Comments on: How to do the 180° Cross Body Lead with Turn

By: Zia

Zia — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:46:27 +0000

I would like to thank you very much for helping me learn Salsa over the past year. I have taken many group and private lessons but I have mostly learned your patterns very well. To this day, I use all your Titanic patterns and other patterns from your large collections. I find your instructions extremly easy to learn as you break each move so well. Today, I watched and learned your 180 degree crossbody move and I can’t wait to try it in the clubs. I am looking forward to more new videos. Thank you and your partner, Julie.

By: SalsaWannaBe

SalsaWannaBe — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:00:51 +0000

Don’t worry Anthony, you’re doing great anyways – these are not professional SPielberg videos. Important are instructions and keeping them coming, don’t let small details bug you. BTW – “cymbal” in my language means an instrument and also “moron” .

By: Anthony Persaud

Anthony Persaud — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 06:45:04 +0000

Actually Bart is a bit right – we are a bit off, but that was bad post production.. We do multiple takes of the intro and the audio source is later overlayed (since the recording the audio source from studio speakers to the camera is not good quality). It is very difficult to match a track to the steps when editing video. The steps should be breaking back on 2 and forward on 6.

As a side note, cymbals are not good indicators of 1 and 5. Using, as you mentioned, the tumbao is better to find the start of a “dance” measure.

By: Marco

Marco — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 05:17:54 +0000

back @ Bart

I see what you mean now. Putting the :17 second mark illuminated the question. I would have to hear a bunch more of the song, but it sounds like you’re onto something.

Throw the same question up in the Scene and see what comes up.—-> http://social.addicted2salsa.com/

By: Bart

Bart — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:12:38 +0000

Sorry I messed up the crucial (timing) part of that last post. Here’s what I meant to say:

“One way to tell is by looking at the musical accent on 0:17 of the video, where there’s an accent in the music with a clash of the cymbals which marks the 1 beat, and Anthony steps with his right foot [which should be 5-6-7 when dancing on 1] to finish his cross body lead [but he is stepping with his right foot on count 1, as illustrated with the cymbal clash].”

By: Bart

Bart — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:09:06 +0000

Marco: thanks for your attempt at an explanation, and I agree with you when it comes to the equivalence between 5 On1 and 2 On2. But what I was trying to say is this: if I match the music to what I am seeing in the intro video, I can only conclude that Anthony is breaking forward with his left leg on the 5 beat of the music (and breaking backward with his right on the 1 beat of the music). One way to tell is by looking at the musical accent on 0:17 of the video, where there’s an accent in the music with a clash of the symbals, and Anthony steps with his right foot 5-6-7 to finish his cross body lead. Do you get what I mean? If he is dancing on2, then he would be breaking back on count 2, rather than on count 1 which is what I think I’m seeing.

By: Marco

Marco — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:38:41 +0000

@Bart

I might be reading your post incorrectly (it happens all the time), but I’m gonna attempt to explain in print what would take 30 seconds in person (You don’t live in Michigan do you?).

The 5 step in On1 is identical to the 2 step On2.

For leaders;

So when you start dancing On1 you drive foward with your left leg for the accented 1 step come back for 2-3 and pause for 4. Then you drive backwards with your right leg for the accented 5 step and return to “neutral” for 6-7 and pause on 8.

The big difference for On2 would be that your 1 step is still with your left leg but it steps almost in place (slightly back of ‘neutral”) and you immediately send your right leg back for the “accented” 2 step. You step almost in place with your left leg for the 3 step and the pause comes as you are bringing the right leg back to ‘neutral’.

Hopefully I understood your question right and if I didn’t make sense, there are other posters who do a better job explaining then I do!

By: Bart

Bart — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:08:57 +0000

Nice video, as always. One thing is bothering me, though. Ever since your audio episode on “Finding the beat in salsa music”, I’ve been somewhat obsessed with dancing on-beat. Looking at the first part of the music, I can’t help but feel that you’re dancing on 5, rather than on 1. During the video you mention dancing on 2 during the intro, but you can tell by the tumbao rhythm of the conga’s that you’re either breaking on 1 or on 5. And judging by the accents in the music and when the singing starts, I’d say you’re dancing on 5. Is it on purpose? Do you disagree? Or don’t you bother with the difference between 1 and 5?

By: gabriel

gabriel — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:15:22 +0000

great job. thank you both very much

By: Marco

Marco — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:31:15 +0000

Very nice to have a fresh new video.

I’ve been going back through the old stuff recently. It’s amazing how the ease and comfort in front of the camera has come along over the last few years.

Well done both of you.