Salsa buffs make record with 47 pairs
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Forty-seven pairs of salsa enthusiasts moved their feet and swiveled their hips in a square rueda (Spanish for wheel), around a basketball court in Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Saturday.
The dancers performed the rueda de casino, a group dance, with pairs in a circle following simple salsa steps, from Cuba -- salsa's country of origin, where no party is complete without a rueda.
"Whenever people get together the dance. Even when they walk down the street," said dance director Rodolfo Salas.
"It's a great way to make new friends, as you don't need to know a person to pair with them," added the 29-year-old Cuban.
Salsa hit Indonesia a few years back with the growing popularity of Latin American singers, such as Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez -- the latter is famed for her sexy moves.
"I wanted to learn salsa because I like the songs," said Wita Ariani, a salsa fan. "It's a good hobby too. It makes you stay young," said the woman, who claimed to be 37 years old but looked like she was in her early 30s.
Over the years, salsa fever has infected mid-and-upper-class society -- and looks to be here to stay. At least 180 salsa fans all over Indonesia are members of a salsa community.
"We invited members of the community to take part in our attempt to register a record for 59 couples dancing rueda with the Indonesian Museum of Records (MURI)," said Albert James Loing of Salseros, a dance club in Mampang, South Jakarta, which organized the event to commemorate the nation's 59th Independence Day on Aug. 17.
Clad in training suits -- white with red stripes for men and the reverse for women -- and sneakers, rather than high heels, the participants took to the floor as soon as the band started up to signal the start of the fiesta, almost one hour later than the scheduled 4 p.m.
When the band took a break, they formed rows and followed Rodolfo's lead -- which abruptly came to an end when the CD player conked out.
The next victims of technology were Rodolfo and his partner. The music paid no credit to their rather complicated footwork as it paused for split seconds after every fourth beat.
About 300 spectators -- mostly relatives of the dancers, who paid an entrance fee of Rp 25,000 (US$2.70) each -- were ready for the event's climax, the rueda de casino, at 6:30 p.m.
The participants twirled and tackled the steps with no hesitation, having practiced for three months. Although the training outfits united the pairs as one group, the sensuous swish of material and the glamor and glitter of salsa fashion was a sad loss.
The show ended in less than four minutes. Some kept their eyes on the arena, anticipating more to come, to no avail.
Although only 47 pairs were present, Jaya Suprana announced that MURI had recognized the group as the biggest to perform the dance.
Despite the shortage of partakers, James remained optimistic. "We plan to make an attempt for the Guinness Book of Records next year," he said. "We will start a program this year, whereby we will introduce school students to salsa, to find more dancers."
According to James, the current record for a rueda is 32 pairs in Barcelona. In the United States, a record of 173 couples stands, but they performed in several rueda.