A forum member (Rumnet) found a great video by an instructor exaggerating the salsa basic step on2 timing. Again, if you haven’t already check out the forum post “Salsa Technicals : On1 vs On2. The Difference “. This video shows the example of what I have been trying to explain in words. When dancing on2, the pause happens when your feet are apart - and therefore you actually have two whole counts to get your feet back together. While On1 and On2 are TECHNICALLY the same steps, the way they are EXECUTED are different.
Continue reading ‘A video is worth 1000 words - On2 partially explained.’
So I thought I might post something that is pretty useful for me right now. I actually wrote this on a napkin at a club while I was working on my on2. Sometimes I go to the club and I see a move that I like and decompose it. Now, I can’t only decompose it now, but I have to ‘translate’ it to the beat pattern I need to dance on. For example, if I see an On1 move, I need to figure out how to do it On1, and then translate the steps On1. If you have this similar situation on how to translate moves, I give you this useful table:
|
On1 Steps |
|
NY On2 Steps |
|
PR On2 #1 |
PR On2 #2 |
| |
1 |
<-> |
6 |
<->
|
2 |
2 |
| |
2 |
<-> |
7 |
<-> |
3 |
3 |
|
3 |
<-> |
8 (pause) |
<-> |
4 (pause) |
4 |
| Neutral |
4 (pause) |
<-> |
1 |
<-> |
5 |
5 (pause) |
| |
5 |
<-> |
2 |
<-> |
6 |
6 |
| |
6 |
<-> |
3 |
<-> |
7 |
7 |
|
7 |
<-> |
4 (pause) |
<-> |
8 (pause) |
8 |
| Neutral |
8 (pause) |
<-> |
5 |
<-> |
1 |
1 (pause) |
One thing you’ll notice is that from On1 to any form of On2, there is no direct step-correlation. Why? Well, its mainly because the pauses taken are in differnt locations. Therefore, dancing On2, is slower than dancing On1. I will write an article later on about what I call ‘hang-time’ in order to explain this effect - but I hope this table helps some of you trying to decypher any moves you see. The amount of Hang-Time is shown in yellow for each type of style.
[UPDATED] Not sure about #2 PR, but it was submitted by a user. There might be more than 1 style in Puerto Rico.. funny, I’m Puerto Rican, and I should know… too bad that when you are growing up in PR, all you hear is reggaeton/rap. Sad that most of my childhood friends never really danced salsa.
