39. "BETTER"

Listen and Subscribe on: iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play

Welcome to Episode 39 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast

What is better? What does that even mean?

In this episode, Andres wants to talk about being better, bettering yourself, and what that means. Of being optimized. It’s to be as perfect or effective as functional as possible. Something that is better simply means that it is the most efficient, the best results for the least effort, technical excellence. Andres notes how this can chafe at some people. They mistake it for speaking about a particular style or genre of dance when that is not what it is about. At its core, being better is about executing the moves as best as you possibly can.

This is where training comes in. There sometimes is just a better way to do something, which is to say it is a more effective way to do it. This doesn’t just apply to dance, everything has more optimal work. With dance, however, what Andres is talking about is that from any specific point you can have the most or even infinite dancing possibilities with the least amount of energy and resistance. With this, you can change and move more quickly and effectively as a dancer. This isn’t about looks or styles, but about efficiency and options.

As the dance scene grows and competitions become more prominent, it’s important to realize that talent isn’t all the matter. Training is also important, to keep up and to learn about the best ways to optimize. The more we connect and the more we tune ourselves to optimization, the more natural it will feel and the better dancer you will be.

There is a difference between liking or not liking how a dancer dances and recognizes what is optimal. Personal preference is fine and in fact unavoidable, but it should not get in the way of recognizing what is better, and what is more efficient. When you’re watching dance, it is important to make that distinction, between what is a choice or what is something that is the most optimal move. Andres points to the plie as an example of this.

If you want your dance to be better, truly better, then it is important to optimize, to realize what is the most efficient. The best option is what gets the most results for the least energy, rather than simply deciding things are subjectively likable.

“There is a misunderstanding towards ‘oh the way that someone looks’.  A great example is when someone will see a picture oftentimes and they’ll look lopsided. Someone will say ‘They’re just into the music’ or ‘That’s savory, that’s flavor’ and that is the farthest thing from the truth. One does not have to be lost for the other to exist. A steak can be cooked correctly and taste bad. … It’s very difficult to have a tasteful, badly cooked steak.”