Learn to Do the Spanish Hustle!

One of my ongoing passions has been to revitalize a dance that I have been a fan of for years.  Over my past five years of residency at the Downtown Cocktail Room in Las Vegas, I have had the opportunity to see some great dancers -- just not so many dancing together as a couple.  I first saw how couples back-in-the-day would dance to House music in New York and Chicago – a subculture club dance referred to as the Spanish Hustle – and I just have to bring it back! 

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Back in the day, my best friend Beatrice Montenegro and I were determined to learn the dance.  It took several weeks of practicing in the dark corners of house clubs across New York City until we got confident enough to dance on the main floor.  I remember the first time someone came up to us to ask what we were doing -- and could we teach them?  At that moment, we were both hooked!  20 years later, I’ve decided to make a deliberate effort to share the Spanish Hustle with my Sin City downtown friends because I know once you try it, you’ll be hooked too! 

Just like break-dancers, Spanish Hustlers form a circle for others to dance within it – this lets one couple at a time stand out.  These Spanish Hustler couples can be a man and a woman, a man and a man, or a woman and a woman … it doesn’t matter as long as you are a couple throughout the dance.  Since there are NO RULES to the dance, most catch on quickly:

•  For those of you who like to count in your head when you dance, hey that’s easy!  It’s house music -- so 4/4 is the usual count (the very first Hustle created in late 1972 was a 5-step count with no turns, then in 1975 we started doing 6-step counts when the Fatback Band made a song about the dance – so advanced dancers can spice it up!). 
  
  
• For those that like to watch the footwork of their partner to pick up the dance, there are no mandatory steps, but there is a certain etiquette to follow: if you stumble, trip, fall or whatever, you don’t stop the dance -- you dance out of it and you do whatever you can to make each other look good.  Once you feel comfortable with your partner, then you start to dance in any open area -- circling the club and working dance floor.  How fun is that!
  

DowntownSoul is proud to announce that on Thursday evenings from 8-10 pm, we will be giving FREE Spanish Hustle lessons to anyone who wants to learn!  Just drop by the Downtown Cocktail Room on Thursday nights (DJ Lenny “Love” Alfonzo spins at 10pm!) and get your Spanish Hustle on!  Once we get enough couples up to speed, plan on having some great dance contests!  See you Thursday night!  Peace Love and Dance ….

DowntownSoul -- bringing music to the community and community to the music!