Hi everyone, I’m not sure if Anthony did a post on this already, but there’s a really cool FREE program called the Salsa Beat Machine at http://www.salsabeatmachine.org.
It can help you find the beats 1,5 and/or 2,6 in the music and in different instruments. You can set it up to play different combinations of instruments in different patterns.
DANCE AND FASHION CHOREOGRAPHER
Anyone know the song playing in this video? [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0k6gz3tGyo&feature=related[/video]
Hello everybody,
I was watching the great videos on addicted2salsa (tanks for them by the way) but I noticied that tehre was no video teaching how to close or finish a salsa dance ? Does someone has some video to show me ?
Cheers
I don’t have any videos, but I do have some ideas:
1. End with a simple handshake and a thank you
2. End with a cool, dramatic pose (with or without your partner)
3. End with a gentle, safe, well-timed dip (if you can’t do it safely, don’t do it!)
Don’t overdo #3, even though it looks cool. I end a lot of dances with #1 simply because timing dips is hard and I’m not always in a good position to do one well.
As a thank you and if I really enjoyed the dance I’ll give her a hug.
Or what I have done is a copa and instead of putting my hand on her hip I wrap it around her waist for hug.
Or another one, hug again, on 1-2-3 let her do her steps and on 5-6-7 pull her in for the kill. Make sure knees don’t smack.
Hello everyone, I’m happy to say I’m back into dancing salsa (and others), and I am most appreciative of Anthony’s work with the site. It takes effort to go from one social medium to another like he has done.
Hello Friends,
I am an on 2 dancer and have been learning the instruments in salsa music lately. I can figure out the clave, the tumbao, the timbales etc. The instrument that I hear the most is the campana(cow bell) or what I think it is. The only problem which I have been facing for about 2 months is I can’t hear the 3rd beat of the campana. All websites and sample music of campana that I listen to mentions that there is a strike on 3. I also understand that that the simple bongo bell plays on 1-3-5-7. However, this is what I hear:
teh – teh —- teh teh the- teh teh the- tet tet
(1) – (2) (3 or 4) (6) & 7 (8) &
I can’t hear the 3 or feel the ‘teh teh the’ after the 2nd beat starts on 3 instead of 4. I sometimes also wonder if I am confusing the mambo bell for campana or if both are playing simulataneously and I am hearing the mambo bell (3 &). However, in almost 95% of the songs I hear the campana and rarely do I hear the mambo bell or timbales.
I think that before we can continue this discussion, we need to make sure we’re on the same page in terms of instruments and the kinds of patterns and sounds they make. This is what I understand some of the percussion instruments in salsa to be (correct me if I’m wrong anywhere):
- Clave: I think this is pretty simple
- Conga drums: this is what plays the tumbao pattern…I think
- Timbales. I’ve heard and read that a common pattern on the timables is the cascara, and I think it sounds like what you’re describing above, but I’m not 100% sure.
- Cow bell: I’ve heard this played with many different patterns, the most common being just on the odd beats 1 3 5 7. I’ve also heard it emphasize 2 sometimes, and also strike 2 & 3, 4 & 5, 6 & 7, 8 &1 sort of cha cha style sometimes.
- Bongo bell: I’ve never heard of this one before, though I’ve heard of bongo drums…?
- Mambo bell: I’ve also never heard of this one before
Do you have any examples of the websites where you’ve heard any of these played or described?
cold.salsero. you are very correct in your description of all the instruments. On the cow bell it strikes 2,3,4&5, 6&7, 8&1. On this I can’t hear the 3. bongo bell and cowbell, campana are all the same instruments. mambo bell also plays the cascara.
I’m not sure if this will help you, but I think you might like it anyway: http://www.salsabeatmachine.org/. It’s a free program. You can set it up to play different patterns on the timbales and cow bell, and if you click on the instruments tab, you can configure it to play all kinds of different bass and piano patterns too.
i use the salsabeatmachine everyday. I can’t make out the 3 of the campana in normal music. I will be putting up some examples on youtube.
Hello Friends,
I have been dancing on2 for about 1.5 years. My initial troubles with getting the beat is over. I can clearly make out the 2 beat and lead the girl through double spins and patterns like that. However, I want to make my dance attractive. I have seen some guys even when they do simple patterns they look like a solid dancer and some guys will do a very complex pattern and look rough and unpolished though they end up in time. Also I have noticed that girls look much more polished than guys. I guess this is because girls do a lot of spinning and basic steps that help their balance. I was wondering as to what would help me look smooth and balanced while dancing. Some instructors have told me that doing shines and spins will help because it will make your footwork faster and improve balance. Also I am trying out some yoga. In NYC there are some body conditioning classes but not in the place where I live.
Shines will definitely help you become a better dancer (they’ll help with your styling too, whether you’re a guy or a girl), and they’ll help you a lot with your musicality, which is very important.
I’ve also heard from more than one person that performing helps you become a better social dancer, though I haven’t performed anything myself…yet.
I wish I could spin like girls too, I think that learning how to spin well will definitely improve any leader’s social dancing and help balance out the leader’s partnerwork, like girl spins, then guy spins, then girl spins again, etc.
First I have to say that everyone has their own individual style on what’s “good,” but there are generalities too which cold.salsero touched on. Speaking from experience performing and shines in general help, I’ve been on a dance team for a year and do shines as well.
Breaking the dance down, it comes to
-Spinning
-Body Isolations, movement & Styling
-Leading and following techniques
-Knowledge of Figures that are built into combinations
Typically women/followers develop the first two stronger, while men/leaders develop the latter two If you work on your weaknesses and become equally strong in all four you will be a great dancer.
I’d agree that yoga would help but that’s only part of it, getting in something that lets you be aware of movement as well would help too. Which shines again can work, but you can try workshops that focus on body movement (like the youtube video at the end). Or something like Tai Chi Chuan since movement is movement. So once you are aware of how to move one way like the Tai Chi example, you’d be able to pick up some Afro-Cuban movement more quickly, like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FviZ9Ct_r18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGx2boeKA28&feature=related
No matter the how you choose to go or who you choose to listen to, the choice is yours in how you want to improve.
I think cross training with other “activities” is essential to developing a certain “style.” Alex da Silva used to do Capoeira. I myself did 1.5 yrs of Capoeira, 2 yrs of Karate, 6 months of Taekwondo, 2 years of Krav Maga, 2 yrs of Tennis and I’ve been roller blading for ever. Over time it all adds up. But the most beneficial I think in order of importance are:
Tons of footwork
Performance group
Martial arts classes(Capoeira will help out with balance and perceiving the floor as being “soft and friendly” )
Perhaps roller blading as well
Wow doing martial arts and roller blading are way extreme, I guess but anything that helps your balance should help your dancing. I was thinking more about yoga and stuff like that to help balance and flexibility.
I’m in a long term plan to get something going in my hometown and develop my own skills to teach since I’ve been asked to do both by several people. I know of the greater community here there’s a lot of preferences to what makes one place ok and another extraordinary.
The location, a reasonable cover and decent music (though it can be subjective on what’s “good” I digress) go without saying for things that are required.
Because of where I originally learned I think it’s important to include a basic lesson so anyone that’s new and clueless can still have fun too. Another thing I’d learned to accept is that having a bar since some people require it for loosening up, though I know many dancers go only for bottles of water.
The biggest thing I’m uncertain of is with the floor. I’m not sure if it’s my youth or my gender (in that I have the benefit for always being in flats), but there haven’t been many surfaces that I’d complain about. Though I know I’d been on two different wood floors and one I was told was “MUCH better.” Neither were sticky or slippery, I think it was the specific wood itself since one was part of a hall in a bar that was “better” than a floor of a basketball gymnasium (that was there because of issues with the former’s liquor license). I’d been considering some places that have more of linoleum floor or some kind of tile that I wouldn’t consider to be a problem. But wanted some input on what’s acceptable in a surface. I definitely don’t want something that would destroy shoes quickly like the worst floor I’d seen for a venue that had a concrete floor.
Though the preferences I said take for granted I’d like input there as well (giving me a chance to ramble some more). To elaborate on what I consider good music I’ll just outline a decent mix CD sample of 80 minutes I’d play would be 10 salsas, 5 bachatas, 2 merengues, and a cha-cha. It of course wouldn’t play straight through that but being a true mix playing with different sounds from different places. Especially playing different tempos, making transitions that sound appealing blending them together. And using new stuff with the old stuff, N’klabe with Tito Puente, Marc Antony with Ray Barretto, Luis Enrique with Celia Cruz, Gilberto Santa Rosa with El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican Power with Fruko Y Sus Tesos, and well I think you get the picture. Broad spectrum of speeds and flavors that the music can provide.
I think I’ve rambled more than enough, hopefully it’s something coherent
Hi,
we are searching for a Walt Disney show some salsa music. We’ve seen one clip in YouTube – Under the Sea.
Any recommendations for some “Disney-related” Salsa Music?
Thank you!
Wow, thats a strange mix. I really dont think I have ever come across any disney salsa tunes. I have recently found an inspector gadget song, if your a fan of that show. Here is a link http://www.lomaximoproductions.com/results.php?s=inspector+gadget&x=0&y=0
Thank you Adejes01,
actually I didn’t know that the Inspector Gadget is a Disney production.
We will think about it, may be there are some more recommendations…
Thanx again!
Sorry, for the confusion Micah_s but inspector gadget isn’t a Disney production. It’s a cartoon that I really liked as a kid and just happens to have a salsa song reincarnation.
Well I’d agree that it’s a strange request, the closest I can think of for salsa songs that are close to popular music are:
-La Pantera Mambo (Sounds like the Pink Panther theme) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooh-SI-A824
-Yo Vivire by Celia Cruz (It’s I will survive but the lyrics are different in spanish than the original gloria gaynor track)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-djmPaG3vM
Neither are Disney, Pink Panther I’m pretty sure is Warner Brothers, and well I Will Survive has been used all over the place being that it’s been around since the late 70s.
If I find anything else or especially anything closer I’ll be happy to help
Hi people!
I am a beginner dancer and no one ever thought me salsa dancing. I have only watched other dancing and copying their moves… such as Anthony 
. I never taken any classes before and I really have some problem with “preping” the girl to turn in the direction I want. I often feel awkward and confused when it comes to this and it is practically the basis for dancing…
Also, during the spin, I am always wondering how should I hold the hand of my partner so I can have a hold on her hand and she can spin freely…
I have watched the videos from Anthony, but it seems that it ALWAYS vary with the girl I dance with or with male friends who have taken classes… If anyone can tell want I should do or refer me to a video that show the basis of that, it would be really appreciated from me!!! 
Actually IMO (and works for me 100% of the time) the technique used to prep a lady is quite similar to a normal turn lead. I dont have the expert knowledge of the technique, but i can tell you what is that i do, that works for all types of turns or spins (that is, the basic frontal spin or turn, im not taking into consideration spins that come from.. lets say a “titanic” move, where the girl is facing backwards)
Starting from the standart height of the hand (waist level i guess) you have to (from count 1) “draw” a curve, then go back to the starting point (count 2), and raise the hand until it reaches the ladies’s head height or around (count 3 and a little of 4). That’s what usually gets the job done ( i used On 1 counts, if you dance On 2 then it would be like…. 6,7, 8 and 1 i guess).
It also depends on the kind of lead youre doing, if i need to make multiple spins, i tend to make the lead a bit harder (not much, just to make a noticeable difference to the rest of the leading) so that the lady realises she’s prolly gonna have to give a few more spins than usual.
You should pay attention to the leading in these videos and you will prolly get the idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k6iKIt82Rs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEOP4otUfPs&feature=related
Hope that helps a little.
Tx for the tips! I will use this to practice!
Hi, I was watching lesson #60 “Dancing for Couples” and I had a question about a move from the intro. Towards the end, Anthony does the “fake” free-spin, then the “real” free-spin, but he ends the instruction with those moves.
In the intro he continues with 1) a 180, 2) an open break, 3) a two-handed turn with a “magic-drop” or whatever, and then 4) he does like a cross body lead while standing in place and simply swaying Julie through the lead. It’s that fourth move that I’d like to see him explain. It fit really well with the song and it looked really awesome, it gives this manly sort of feel to the lead. Has it been used in previous videos?
Don Vaillancourt 10:12 pm on July 6, 2010Permalink |
Someone posted a comment on the video: Guaguanco Tropical – Brooklyn sounds. Doesn’t sound like the same version, but good place to start your search.