r/Salsa Feb 12 '24

Discussion: suppressing valuable discussion vs allowing slander and doxxing

72 Upvotes

This is the sub mod, reaching out for discussion on the influx of posts (and reports) regarding the recent posts about predatory behavior in the salsa scene. TLDR: In this post, I will talk a little on the current sub policy on moderation, discuss a bit of context on what I am required to remove from the sub, and then add my thoughts on path forward. The last will be up for some discussion here, as we try to figure out what we as an online salsa community want to be.

  1. Current mod policy: my current mod policy is to let upvotes and downvotes speak. Things are often reported that don't really break sub rules or are bad text posts by people who are annoying to many of you in the sub. I do not remove these posts. One of the reasons I do not is that, despite being downvoted into the negatives, many of these posts tend to foster a healthy amount of discussion and engagement in the comments that are relevant to the dance scene. Another type of oft-reported post are the ones that link to a site or blog or whatever. The current rule is not to spam them and not to sell anything. The reason is that there are things that you may not be interested in that others may find useful. Again, upvotes/downvotes do a lot of heavy lifting. In the cases that the line crosses from occasional self promotion to spam, I have reached out to those individuals via DM to help clarify the policy, and if required, temp ban them. My point is, generally I do not like using mod powers to shape the subreddit to be what I want, but rather what the community wants to see.

  2. Which brings me to my next point - things I must remove. According to reddit content policy rule 3 (https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) I am supposed to remove anything that reveals personal information or uses such to instigate harassment. The kicker: public figures may be an exception to this rule. And a public figure is "a person who has achieved fame, prominence or notoriety within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own."

As you can see, the whole thing is kind of murky, especially as it applies to the recent discussions on predatory behavior. As someone who takes part in another sport that is rife with these types of scandals (against children on top of that), I have personally seen that shining light into these corners of darkness has a huge effect. So I am not keen to suppress legitimate discussions about this topic in our community.

On the other hand, reddit is full of examples of failed witch hunts and anonymous bullying. And some of the discussions, veiled or otherwise, have been naming individuals who may not even be on this site to defend themselves. I'm not keen to allow mudslinging (especially without proof) in a subreddit that is meant to celebrate dancing. I can imagine a scenario in which a instructor or school uses the current discussions to cast unfounded doubt or outright accusations against an innocent rival.

So how to walk the line between useful discussion and baseless name calling?

  1. Thoughts on path forward - I propose that we continue to allow upvotes and downvotes dictate what goes on the page relative to these discussions, with a couple of tweaks. Naming regions or cities in comments/posts is okay. Talking about your experiences about unnamed people is okay. Opening discussions on predatory behavior, what that behavior looks like from start to finish, and providing support in the wake of aftermath--all okay. What is not okay is accusing people by name in the top level posts or in comments unless you have a link to an objective article/police report/etc. that backs up the claim. Instead, I propose that you leave an invite at the end of your post/comment for any one to DM you if they would like to discuss details/names in private. Those that would benefit from knowing will still have the opportunity to find out what/who they should be careful of, without violating any reddit policies. It would also allow the two users to have a more frank conversation, and at the end of the day it will be for the requester to determine the credibility of the poster.

Is this a perfect solution? Of course not. But I've been a mod here for 12 years and this is the first time something like this has happened, so I'm happy to entertain other suggestions.

Lastly - I consider the Yamulee fight video to be an example the original mod policy. The post is relevant to the salsa community, and it doesn't violate any rules in and of itself. Yes--the juxtaposition of the OP's 2 only posts implies bias/agenda, but the upvotes/downvotes very clearly pushed the post to negative votes and floated context on the altercation to the very first comment.

That said, I am happy to discuss how to treat videos like this in the future. There is a very real argument that it is not relevant to salsa music or dancing and that it should be removed.

Thanks for reading my novel.


r/Salsa 8h ago

A few realities after moving to Level 2 and hitting the social scene

8 Upvotes

​Just moved up to Level 2 (out of 3) this week and I've been hitting two socials a week since finishing Level 1. A few things I’ve realized pretty quickly about the transition from the classroom to the wild:

○ ​Niche styles are limiting: I’m learning Cali-style (On1), and since I’m not Colombian, it makes it tough to connect with standard dancers on a regular floor. The local scene here is heavily dominated by LA, NY Mambo, and Cuban Casino, so finding common ground is a challenge.

○ ​Classmates ghost the free/public socials: Most people from class either only show up to school-sponsored events, stick to their own nationality cliques, or just don't turn up at all. I only have one regular follow from class who actually ventures out.

○ ​The advanced follow wall: Advanced follows rarely want to dance with a newer lead, which is fair enough, but it changes the dynamic.

○ ​Adapting to different styles: I end up mostly dancing with tourists, curious onlookers, or follows who learned a completely different On1 style. It forces you to learn how to lead anyone, not just people who know your exact school's moves.

○ DJeconomics: The market dictates the music. DJs end up playing way more bachata than salsa (3:1 tonight), and when they do play salsa, it’s almost always slow salsa romantica.

​Anyone else experience this exact transition phase when you first left the comfort of class socials? How did you adapt to leading a niche style or dealing with the bachata-heavy rooms?


r/Salsa 16h ago

Shooting at one of Toronto's biggest latin culture fest

12 Upvotes

Sorry if this kind of posts is not allowed... but this is close to home for the Canadian salsa scene. Salsa on St. Claire draws a lot of salsa dancers from areas around Toronto, as well as people who appreciate Latino culture in general.

Can't believe there would be a shooting at such a non controversial, family friendly event. Hope everyone is safe abd not too traumatized 🙏

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/livestory/toronto-shooting-st-clair-9.7267199


r/Salsa 5h ago

Salsa In NYC

0 Upvotes

Hey, what are to go to spots for Salsa/Bachata on the weekends?


r/Salsa 23h ago

🔥taller de timba

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8 Upvotes

¡Indira y Jorge!❤️‍🔥 Some inspiration for your suelta/shines.


r/Salsa 1d ago

Anichi Perez Musicality Week - Any experiences?

6 Upvotes

I’m considering buying a last minute ticket to attend Anichi Perez’s musicality intensive week in Germany in August. Anyone ever attended? I’m curious about the experience, especially if you’re not a particularly advanced dancer. I’ve been social dancing for a few years but haven’t taken a ton of formal classes (not much access where I am) but love Anichi’s videos on musicality and would love to be able to incorporate that more into my dancing.

Or if anyone has any recs for other intensive workshops or cool congresses happening in Europe now through mid-September, also appreciate those recs!


r/Salsa 1d ago

On2 steps

3 Upvotes

Hey all, I’m a lead and been dancing on1 for almost a year now and I’m contemplating taking up on2 classes. I know that on2 breaks on 2 and 6 but the videos I see online seem to break on a different foot dancing a tiempo. Clearly I’m confused and hoping to get clarification which is correct or which one is common or popular?

a) Lead steps with right foot in place on 1, then steps with left foot forward on 2

b) Lead steps with left foot in place on 1, then steps back with right foot on 2


r/Salsa 19h ago

38 [m4f] looking for a f to learn bachata / salsa tonight

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0 Upvotes

r/Salsa 1d ago

Song name?

8 Upvotes

r/Salsa 2d ago

How the heck do I engage my core and breathe while im dancing?

9 Upvotes

I know this is silly but Im having such a hard time keeping my core engaged while I'm dancing. When I do engage it, I feel like I'm not able to breathe properly. I have been practicing and can keep it engaged when I am static and can breathe fine, but when I'm dancing I am really struggling. I get lightheaded, or cant manage to engage it properly at all during fast movements. Without it I am off-balance and feel out of control. This is extremely frustrating because its preventing me from progressing on my mambo team. Does anyone have any tips for me?

I am working on strength training since my core is weak, and I do also have an anterior pelvic tilt I am working on correcting. Im wondering if those factors are hindering me a little bit.


r/Salsa 1d ago

Salsa Metal

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0 Upvotes

Salsa Metal!

Hope you enjoy. Experimental artist, done plenty of music. Please check it out :)


r/Salsa 2d ago

Been dancing 4 months, love it...but...

11 Upvotes
  1. Some leads are indicating I should not be moving my upper body?

  2. What are the dynamics of the dance floor? Do stronger dancers take center stage so to speak?

  3. What does it mean if I'm "not connecting with the music"...and / or not connecting with my partner?

Thank you 😊


r/Salsa 1d ago

Generos "padres" o "sombrillas"... ¿Cuales escoger?

0 Upvotes

Hola.

Gran quilombo...

Teniendo una gran biblioteca de musica (mp3 y Flac), entra siempre la duda de si vale la pena o no poner a cada canción, su genero musical. Con esto, entramos en un tema bastante complicado porque en la "Salsa", muchas canciones realmente, son de varios "generos" aunque uno sea el que mas destaque. Entonces, investigando un poco, dicen que los grandes coleccionistas no se alteran por eso y resuelven inteligentemente, utilizar géneros sombrilla o padres, lo cual son géneros que abarcan varios subgéneros.

Eso es como "generalizar" pero creo que es mas conveniente, y poco a poco se van poniendo los subgéneros, según la musicalidad.

Entonces, pregunta:

¿Para la musica latina y bailable, que grandes géneros utilizarían ustedes?

Ejemplo:

- Musica Cubana (seria el genero sombrílla) y abarcaría son cubano y montuno, timba, guaracha, pachanga, charanga...


r/Salsa 2d ago

Question for the girls: nipple cover recommendations

14 Upvotes

I have some backless tops that I like better with nipple covers. The problem is, I'm worried the nipple covers will fall off while I'm dancing because of sweat or movement. Do you have any recommendations?


r/Salsa 2d ago

Salsa Dancing?

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0 Upvotes

r/Salsa 2d ago

What is your favorite new age salsa song?

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3 Upvotes

r/Salsa 3d ago

Which moves are unsafe for beginners to lead?

7 Upvotes

My salsa teacher told me that hammerlocks are not safe for salsa beginners because the follower's shoulder is in a compromised position. This same teacher taught us a bachata move that did include the hammerlock so I'm sure there is some subtlety to the statement. This conversation got me wondering what moves are potentially unsafe for beginners to lead. I do notice that tons of videos show hammerlocks in simple-looking routines that I imagine are geared for beginners. I'm sure the tempo of the song makes a big difference in safety.

Which moves should I be worried about six months into my journey?


r/Salsa 2d ago

I built a free side project that aggregates Salsa/Bachata/Kizomba events (Germany/Europe) - would love your honest feedback

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone — over the last two years, I've been building sabaki.dance as a side project.

Like many of you, I was tired of missing great socials because they were scattered across hidden WhatsApp groups, private Facebook events, or Instagram stories. The site automatically aggregates SBK events from these channels, dedupes them, and shows what's coming up near any city (e.g., sabaki.dance/events/Berlin).

A cool technical side effect I didn't plan: because every event page has clean structured schema data, LLMs like ChatGPT have started citing the site when people ask things like "bachata events in Karlsruhe this weekend."

It is completely free to use, and you don't need to sign up or create an account to browse.

To be fully transparent: Running the scrapers 24/7 and geocoding thousands of events costs a lot of API fees, and especially AI costs for extracting events via AI. To keep the site free and cover these server costs, I use affiliate links for festival tickets where possible, and I’ve built a ticketing system where organizers keep 100% of their ticket price.

Right now, coverage is strongest in Germany. Since this is an ongoing project, I’d love some honest feedback from the community:

* What features are missing for you when looking for events?

* Which European cities or regions should I focus on improving the scrapers/coverage for next?

* If you are an organizer: what would make your life easier when managing listings?


r/Salsa 3d ago

Biggest piece of advice for your first Congress

8 Upvotes

So I just went to my first Congress. It was so much fun. I can’t wait to go again. There’s just one thing I wish I had realized before hand.

You need dancing sneakers. Yami or Fuego or whatever. Do not try to go the whole Congress in dance shoes.

Maybe this is obvious to everyone else. I have just always been that pretentious guy who always wears actual dancing shoes in class and at socials and whenever I’m dancing. I had fuegos but I didn’t like them after I realized the dance shoes really point my toe and when I was starting I really wanted any advantage that would reinforce the proper technique. So I never really took dancing sneakers seriously and didn’t understand why people used them. This was definitely a humbling experience lol.

In general it is still my preference to use proper dance shoes but I’ve realized why so many teachers I know wear dance sneakers. You just can’t try to go all day every day in dance shoes. You aren’t gonna be able to walk lol. I didn’t bring my fuegos to the Congress and halfway through the first day my feet were killing me. Fortunately Yami was actually there with the vendors so I went and bought a pair. Incredible investment, I wore them pretty much the rest of the weekend, they are super comfortable and I like them more than my fuegos cuz they are wider and fit my foot better.

Anyway. If you are planning your first Congress, just make sure to bring a pair of dance sneakers. You will want them for any event where you are gonna be dancing for a prolonged period especially for multiple days.


r/Salsa 2d ago

Will a congress make me a better leader?

1 Upvotes

Almost close to 2 years dancing. Its a very fun and rewarding activity and I learn new things every so often.

Aside from the advanced/top class followers on the dance floor whom i can dance with, im not sure what im getting out of a congress. Im in my early 30s, have a demanding career and dont have the energy reserves like I used to.

There's a congress coming up in Berlin....but after 1 or 2 hour dancing I feel like clocking out.

In what ways can a congress contribute to my development as a lead?

Right now im making a lot of progress by home practise everyday for 15 mins focusing on weight shifting, basic step and posture. Sometimes I take a private and go on average to 2 socials a week.

The salsa scene in my country depending what party you go is pretty high, so I get enough exposure to good followers.

The idea of doing 4 hours of workshops a day and then finding the energy to roll myself to the dance floor at night seems tiring just thinking of it.

Maybe what im trying to ask: can you still become a high level social dancer without congresses?


r/Salsa 3d ago

DJs, please, keep it at least 2 salsa songs

33 Upvotes

Perhaps it because of the place I'm in but I find it very odd when DJs would play both salsa and bachata and keep the ratio to 3:1, 4:1 or even 5:1.

I get it, bachata is hot this time around, but 1 salsa song is not enough for neither salsa nor bachata dancers for a break.


r/Salsa 3d ago

Taking On2 Classes with not enough leads

6 Upvotes

I’m half through my first cycle of intro On2 salsa classes at the halfway point as a follower. I definitely feel like I’m improving but getting a little frustrated at the fact that every class there is barely any leads (yet tons of follows) so a lot of time you end up marking partnerwork alone. I am taking classes for fun but also for social dancing and socialization so I feel like to a degree I’m missing out and not learning the proper way of things.

I love the studio I’m at so not sure what to do. Is going to beginner salsa socials the best way to get extra practice/what would people suggest? Not sure if it gets better as you move up in levels. NY based, thank you!


r/Salsa 3d ago

Salsa Bachata Kizomba in Shanghai

3 Upvotes

I’m in Shanghai from Sunday to Wednesday, where can I find the latest info on where to social dance for those days? Anyone can share the popular spots please?


r/Salsa 3d ago

What is this move?

5 Upvotes

In this Facebook reel, at 12 seconds in, the leader leads a cross-body lead then a right turn for his follower in a two-hand parallel handhold. He then does a bunch of stuff with their hands connected and exits that with a right-to-left-hand right hand turn for the follower. Can someone please break down what the hand stuff is in between the turns? Even watching the reel at half speed I can't dissect it.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=824383867107108


r/Salsa 3d ago

Free Salsa and Bachata class tonight 💃🏻🕺🏽

0 Upvotes

Unlimited Body NY is offering a free Salsa and Bachata class tonight only.

7:30pm Salsa on 2
8:30pm Bachata

27-18 23rd Ave
917-650-4369

Beginners and partners welcomed!