Learning salsa/merengue/bachata in three days

[BugBear]

There is this TV show here called Slavi's Show - a humoristic talk show with lots of music in it. After a nation wide casting Slavi selected 12 non-proffesianal dancers. After 12 "dance exams" the one with the highest grade will get a Ferrari. Every Monday he tells them what the next exam will be about and he assigns instructors and partners if necessary. And on Thursday they show what they have learned.
So far they had Folklore and Modern ballet exams. This weeks' exam is to dance salsa, merengue or bachata - what ever they drew. None of them has ever danced theese dances and some of them have never even heard of them. Do you think it is possible to learn it in just three days? And maybe "learn" isn't the exact word here. They just have to memorize a 2-3 minute choreography.

[danzur]

I guess that would depend on how much they were able to retain, as well as how many hours they actually were dancing/practicing in that time period.

I know when I taught my students a Bachata Casino Rueda, they picked it up quite quickly and did quite well with it (most of them) in less than an hour!

[Pacion]

Sounds like a version of "Strictly Dance Fever". This is/was a competition started about two years ago, where, after national auditions, 24 people were selected and paired up. Some were fortunate and were paired with people they had either attended auditions with or, in one case, someone she had danced with several years ago.

They were told each week what dance or dances they would have to learn and they had classes for a week. Excluding the filming day, I guess it was more like five-six days.

They didn't change partners, and each week, they would have to choreograph and perform their 2-3 minute routine. They were awarded points by a panel of judges and then the "voting" was opened up to the viewing public.

Some of the participants did take to certain dances very quickly, others struggled.

I agree with Danzur that it is possible to pick up bachata in less than an hour. The "feeling" or, as Sabor would say, the "sabor" :lol: might take a bit longer. For some, three days may not be enough!

Same for merengue.

Salsa, that is tricky! Not impossible but if someone has a good instinct for movement, they could get the basics down. Whether they can get "the feeling" may also take a bit longer.

It just depends on the individual, how much work they put in and their own ability. Oh, and of course, what the judges/examiners are looking for :doh:

[BugBear]

After I saw their performances I can say that they did very good. They pretty much managed to grasp the passion of bachata, the fun of merengue and the grace of salsa and transfer it on to the audience. One of the jury is the founder of the biggest salsa school in Bulgaria and after the show he said - People always ask me how long does it take to learn to dance. Now I know. It takes three days. :)