Just on question what style do you guys dance, and what do you know about Cuban/Casino style salsa? Could you be able to give us some basic moves?
Updates from June, 2009
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guapitisaguda
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Anthony Persaud
Just wanted to inform all of you that Michael Jackson, one of the greatest dancers, entertainers and performers of all time, had died today of cardiac arrest. He was one of the greatest dancers, entertainers and performers of all time. Inspiration to many salseros to pickup dancing.
“Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports including the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. CNN has not confirmed his death. Jackson, 50, had been in a coma at the hospital, sources told CNN” (full story)
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Don Vaillancourt
Just had my Balo salsa shoes resoled. I needed a black pair of salsa shoes for competition and so had my first pair resoled by a cobbler (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cobbler). The guy put a thicker piece of suede than there was originally, but it worked out pretty well. Cost me about 1/3 the cost of the shoes themselves.
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dogmonster
I’ve decided to buy dancing shoes, and was wondering what kind of shoes I should buy. I was told that soft jazz shoes are the best option, but I know that there are other options as well. Any other recommendations?
Mark
Check out Anthony’s review of salsa shoes for men: http://addicted2salsa.com/2009/02/22/a-review-of-the-best-salsa-dance-shoes-for-men/ .
I went with his recommendation of Gabellini Dance Shoes and am extremely happy with them (and so are my feet!)
Italo
I’m sure Gabellini are good–I would reccomend the 18.00 pair from Discount Dance Supply for practice, and then get a nicer pair for when you mean business. Suede makes all the difference in the world
(as in, make sure you have it!)Anthony Persaud
You might want to check out the facebook page – lots of good replies to your question (recommendations): http://facebook.com/addicted2salsa
Madsalsa
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned converse sneakers. I wear them to clubs (the ones that allow sneakers) if they don’t have a good floor. Aside from style points, they’re not any worse than my dance sneakers on turns.
For good floors, I have the gabellini fly, which is similar to a jazz shoe (at least that’s how it feels like to me). (Well maintained) Suede is quite simply phenomenal on a good floor once you’ve learned how to control your balance and spins.
If you just want to try suede instead of investing in like $100 USD shoes, see a cobbler/shoe repair shop to see if you can get suede bottoms put on a pair of regular shoes. Around here it’s ~$20 USD.
dickda
If you are from the States and have tried the semi-sport of bowling you might know about bowling shoes. These are thin soled, flexible shoes with suede on the toe of one shoe and the sole of the other. If buy bowling shoes over the net, you will get a pair with full suede on the soles of both shoes.
I don’t bowl, but another site recommended these as a cheap alternatives to dance shoes. They work great!
I have some thin leather soled shoes that I got at the Salvation Army. I took them to a shoe maker and had the leather heels added (about 1/2 inch thicker than the originals to put more weight forward on my foot).
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dogmonster
I’ve been dancing cuban salsa for three months now, and I have a question about the basic step. The basic step we learned is identical to the L.A. basic step (forward step on 1, backward step on 5), but somebody told me that the cuban basic step is actually the “guappea”, which we do only in a reuda. So my question is, actually: is only one of these basic steps the “right” one (and if so, which?), or are they both used in cuban salsa?
Madsalsa
The rueda guapea for the lead is not the same as the LA basic step b/c you break back with the left foot instead of forward and break forward with the right foot instead of back. For the follow, it should be the same as the LA basic step. There are moves where you’d do the LA basic step, but the guapea would not be one of them.
dogmonster
Umm… Sorry, but you didn’t really answer my question. I’ve been doing guappeas for three months, and I know how to do them. As far as I understand, cuban is basically meant to be danced in a rueda, but I know that many people (including myself) also dance it in couples (outside of a rueda). What I asked was whether you’re supposed to do the guappea outside of a rueda or not.
Madsalsa
Ah! I misread your question. I thought you were asking if the guapea was the same as the LA salsa basic when you were actually asking what the ‘correct’ basic is for cuban salsa. My understanding is that the guapea is the “correct” cuban basic.
dogmonster
Hehe… It’s okay. Think I came out a bit harsh there. Anyhow, thanks for your answer.
hooknc
Yes, a form of quappea is the standard basic for cuban/casino partner dancing.
Rueda is kind of an off-shoot of cuban/casino dancing. Not the other way around.
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sleepingman
I have just started learning salsa for three weeks, have to say I am totally addicted to it. Even at work I kept going over and over again all the routine I learnt in my head. I wonders how people do freestyle dancing, do you just do routine after routine or you just go with how the music like with no particular routine? If so, how many routines do you think I need to complete a song?
dogmonster
If by routine, you mean a combination of dance moves, I’d say yes and no. Yes, because it is hard to create combinations when you’re still a beginner, and you still need to think to make your moves work. No, because a dancer should be able, eventually, to combine whatever moves, in whatever order, in a spontaneous manner. So for now, I think you should stick to set combinations. Don’t worry if you do one more than once, but eventually you should try making your own.
Italo
Well, one doesn’t memorize a routine when social dancing–it’s all improvization! Typically what happens is that say, you learn a few 20 second routines, and you start pulling those elements apart, and when you’re social dancing, you piece them together from different contexts. So I think what you’re calling ‘routines’ are individual moves/steps/sequenes, and your goal is to spontaneously, comfortably, weave them together. Good luck! At leat your addiction is healthy. Take some classes
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MeWannaSalsa
What are some tips for getting over the anxiety of dancing salsa at a club for the first few times. I had some serious stage fright (or dance floor fright) that caused me to salsa dance waaay below my level. I am a beginner i been taking salsa classes for alittle over a month but i danced like i never even had 1 class. I was so hard on myself after i tried dancing the first time at that club that i shut down the rest of the night. I enjoy salsa dancing I love doing it even as a beginner but I never felt anything like that before. I almost had a panic attack… YIKES!
I figure eventually i will get over it. I think the more I practice the more confident I will get and the more relaxed I will get. But any more tips that can help?
Tikka
Recognisable.
My partner and I just obtained our Salsa I certificate (I know, it’s not ballroom, but the school offered it, so we thought what the heck) and we messed up pretty badly once we were out there on the floor with only 4 other pairs, with a hundred eyes watching us.
Also, at the party afterwards, when I was dancing with the teacher of my teacher ( :p ) she told me I was squeezing her hands to tightly that she almost turned purple and that I needed to relax.
I think it’s a question of experience. The more you dance or go to parties, the more relaxter you’ll become. Also the better you become technically, and the more figures you know, the more confident you will dance.
Anthony Persaud
Just to let you know, a lot of people are replying to you on our facebook page (Social is tied to our Facebook page ( http://facebook.com/addicted2salsa ).
You can see the replies here: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=92112774409&ref=mf
SalseroWannaBe
This is one of the great lessons of salsa. First of all you must get over, that there will be always some guy better than you (for next few years, at least
. Second of all, you must get use to eyes on you and just forget them. Don’t worry, they will not remember you. Personally I remember only great dancers. And last but not least – HAVE NO FEAR. You make fool out of yourself few time per a day, half of it you don’t know, most of it is not told to you by others. On salsa just have fun, be there to learn, to enjoy the music, to smile to the people, to get yourself over. You won’t be an alfa male there for many years, so what to worry about?Italo
Again, I agree with Salsero. It’s one of the greatest lessons for a guy to learn–there will always be a better dancer, but you have to remember they were all terrible when they started. You will get frustrated and see better dancers, and have girls who snobbish and only dance with great guys. But it’s our challenge as guys to progress through that most difficult stage. Women have the luxury of simply choosing a better male dancer, and that great dancer will make them feel and look fantastic. Us guys have to not only learn to deal with not being that great, but also realize we only have ourselves to rely on. A great partner isn’t necessarily going to help us, at all.
My tips however,—do NOT look at better dancers. Just don’t do it. If I can think of one thing that discourages me more than anything, it’s seeing guys who are so much better, that it’s discouraging. Don’t dance near them, and do not watch them–it’s not inspirational, it’s ego-killing. Just do what you know, and do it really well.
Second–dance with rookies. Dance with absolute beginners, nothing will boost your self esteem than someone who thinks you’re great. I’m a fine enough dancer, and I still won’t ask a handful of girls I know. Pick your partners well–many can’t even do the basic step, a cross body lead will blow their doors off!
Third: Repetition–just keep going, keep doing it. And know that you’re getting better even though you don’t know it. The LA style salsa scene is a bit vicious, it’s filled with incredibly talented individuals–and they’re only getting better.
Fourth: Learn a few moves down cold and do those. smile alot.
fifth: a few glasses of wine will make every dance a little smoother. Not too much though
But a little liquid courage and you’ll be having more fun and less stress.Good luck!
Oh, and since you’re new: ALWAYS bring breath mints, don’t ever get creepy-close to a girl (no humping) and be extremely well deoderized.
Marcus
If I look at other dancers that are good in a club or a dance studio it motivates me thouugh. I like to dance salsa all the time, and If i’m in a club or studio and doing terrible, a good dancer MIGHT just come over and show you what you’re doing wrong, or even show you tips on how to perfect some moves you’re having trouble with. In my case people have to have a little patience with me, but in the end it makes for a wonderful night of salsa dancing.
Madsalsa
I disagree wtih Italo’s philosphy, but I know it works for some leads. It depends on what you’re looking for on the dance floor, what motivates you to improve, and what hinders that improvement.
To build on Marcus’s comments, clubs can be an intimidating place to learn to dance. Sticking to studio/social dances first can be helpful since they typically try to build an environment where newer dancers can not only mingle with more experienced dancers, but also ask them on pointers/tips, which is not something that’s always socially acceptable at clubs.
lonbluster
Don’t worry, this you are feeling seems bad, I know, but worst, along with much good is yet to come !!
Epyon18
I just started dancing myself actually. I’ve been at it for about 2 weeks now and have been hitting up the various Salsa Socials and dance lessons around Denver nearly every night. I definitely agree with dancing with beginner girls. I’ve found that even if you’re 1 lesson ahead of them, they really appreciate the patience and are willing to dance with you almost all night practicing. This is good because at this stage it’s good to try things, laugh off mistakes, and just learn the basics together. I find that girls my age (Mid 20′s) who are just learning are a lot of fun and enjoy learning with a guy who genuinely wants to learn. I’ve found older women generally have no patience with guys my age even if they are basically beginners too. So you just have to chose well. You can definitely tell who’s a nice follow and who will be a snob just by looking at them most of the time and how they treat their partners on the floor.
That said though, don’t be discouraged by better dancers. I like watching moves they do and trying them with a willing partner. After a few tries we can usually get it down and have a new move we can try. Also don’t get too frustrated when you raise your hand on 1 to move your hand over the girls head and do a release ( forgot the name of the move) and she tries to do a spin on 1 or 2. I’ve found a lot of girls skip the basic classes for some reason and go straight to intermediate partner lessons with out learning the basics. Part of it too is you might be putting your hand in a place you don’t even realize is signaling for a move you don’t even know about haha, which has happened to me too. It’s all part of the learning experience and you should have fun with it. Sure you’ll run into people who have no patience, beginners who think they are pro, and general snobs but you’ll also run into genuinely nice people too. Just keep with it.
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LBSources
Live Coverage Of Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York
MyFoxNY.com will provide live streaming video coverage of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday June 14th at 11a.m. The parade will travel along Fifth Avenue (from 44th Street to 86th Street) in Manhattan.
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SalseroWannaBe
I just want to say that A2S taught me latin chachacha and since then I love to dance it. I try to apply salsa moves, and some of them work fine, requiring some training in putting moves into this tookootoo
. But I would love to see some more advanced moves. Cannot find’em on net, mostly ballroom chachacha can be found. Anyone knows where can learn more? I’d love to.SalseroWannaBe
No CHACHA moves on net? C’mon I was dancing chachacha on beach at river in my city and needed to improvise. C’mon guys! EL HELPO!
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Marie-B
Hey guys,
Would any of you be able to give me the name of the song in this videoclip from nuno and vanda?
El Caobo
I love this routine!
dahvee
The cha cha song is Tito Puente – Como Esta Miguel and
the salsa song is Willie Colon (Hector Lavoe on vocals) – Timbalero
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m_harris5283
Hey Anthony and salsa friends. I have been to a couple of dance classes in Atlanta GA and they were pretty good, at Salsambo dance studio, they really get down on salsa over there, but my first choice is always Addicted to Salsa for learning salsa. People say that i’ve really improved, of course i’m still looking for a salsa parter.
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m_harris5283
Hey on the old episode 4 titled slick combo i would like to know the name of that song in the background.
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Puppy
My girlfriend and I will be down in San Diego from 7/3 to 7/5 and am looking for recommendations of good places to go salsa dancing for that Friday and Saturday nights. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated it!
Aga
Funny, cause me and my boyfriend also planned to do the same on the same exact date, but were afraid to ask;)
Thanks for providing this infoItalo
Okay…you’ve got some options.
Friday you can go to a number of places. 1. Marriott in La Jolla 2. Tango Del Rey near PB and 3. The Sheraton
The Marriott is a sure bet on friday OR saturday, option 2 and 3 are hosted by dancing companies, the Mariott is not. The only concern you might have at a dance-studio hosted party is that often the teams stick together, and the level of dancing is generally advanced.
So..mariott and mariott! (fri and sat) or..maybe Tango del rey friday, and mariott saturday. Good luck!
Puppy
Thanks for the suggestions Italo!
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JinSANe
Hi all! I am new to salsa and to board. Want to learn salsa soo addicted!.. When and where in San Diego is Salsa Congress? Thank you Anthony and Julie for making it smooth and simple for newbie…
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djwilmer107
I need a list of songs that I can use for dancing. Any chance you can list any? I am not looking for classics. I have all of those. I need some new songs. I am looking for stuff similar to 8YMas “Juega Billar”
These guys throw down. -
Tim_Tum
First of all, a big Thank You goes to addicted2salsa for the videos!
I watched several videos and practiced the patterns by myself. Naturally, I’d prefer doing it with a partner. Reading some of the posts here led me to thinking that there might be others who’re in the same situation. So if there is a female dancer (Salsera?) who thinks it’s a good idea – I’m intermediate (with some hiccups…) and I live in West Los Angeles. If there are many people interested, perhaps we can organize a group…
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Marie-B
Hi,
I went out last week to this salsa event near my house that this one school was hosting. And it seems that I wasn’t able to dance with any of the schools dancers, nor were most of the girls. It’s not because they are bad dancers, on the contrary they are excellent… It just seems that the only girls that are able to follow there lead are the girls who took classes at that school… It was kind of boring.
I’ve always felt that a good dancer can make even a beginner dancer follow a good lead… maybe not perfectly but they kind of get out of it. It was really ackward not being able to follow there leads when I follow most people.
The guy I was dancing with realised that I was following him well and ask me what was wrong with his lead afterwards? I felt ackward answering him. Is there better way than another of answering this?
Andy
Hi Marie-B, if someone asks you how he could improve his lead, don’t be timidated in answering, since by his asking he will not be offended! I like asking about my lead as well since there is still so much I can learn.
The problem is that by learning to dance with girls that ‘only’ know our dance figures, we men sometimes forget how to guide properly at certain points or we forget the important part of the leads. This results in explained situation. So we men actually want to learn by dancing with girls that follow well in order to be able to lead someone who hasn’t just learned the class’ combos.
Mark
One of the big problems with many studios is that they teach turn patterns, but they don’t really teach leading or following skills. I’ve danced with a number of women who have commented about men who only know certain patterns, and cannot dance spontaneously, and get upset when the woman doesn’t “know” the pattern, as if they’re supposed to be mind-readers. (“I put my hand up – why isn’t she turning?”
I’ve also danced with women who are less experienced who anticipate particular patterns that they’ve learned in studios, and end up going off into never-never land, until I… ahem… increase the strength of the lead – always with a smile, and never with a comment.For other teachers on the forum, it’s important to always mention the subtle signals that indicate particular moves, and to do exercises with students that help leaders develop clear leading signals, and followers to develop the skill to read those signals. (That’s one thing I really like about Anthony and Julie’s videos is that they really emphasize the leading and following signals, not just the pattern moves. You guys rock!)
Italo
I completely, completely agree with what Mark said above. There seems to be a bit of a studio syndrome where people only take classes, know particular sequences, are unable to take the individual elements out of the sequence–and aren’t particularly good leads on the dance floor.
The same applies to girls, I’ve danced with a ton of dance team girls who are completely noodle-armed and really difficult to dance with. Me personally, I will dance with beginners and advanced dancers alike–it makes no difference to me. It’s funny though, I’ve danced with a few who are terrible studio dancers–like in classes, and on the dance floor, they’re a storm!
Classes and social dancing are two completely different creatures. Team dancing is basically like advanced classes, but still, doesn’t prepare you for social dancing or how to properly lead.
I’m curious which school–it can only be one of two, and I was at one of them. (very likely the one you’re speaking of I suspect!)
best of luck!
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hazephase
Can i learn salsa from watching videos on this site?
Andy
Yes, you could: by trying the moves with a partner and practicing them. I don’t recommend it though. I think taking classes with a real teacher is much better imho since he will be able to correct the mistakes you might be making. I’ve done a figure like 30 times already and didn’t catch up on a little mistake which really brought improvement
.Anthony Persaud
While everyone learns differently, I consider online videos as the ‘reference books’ of salsa and not the actual lecturers or instructors. A mixture of both going to a few salsa classes with a good instructor (instructor’s pace) and using video material as reference (learn at your own pace) is the best choice.
Of course, neither of those hail in comparison to applying what you’ve learned and gaining experience at your local salsa dance club.
Andy
I would find it difficult to drag a friend home to try out the videos. It seem’s they are all in HD quality, so they don’t fit on my ipod
hazephase
I live in Goa, India. THere are very few people that know salsa and there are no good teachers. I only want to learn salsa to that I learn a different form of dance. How long would it take to learn salsa from a teacher?
Nayan
@hazephase -
I live in Pune. I started learning Salsa 3 years back, and a major credit goes to Anthony and Addicted2Salsa for my knowledge.
Now, I am teaching Salsa to others. I can atleast do that.But seeing the trend these days in India, there are lots of dance schools which teach Salsa. If you can’t find any, come to Mumbai.
Andy
You will be up and dancing in 1-2 months. You just have to try not to be embarrassed on the dance floor, then you’ll be fine
hooknc 3:59 pm on July 3, 2009Permalink |
What exactly are you asking? Are you asking about cuban body movement? Or are you asking about straight up moves?
For a comprehensive set of rueda/casino moves checkout these guys:
http://www.youtube.com/user/medianochesalsa
guapitisaguda 6:13 pm on July 3, 2009Permalink |
steps and turns, movement. the complete package. the whole 9
hooknc 8:37 am on July 4, 2009Permalink |
So, you just asked for a lot of information for someone to type out…
Search for “Contra Body Movement”. Contra body movement is the basic style of all salsa dancers, but in cuban it tends to be overly exaggerated. I’ve seen a lot of casino danced, but I think “David” Huo has the best body movement:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBQGoSShv54
For moves, if you’ve never danced casino before, I really would recommend taking some classes of some sort so you can learn how to do a vacila(la)/hecho. Those two moves are the basis of all casino dancing. Once you learn those moves (really well), you could most likely learn by watching videos. I have bought the Salsa Lovers and the Salsa Racing (henry herrera) dvds. Both sets are quite excellent. Finally, there are tons and tons of moves posted on YouTube.
http://www.salsapower.com/ is an excellent resource for finding casino/rueda specific classes.
guapitisaguda 2:04 pm on July 7, 2009Permalink |
thanks for the info. i ordered the salsa lovers dvds almost 3 weeks ago and still wating for them. I’m also gonna try out the salsa racing ones you mentioned.
hooknc 9:41 pm on July 8, 2009Permalink |
The Salsa Lovers took forever to arrive. My dad (who bought them for me for a christmas gift) had to keep calling them over and over to get the order shipped.
The Salsa Racing videos on the other hand, arrived quite quickly after ordering. However, I would recommend going through their website to order the dvds instead of calling them. I recommend getting the starting series (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). Those three dvds will have the most common moves done in casino/rueda. The turns series is also quite good but is more focused on casino.