So, when I asked him for an interview, he naturally wanted to know how much money I thought I would make off the deal. Then he asked what Science Fiction and Fantasy have to do with Salsa (and he might well ask why I capitalize Science Fiction and Fantasy every time I write the phrase -- but that has nothing to do with Latin dancing).
It became clear to me that Johnny has long been used to leading the crowd, and he often answers a question by asking a question. He wants his students to get something out of their experience. But he sometimes holds back, leaving you wanting more. That is undoubtedly part of the appeal he offers his students. They sense that there is always a little more to be learned.
But every dance master has to learn the basic skills somewhere. I asked Johnny how he got started dancing. I was a bit surprised to learn he had worked for Texas Instruments at one time. A co-worker there taught part-time at a Dance City, USA studio (at that time they were the largest dance school company in the U.S.).
"I went as her guest for a free lesson," Johnny told me. "After that, I took a few more lessons and then entered a competition." He took first place in Cha Cha and immediately went into a 4-1/2 month training class. He hasn't stopped dancing since.
Johnny is less clear about exactly when he started teaching. I gather it was in the 1970s or early 1980s. Eventually, he owned and operated a Fred Astaire Dance Studio at Town and Country on Houston's west side for about 8 years, and then he owned Woodway Dance Centre, and in 1997 after a brief hiatus from teaching he realized dance instruction was his first love, so he opened up the Westside Dance Centre (relatively close to Town and Country, where he started).
What led Johnny back to the dance studio business was Elvia's Cantina. They put out an advertisement for a teacher around October 1996 and Johnny responded. He has been teaching the free classes there since that time, every Wednesday night.
With so many years behind him, I had to ask Johnny what changes he has seen in the Houston Salsa scene. "When I first started," he says, "Salsa was a more traditional, native style. There was not much Salsa in Mexico. Salsa came from Venezuela, Columbia, Cuba. Mexico was very American musically." At the time, he tells me, people were dancing to American disco (in Spanish) in cities like Acapulco. Disco also had its day in Houston, and Country Western (still popular) also made its mark on Houston's social dance community.
"Houston Salsa moved toward a blend of Mambo and Cumbias," Johnny continues. "They danced Puerto Rican Mambo in New York, a more Cuban Mambo in Miami, but they are very similar these days. Salsa today is incorporating more disco-style moves, things that were popular in Houston 20 to 25 years ago. They're the same moves in Salsa. Country Western is also very similar. They have the same turns, spins."
The reuse of moves and turns is quite evident between Salsa and Cha Cha, which can be learned together (as Johnny proved with his class at Elvia's). But Merengue is a somewhat different dance. Nonetheless, nearly every week, Johnny imparts enough knowledge about basic Salsa and Merengue moves to new dancers to get them out on the dance floor.
NEXT PAGE
|
It's Sarite
You meet a lot of people in the clubs. Most of them, you really don't remember. But there was one girl who came to Johnny's free class in December 2004. I remember her for several reasons.
Johnny asked me to join the class to help even the number of guys and girls. The only girl I could dance with stood on the far side of the floor, too nervous to walk toward me in front of more than a dozen people (including her friends).
Well, time was a wastin', so I coaxed her over to join me. Johnny and I both did a double take as she crossed that floor. This girl was super cute.
"What's your name?" he asked her. "Sarite."
"No, it's not all right," Johnny replied. "I want to know your name."
It was all downhill from there.
She was so nervous, she couldn't follow the routine. Johnny would come over, look at me, shake his head, and say something like, "You told me you could dance."
She just laughed and rolled her eyes.
|
