SALSA NOTES ♫♪♫♪
Practical FAQs & Facts, ♪♪♫♪
Etiquette & Tips
Getting Started
Do I need to have a partner for classes?
Most people come on their own, and the numbers tend to balance themselves out (and if they don’t I ask more advanced students to help out). Even if you bring a partner, we rotate frequently as a way to make sure your leading or following is flexible and strong.
If I come with a partner can we stay together?
Certainly—just let me know at the beginning of class, and we’ll keep you and your partner out of the rotation. I recommend rotating, however. Having a practice partner is excellent, but two people who dance together exclusively easily develop bad habits. As salsa is a social dance, it’s important to learn the flexible framework for leading or following anyone.
What type of shoes should I wear?
You want a shoe that can spin, preferably with a suede bottom, but “dance sneakers” with hard rubber soles are excellent as well. Make sure you can be comfortable in your shoes for a long period. One cheap way to convert any pair of shoes into dance shoes is by gluing suede, or even just sticking some duct tape to the sole.
Ladies: you may try high heels, but for beginners just starting out, especially in an extended class, low heels tend to be better.
Where can I get dance shoes?
There are many sites that sell dance shoes on the internet, whether for practice or those nights out. In St. Louis, Brava Bodywear (www.bravabodywear.com) and OnYourToes (www.danceonyourtoes.com) have a good selection of the former, and Gateway Ballroom in Fenton (www. gatewayballroomshoes.com, 636.343.0036) has a good selection of the latter.
Where can I get good salsa music for practicing?
Over the years, I’ve found that it can be hard to find collections that are both slow enough to practice, with a clear beat, and yet still be energetic. I’ve therefore started to make some of my own collections with these requirements in mind, making them available for students for a small donation. Otherwise, see some of my favorite groups in the Salsa Glossary, Groups n Links page.
Getting Better & Better
How do I become a better dancer quickly?
1) Get to know Clave (see Moving Con Clave) Dancing is not about abstract steps, or doing the nuttiest pattern you can devise, but rather bodily confidence and connection with the music that’s moving you. Listen to the music; learn its rhythms and arcs of energy. Leads especially, since you’re responsible for moving your partner on the beat, you’ve got to get this flow into your bones as quickly as possibly. Along with a lack of lead, there’s little as frustrating for a follow as being forcibly disconnected from the music.
2) Put Chi into Practice! (see Chi in Space) Learning a dance is like learning a new sport: you learn by doing, getting stuff into muscle memory, drilling fundamentals of the swing or shot or the way to kayak Class IV rapids. You train your body to do what you need it to, and a good teacher will help you learn to use your energy as efficiently as possible through techniques of mental and physical focus. Use them, put them into Practice. Practice by yourself—there are lots and lots of ways to improve your dance skills alone. Practice with a partner. The point is, um, Practice. Don’t wait till you’re “good” to go out to the clubs—going out and dancing is the fun way to deepen your energies and move along the path.
3) Take a mix of Group and Private Classes. Seek out teachers that inspire you! Group classes are a great way to get a lot of information (and to meet people), while privates allow us to focus precisely on how to improve your dance. Some people need more work on individual technique or principles of motion, others will want to jazz up their style, some need to focus on partner connection, others on music. Every body has different needs and learns differently. Private lessons let us tailor the teaching to expedite your growth.
4) Keep it Light. It’s easy to get frustrated when learning anything new, but realize this is a process, and, like any art, it is a lifelong process. You’ll feel moments of breakthrough and other stretches of plateau, but always be kind—to yourself and to your partner. I occasionally see a person’s learning curves flatten out for what are at base emotional issues of how they relate to themselves and their partners. Partner dancing takes teamwork, support, and a playful approach—and it’s a wonderful metaphor and practice for relationships more generally. Keep respect, encouragement, commitment and joy, and you are on your way to sharing something truly moving!
On the Floor
Who asks whom to dance?
Generally in the salsa culture guys ask gals, or leads ask follows. But please, feel free to break this silly convention. It’s the 21st century, after all, even in St. Louis. Be flexible—leads often appreciate it—and know that in every matured salsa scene we’ve visited, both guys and gals learn both lead and follow parts, creating a community both “looser,” flowing freely across the sexes, and more truly centered around the possibilities of salsa—something fantastic to see and feel.
What if the lead is dancing off time—what’s a follow to do?
Sadly common as this is, remember, ladies, your role in a social dance is to follow, and that means to follow his time as well as his lead. It’s extremely tempting, I know, and with the best intentions, to “backlead” him towards the proper beat, but this is not only a bad habit for you, it disconnects the lead from his leading, and usually ends in a mess. If it’s getting really bad and you can’t stand it anymore, tell him, verbally, “I think the beat’s a little slower, or a “little faster,” or “here it is.” He may appreciate it, or he may not, but it won’t be as frustrating as him wondering why his leads are not working and starting to lead them harder and harder.
What should a lead keep in mind?
1) Your number one job is to keep the follow safe. That means not throwing her into showy spins and rollouts that land her on top of other couples. Be aware of your surroundings and keep connected, with steps right beneath you. The prime energy of salsa should be right down into the floor, even as you move forward and back or side to side.
2) Keep her comfortable as well. Don’t come out of the gates giving her a searing triple spin or double-dip-into-neckdrop. It’s a social dance, bro, and you’ve got to earn her confidence, first, have her feel at ease in your arms. Start with basics, slowly build—as, most likely, the song is building—while focusing on your partner, your fusing energy, and frame her like a precious picture—find this focus and it won’t matter who’s watching.
3) Every good lead is also a follow. Once confident in your lead, realize that you adjust this lead toward the style and abilities of your collaborator. For instance, ladies with those loose, swinging arms can be reigned in with simple adjustments of your own pressure; for follows slow to react, you might have to get a jump on your leads; or for those follows a little quick to anticipate your moves, and that head off without you, you can make your lead heavier, slower, which helps attune her to your intentions. Some are better spinners and like spinning more, others enjoy breaking apart to “shine” with footwork, some like it close in to focus on body motion—realize the strengths and weakness, desires and dislikes of your partner to become a lead they seek out.
4) Finally, be real—be you. Be you by, paradoxically, leaving self-consciousness at the door with your cover charge.
What should a follow keep in mind?
1) To follow means, in part, to let go, to empty yourself of expectation, remaining present, poised and relaxed. You have no idea where the lead is about to take you, but your job is to get there, and gracefully.
2) As for that “gracefully” part, small steps and toned arms, both connecting mentally and physically into your center, will go a long way to making that happen (see Chi in Time). The two major “faults” of follows are overstepping (moving farther than you’re moved) and failing to react to your partner’s signals. Better to have, at first, a frame that’s a little heavy and be with your lead, than to be too loose and disconnected. Keep up your half of the cup (or chalice) or bridge, or whatever metaphor works for you. Just be completely present, as half of what’s happening. You can gradually lighten up your frame by mixing in more mental attention, less raw strength.
3) Keep it flowing. Don’t just receive the signal to step or cross or turn, then do it, but keep your attention framed throughout the action to learn, how far? how fast? how many? with what accent? Be open to late-breaking information, and don’t let stylings distract from priority #1: connection. Eye contact is nice, and hey, an occasional encouraging smile will help keep the lead as aware and present as you are.
4) Every good follow is also a lead. I don’t mean for you to commandeer the timing, but to throw out a challenge or two, surprise the lead in some fashion to see if he can respond, interact with you to get that shared plural unity of masacote,, and the gleeful spiraling of synergy within your chalice V.
