Tag Archive for 'etiquette'

Now, I know this is one of those weird subjects, but I thought I’d share my experience at the club. Now, I am assuming everyone wears colonge (eau de toilette) – and if you haven’t – you should. We all dance, and we all sweat like crazy – especially in a very packed club. Not many girls would like to dance with a highly sweaty, highly smelly (not good smelly) type of guy – especially if you are a beginner. Sorry, its the truth… So you might as well make the experience for your follow as pleasant as possible. So you should try and smell good for as most of the night as you can. However, I do a little extra other than wearing the regular Polo (Ralph Lauren) and on special occasions, Black (Kenneth Cole) colonge which some may have not thought of. I also use body spray. My preferrence is AXE body spray just because it goes on dry, and I like the smell of it – but back to the point. The main reason why I like body spray is because it goes directly on the skin (as opposed to colonge) and its less alcoholic which means it lasts longer. (Alcohol evaporates faster). Therefore, the more I dance (and sweat) the more fragarance comes out – especially if I dance bachata (a very close-up dance). That way I can at least not smelling badly when 11th hour chimes at the club. Again, a little goes a long way.

Now, as an extra – I recommend not choosing colonges and body sprays that have a strong smell. For the inexperienced, sometimes you end up spraying too much colonge on yourself before going out to the club that you start attracting bees. (thats not a good sign). Take something that is soft, and possibly matches what you are wearing… yes.. Just like the smell of grease doesn’t go well when eating a salad… or in wine terms – there are rules when to have white or red wine with specific dishes. Now, there is not clear rule on fragrances, but I can tell you that if I wear a nice shirt (long sleeved) with khakis (so that I look like I was going to go to a nice 5-star restaurant) I wear my upscale things (such as Kenneth Cole or A|X). These are soft yet subtle fragrances. The smell usually reminds you of ‘new’ things – just like that smell of a brand-new car, opened book or.. who knows. If I wear a more casual outfit – kind of like wearing shirt-and-jeans – I will wear something a little stronger and sportier – maybe Cool Water (by Davidoff) or Polo Sport. Whatever you choose, I recommend ALWAYS keeping a small bottle of it in your car – for those special occasions when you forget. (Mine is next to my first-aid kit to be accurate). One last thing – never spray directly on your clothes!! Remember, its your body heat from your skin that makes the fragrance evaporate (so others can smell it).

Now, don’t call me metro-sexual. I just believe that salsa is not just a dance but an experience [mainly for the ladies].. and every little bit helps to get better compliments on the dance floor. It like treating yourself as a company in the stock market. The more value you add to yourself and to the dance experience you bring (dressing nicer, being a smooth dancer, smelling better, smiling a lot and making the lady look great on the floor) the higher your stock price goes up (the more ladies will be glad to dance with you). I rememer when I was first dancing, it was hard to get a lot of dances because – well, I wasn’t that good (and I’m not saying I’m perfect now either) – but I realized that I had to somehow make up for not being as good as the rest of the other gentlemen at the club so that I could get more dances so that I could get better. I’m not saying that smelling good will magically make you a better salsa dancer, or liked by the ladies – but every little bit as a whole helps.