1, people dancing On2. Now everything is different.

What was it like to be in the competitions?

Well, first of all, the best teachers are the ones who judge competitions. If you go to competitions, you learn a lot. If you go to the social and you dance, you can do whatever you want in your own choreographies. But in competitions, they look at you and they take off points for every little thing. You start with 100 points and you get points taken off. So you have to really polish movements. You can do whatever you want in socials, or whatever you want in choreography. If you make a mistake, it’s okay, because people don’t know the routine. But in competitions, it’s different. So these are the BEST teachers to learn from.

I did a lot of judging for competitions, so I know what they are looking for. It’s all about high quality teaching and dancing.

I go to Japan to teach most of the time. They are always looking for people who have the classic dance material in their background. I try to keep the traditions in my dancing and they see that and appreciate it. For example, I pushed Cha Cha in the social when many people were trying to get away from Cha Cha. I pushed Pachanga in the congresses. I like the classics and the history of the dance.

With so many great dancers coming to your social, and so many international people coming in, I’m sure you’ve had many memorable moments. But are there any people or moments in particular that have stood out to you over the past years?

For me it’s just really nice when people tell me about little towns around the world that know about the social. People from other places tell me they have come from far to join us and more than 20% of the people at the social come from out of town. It becomes like a tourist …

A tourist attraction? (laughs)

Something like that (smiles). But it’s also a home to some people. Many of the great dancers, the more popular dancers, used to come to my social all the time. It was as if they were born there. But now, some of them don’t come out there anymore.

Even the most famous ones, who I always welcomed to my social for free, don’t come to my social anymore.

Why do you think that is?

I don’t know. Sometimes, people just forget their roots – where they came from. It might be about their personalities too. Some of them just miss the point, sometimes.

For me, I go to all the socials. Just because I’m an instructor, or I have a social, doesn’t mean I come to show off, or that I’m too good to be around the rest of the people. I’m not a celebrity. I don’t know what people are thinking. When I’m on Broadway and have already done some shows on TV, THEN maybe I can think that way (laughs).

But even then…. When there is a show in town, I buy tickets and I go and stand on the floor with the other people. This way, it’s more intimate, and you are joining the others, because we are all equal, we are all people. And you know what? It keeps you updated on what’s going on so that you can gain knowledge for yourself, and for your students.

But a lot of instructors don’t do that. They don’t go out.

Sometimes, and this is not with all of them, but sometimes, it’s because their ego is too big. I’m the kind of person that when I go and watch someone perform, I go right up to them and tell them, “Wow, that’s cool!” But some dancers think they are so famous now that they just stay so far away from everyone. And I’m sure it is hard when you are one of the more popular dancers, but this is not Hollywood….

It sounds like you are quite down to earth. Even your music is representative of many styles, a variety of preferences. I was surprised to hear more than just mambo music at your socials. You play some Victor Manuelle, and some Marc Anthony, but also some old Cha Cha tunes and classics. Do you have a preference of songs or artists that you love listening to or playing at your social?

Well, of course, I’m more into, and I love to play, the classic ones. I love Tito Rodriguez, Tito Puente, and Machito - the three top bands from the Palladium.

You said you were a musician too, right? Which instruments do you play?

Percussion. I played drums years ago during the rock times (laughs). But my favourite instrument is the violin. I play the violin because my father played violin.

Even when I was doing choreography, most of the time, I won my competitions because of musicality.
But at that time, it wasn’t about dancing On2 or On1. If I was happy, I was dancing. That’s it. And I danced to the feeling.

There seem to be a lot of people really feeling the music at your social. So much so that everyone is sweating and it gets really hot in that room. It can be quite overwhelming for someone new who doesn’t expect it, but it also seems to have become a part of the appeal of the social. The heat, the sweat… it all seems to have become part of the… the atmosphere?

Yes, exactly! (laughs)

Well, I never thought about that in the beginning because first of all, I didn’t know that the social itself was going to attract so many people.

I love the air conditioning. And the way we dance mambo now, it’s CRAZZY! It’s not like doing a rumba or Cha Cha. When I was dancing On2, when I came out to this country, the dancing was more social, more musical. Now, sometimes people are not listening to the music because they are more interested in doing all these turns. The idea is being lost - what we call el Corazon - because of those turns. Everybody is doing turns. It’s a lot of cardio (laughs). It’s a LOT of cardio. And that heats up the place.

The school where the social takes place now had two huge air conditioners before. They used to have one air conditioning machine for ballroom dancing, but then more people came in and so they put in a second one. But when I came out with my social, they put in a third. So now there are three air conditioners in there. And it’s not enough.

There are already three in there? Really?

Yes. And they are huge. They are almost the size of one small room.

Wow! I didn’t know that. I guess that makes sense though, because earlier on, when no one is there, it’s cooler in the room.

Yes, sometimes, it’s too cold. We wear sweaters. But then people start coming, and sometimes, there are 400 people dancing. It’s like 400 people running at the same time in one room (laughs).

What is the capacity for that room?

It can fit 600. But it doesn’t look like it because everybody takes up all the space and we really have to respect the space, and dance in a straight line. It’s hard. There are so many people there. But there’s nothing I can do. I cannot put in another air conditioner.

But like I said, in some ways, it adds to the personality of the social. It’s seems to have become part of its attraction. I don’t know that it would be the same without it now. It’s kind of expected.

Yes, well for me, if I could put one more air conditioner in, that would be great. But I cannot. I’ve already spent so much on those that are there. And a lot of the electricity that is used there goes into the air conditioning.

In the last two years, I’ve been going out dancing again, and I’ve been going out to teach more too. And it’s good for me. Actually, two weeks ago I went to Manchester to teach. And I also still DJ. I went to Japan three times. And I was in Argentina too. I was the first instructor to teach On2 dancing in Argentina. And that was about six or seven years ago.

I want to put more information out there about my classes and about the history of the dancing and how I was involved in it, because a lot of people don’t know about this. I want to try to put more videos out from years ago on my website. I was lucky to be a part of that history and would like to share it with others.

For more information about Jimmy Anton, visit jimmyanton.com