30. DANCE VISION Ft. Emily and Raul

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Welcome to Episode 30 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast!

This week, Andres is joined by Emily and Raul, Salsa Kings company members. They are a world champion dance partner. Raul was born in Cuba and took dance lessons before coming to America and Emily was born in Southport, Connecticut and has been dancing ‘ever since she could breathe’. They have come on to talk about ‘Dance Vision’ and the clarity, intention, and sacrifice needed for that.

Emily gives off her life experiences with dance, from her time as a child being interested in ballet and expanding into Jazz, modern, and of course salsa. She talks about how her vision changed from her original vision of ballet and a teacher who opened her eyes to different styles and enrolled in a school in Miami and expanded her repertoire and eventually came to Salsa Kings and learned salsa there. She later met Raoul in another dance school and they became dance partners and competed in dances, eventually becoming champions.

Raul talks about his experiences with dance and how in Cuba he was born and raised in the dance culture. He came to America at eleven and became more introverted in a new society. At fifteen, his girlfriend brought him to dance and though initially untalented, it awakened a passion in him, as well as leading him to get some lifelong friends. After taking a break, he returned to dance and rekindled his passion for it.

There is a heartfelt discussion of the transformative qualities that dance can give, which can be what focuses your vision for dance. Realizing a need for dance can give you that drive and clarity to be willing to sacrifice, and to help you realize the intention you have in regards to your dance.

The importance of perspective and your needs for dance is and knowing what you want in undeniable, but they also go over the sacrifices and changes that are needed for dance. Those of you who are struggling with journey in dance, those who have trouble visualizing their own path in dance will find advice that will help them get through those rough spots, as well as a vulnerability in regards to their own path through dance that can remind you that dance is a rocky road and your dance vision is what you need to get through it.

“80% of what we want to do is a ‘why’. If we have a clear enough why into what we want to do, 80% of our job is done, and literally the next 20% is to go through that process… to start speaking it into language and start putting it into action, and that’s when the ‘how’ comes into everything.”