Anyone involved in salsa, whether a musician, a dancer or a DJ, will think once.

"Can we all do something? 』\

It may be that each style is different, or simply because there is no horizontal connection.

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​ Musically speaking, New York salsa (including Puerto Rican salsa) has dance styles such as On1 (on-one / LA) and On2 (on-two / NY), each with an instructor and each student.

In the case of Cuban salsa, apart from Afro dances such as rumba and santelia, there are several styles for one music like New York salsa, but there is an instructor who teaches Cuban salsa. only. It seems that Son may have a Son instructor (Son's step is called Contratiempo, and the timing is different from the general step).

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Anyway, roughly speaking, there are three dance styles in the music called salsa that includes New York and Cuba, and that is "Can we all do something?" It may have made it difficult to realize.

Maybe it's just a hassle.

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About 20 years ago when I started playing salsa, even after the movie "Buenavista socialclub" became popular all over the world, I think there were 5 or 6 groups of orchestras playing salsa in Kansai alone. However, compared to now, there were more events and more customers.

Now that the number of groups has decreased completely, only one group has continued since that time.

Since the Lehman shock, the number of workers from Peru, Brazil, etc., which had been exciting the salsa (Latin) scene until then, has decreased sharply, and the number of events that they hosted has decreased completely, and now it is compared to that time. I became very lonely.

Compared to 20 years ago, the number of instructors has increased, and the number of dancers has also increased. .. ..

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When I have a chance to talk to dancers and DJs, I often hear things like "new faces don't increase" and "younger generations don't take root". This isn't just about salsa (Latin music), but I think it's a common feeling for people involved in niche music.

Lifestyles and ways of playing have changed compared to 20 years ago, and the roots of young people leaving their cars these days may be the same.

Even so, the fire of salsa in Kansai may be extinguished sooner or later unless people in their thirties, especially young people in their twenties, are interested and connected.

To prevent that from happening, at least we musicians and instructors must be something that looks attractive and cool to them in the younger generation.

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It's a little off topic, but it seems that the aging and depopulation of the salsa area is visibly progressing, so for example, only Mr. A and Mr. B did their best to increase the number of students and customers. As long as there aren't enough people to get a boom, it's insignificant from the whole.

If you want to raise the overall level, I think it will be difficult if you don't do it together.

In the opposite example of "Minna de", Mr. A's event charge was set cheaper than others, and people came in. As a result, other things have come to be set cheaper in line with it. In addition, I started doing dance lessons for free. When it takes root. .. ..

・ I can't raise the charge even if it's a little difficult.
・ I'm far from the instructor's regular lessons.

・ People who are accustomed to cheap charges feel that the live charge is high and are far from their feet.

And so on, it 's a sample of deflation that is very familiar to us.

If you want to change the situation like this example, it will not be effective unless you do it because "everyone".

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15 to 20 years is a long time ago, but at that time, bands were an integral part of salsa events.

There were times when two bands appeared in one event, and there were also live events where five or six bands appeared.

In other words, it is not uncommon to dance with live sounds as it is now, and I think that the dancers were accustomed to dancing with live sounds.

Of course, there were live sounds around me, so I didn't feel the difference between dancing live and dancing with a sound source such as a CD. I think.

The volume of a live concert is not constant like a sound source, the small part is small, and when it gets excited, the volume and the amount of heat increase. Dancers who like music enjoy the excitement of the band's intonation. Since the volume of sound sources such as CDs is made uniform to some extent, the volume difference is usually not as great as that of live sound.

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From what I heard, it seems that there are quite a few people who have recently started dancing salsa and have never seen a live concert.

Whether it's New York or Cuban, salsa is dance music, so music and dance are inseparable.

There are many wonderful bands in Japan, including De La Ruth, Dell Sol and Swingoza in Tokyo, and Banda Libre and Son de Calibre in Kansai. Although the number of people in the Kansai area is small, musicians and bands from overseas come to Japan several times a year.

I would like people who have never experienced live performances to experience the coolness of salsa as music and the joy of dancing with that wonderful band.

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The music and dance scenes are by Ichiren.

As a band member, I want them to dance with their own music, and when I hear that the dance scene is not energetic, I feel lonely or worried. The excitement of the dance scene is directly linked to the excitement of the music scene (called salsa).

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It may take some time because it has been left unattended for more than 10 years in both rabbits and corners, but it may be too late if left unattended any longer.

The Latin session I sponsor is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, but it has finally come to be recognized in Kanto and Tokai other than Kansai. And it's been a couple of years since the younger generation of people in their early twenties came to us constantly.

This event is scheduled to be held about once every 3 to 4 months, so you have to be prepared for it to take some time.

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However, will "everyone doing something together" involved in salsa, such as musicians, dancers, and DJs, lead to attracting "new faces" and "younger generations", and will they take root? , It's a completely unknown number.

Maybe it has no effect.

But if you don't do anything, it's clear that the status quo will not change unless idols, famous talents and YouTubers pick up salsa and make it popular.

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Also, I don't know how effective it would be if an unknown musician like myself did it as a means of delivering salsa to people who had no connection with the music and dance of salsa, but on an irregular basis. I will use YouTube to distribute a video that explains salsa from the perspective of a musician.

It will be distributed under the name of "Salsa course for dancers by musicians", but I think that it will be interesting for anyone who is interested in salsa.

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"Can we all do something?" That the people involved in salsa couldn't realize while thinking the same way.

It may be natural that the more people involved, the more each person has their own thoughts and interests.

But I think it's time to do something together.

It's like feeding back to ourselves, like grooming the mountains to fertilize the ocean.

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Beyond the style differences that musicians, dancers, and DJs wrote at the beginning, we gathered together for one purpose, freely discussed various themes, sometimes with actual performances and dances, questions from the venue, etc. When necessary, we will respond with demonstrations and practical skills.

We aim for such an event, such as a workshop or a roundtable discussion.

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It can be said that this project was the correct answer if even one person became interested in salsa through this distribution or event and became able to attend some lessons or go to live concerts. Isn't it?

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Anyway, I would like to continue to disseminate information, and I would like to move the current situation "with everyone", so I and Yuki-san, a joint project, will talk to various people in the future. I think it will be.

If you agree with the intention of this project​ , I think that I may ask you to participate in the event or interview on YouTube, so I would appreciate your cooperation in that case.

Thank you to everyone involved in salsa.

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One day in February 2020

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Tokujiro