PART 3: VIDEO LINKS FOR SALSA DANCE LESSONS


"Salsa dancing is not for the faint hearted, although the beginning steps and basic patterns are easy to learn, it is the most difficult dance style to master if one yearns to become an elite or advanced level dancer. There are so many creative and imaginative leads that it may take a lifetime to learn, but it is this challenge and exploration that makes the dance so exciting and rewarding. So long as you constantly seek growth, you can never have enough of salsa dancing because one will never be able to master it all."

 Salsa. Lets get dizzy! Generally 104 beats per minute, salsa is definitely not for the faint hearted. Salsa clubs are generally frequented by younger dancers, the probable reason for this is because the dance requires a great deal of energy and stamina, it also consists of many turns and spins (so if you cannot spin you will probably not enjoy this dance). Those who are not in proper dance shape and try salsa for the first time will definitely feel winded and dizzy after one dance, some have left the dance floor in the middle of a song because they have not developed the stamina for it. It has been said that if you can dance salsa, then you can dance to any of the other latin dances, probably so.

Both salsa and mambo dances are based on the clave beat and are so similar that they appear to be the same dance or come from the same origin. Salsa is less crisp than mambo but is more flowing, it is described as hot, spicy and passionate and has more hand tosses, turns and spins and complex moves than mambo (salsa evolved out of mambo and some other latin dances).  Although learning just the basic steps in salsa is not difficult, salsa is probably the most challenging of all of the dances mainly because of the quick tempo, complicated leads, turns and spins. The leads are limitless, or it seems that way anyways. Because it is an improv dance, it make take years to dance well and learn how to play with the rhythm. Salsa is taught here in the islands either "on1" or "on2." 

 Salsa conversion: On 1 steps are: 1,2,3,__5,6,7. This is the 6,7,1 steps when you are dancing salsa On2. 

Salsa (as well as Bachata) is in big demand here in Hawaii. Of all the club dances, salsa has the most dancing venues and it also has the biggest turnouts for dance events, this because Hawaii has a very active latin dance following and the audience makeup is cosmopolitan and diverse, salsa also has worldwide dance appeal, this explains why many out of town visitors at the salsa clubs here in town are quite adept at it.

Interplay between salsa and and other latin dances.  A lot of salsa moves can be used in the merengue, cha cha, rumba and the other 'latin' type dances.

 Footwork:  Weight is on the balls of the feet (no heel weight) during this dance. On1 - The first step for men is going forward with the left foot, the knee is slightly bent as he puts a lot of his weight on the balls of the left foot, the flex knee action allows him to spring back or push off from that foot to get to count 2 where the right foot moves back.

 Arms: Tip for beginning men dancers. 95% of the ladies do not like it when the man is too active with both his arms moving around in circles (i.e. like playing double dutch jump rope in the playground). Dance with your feet and your body, keep the arms more contained.

Salsa: Masters of teaching salsa. Salomon Rivera, Alberto Torres, Josie Neglia, Johnny Vasquez, and Luis Vasquez.
Washington DC Style Salsa Academy's Jimmy Yoon also brings excitement back to the classroom environment, he exudes personality and fun. All of his videos on youtube will keep you totally entertained as he is a natural dancer and very musical, most of his videos contain advanced moves. Another notable instructor is Salomon from the Melody Club in Houston, his moves are extremely creative.

Organizing moves you like may help to get you on the dance floor sooner than you thought possible:  Learning salsa for most men who have never done any other kind of couple dancing before can be a daunting task, the leads you learn in class are complex for any beginner and can overwhelm you. This is one of the problems with pattern teaching for the new dancer, but if the new dancer organizes the moves learned from class, it could help to get him on the dance floor much more quickly. One of the most difficult things about dancing for new leaders is remembering leads. By creating your own mental file folders it may better help you to remember leads when you are out social dancing. For example, keep and file those moves that you like and feel confident that you can execute, and forget out those moves that you don't care for, or which you feel are too difficult to lead. Once everything is organized it becomes easier to dance to your level of comfort and remembering leads by simply tapping into these mental file folders. An example of this would be to file away in one folder, one hand hammerlocks and various exits and in another folder file away two handed hammerlocks and various exits, etc. Having several exits are helpful as it will make your dance less predictable for your partners. Naturally you want to give names to various moves so that you can identify them, most of them already do, but some don't so you'll just have to create your own nomenclature. As you get better over time and learn new moves (i.e. copas, snap outs hip turns, etc.) you begin to add new mental folders to your repertoire. As you improve you will also expand existing folders. When you have ten thick folders for example, you should  be dancing pattern free and you will be able to create your own dance style. As a example of how organization can help the learning process and grasp various dance concepts, you may want to watch this helpful video that summarizes most of the typical spin moves that you'll see in salsa dancing, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFomAkoexp8. There is a ton of valuable information that is shared in just this 5 minute clip. In fact if you can master all of the moves in this short video lesson, you should be able to lead someone in a nice easy salsa dance, naturally this is not all there is to salsa dancing but it is a nice start and at least it will get you on the dance floor. Learning to dance salsa will be much easier for the new or beginning dancer if you can master individual moves instead of trying to remember patterns. 

BASICS:
COMMON TURNS AND SPINS

MAN'S SPINS/TURNS

 LADY HIP AND SHOULDER SPINS

TEXAS TOMMY 

FRISBEE SPINS

S TURNS
BEHIND THE BACK TURNS

DOUBLE HAND MOVES

CROSS BODY LEADS
SWIMMER or DROP HAND CATCH (with Windmills)
HAND JUGGLES AND HAND DROPS
HAND FLICK WITH PULLBACK
HAND TOSSES
HEAD DRAPES
CROSS HAND MOVES

COPA

TWO HAND HAMMERLOCKS

ONE HAND HAMMERLOCKS


PULLBACKS

WRAPS
CUDDLES

CHECKS AND HESITATIONS

MISCELLANEOUS

Man spin moves:
Men hesitation with Lady shines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz1hn0CnXU4
    Rotations: 
    Salsa Patterns: 
    Beginning, Intermediate and advanced video dance classes: 
    1.   See: http://www.salsacontodo.com/video2.php (free)
    2.  Sign up for advanced lessons: http://thedancedojo.com/advanced-salsa-patterns/
    3.    Salsa ballroom collection http://ballroomcollection.com/?page_id=79

    Some of Hawaii's top salsa dancers in action:

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