couple of questions

[yoyao]

first, where can I find salsa lessions in orange county area? and what's a good way to improve yourself? I been dancing salsa for more than half a yr now, but when I am on the dance floor in a club, my mind went to blank, I am not really a leader outside of the class, and thanks to SDsalsaguy, I read your article on how to lead, which is very helpful, and you know what? I actually see you and talked to you in person, but I bet you won't remember me. second, is there any other BBS like this?

[SDsalsaguy]

Hi yoyao, and welcome to the forums! First off, you’re not playing fair…there’s no picture of you or even a name in your profile so isn’t it asking a bit much to expect me to remember who you are? :wink:

I’m glad to hear that you found Learning to Lead (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=557) helpful – you might also want to check out Lead Your Partner, Not Patterns! (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=553) as well as salsarhythms’ Governor Gray Davis and Salsa Dancing (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=556) and his 7 tips to master salsa dancing, PART 1 (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=290), PART 2 (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=293), & PART 3 (http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=299).

Anyway, a good list for instructors in SoCal can be found at http://www.salsaweb.com/la/instructors/instructors_list.htm

:arrow: My #1 recommendation if you can possibly manage are Enio Cordoba & Terryl Jones at Lets Dance LA (http://www.letsdancela.com/). And yes, this is the Terryl who wrote the outstanding articles I have posted in the Articles Forum. If I lived any closer, these are the people that I, personally, would take from!

:arrow: Edgar and Teresa (http://www.edgarandteresa.com/) also teach in the Orange county area, and while his style is a bit too LA for my personal tastes, there’s no denying what a talented dancer he is. She’s just a sweetheart and has been a friend of mine for years.

:arrow: Salomon Rivera (http://www.latinhips.com/) is also good and, although I question how leadable some of his more advanced patterns really are, his technical foundation is amongst the best.

Anyway, hope that helps and, again, welcome to the forums!

[WOW! This was my 500th post! Probably time to get a life, huh? :lol: ]

[Danish Guy]

but when I am on the dance floor in a club, my mind went to blank,
I am not really a leader outside of the class
I had the same problem.

I started to write notes, after I got home from the lessons.
Just some keywords to help me remember the lead.

When I go dancing, I got the notes in my pocket,
so I can take a look if I go blank.

This has improved my dance and the fun big time.
The bonus kick in, because repeating the combinations
after the lessons make the body and brain remember.

Find out what works for you, and keep the lady’s smiling. :D

[Vin]

Speaking as a fellow beginner, my dancing improved dramatically when I just found a partner to practice with consistently. I have been getting together with a friend about twice a week for a few weeks now and this has helped me. We usually walk through whatever combination until we are certain we have the movement correct and then we slowly bring it to dance pace, usually learning one new combination per session and making sure we haven't forgotten any of the old ones.

[SDsalsaguy]

Vin's strategy is an excellent one...mastering a move and working it into floor readiness, not just "forcing" it. And, as he also mentions, there is no substitute for regular practice!

[yoyao]

Thanks for the reply, it is very helpful. SDsalsaguy, I am not gona reveal my identity. even I do, you probaly won't remember me anyway, I am an awful dancer :wink: hehhee LDLA seems has the best program, but it is kinda far from where i live and I am going to UK in the middle of sept. so I guess I won't be able to take lession from them until I got back. do you know any place in UK? I would be living in east anglia for a year.

[SDsalsaguy]

yayao...I don't really know the UK scene so can't give you any recommendations, but here's a UK class listing (http://cityguides.salsaweb.com/england/London/Classes.htm) – hope that helps.

And I still don’t think you’re being fair with the whole mystery identity thing! :wink:

[yoyao]

ok, I will reveal my identiy when I win an award in salsa dancing :wink:
hehehe

[SDsalsaguy]

ok, I will reveal my identiy when I win an award in salsa dancing :wink:
hehehe :shock:
Well, in that case.......

I hereby award you the first ever Dance Forums “Salsa Dancing Star of the Future” award! :tongue:

[SDsalsaguy]

For a really interesting and informative read check out this interview with Enio and Terryl (http://www.dancefreak.com/interviews/enio_cordoba_and_terryl_jones.htm) done by Edie Lewis, The Salsa FREAK (from 2000 if I recall correctly...I was in the class that Edie's referencing in her initial description).

[youngsta]

I've been dancing just over a year now so it wasn't to long ago I was having the same problem yoyao. Here's my two cents...

You HAVE, I repeat HAVE to spend time dancing out in clubs. Leaving the safety of the studio I was learning at was painfully hard becuase I didn't think I was ready to be out in a club. And I wasn't :lol: But you have to experience it to become comfortable with it. Learning things like floor management and music in real-time (not slowed for teaching) is a must!

Practice...practice...practice. If I'm washing dishes, I'm dancing. If I'm folding clothes, I'm dancing. You get the point :D

[pygmalion]

Hey youngsta.

Ever see the movie, "Shall We Dance"? When I first saw it, before I started dancing, I thought the accountant-type star was nuts. Dancing on the subway, under desk at work, anywhere and everywhere.

Now I can relate. You should see the black scrape marks on my kitchen floor.

[youngsta]

haha! Mine is probably as marked up as yours. Even if I'm on a plane and can't actually get up I'm visualizing it.

[SDsalsaguy]

Welcome to the forums youngsta! AND some excellent points! I actually spent a half year (!) in studio working up my salsa to the point where I felt confident enough to take it out to the local clubs...and guess what? I then had to spend the next six months unlearning much of what I thought I knew and learning how to dance in "real life" situations!

One of my dance mentors (as in people I looked up to, not people who formally taught me) always said it was about how much "sweat equity" you had built up on the floor...

As far as the airplane thing, believe me, on long overnight hauls (i.e. to Europe, or cross-country red eyes) I've even stood in the isles and worked on basic side actions and isolations while most people are sleeping...talk about getting some strange looks!

[MissAlyssa]

lol I find myself doing salsa/samba/merenge/rumba etc in mexican food restaurant restrooms. woo woo!!! :P

[SDsalsaguy]

Oh, and there was the time I was out grocery shopping with my step mother and half sister on a vist back east... some choreographic idea just pooped into my head and, as we were waiting in the check out line, I just grabbed my half sister and tried figuring out if it'd work... Mind you she's not a dancer and, at the time, was 13....so I very quickly heard "Jon, not here, we're in public!!!"

[MissAlyssa]

Oh, and there was the time I was out grocery shopping with my step mother and half sister on a vist back east... some choreographic idea just pooped into my head and, as we were waiting in the check out line, I just grabbed my half sister and tried figuring out if it'd work... Mind you she's not a dancer and, at the time, was 13....so I very quickly heard "Jon, not here, we're in public!!!"


lol, I foxtrot down the frozen food aisle with my trusty chrome dance partner.

[SDsalsaguy]

lol, I foxtrot down the frozen food aisle with my trusty chrome dance partner.
No, no. no. no. NO! Clearly shopping carts are best designed for rumba walks! What in G-d's name are they teaching you in AZ? :lol:

[DanceMentor]

I like to do turns while maintaining a contant distance with the shopping cart (in motion). I also like the smoothness of the floor. Sometimes I can manage 4 pirouettes. I also like the long aisles. I can really move as I practice feathers and threes!

[MissAlyssa]

lol, I foxtrot down the frozen food aisle with my trusty chrome dance partner.
No, no. no. no. NO! Clearly shopping carts are best designed for rumba walks! What in G-d's name are they teaching you in AZ? :lol:

It's the heat, it's boiling my brain.. :cry:

[youngsta]

Thanks for the welcome SD. I definitely understand the "sweat equity" concept now. If I were to do it all over again I would have started going to clubs after my first month in instruction.

[MissAlyssa]

Thanks for the welcome SD. I definitely understand the "sweat equity" concept now. If I were to do it all over again I would have started going to clubs after my first month in instruction.

it's never too late to start! :D

[SDsalsaguy]

If I were to do it all over again I would have started going to clubs after my first month in instruction.
Tell me about it :roll:

[youngsta]

it's never too late to start! :D

It's not a problem now MissAlyssa, I'm heavily into the scene here. Usually out 3-4 nights a week!

[MissAlyssa]

it's never too late to start! :D

It's not a problem now MissAlyssa, I'm heavily into the scene here. Usually out 3-4 nights a week!

Dang! Where do you live?

[youngsta]

Just outside of Denver, CO. The salsa scene here is far bigger than people would think. 8)

I started dancing in AZ btw...Tucson, just over a year ago.

[MissAlyssa]

How did you like the AZ scene? I have never been to Denver, you seem to like it! Tell me more.

[youngsta]

There isn't much of a scene for salsa in AZ. In Tucson there were only two clubs 'Irene's' and 'El Parador'. Once I moved out here to CO I found I could easily go every night (seriously). It's big enough where there is a lot of variety in dancers, but small enough you get to know everyone. I love it.

I have a large group of friends in LA, so I visit them fairly often to push myself. Even the best dancers here in the Denver area don't compare to people I've seen at Steven's or Sportmen's in LA.

[MissAlyssa]

I've never lived in Tucson but I do know there are quite a few places in the Phoenix Metropolitan area to salsa at.

[youngsta]

That's good to hear, I'll check it out next time I'm down there :)

[MissAlyssa]

That's good to hear, I'll check it out next time I'm down there :)

let me know and we'll go dancing! 8)

[youngsta]

You got it 8)

[yoyao]

"Jon, not here, we're in public!!!"

:shock: :shock: :shock: