Good Salsa dancers should have a sense of awareness about where they are in relation to others on the dance floor. You can develop this dance awareness by applying the following whether you are in a dance lesson, practicing by yourself or at a dance club.
Any step back should be a small one. This applies to the man as well as the lady. If your step back is large you will have problems:: You will step on other dancers feet, get stepped on by other dancers and will not be able to comfortably stay on time to the music.
You should measure your steps by placing your toe of the back step (the foot going back, left or right) against the inside heel of your opposite foot (keeping your weight on the ball of your back foot and the heel off the floor) then step forward with your opposite foot (heel to flat).
Date Published: Jan 25, 2009 - 7:28 pm
Salsa can be learned in many ways now, taking lessons in salsa classes or salsa dance videos are the most common. One of challenges of learning to dance is actually remembering what you’ve learned. It is common for students to forget a move they’ve learned just one week before. This usually happens when the moves are not practiced. A great way to avoid this trap is to write down what you have learned after every class. You can ask the instructor for the name of the move or name/describe it yourself. When naming a move yourself, try to pick a name that will remind you what the move actually looks like.
Another key point is to repeat all the moves you’ve learned including the most basic turn patterns. Most students end up practicing just the latest move and neglect all the turn patterns they’ve previously learned. They end up only remembering the new stuff and significantly reduce their repertoire.
A great way to see how you’re progressing is to videotape yourself dancing. You can bring a video camera to a workshop and tape yourself performing what you’ve learned after the workshop is over. Videotaping yourself is beneficial because it gives you a concrete record of many of the moves you know. In addition you can look at your execution and see the areas where you need to improve. So remember a lesson will just be a waste of time if you can’t put what you’ve learned into practice. So practice and use these tips and continuously watch salsa dance videos tohelp you refresh your memory.
Date Published: Nov 13, 2008 - 6:22 pm
There are two measures of music, both with four beats or counts each. On the first count, you tap your left foot, specifically the front of your foot or the balls of the foot and the toes, in place. Some salsa styles will merely ask you to hold the first count, but dancers have found that tapping the foot makes it interesting, and even activates the first foot so that you’re ready to go. On the second count, you actually make a step forward with that left foot. But you can’t go far because, on the third count, you rock back onto the right foot, transferring your weight backwards. Then, on the fourth count, you close your left foot to join your right foot again.
That entire sequence is called the forward basic movement. The next measure of four counts is the backward basic movement, and goes backward instead of forward, stepping right instead of left. So, what happens is you tap your right foot in place on the first count, then make a step backward with that same right foot. On the third count, you rock forward to transfer your weight to the left foot and close your feet together with the right foot on the fourth count. And those are the basic salsa dance steps. Aren’t they easy?
These steps outward from the closed position are called breaks. The breaks are always consistent on the same beat of the music, no matter what digressions and improvisations of the steps are made by the dancers. Breaks are usually where the couples turn or when they try something fancy.
There are many styles of doing basic salsa dance steps, but as long as you know the basic steps, adapting to the different styles won’t be difficult. These styles usually vary according to where the breaks are set, also according to the rhythms played, and particularly in which location you find yourself dancing. For example, the basic salsa dance steps are called On 2, because the break is on the second step, or rather, you step on the count of two. These are performed all over the US and in most Latin American countries. But there is a special style On 1 practiced in Los Angeles where the break is done on the count of one, and the hold is done on the count of four.
There is also a special Cuban style of salsa that is performed with the break going On 3, with the first two counts being a sexy swaying of the body as the weight transfers from one foot to the other. Other popular styles of doing the salsa dance steps are the New York style, Venezolana or Dominicana style, the Power 2 or Razz M’ Tazz style, La Ruedo, Salsa Disco, and the Eddie Romero step, which is his own concoction of a salsified Rumba.
Salsa dance steps are usually performed with a partner, because salsa is essentially a couple dance. Partners hold each other in the so-called closed or European position. This means the man’s right hand is placed on the woman’s back, his arm around her, while the left hand holds the woman’s right hand. The woman’s left hand rests on the man’s right shoulder. Another important point of contact when doing salsa dance steps is the man and the woman must look into each other’s eyes.
Another reason why this Latin dance is so popular is because the couples doing the salsa dance steps are not required to travel around the room. In fact, couples who hog too much space on the dance floor are seen as rude and inconsiderate show offs. Performing salsa dance steps is fun and flamboyant on its own, it doesn’t take too much for any dancer to look fabulous while dancing the salsa.
Date Published: Sep 02, 2008 - 7:28 pm
Dancing is a fantastic, fun and liberating activity. Regardless of what you’ve been told, everyone can, and should, learn to dance! Don’t let the fact you’ve never done it before stand in your way! Salsa dancing in particular is a vibrant, passionate, fun and social dance, with music that will move you. Try salsa lessons. Find a salsa dance lesson in your neighborhood, and give it a try, you won’t be sorry you did.
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Date Published: Sep 02, 2008 - 7:19 pm
