Salsa for Beginners

I went to Colorado a couple months ago and met up with Arman and Jeff. Cool guys, but they were just learning. I don’t like interrupting guys in the club, so I’m writing this instead. I’ve been dancing long enough so that I’ve seen the most common problems for people learning to Salsa dance.  This is for people who have taken at least the basic lesson.

Bottom line – Just because you’re dancing doesn’t mean you stop walking. The basic salsa step is just walking!

• There’s no up and down or bouncing when you walk. Just walk a little bit more smoothly than normal. Don’t turn it into a jig or something complicated.
• Don’t do excessive hip or shoulder rolls, move your hands/arms like you’re juggling, or otherwise complicate the dance.
• Do complete weight shifts. When you walk, you don’t just put your foot out in front of you like you’re tiptoeing. You step out on it. A lot of beginning dancers dance like they’re tentatively approaching a cliff edge, (or they’re trying to stay in one place). Don’t dance like you’re scared – step out far enough to look down the edge of the cliff.
• Similar to above, don’t step forward and down, and back and down. You stay level. Keep it smooth.
• Look up, no watching the feet. You know where they are, same place you’ll find them when you’re walking. Watching the feet also engages your visual sense. Dancing is all about the feel – you can’t watch yourself dance. You should be able to dance with your eyes closed, except when taking your partner’s hand.

• Keep your knees together. Think of a little kid that has to pee really bad, just without holding onto their privates. They walk with their knees locked together.

  Bellydancers do this. I’ve taken bellydance lessons before, and used to date a bellydancer. We talked about this, and she agrees – if you want sexy hip movement, it starts from the knees, not the hips. Except in certain moves, all bellydancers keep their knees very close together.
  This is what produces most, but not all, of the sexy hip movement.

  If you’re a guy, you don’t have the hips needed to become a sexy freakshow. So get over yourself and do it right. Knees together.

• Take lessons as soon as possible, to eliminate bad habits. “The chains of habit are too light to be felt, until they’re too strong to be broken.”
• Get out in the clubs and dance with everyone who will tolerate you. I sucked for the first 2-3 years because I didn’t club enough. I think it’s possible to get really good in just a few months.
• Master the cross-body lead, and cross-body lead with a turn. These are the CORE of the dance. A lot of moves are disguised cross-body leads – the only difference is the way you use your hands/arms.

Most of the problems in salsa are in our own heads. Just because you are dancing doesn’t mean you suddenly forget how to walk.

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