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Happy New Year MMA Family!

Last Updated on Friday, 06 January 2012 02:12 Written by Mixed Motion Artist Friday, 06 January 2012 00:50

Happy New Year Everyone!

I thought I would start the new year off with some time to reflect on what went down in 2011 and what to look forward to in 2012...

Firstly, MMA has been a blessing as has my partner in crime, the beautiful and awesome Ms. Laura Flores. We had a year of ups and downs both personally and professionally and we always seem to come out ahead. I appreciate her and love her tremendously! I know we will make bigger moves in the coming year and I am very excited to see where the year takes us.<3

Have you ever felt conflicted?

Last Updated on Wednesday, 23 November 2011 10:22 Written by Mixed Motion Artist Wednesday, 23 November 2011 02:04

Hi Everyone!

Something that has been on my mind a lot lately and, to my surprise, the mind of others...

"Why don't you perform in the scene anymore?"

This is very difficult for me to answer and even to this day I have constant internal battles about how I should approach this.

I cannot and will not fully encompass all the feelings I have on the matter in this blog post, but I can write what is off the top of my head. Here goes!

You see, for the longest time, I used to dance with my dear friend, Sekou McMiller and we (his group, Descarga Caribe) got a chance to perform ALL OVER the U.S. and the world!

Common sense would dictate that I would continue to try and travel and do my thing with Laura once Sekou moved to NYC. I had a different thought though. I know I have sense, perhaps I'm just not common. You see, I wanted to become a better.

In regards to becoming a better dancer, I actually mean I wanted to understand dance. I am a very technical person and I felt I knew enough to be a good club dancer, but to achieve a high standard, well that was a different matter all together.

Know Your Role!

Last Updated on Monday, 29 November 1999 18:00 Written by Mixed Motion Artist Tuesday, 08 November 2011 23:08

Know your role...

So on my journey with this crazy world of dance, I have stumbled upon a lot of funny things. Things like my own growing pains, injuries, crazy moments on stage that made me chuckle and more than enough experiences on the social dance floor.

Ladies! Have you ever danced with "that guy?" You know him....THAT GUY. He's the one who will make his turn pattern happen NO MATER WHAT. I have always been of the opinion that dances are way more than turn patterns, but that's just me...

Fellas! How about the "ahem" heavy follows who my old friend and I would refer to as 'death by styling.' These girls are the lovelies that seems to do the female version of 'no matter what' and will tear your rotator cuff of to get that extra body roll in.

We might blow up but we won't go POP!

Last Updated on Monday, 31 October 2011 18:20 Written by Mixed Motion Artist Tuesday, 25 October 2011 19:10

Hi Everyone!

Another week another conversation. It seems as the more I meet and interact with new and interesting people at the studio, the more the topic of "on1" (for the purposes of this article, Salsa) vs "on2" (for the purposes of this article, Mambo) is bought up.

Now I have long had a stance on this issue. Having first learned to dance on 1, I am as sensitive to the apparent "issues" that have been fabricated that make it seem like dancing on 1,2,3 pause 5,6,7 pause is somehow different than dancing 1,2,3 pause 5,6,7 pause.

Does that make sense to you? Me either.

I don't see it so much as a 'whats better' more than its a 'what do you prefer?' Let me explain. We all are little fingerprints roaming the world and we all somehow have our own sense of individuality. That being the case, we should all be able to figure out what style we want to dance in. Do you want a snappier, more downbeat kind of dance? Does making sure that you can dance with more people affect your decision making? Odds are, you are better off dancing Salsa. On the contrary, do you prefer a smoother looking and more percussion based dance? Do you hear the music a bit deeper? Does dancing a mean Cha Cha make you warm and fuzzy inside? The you my friend, were born to MAMBO!

Now then the decision is really THAT SIMPLE. The thing is, the illusion that Salsa is EASIER than MAMBO should not enter the decision making process. You shouldn't be tricked into thinking that somehow, you are choosing something more inherently difficult. There is a lot being put out there and I'd like to take a crack at dispelling some common myths.

o_O

It's ok...really...

Last Updated on Thursday, 27 October 2011 23:21 Written by Mixed Motion Artist Wednesday, 12 October 2011 17:53

I think it goes without saying that many people who are new to the scene often think that the setting is extremely intimidating. This is made even worse by the fact that we now have a nice variety of dance teams, all of whom are considered the advanced dancers in our social environment. These people make up the majority of the instructors, performers and top level social moovers and groovers in our scene. If you're walking into a club for the first time, they can really take you back by their skill and creativity.

As a newbie to salsa and to the dance floor, it takes a little bit of acclimating to make yourself comfortable in this, or any, new environment. Having been there myself, I know EXACTLY how you all feel.

Let me take you back a bit and tell you a story of when I first started dancing. I took classes at a local studio because I saw a group of performers dance on stage at an old Pan-American festival (anyone remember those?). I remember thinking to myself at the time that I could do that very thing one day, even though I had never formally danced ANYTHING in my life. This bold thought led me to look up salsa studios and finally deciding to jump in the pool and start my dancing education.