Three Salsa Questions with Edwin Nijon

Edwin Nijon started dancing in 2011 in the Netherlands. Edwin is a passionate Salsa dancer and has travelled to almost 50 congresses to further his knowledge and explore his dancing.

Away from the dance floor, Edwin is also one of the administrators of the Mambo On2 Dancers Facebook group which facilitates conversations between 4,000 dancers.

I had a chance to ask Edwin Three Salsa Questions.

Question 1: What are the ingredients necessary for you to have a memorable dance?

For me, dancing Salsa is all about the connection I have with my partner and the music; memorable dances happen when we both connect to each other with the same energy and intention and, equally important, we both adapt and move to the music.

Question 2: Did you ever learn moves that you would never use? If so why, and did learning them serve any purpose?

Yes, I did. It was while learning material for a choreography and the purpose was to put on a show. Some moves that you learn for a show you would never use on the dance floor.
Although I did not use this material while social dancing the training was good to improve my dance movement and range; this enabled me to be more musical.

Question 3: Why do you think people dance with you? What do you offer as a dancer?

From what I have been told, I bring energy to the dance and can excite my partner and can adapt to different dancers and get the max out of a follower in her/his style. I have also been told that I am musical; my lead can reflect the dynamics of a song with tension increasing or decreasing to create a musical experience and pleasantly surprise my partner.

Advice to new dancers?

Listen to salsa music as much as you can and try to social dance as much as possible because on the dancefloor is where you will get the best training.