Has it been 4 years already??

Where does the time go? One day you're talking to some salsa addicted friends planning on a way to ramp up the dancing scene and the next thing you know you've spent 4 years putting on socials and working on community building. Like the old saying goes, times flies when you’re having fun!

December marks the 4th anniversary of YA Salsa and the YA Salsa Social, so now seems like a good time to look back and take a look how this all started, what we have accomplished and what remains to be done in light of our original goals.

In 2003, Jessica Joseph and Adriana Costache assembled a small, motivated group of salsa fanatics to figure out what could be done to accelerate the growth of the Detroit salsa community. Not only the growth in numbers, but also the growth of the individual’s mastery and enjoyment of salsa. So, the group took a long hard look at the Detroit salsa scene. We talked about what the scene had going for it already as well as a look at what the scene was missing. One thing was clear, Detroit needed a salsa social. We needed an environment that was fined tuned for the enjoyment and development of salsa both on the inside and the outside. A social would help achieve that.

On the "inside" we made sure we had the things that dancers wanted most; a big open dance floor and LOTS of salsa music. For sustenance over the long dance marathon; we would offer food and beverages. To add excitement we would give away door prizes. To help grow the community; we would offer salsa lessons at no additional charge. And finally add inspiration with salsa workshops and performances by professional salsa dancers from strong salsa cities around the nation.

On the "outside" we decided to create the most open environment possible. Everyone was invited to come to the social and promote their salsa classes and events (even if it was in direct conflict with our own projects.) From the beginning, our goal has been to help the community become stronger and how can that happen if people (especially new people) didn’t know about all the readily available options to learn and dance? We also decided to conduct ourselves as a non-profit organization. Even with the best of intentions, money has a way of causing one to, shall we say, make counter productive decisions. By taking "profit" out of the equation we could better focus our energy on the goal, better solicit help from other organizations, and better avoid the drama of who gets paid and how much. We hoped that in the end our efforts would help create more people who can dance salsa and dance it well, create more salsa dancers in the dance clubs with more salsa music offered, and lead to more quality salsa events offered.

So, after 4 years of investment, did the volunteers of YA make a difference? Maybe. Probably. We hope so.

For those that still remember the Detroit Salsa scene four long years ago, things have really changed. The YA socials have consistently grown and continue to attract more and more dancers all the time. Now there are about 4 to 5 "salsa" nights each week compared to only 1 four years ago. Of course YA cannot take credit for anything but our own events but this writer would like to think that we played a some small part in helping shape the overall environment that led to more people getting into salsa and more options for people looking for places to learn and dance. If we didn’t then we sure are doing a lot for nothing :)

The YA idea was always about helping build a community. A community that loves to dance and that would buy into the ideas of YA. And with their time, effort, and skills; continue to help it grow.

Here is a question for you -- Are the YA goals also your goals?

We have been volunteering our time and talents trying to make a better salsa scene for Detroit but there is no reason we should be the only ones. Here are a few ideas that you can do to help:

First and foremost, drag a friend out dancing!! It does not matter which place you drag them to but your favorite place to dance salsa is probably the best. In most cases simply telling them about who cool it is isn’t enough. Sometimes you have to drag them in kicking and screaming. Honestly, that is how I got into it and was not the only one. I am told many stories about how people got into salsa and almost all of them talk about how a friend dragged them out.

Keep some fliers of your favorite salsa studio or club nearby. If salsa is as big a part of your life as it is in mine then it is bound to come up in conversations with people at work, at home, or at a party. And if the conversation is anything like the ones I have, at some point someone will say, "Wow, that is really cool. I have always wanted to learn Salsa!" What better time to give someone a flier??

Organize practice parties, join/create a dance team. In respect to getting better at dancing… Taking classes is great, taking classes and using it on the dance floor is better. But if you really want to go from 0-60 quickly then get together with a group of friends once in a while and dance/practice together. While you’re at it, work toward the goal of a performance. Not only will you learn faster by grouping with your friends but your friends will be learning and advancing right along side you the whole way. After all, salsa is a social dance and it is meant to be done socially!

These are just a few things everyone can do. Dare I say, these are just a few things everyone who wants to see their salsa scene grow should do. If more of us did just one of these things now and then, 2008 could very well be the year of the Salsero. Thanks for your support and see you at the December Social!

P.S. Video from the November Social is online! Enjoy!

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