Salsa dancing is fun and highly energetic. It’s also a scary experience when you’re starting out and don’t know which tools to use and when. It is natural for woman to have a head start on dancing and rhythmicality. No one learns at the exact same pace. In order to achieve success, you need to practice what you learn(whether in a group class or private lesson). And remember, no one is born dancing.
Here are the 5 Tools that every man should become familiar with:
- When social dancing, learn clumps of patterns(amalgamations); not a routine. That way you only need to think about the clump in advance and not a routine from beginning to end.
- Choose about 2 or 3 styles of “Cross Body Leads” as fillers (rather than the “Basic Step”) in case you go blank on the dance floor. They should come naturally and don’t need to be intricate. They’re just thinking steps.
- When in “open position”, arms at the waist level is neutral postition. Hand(s) up puts the pattern in gear and gives her the signal that she will be turning right or left.
- Connect to your partner. Eye contact and a smile is not always a flirtatious invitation. It lets your partner know that you are enjoying the dance. No smile=somethings wrong. So even if you’re lost or thinking…Think with a smile!
- And lastly…Keep moving! No matter how many speed bumps you come across, keep the rhythm going. Even a “Stationary Basic” (marching in place to the beat), feels a whole lot better than completely stopping and going into a deep thought.
- *For “Underarm Turns” (UAT), make a small halo around her head after you’ve given her the signal. Clockwise for an “UAT Right” and counter-clockwise for an “UAT Left.”
I hope these tools are as useful to you as they were to me when I started dancing. And remember, always thank your partner after every dance (no matter how you think the dance went), and ask if you can walk her back to her seat.
