Most Thursdays, Danny Ramirez begins his weekly routine: a new haircut, a shave and a boot shine. But he’s not ready to meet up or party with friends.
It’s all part of the 31-year-old’s ritual before heading to Christmas balls or Mexican dance gatherings, where his job is to lead dancers onto the floor with dizzying norteño moves in a whirlwind of cheek-to-cheek hugs with partygoers. The Sylmar-based TikTok influencer is part of a growing trend in dance culture, attracting a new, younger audience with his flying soccer ball.
“We’re there to lighten the mood,” Ramirez said.
At venues across the country, women have flocked to dance with Ramirez, whose hypnotic accompaniment of norteño saxophone music has drawn the former construction worker more than half a million followers on TikTok, mostly young dancers eager to learn new moves.
While dance clubs and studios hope to attract some of their massive social media followers to their venue, these dance influencers get the same stardom as a northern act or late-night band, often appearing alongside the artists on flyers.
“There are a lot of people who follow us to different cities,” Ramirez said. “On the one hand, we give people one more reason to attend these events.”
It’s still a moment of mine for Ramirez, a musical theater lover and former competitive cheerleader who moved to the United States from Zacatecas, Mexico, three years ago in search of a better life. After devoting all of his time to creating content, he became something of a dance star, with club promoters taking him to gigs in more than 25 states, including Kansas, Tennessee and South Carolina.
“I hope our movement can impact every corner of the United States so that our community can be proud of our Mexican culture,” Ramirez said.
This is the case of places like Palace Events Center In New Castle, Delaware, known for hiring influencers to attract dancers to his hostages in a state made up of Latinos. less than 10% total population.
“I have seen a lot of interest from people on social media,” said Edwin Velasco, marketing director of the Palacio Events Center.
Velasco, who studied business administration in college, wanted to fill the ballroom. After seeing other nearby venues sell out on nights that attracted social media personalities, she decided to reach out to famous influencers and started promoting them. shiny leaves the main northern show or night band.
“When we first started recruiting influencers, we focused on the younger audience,” said Velasco, 24. “I actually see a lot of my friends coming out to their parents. It’s fun.”
According to A. education 2023 by A living nationSocial media is driving fan engagement, with nearly 90% of live music listeners agreeing that watching live music content on social media makes them want to attend shows. Taking a photo with a famous TikTok dancer while listening to a live northern band is an added bonus for dance-goers.
“It’s like bringing a celebrity into the club,” Velasco said. “These guys get hundreds and millions of views and people want to see them.”
Jasmine Goodwin had never participated in the engagement before 2021, but as a trained dancer she quickly picked up the steps. She gradually amassed more than 705,000 followers on TikTok and distinguished herself by flashing her white smile on camera and wearing bright outfits. Northern dancers tend to have a serious face and less Western clothing.
But the idea of flying to locations to promote the parties was at first daunting for the Los Angeles native, who had a full-time job as an assistant bank manager and watched her videos on social media as a hobby.
“It was something new there – people from other states were being pushed to fulfill these promises,” Goodwin said. “I’m not going to lose my job over this.”
However, after a vacation in Florida and Illinois, she quickly paid off her car loan, prompting the 27-year-old to quit her banking job. She has been hired every weekend since.
Those who were confident enough to lead him on the dance floor were some of them. childrenRecord videos of your sessions often and post them on your social media to get views and likes.
“A lot of young people have social media like TikTok and I feel the same way. (we’ve) inspired them to start making promises,” she said.
It’s comforting for Goodwin, who still remembers how her chambelanes were embarrassed to dance at her quinceañera. Now she’s seen an uptick huapango dancea faster and more energetic northern rhythm with two alternating steps and some other turns that can be done paired either only – which dominated.
“It’s a healthy pastime,” Goodwin said. “It keeps them off the streets. It keeps them from being at home on their electronics, watching TV and being potatoes.”
David Cruz, owner of Fairytale Dance, a quinceañera choreography studio in Santa Fe Springs founded in 2008, believes social media influencers are setting the tone for a new era of dance culture.
“Whatever style an influencer shows in their video, that’s the style people want to copy,” Cruz said.
The dance instructor began to receive Free weekly huapango lessons this year for teenagers to meet the growing interest of society. Since most of her quinceañera clients request choreographies for huapangos, tribes or bands, she also uses this guide to seek out male cambelanos as possible dancers for her company.
It’s a nostalgic moment for the 38-year-old who grew up during it. a breaktoDita A buzz that spread in the early 1990s through a series of Southern California dances. back breaker and snake legselements that have re-emerged in recent years as young people seek to personalize their style.
“A group of these teenagers are announcing that they are going to dance huapango and go to the rodeo,” Cruz said. “The children now go to school in their boots, or in their starched T-shirts and jeans.”
When he was 7, Cruz was in a dance group called El Cherif de Chocolat, named after a Bronco-inspired song about the world of pastry. On weekends, Cruz would show off his ruedas, or springs, against other quebraditas groups, each with its own dance style and dress code. homes, hallways and warehouses in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
“I used to make fun of people who liked banda music,” teenager Ricardo Contreras told The Daily. Times Interview 1994“But then I went to a party, saw all the pretty girls, and then went out and bought boots and a hat.”
Romantic attraction has survived through time and on the dance floor, Cruise believes. If dancers can spin their partners properly, perhaps they can drown them too.
“With these styles, it is possible (teens) can get (partners) after they learn to dance well, do a number,” Cruz said.
Cruz hopes that this interest among young people in mortgages can be sustained, especially after the post-Quebradita pause of the late 1990s.
“From the 90s to maybe the early 2010s, we were kind of lost people who wanted to show our Mexican side,” Cruz said. “Now it’s cool to see someone wearing sneakers and boots on any given day at the mall.”
Dictionary
- bales: Mexican dance gatherings, usually with live music, held in large venues such as the Pico Rivera Arena
- Yaripeo: a Mexican rodeo with live music and animals, often outdoors.
- Northerners (music): Mexican polka-like ballad with guitar, totoloch and accordion, originating in the states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas in northern Mexico. It is a popular subgenre. northern music-saxwhich includes the saxophone as a central part (popularized by Conjunto Primavera).
- Northern (dance): A two-step step with a slight knee jump, followed by the bass in nortenja music (performed by the totoloche instrument).
- Huapango: A fast, extra-fast northern rhythm with two alternating steps and occasional rolls that can be paired or individual. This movement has its origins in Huasteco music, which originated in the Gulf of Mexico in states such as Veracruz, Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí, but is also incorporated into northern dance.
- inside: A set of front wheels or springs that can be done alone or with a partner.
- loud music: wooden instrument with a lot of brass (clarinet) from Sinaloa (for example, Banda el Recodo)
- Cumbia Band (Cumbia North): A subgenre of banda that often includes keyboards, synthesizers, or banda (e.g. Grupo Frontera)
- tribal: synthetic rhythm, techno-band with cumbia and band originating from Mexico (think very high heels) (for example, 3BallMTY)
