the beat, rhythm, and basic

I have got retuned by private lessons from a great teacher, not just a great dancer. She had me change my basic steps, a lot shorter, the length of my foot, quick, quick slow. We start dancing to different songs , then she makes me stop find the beat, and start again. Finding the beat with different instruments, and stop and restart, it has really helped.
I am now dancing with more rhythm, and most important ON TIME.
I know a lot of moves but if I'm not in time what good is it? So a return to infancy is good....Maybe this might help some others to get a good " teacher", and get the most basic aspects correct.

Very, VERY good advice!

Jack said:

I am now dancing with more rhythm, and most important ON TIME.
I know a lot of moves but if I'm not in time what good is it? So a return to infancy is good....Maybe this might help some others to get a good " teacher", and get the most basic aspects correct.

Click to expand...

Very good Jack. If you´re not dancing on beat you might just as well be sitting the dance out. I admire people who go back to the basics. These people are the ones who exceed further on down the line...

YEAH. I've managed to sneak in quite a few free lessons in the basics in Januray, Feb...helping out as an extra leader in beginner salsa classes. I help balance the ratio of followers and leaders and at the same time get to revisit the basics for free!! I've been on vacation and hope to get the chance to do this again in April.

excellent idea! i support that perspective very much! hopefully it spreads

It is a great idea! The only difficulty is, IMO, that many dancers feel they are "above" that.

In general I expect our competitive team members (UNC team) to attend all the basic/beginner classes and help where needed, especially the leading dancers. I help out the beginning classes for both Duke and UNC's teams and aside from being the music person, I do wind up dancing when a leader is needed. I usually go to notice or help correct other people's mistakes so I can make sure I don't commit them either.

Funny this would come up. At my Sunday night spot there's a lesson from 730-830. I get there early so if they are short on leads I'm more than happy to fill in. The funny part is the women I dance with are amazed I would 'stoop down' and take the lesson...like there is nothing else for me to learn! :lol: I always tell them, "When you get really good, don't be 'too good' to dance with me." :wink:

I've spent most of my time in my Salsa practice just working on basics. I still take a beginners class once a week and I always show up to before dance lessons. And every time I find something new to learn or improve upon.

Its really paid off now that I am doing more social dancing, having a strong foundation in basics will serve you well out on the dance floor.

Now getting the women to actually say yes to a dance with you, well that's another story... :wink:

No problems here SG 8) :lol:

I'm with that Scorpion, basics for me is an ongoing need

I love it when instructors ask me to fill in at a beginner/intermediate class. If it´s a beginner class, it gives me a chance to revisit the basics. This helps me a lot as a dancer (more than I´d like to admit... )

If it´s an intermediate class, I have the chance to do patterns that I´ve forgotten or haven´t done in ages. After the memory refresh, I include them in my move repertoire. :wink:

I also like seeing the girls face after a well executed move. 8) Sometimes I get comments like:

"Wow, so that´s how it´s done"
"Are you from this class?" :shock:
"Hmm...No wonder I couldn´t follow this pattern..."

The downside is that you get the ocasional girl who says some strange thing like, "you´re doing it all wrong" :roll: . This happened to me about a year ago in a beginner class. At the time, I preferred not to reply and just left it at that. About a week later, I saw her at a club, grabbed an intermediate partner and lead a number of intricate moves smoothly and comfortably in front of her. I can still the expression on her face from the awe... The first time I danced with her after that was about 2 weeks ago at the salsa congress. She smiled thru the entire song. 8)