7. PARTNERS THAT DON'T DANCE

Partners That Don’t Dance Dance

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Welcome to Episode 7 of the Salsa Kings LIVE podcast!

In this episode, we join Andres as he discusses having a partner that doesn’t dance. This doesn’t refer to the people who do or do not come to the action of dancing, so much as it is about whether people have a mental inclination or attraction to dancing. It can be a simple problem at first, but the problem can become far more complex as little things come up. Andres discusses the kind of mentalities that results in people becoming more or less interested in dancing. There are spectrums of interest and it’s important to understand where others fall on the spectrum, so that you can better understand them.

Andres reveals that he himself is -not- a dancer, more likely to be found in the corner of a dance room than in the middle of the floor.  As someone who did not have that special knack for dancing, he feels understanding that people who -are- dancers need to find the understanding of their positions.

Andres -as a non-dancer- postulates that in actuality, everyone wants to dance, or at the very least to express themselves. They might not seek to become ballet dancers or traditional waltzers, but all have some desire to use physicality to express themselves. What dancers need to do is explain to them in a way they understand that dancing is a way to do that in a healthy way.

Expressing that to a non-dancer can be a difficult and time-consuming action, and the inability to express the power the dance has can become a couples issue where the love for dance can create schism between a dancer and a non-dancer. He goes over the misunderstandings and miscommunications and misunderstandings that people on both sides of the dancer and non-dancer perspective, and how to communicate your feelings better.

Andres also explains that connection -romantic, physical, or otherwise- isn’t a core component of dancing, though it can be. It’s important for non-dancers and non-dancers to understand that dancing at its core is about expression rather than about creating a connection between two people.

In addition, Andres presents potential solutions for your significant other, ways to introduce them to dancing in low-risk, low-pressure environments.

“Please give your significant other the kudos or the props to really really understand you, and understand how sensitive that this really can be, because I’ve noticed that this really can become an issue between the two. We definitely don’t want that to go unnoticed: the sacrifices one or the other makes to make it work.”