One of my favorite things to see when I’m out social dancing or watching a performance is a woman who can lead or a guy who can follow. I think there’s a bit of pride, maybe a bit of machismo (sorry guys) and a bit of apprehension (sorry girls) when it comes to changing the traditional lead and follow roles and I think that’s really a shame. For one thing, learning to follow if you’re a lead or vice versa is so helpful improving your skills. You get insights into the job of your usual partners that you just can’t get any other way. For another, I love to see salsa that’s off the beaten path - whether it’s from fusion with another dance (Swing Guys, anyone?), themed performances, or doing a little lead/follow switcheroo.
Take a look at the next few videos. In the first Jorjet leads Jennifer Stein, in the second, David Stein leads Jayson Molina (sorry this one is rather dark), and in the third, two brothers perform a tango routine (note the repeated change of lead/follow - so subtle and so awesome).
In all of these examples, the lead and follow are the same gender, but that certainly need not be the case. I dance with a rueda group and we’ve got girls who lead and a few guys who follow and we like to mix it up. We even have a move called “ladron” (the thief) so that we can change up who leads mid-song. This keeps things interesting and audiences love it. The more options you have, the better, right?
So the next time your out at the club, ask a friend to indulge you in a salsa experiment and see how it feels to dance the way the other half does. If nothing else, you’ll get a good chuckle and who knows, you might learn something, too.
Well, last year’s Jack and Jill contest at San Francisco Salsa Congress was just simply amazing! This year was even better! These people just stole the show. You just have to watch some of the best improvised performances anywhere in the US.
The first place winners this year were Milton Cobo and Masha. Of course, I’ve talked about Milton before, and this video just shows how slick and smooth he is (unbuttoning his shirt while giving a girl multiple spins). Now, or Masha - wow - I’ve never seen such great (yet subtle) footwork styling. You will be rewinding this video a few times in order to appreciate the details. Enjoy!
Now first of all, he is self-proclaimed - that way you don’t think I’m being derogatory to him. His name is David Stein and he calls himself the ‘White Boy Wonder’ of the salsa scene here in San Diego, CA. He is the director of the Majesty In Motion dance company. He is a huge influence in the salsa scene here in San Diego, CA (whose dance company has about 6 different dance teams - I’m in one of them). Here is a cool video that I shot of him dancing with one of the Sexy Salsa Divas (also from San Diego). Enjoy!
So, most of you know that I ended up learning salsa by myself and watching videos online (one of the reasons I started this website) - trust me, there is not enough salsa in Ames, Iowa. However, I have to give full-credit to the instructors that have improved my salsa skills (hopefully they think I’ve improved). They are the founders of Majesty In Motion - San Diego’s #1 Dance Team - HANDS DOWN! Here is a video of them doing their Orlando Salsa Congress performance.
