Salsa in the City, Philadelphia
Club Dancing: Brazil's Birthday Extravaganza by Jose Maldonado (I am one birthday dancer in here)

I would like to comment on the article does a dance team a good dancer make. Hey everyone it's Jose and yes I dance for a team Luna Negra. But before I joined any dance team I danced just to dance. I love going out on the floor and leaving my partner at the time wondering wow where does he come from? My first encounter at Brasil's was about two years ago and although now I have danced with just about everyone there now when I first started, I used to be one of the guys dancing in the front of the club. I was told you can't go back there unless you dance for these people or if you're good enough: La Luna, Atrium, Art in Motion, or Eli. And I decided to take a challenge and step to the back... and I choked, I was intimidated, and I ran away. But I did not give up I continued to dance socially until I found enough courage to find the one girl I could dance with and clicked well with and I improved a whole lot since then. Making new friends along the way and dancing with everyone who back when I danced by the bar, I would not imagine asking to dance. Every song danced at Brasil's by whomever is danced with passion and that is what salsa is all about. Every person dancing is not worrying about their day or waking up at six in the morning to go to work the next day.(For those who work) There are lots of dancers who aren't on teams because it takes away that passion and they don't want to lose that. Some are on dance teams because they have the passion to show people what they are capable of doing on stage or on the floor. The skill of dancing is not acquired by what you learn or who you dance for, it's your passion and your love of dancing. That makes a good dancer, for those on dance teams and those who aren't.

Thanks,
Jose Maldonado

page 1 of 9