Advice & Important points to remember when Dancing Salsa

• Small Steps
  Salsa and mambo steps are very small. Keep the feet beneath the body versus taking huge break steps. As the music gets faster, smaller steps must be taken. Your feet should generally be less than one foot apart, usually less than 1/2 foot apart.
  Foot turn out. Break steps should always have foot turn out. Never dance break steps in a pigeon toed fashion.
• Don’t “blend” the steps
  Avoid “blending” the slow step with the quick steps. Instead, hold the slow step for the complete duration of two beats of music and delay stepping to the first quick prematurely. A verbal queue, if dancing on the “2″ beat would be: 2,3,4, lift, 2,3,4, lift, 2,3,4, lift. In this case, the break step occurs on the 2 beat, the replace step occurs on the 3 beat, and 4 is the first beat of the “slow” step. Many mambo teachers say, “Nothing happens on the 1 beat.” That’s true in that a step is not taken. However, on the 1 beat, the heel is lifted and the same hip drops, as the same foot is released in preparation for making the upcoming break step on the first quick. In other words, during the “lift,” the heel is lifted and the knee is bent as the same hip drops and weight then goes to the other foot. You could also use the verbal queue, 2,3,4, drop, 2,3,4, drop to remind yourself to drop the hip. This might help in developing “Cuban motion.” Adding the “flick” action to your basic will also assist in preventing “blending,” and premature movement to the first quick. An observer should be able to clearly discern your slow steps and your quick steps.
• Weight transfer
  To the extent possible, each step should be distinct and should entail a complete weight transfer versus a “shuffling” of the feet.
• Soft knees
  Cuban motion (that is, hip and body action) comes from the alternate bending and straightening of the legs. As a knee is bent, the same hip drops. Take steps onto a bent knee and begin weight transfer before the knee straightens. Rather than feeling like you are dancing lightly on top of the floor, you should feel like you are dancing into and pushing out of the floor. Before beginning any Latin dance, think about lowering yourself slightly, perhaps as if a glass ceiling is overhead. Do not stoop or compromise posture, however.
• Don’t over extend arms
  In general, arms should not stay rounded with the elbows bent. Connections should be relatively short and connections should be very responsive to sudden changes in the direction of the lead. Don’t allow elbows to collapse behind the body (the chicken wing look).
• Posture, Frame, Connection, and Timing are the most important elements for any partner dance
  Don’t stoop or look at your feet. Don’t allow your frame to collapse or loose integrity. Always maintain firm and secure connections. Never give up counting! Count the steps always but don’t count out loud. Always start “on phrase” with the music.

Practice is the best way to improve anything, Salsa in ways can be improved through practice, either in your salsa dance classes or salsa dance videos but sometimes it just ain’t enough, there is still that extra mile you need to know in order to grow.

It may take two to tango, but Salsa requires three distinct types of practice as you grow. Maybe a few can dazzle in the clubs by just “dancing”. But most people require a systematic approach if they want excellence in a reasonable timeframe. Few dancers want to crash and burn in the club while working on new material. You can accelerate your success by making sure you are actively managing your practice. On a regular basis, you’ll want to incorporate different types of practice as your dancing matures.

Practicing breaks down into the following categories:

• Personal
• Partnering
• Club/Social

Knowing this idea of systematic practice, you may be amazed how drastically you can improve your salsa, added with extra lessons from your peers, partners or even from salsa dance videos you can pretty much reach your goal of not just improving but mastering your salsa dance moves.

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There are many elements to salsa music, and to salsa dance as well, but to actually perform salsa dance is not as difficult as you might imagine. The most basic salsa dance steps are easy to learn, and that’s even an understatement. You don’t have to be an experienced dancer to figure out how to do the most basic steps in salsa dancing.

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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.

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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