New Year’s Salsa Resolutions for 1999

By

Sam Boone

Hi Everyone! Well, here we are--sitting at the beginning of 1999 with a whole New Year of Salsa in front of us. I’m betting that you (as did I) have made or are making your resolutions for the year.

You know! That list of things you’re gonna do before the end of the year. And in this case, the end of the millennium. The list generally goes something like, Get out of debt, lose weight, exercise more, reduce stress, etc. I’m gonna do all of those things too! But I have some recommendations for our Salsa community. So here goes.

I know that the following groups have already made resolutions, but I would like to add three or four to each group’s list for consideration. The groups are as follows: Nightclub owners, Promoters, Instructors, and of course Dancers. But before offering these recommended resolutions, I first want to say thanks to all of you for what you have done for Salsa in Washington, DC. 1998 has been a year of success. We can now dance Salsa 7 nights a week in DC. We have choices in nightclubs, instructors, and bands. This is GREAT! But I want more! And I want it better, and with that in mind, I offer the following resolutions.

Nightclub owners.

1. Start serving something OTHER than alcoholic beverages. DANCERS do not drink ALCOHOL and DANCE. Sorry, everyone, I really have to say this again! What part of the following don’t you understand! DANCERS do not drink ALCOHOL and DANCE.

But, we do drink water and lots of it. WHY? (shouting now) BECAUSE YOU (Nightclub owner’s) WON’T SERVE ANYTHING ELSE. (enough with the shouting). Please listen, try offering fruit based drinks, cranberry coolers (cranberry juice and gingerale), I could go on and on but the page would get full fast. Owners somehow have it in their heads that money (profit) made from non-alcoholic sales is different from other money. Apparently it does not spend as well. Listen, owners, we’re out there dancing all night, and get thirsty, please listen to me and SELL what I want to buy, rather than what you want me to buy. Hey, I’m just the CUSTOMER, but what do I know. PS. You as Nightclub owners might make More money.

2. Dear Mister Nightclub owner, four out of five of your patrons, DON’T SMOKE! One out of five does. Do the math. This is not rocket science! No, you're already wrong! I didn’t say open a non-smoking club. I didn’t say that the smoking patrons shouldn’t smoke. All I’m saying is to cut the 80% of the people who patronize your operation some slack! How about a non-smoking area? Is that too much to ask? Suggestion: at the next tradeshow convention bring up the subject for discussion with some of your fellow owners. Here we are, out on the dance floor, just sucking it in and when I get back to my table, I still gotta suck it in. Hair, clothing, skin, lungs. Some of the ladies won’t even come to the clubs. We invite them out, they decline. What do they say? Standard answer—There's too much smoke! My hair and my clothes smell like smoke and I can’t breathe. How about non-smoking tables and smoking tables. Who knows, it just might work! PS. And you as Nightclub owner might make More money.

3. Pretend that having us customers coming to your Club is appreciated. Genuine appreciation is ok too! It seems that having customers in the club is a major inconvenience to everyone (managers, bartenders, waiters, waitresses, and security). Take a trip to Home Depot sometimes. See how they treat customers. Imitating success is smart business. PS. You as Nightclub owners might make More money.

Promoters!

1. First and foremost, Stop bad-mouthing each other (other promoters) and if you can’t stop then, don’t say it to us. You hurt your own reputation when you do that. I don’t want to hear it and it disappoints me when you do it. So Don’t!

2. I999 is going to be a big year. Promoters are really going to have to try a new strategy while doing business. It’s called working together. Some of the events that could be done here will require the collective effort of all of you. If you can’t even sit in the same room and be civil to each other, how will you ever work with each other? Major events require work from teams, not an individual. It’s simply too much for one individual to handle. Teamwork works.

3. As promoters, your job is to get the word out, the people interested, and the event sold. Time to try some new ideas. People are losing interest in the Salsa scene because it's becoming dull, boring, uninteresting, commonplace and tiresome. You gotta shake the tree, and introduce innovation. See the above suggestion also, new ideas can happen when you work together. There’s this thing called brainstorming.

Instructors

1. See Number 1 under Promoters. Stop bad-mouthing each other (other instructors) and if you can’t stop, then don’t say it to dancers. You hurt your own reputation when you do that. Actually, what happens is that they think less of you. They don’t want to hear it and it disappoints them when you do it. So Don’t! (Sorry, a personal opinion).

2. Creativity in teaching. Remind students of the dance options, and of the pros and cons associated with each. Group and private lessons abound, workshops exist, and all of these are ways to get good dance information to your students—inform them. If we always operate in the best interest of the student, sometimes, we are or will be compelled to recommend a choice or an instructor who is the best for the student. I believe that you, as an instructor, win in the long run.

3. Instructor Goal for the year. As before, see number 3 under Promoters. Innovation, ingenuity, imagination, inventiveness, etc. 1999 should be the year of the dancer. I challenge the instructors to raise both the number of dancers and quality of dance in DC.

And Finally--Dancers

1. Life is not a free lunch. Is this the ideal dance night? No cover charge to get into the club, free parking, live music, free munchies, free water, great dance floor, DJ, a free dance lesson, and of course plenty of people. Hmm… Did I miss anything? But do we seriously believe that this can exist. And if we were running a business, would we do it that way. Most club owners are in the business for a profit. And all of the items listed above cost money.

2. Kill the cliques or al least ease up on them. New people to the dance scene are consistent about two things. First, they say they are universally ignored by all concerned. I wonder if any of us have ever been on the outside looking in. In 1999, resolve to take the time to say hello to the new people. They will remember you, and remember you fondly. And second, no one will… (more below)

3. Dance with new people. Ask new people to dance. Dance with the beginners, the intermediates, and the advanced. If you’re good, you can dance with all of them. After all, it’s not a life sentence—three minutes, perhaps? -- Who knows? You just might expand your horizons, meet a new, interesting person, and if you don’t, you still made someone better for trying…. You.

Well, that’s it for my suggested Salsa Resolutions for the year. Now, I gotta see if I can get at least half of them done. If you’ve got others, better ones, by all means add them to the list.

And to all of you…

Have a safe, healthy, Salsa filled year…

Sam

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