I’m looking for a practice CD. My teacher keeps telling me she’s gonna give me a copy of hers, but still hasn’t. No one knows where it comes from. It’s a good clean salsa beat with this guy speaking 1,2,3 5,6,7. The steps are strong. It’s very good for practicing hard moves. Anyone have a clue what I’m talking about?
Updates from February, 2010
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Don Vaillancourt
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Don Vaillancourt
Eh all, I’m heading to Acapulco for the November Salsa Congress. I’m currently taking Spanish lessons, so that’s my reward. Anyone here going? I don’t know what the dates are, but I’m assuming it’s around the same time.
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Abraham
Just wondering. What would be an ideal play list of ,say, 10 songs. You know the kind of songs that sound fantastic but aren’t necessarily superfast or anything but a good mix of Salsa, chachacha so you can dance quick songs or slower more close – up dancing
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Abraham
omg, I confess… I’ve been a coward…. I danced with beginners for so long i totally forgot how to with an experienced lady. Last Friday, omg… She asked me to dance and boy was i surprised. She was turning, kicking, shaking it like it aint an effort. I found out my leading was kinda lazy to.
Sooo anthony howbout a video/vodcast on certain lead signals. I’ts sort of a language you can’t muddle through just be thinking something up. There’s specific signals that give specific results right?
greetz from Holland
Don Vaillancourt
Anthony already discusses leading in all his videos you just need to learn how to understand it. It’s all about having your hand facing the right way, your arm in the right position and timing.
To make a girl turn left with her right hand in your left hand, her hand slightly hooked palm down, your hand slightly hooked palm up. On the fourth beat (on1) raise your arm up and it should be above her head on 5. And complete by guiding her hand in a circle clockwise so she knows to turn.
From my experience my hands should either be a waist level, forehead level or above the head, depending on the move. Your arm should already be in position when you begin the move. It’s all practice.
Dance with that girl again and ask for tips. I do it all the time.
Once a girl told me that it’s not always the guy’s fault that a move doesn’t complete properly. Sometimes the girl misses her timing and the move falls through.
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adejes01
My goal for this year is to become a better salsa dancer, great goal right?
I feel that I am a pretty good lead, and I am satisfied with the number of combinations that I can create. What I want to work on is doing a double. Does anyone have tips or maybe a video that can help? Also, how much does a dance shoe make a difference in the ability to do a double? Thanks!Takeshi
Probably the best advice I can give is to spot hard, I mean really whip your head around. If your head goes, your body will follow. Just keep whipping your head around, and the rest is just trying to stay balanced. Seriously, you can do doubles and triples just by whipping your head around.
Another thing to keep in mind, is to keep your core (your abs) tight and your posture straight. This will help to keep your body balanced. And always remember to stay on the balls of your feet.
Shoes definitely help, just make sure you don’t wear anything with a rubber sole if you’re doing more than doubles, as it will slow you down as well as cause damage to your knees and joints.
adejes01
Thanks for the tips I’m gonna keep trying it… maybe i should get some icy hot for my neck now lol.
Don Vaillancourt
Eh, Takeshi, in regards to shoes, I’ve been using Jingas for a while now and I find them to be a lot better that suede shoes. They have a much thinner sole, the shoe fits tighter and they can get very slippery.
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Eddie-london
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Marco
I’m just recovering from my first salsa congress, what an experiance. Getting in a conga line with Jose Alberto (El Canario) was one of the highlights. Wish I could have taken lots of video footage but the powers that be wanted exclusive rights for filmng. West african dance was a surprising favorite. Never did make it till 3AM, started getting deminished dance returns after 2:00-2:30.
Can’t wait to go to another one. Have to save my pennies first!
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davidjeifetz
Hi everyone!! how are you all doing?? i have a question that has been in my mind for a while…it’s about Cha cha cha. first of all, abotut the name itself, some people say it’s called Cha cha when it’s on2 timing and Cha cha cha when it’s on1..so how is it really called?
Second question, it is often said that you don’t dance Cha cha cha on1, i would like to know why is this?
well thanks in advance for your replys!! salsaludos ^^cold.salsero
For your 1st question, I’ve never heard anyone call it cha cha when it’s on2 and cha cha cha when it’s on1. I just call it cha cha regardless of the timing because it’s less syllables and easier to say
For your 2nd question, the reason you don’t dance cha cha on1 is because when you dance it on1, your “cha cha cha” step won’t match the “cha cha cha” sounds in the music. The cha cha sound in the music is created by that scratching instrument on the beats 4, 4&, and 5, and 8, 8&, and 1. The cowbell will also sometimes mark those beats, and the conga drum will mark 4, 4&, and 8, 8&.
If you dance cha cha on1, your cha cha step will be on the beats 3, 3&, and 4, 5, 5&, and 6, which doesn’t match the instruments. If you dance on2 though, then your cha cha steps will match the instruments.
Hope that helps!
cold.salsero
Oops, I goofed slightly, when you dance cha cha on1, the cha cha steps will be on 7, 7&, and 8 in the second half of the music bar, which still won’t match the instruments
Don Vaillancourt
Funny, I dance cha cha (cha) and self taught. Have no clue if I’m on1, on2 or on7. I’m not great at it, but can do a couple of moves. Impresses the girls though.
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Vatos Loco
Hi everyone,
As a beginner dancer, I was thinking what is the difference with On1 and On2 and why would you choose either one of the style? Is there any advantage to dance on2 rather than on1?Tx!
cold.salsero
I think this question has been asked and answered many times on this forum, you might want to check in the older posts.
But basically, when you dance on1, you’re dancing to the melody of the music, like the piano and horns and the singer vocals. When you dance on2, you dance to the percussion, like the clave, the conga drums, and the timbales, because these instruments mark the 2 and the 6 beats strongly (sometimes the cowbell will mark it too).
People often say that there are stylistic differences between the two timings as well, like a lot of people will say that dancing on2 will leave you more time for styling and body movement and stuff.
If you’re trying to figure out which timing to learn, my best advice is to choose whatever is more common in the place you live, because you’ll have more people to practice and dance with as you’re starting out. I live in Boston, where most people dance on1, although the more experienced dancers can dance both. In New York, it’s the other way around, most people dance on2 there (although believe it or not I have run into some on1 dancers there).
When you get comfortable with one timing, it’s worthwhile to learn the other, because not everyone in the world dances on1 or on2, so if you want to dance with most people in the world, you’ll eventually need to learn both.
Hope that helps!
Marco
Then when you get that sorted out, you will meet someone that only dances Casino (Cuban) style – or On 3-8.
Or you will find yourself in Colombia and run into a person that burns the floor Cali style, then head out to a club in Mexico and find someone who only dances Salsa quebradita (a wierd version of salsa that looks like it has bachata, and cheerleading mixed in.)
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Daeron
hi there, I know that’s not about salsa, but I’ve thought that anthony or julie or someone might know this… I’ve been looking for a cha cha cha song’s name but I can’t find it, it’s spanish – I guess =) – and I don’t know any spanish. It’s the second song on this link => http://www.uzmantv.com/cha-cha-cha-dansi-ne-tur-muzikler-esliginde-yapilir
Thanks….cold.salsero
I listened to it, and I’ve never heard the song before, sorry.
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sharoncook
I want to be a dancer.Anyone please help me to find best teacher.
cold.salsero
That depends on where you live Sharon, and which style you want to learn (on1 or on2). I only know about teachers in New Jersey, New York, Boston, and Rhode Island…
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cold.salsero
Hi Anthony, can you do a lesson on how to dance pachanga? I’ve been watching the videos of Eddie Torres giving his lessons on youtube, and I’ve been trying to practice his exercise where he bends his knees back and forth, but I can’t seem to get the feel for how to do it right. Or do you happen to know some good pachanga lessons on some salsa dvds I can buy?
lonbluster
Hi ColdSalsero
I went through this, and can explain something…I’ll think to make a video with my camera…indeed there ain’t many good around. Torres is very short at giving detailed explanations, though he is a very good example.So… on Pachanga you have you’re knees bent on the downbeats(DB), which mean 1-3-5-7, while you are on maximun standing up on the upbeats(UB) 2-4-6-8. This means that when the DB occurs you’re legs muscles thighten for stopping the bent downwards to start going upwards, while when you are on UB you have reached the full lenght of your body extension and start to release the muscles to go downwards.
So actually you can notice (which is something I couldn’t get at the beginning) that the movement for the 1, or 3 or 5 or 7, has to start a bit earlier, so that you can react with your muscles precisely on 1 3 5 7 when you are down.
You can notice that this explanation is very precise, like if you don’t have time to think for all these movements, which at a certain level will occur automatically on your body, but they must be regulated with the careful listening to the music.
So what you have to do is to find cross references in the music being played, otherwise you will lose very easily the timing, which is foundamental in pachanga.
Cross references means you have to listen to different patterns in the music, so the most obvious is listen for the DBs. It is not easy, maybe impossible(for the attention) to listen both for the DB and UB, so just start with the DBs.
Then you start to follow the Clave which spans for 2 measures, from 2 to 8: 2-3-5-6½-8. Here you can see that in 3 and 5 you will match the DBs that you were following at the beginning.
And you can see that if you keep listening to the clave you also have the 2 and 8 UBs.
In turn these UBs correspond to the conga or the cowbell, and this will help your styling. You don’t really have to focus on those UBs, but just use them to refine your style.in summary you have to switch your attention starting with the DBs, then focus on the clave, and lastly on the conga (or the UB instruments).
Eventually on a per song basis, you will find other patterns other than the clave which will make your pachanga really interesting.I hope that was not too long. Anyway Pachanga requires a lot of energy, not much for the muscles(yes, at the beginning be careful!!), but more for the attention you have to apply, which will make you fully inside the music. Cool, ain’t it??
Don’t get stuck on the same basic exercizes, start with simple shines as well, as Torres shows.
Another advice: just do it with high quality portorican-jazz salsa, where all instruments are well marked, like with Ray Barretto’s Salsa, for instance. Also Ismael Rivera is great for Pachanga.cold.salsero
Cool, thanks for the tips Ion, I’ll try them out!
cold.salsero 8:14 pm on February 25, 2010Permalink |
Yeah, I’ve heard this song too, but no one’s been able to tell me what it is either.
Abraham 12:45 am on February 26, 2010Permalink |
Eddie Torres timing CD ?
Don Vaillancourt 6:24 am on February 26, 2010Permalink |
Maybe it’s Eddie Torres. I know there is an On1 and On2 version. And it’s not just the drums, I think there’s some other light instrumentation to it as well. But it is a full song.
Abraham 3:11 am on February 28, 2010Permalink |
Well theres also the Alex Wilson songs… Maybe you’ll find it under that name?
palinaurus 3:17 pm on March 1, 2010Permalink |
It’s Alex Wilson
Salsa con soul timing workout