Moving from Street Salsa to Ballroom Mambo

[Sagitta]

I've been away for a month and in my absence the Cornell club started teaching ballroom mambo. The final class of the 4 week session is tonight. For all of you out there how easy is it to do ballroom mambo if you know salsa? Any tips? Are the basics transferable?

Or... should I not attend as I will be lost in this class?

[ShyDancer]

I only do ballroom Mambo and Salsa..

I was taught Salsa first and I found it quite tricky at first.Then moved onto Mambo. I found Mambo SO easy to pick up, I suprised myself and I STILL cant get over how simple it was for me to pick up, Id see the steps once or twice then be able to do them with relative ease. I cant explain it, but I like it! I even had to wonder myself if I had done it somewhere before :lol: :lol:
Could be from watching Dirty Dancing about 7 million times... 8) 8)

Go take the class , I dont think you will get lost!

[Sagitta]

Ballroom mambo as shown to me tonight -- just breaking forward on 2!! That wasn't bad at all. :) You were right Shydancer!

[Canadian Guy]

Ballroom mambo as shown to me tonight -- just breaking forward on 2!! That wasn't bad at all. :) You were right Shydancer!

What is the difference between ballroom Mambo and regular Mambo?

I though most Latin American Dances break forward on the 2 (Mambo, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha) because of the Clave. It's only in Salsa I have ever heard people having a choice between breaking on the 1 vs 2. :?:

[ShyDancer]

Yay Sagitta!

Its pretty easy isnt it :D

Will you be continuing ballroom mambo?

[dragon3085]

Basically Ballroom Mambo is Salsa with all the fun taking out of it. :twisted:
Ok, not really- just kidding- well maybe a little. Mambo is a bit more and I use this term for lack of a better one, more upscale and less relaxed as compared to salsa. Also Ballroom Mambo is often taught with you starting on the 2 and salsa on the one. These are generalization and you may learn it differently depending on your instructor. I went from Mambo to Salsa, and I think that is the easiest. Going back the other way, they hardest part, might be starting on the 2 if they are teaching it that way.

[jon]

Basically Ballroom Mambo is Salsa with all the fun taking out of it. :twisted:

In ballroom, you extend your arm up into the air and away from your body in open position, ensuring space to dance by poking out the eyes of nearby couples :-)

I have not seen the term "Mambo" used by ballroom teachers in about 8 years - seems they've figured out "Salsa" is the right marketing term no matter what the actual dance being taught is.

[Neil]

It seems to me that outside of Miami/Cuba, ballroom Mambo and street Salsa are pretty much the same thing, the ballroom style just looks a little bigger, flashier, and maybe cleaner. Even when I just drive an hour north to Fort Lauderdale, everybody looks to me like they are doing ballroom style Mambo. Whenever I see people from New York, it looks like ballroom. There is a group here now that do something they call L.A. style Salsa, and it looks like ballroom Mambo with some tricks and flashy styling.

Having said that, it seems that over the past five years or so, there has been a little mixing of that ballroom style in Miami. Before that, hardly anybody would even recognize that other style as even being the same dance. Even now, it seems that only the 1% of the street Salsa dancers that are the most hard core would recognize it. The typical Cuban-American on the street wouldn't have any idea what that dance is, they only know the Cuban/Miami style.

[dancin_feet]

To me ballroom mambo is basically the same as cha cha, without the cha cha. Excepting that mambo starts on 2 and forward where cha cha starts on one, side and back on 2. Other than that, to me, they are basically the same. I haven't done a lot of mambo, but knowing cha cha inside out, I can do a pretty mean mambo converting all the cha cha steps!

Ballroom Salsa to me is like a double time merengue except on the 4 you tap instead of step.

[pygmalion]

Basically Ballroom Mambo is Salsa with all the fun taking out of it. :twisted:


:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Canadian Guy]

To me ballroom mambo is basically the same as cha cha, without the cha cha. Excepting that mambo starts on 2 and forward where cha cha starts on one, side and back on 2.

I though Cha Cha started on the 2 too :?

The Cha Cha Cha is on the 4 & 1.

[SDsalsaguy]

To me ballroom mambo is basically the same as cha cha, without the cha cha. Excepting that mambo starts on 2 and forward where cha cha starts on one, side and back on 2.

I though Cha Cha started on the 2 too :?

The Cha Cha Cha is on the 4 & 1.
Your understanding is fine CG...

The prep step on 1 in Cha is a social dancing convention in some dance circles, and is, for instance, how Cha is introduced in several franchise studios I've visited.

Competitively Cha is started on 2 or on 4 (as in straight into a 4&1).

[dancin_feet]

To me ballroom mambo is basically the same as cha cha, without the cha cha. Excepting that mambo starts on 2 and forward where cha cha starts on one, side and back on 2.

I though Cha Cha started on the 2 too :?

The Cha Cha Cha is on the 4 & 1.

It basically does. The side step to start is the last cha of cha cha cha. Everywhere I have danced, they have always started cha cha as a side step on the 1, I guess so it starts on the same foot as every other dance. Depends I suppose on whether you count it:

1 2 3 cha cha 1 .....
(4) (&)
or

2 3 cha cha cha 2 3 ......
(4) (&) (1)

Have I confused you yet?? :lol:

[MacMoto]

Depends I suppose on whether you count it:

1 2 3 cha cha 1 .....
(4) (&)
or

2 3 cha cha cha 2 3 ......
(4) (&) (1)
Or
1 2 3 cha cha cha 2 3 cha cha cha 2 3...
The 1 being the prep step.

[Sabor]

to my ears.. i think that chachacha is naturally or should i say musically on 2.. but could be as easily danced on 1 .. either is fine to dance on i believe.. just follow what u feel more comfortable to or how u interpret the music.. as long as u lead/paly with your partner to whatever time you are on and maintain it w/ the music .. then i'll luv to watch ya :wink:

[Pacion]

:shock: the teacher I had said that it was "hip action" On 1 and step On 2 :lol: Glad to see the language of dance is as clear as communicating in english :lol:

[squirrel]

:)) I think I dance Cha Cha Cha on 1... I've always counted 1 2 cha cha cha... a friend of mine (ballroom dancer) says I'm on a different beat than she is... and she's right! but that's how I hear the music...
Mambo - too 'ballroom' for me... too forced, too many unnatural moves...
On2 - I cannot hear the music on2... it's against the beat... for me at least... I've danced on2, but only if the leader started... then I can follow... otherwise... grrrr
On1 - lovely! Salsa is the very best!!!

[Sabor]

Ballroom mambo as shown to me tonight -- just breaking forward on 2!! That wasn't bad at all. :) You were right Shydancer!

What is the difference between ballroom Mambo and regular Mambo?

I though most Latin American Dances break forward on the 2 (Mambo, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha) because of the Clave. It's only in Salsa I have ever heard people having a choice between breaking on the 1 vs 2. :?:

hmm.. interesting.. way i know it/do it in mambo is that the lead starts by a break/step backward on 2.. (not forward :?:) and then goes forward with his left on the 6..

anyone else?

[Sagitta]

Ballroom mambo as shown to me tonight -- just breaking forward on 2!! That wasn't bad at all. :) You were right Shydancer!

What is the difference between ballroom Mambo and regular Mambo?

I though most Latin American Dances break forward on the 2 (Mambo, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha) because of the Clave. It's only in Salsa I have ever heard people having a choice between breaking on the 1 vs 2. :?:

hmm.. interesting.. way i know it/do it in mambo is that the lead starts by a break/step backward on 2.. (not forward :?:) and then goes forward with his left on the 6..

anyone else?

There are different ways of dancing on 2 Sabor, You just described another. Check this site (http://www.dancefreak.com/steps.htm)out for the description of different ways of breaking on 2.

[Sabor]

Thanks Sagitta..

yeah interesting, cause till this moment i was under the impression that altho there are different ways to mambo, i thought it was limitted to either Eddie Torres Style or Power 2 ... yet that both shared the aspect of the lead back with his right on the 2 and fwd with his left on the 6 (while follow fwd w/ left on the 2 and back with right on 6)

i'm a free styler and i like it when i see something new to me or not customary.. it'd feel different.. so long as it feels good with your partner.. its all good :D