16. HEALTHY COMPETITION ft. Mike Calderon

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Welcome to Episode 16 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast

In this episode of Salsa Kings Live, Andres wants to talk about healthy competition with guest Mike Calderon. Born and raised in Miami, he is a DJ, event coordinator, and has been a social dancer for nearly a decade. He’s a man who definitely knows the Latin dance scene.

Andres talks about how personal the situation can be and how people may sometimes try to hold each other back in attempt to be better rather than to work to be better together and be inspired by competition.

Mike also talks about his relatively late entrance into Latin music, reminding us that it’s never too late to find your passion. Mike and Andres then go into how to promote healthy competition in the Latin dance community. Andres and Mike talk about the people that have helped to inspire and develop them, and how that appreciation is needed to help others grow, rather than resentment of others for being better or growing too quickly. Newcomers need to appreciate the people they can learn from, and veterans need to nurture newcomers, so the community can flourish and grow.

Andres and Mike also talk about understanding the music and not putting musical styles against each other. Mike points out they all have the same Cuban roots and those roots need to be appreciated.

Mike also talks about the importance of being of being warm and welcoming. Even in a hard time, the positive attitude goes a long way towards being accepted and successful. Andres points out the Latin scene’s tendencies toward cliques, and that can discourage the industry and make them feel unwelcome, which is the opposite of the intent of dance.

Mike talks a good bit about his work and how that affects his attitude and the different things he sees in different jobs, and how that makes him more open-minded about all the different types of dance and dancers.

For those concerned about the future of the Latin Community, and who want it to be better and more positive should check this episode out. It will teach about how we can make our community more open and encouraging to each other.