Tips for Salsa Followers

Hi All,

I know that there was a bit of a misunderstanding over a topic of this kind before so I thought I would re-start one in the spirit in which I believe the first was intended - the idea being for followers to come and give tips to other followers to help them improve AND for leads to come and give tips to followers based on their experiences in order that we could come up with some sort of "Golden Rules" that uses the experience and knowledge of everyone here.

I would say that I have three points that I can immediately think of here:

1) Arm tension.

Always give what you receive - match the tension given to you by your partner and you will not normally go wrong - a good general rule of thumb is that low leads (and by this I mean hip/rib level) generally are after more tension, as soon as the lead goes above the shoulder (again generally speaking) you should drop the level of tension in the arms. But you should not go wrong by matching your partner.

2) Styling

Styling should always be natural - the best styling is the one that looks like it's an extension of your natural body movement - it should never look 'fake' or forced. The best way to begin styling is when you're dancing with a guy start looking for the opportunities where you have a free arm - once you get used to where they are, you can start to think about using them. Start small - a hand over your head or a simple arm extension up for one beat and then drop (it's always best to go up - go out to the side and you may take out another couple...) Get used to just one styling move and do it until it becomes natural. Once you do this your confidence will increase and you'll be able to throw in other little embellishments... Oh and if you style, make it graceful!! Do it completely or not at all - much better to have a completely extended arm than a limp half hearted attempt - it will look worse than no styling at all!!

3) Arms Up!

When you're dancing in general keep your arms up at hip / waist height this will

a) Help you keep your balance
b) Make it easier for the lead to find them
c) Make it easier for you to get to the leads hands when offered
d) Look more graceful
e) Actually help your body movement by giving you something to counter your weight with - this will naturally make your arms and shoulders move more rhythmically.

And the golden rule? Smile at your partner (this goes for guys too!) - it's supposed to be fun!!

That's all for now - but I'll be back!!

Basic Steps First!!

Develop an internal sense of timing, independently. Master the basic step. Keep the beat throughout a song.
It's good for following/helping beginner leads, and it's good for following advanced leads. And it's a great foundation for stylistic expression
I've seen too many "advanced" followers get into styling that has nothing to do with the tempo of the music, it really only looks like showing off, because they start out and end up with basic steps that are out of sync

Try Not To Move Yourself

If he didn't lead it, you shouldn't do it. it's hard I know, guilty here sometimes, but it's important. Especially with crossbody leads. Why do beginner follows walk themselves into these, even before the lead has cleared out of the way?
I guess I notice it more now that I'm learning to lead
there are exceptions, I think, but not in this context

Give the Lead a C-Cup

In addition to correct tension, hook the fingers onto the leads hands in C-shape (see the old thread about this). It makes it so much easier to lead without having to grab the hands and pull more forcefully. It takes sometime to retain consistently, still working on it myself
The C-Cup technique may not work with all leads as some leaders are used to leading with bad connection and so may not reciprocate

There are a lot of other things we've discussed before like taking smaller steps (as much as possible), using the balls of the feet, and such. most of them are guidelines that can change depending on the lead, and even the floor and type of shoes a follow wears for dancing.
The best follows I've seen have been drilled into minimizing the impact of these other factors .i.e. lots and lots of practice yuck

Turns: don't be too heavy. Many times when I lead a turn (think cross-body reverse turn) the girl feels so heavy and slow that it can almost throw us off tempo. The gentleman should initiate the turn and provide some idea of speed and give a little help, but ladies are responsible for turning themselves after it has begun.

I'll reiterate what africana said: do not lead yourself. I know it's tempting, especially with some of us leads who have not perfected the art :wink: But especially on CBLs, do not start walking until the gentleman pulls or pushes you into it, and keep that tension so he can lead it with a bit of a snap/whip. It just looks better, more crisp and sharp, with a real pause instead of a continuous, flowing step-back-and-begin-walk kind of motion.

I would actually like to elaborate on the point about leading yourselves...


I think that this actually breaks into two sections:

1) In Class

2) On the Dancefloor

Now I could go on about this (As my students will tell you!!! :lol but I will keep it simple and brief!

1) In Class - If you lead yourselves in class:
a) The leads will not learn / remember the move - and they will not know how to lead it. If he doesn't lead it - don't do it. If he leads something else - do that something else. He will learn what he's doing wrong and how to correct it - if you do the moves for him - he'll go on leading it wrong.
b) You will not learn what the signals are for a move and you will not know what you're looking for on the dancefloor.
c) Neither of you will be able to translate these moves to the dancefloor (which is kind of the point!)

2) On the dancefloor - If you lead yourselves on the dancefloor:
Quite simply you are in danger of hurting yourself and your lead by doing one thing when he is trying to do something else!

Make sure you are wearing a "salsa-proof" outfit before going out!!!

Last night, I made the mistake of wearing a strapless dress that I belatedly realized may shift (ie threat of falling down) during rigorous moves. I spent most of the night fiddling with it, making sure it stays put. Although I tried to sneak these moves in so as not to interfere with the lead's moves, I'm sure it was highly distracting to him (and was very annoying to me). That dress isn't going out salsa dancing again. :x

Another time, I wore a dress that flew up whenever I did fast multiple turns. :shock: I spent most of that night making sure I did only single spins which must have ticked off a few of my partners. Since that night, I learned to wear shorts underneath such swirly dresses.

Claire_Brummell said:

1) In Class - If you lead yourselves in class:
a) The leads will not learn / remember the move - and they will not know how to lead it. If he doesn't lead it - don't do it. If he leads something else - do that something else. He will learn what he's doing wrong and how to correct it - if you do the moves for him - he'll go on leading it wrong.
b) You will not learn what the signals are for a move and you will not know what you're looking for on the dancefloor.
c) Neither of you will be able to translate these moves to the dancefloor (which is kind of the point!)

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I find it quite disheartening though. I try very hard not to walk through moves in class and to let myself be led, but what that means is that a whole bunch of men I dance with in class think I am a complete cretin who cannot do the simplest moves. Their reactions show that they do not think well of me.

But then, the better leaders will often pull "surprise moves" on followers in the class to see if they are walking through the move or actually following it, simple things like substituting a neck lock for an underarm turn, say. Usually when that happens I follow very well and don't get caught out.

I often find myself doing completely different things to the moves we are supposed to be learning, because that's the lead I'm getting. But it's depressing to have guys who obviously think of themselves as good dancers look at me like I'm an idiot and should scuttle back to beginners class.

I don't have a great feeling about myself in the salsa scene anyway because I'm a decent mover but I'm not as slim, young or pretty as some of the females out there.

One particular tip from a leader, who sees a lot of beginning followers doing this:

When in frame, don't lock your right elbow! That's a good way to get an elbow or shoulder injury. Keep some bend in your elbow, so that your arm has freedom of movement in case "something happens".

Ms_Sunlight said:

I find it quite disheartening though. I try very hard not to walk through moves in class and to let myself be led, but what that means is that a whole bunch of men I dance with in class think I am a complete cretin who cannot do the simplest moves. Their reactions show that they do not think well of me.

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What Claire said above. Admittedly, it can be a bit of a bruise to the leader's ego when he leads something and the follower does something completely other. The thing to do about this is to talk what the follower felt vs. what the leader thought he was doing. Sometimes it's the result of the leader who is trying to lead something hands-wise without his own body actually executing his part. The follower gets conflicting signals. But it could also be that the follower doesn't understand what the lead is supposed to feel like; this could particularly be the case if the follower has been dancing with a leader who has bad technique.

But then, the better leaders will often pull "surprise moves" on followers in the class to see if they are walking through the move or actually following it, simple things like substituting a neck lock for an underarm turn, say. Usually when that happens I follow very well and don't get caught out.

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Good; that means you really are following. Sometimes the repitition of practicing a move in a class can be counterproductive to learning the connection; the partners just fall into the pattern of automatically doing the moves because they both know in advance what they're going to do, and the connection part doesn't get learned. And sometimes in this situation the follower, because they know what they are going to be doing, will start before the leader has actually led, and that gets the leader confused. I don't claim to be a better dancer, but I have to admit I sometimes do the surprise-move trick, such as dancing a basic or two before executing the step being learned, or doing some kind of a variation. I've had followers be a bit put out by that, but I'm not doing it to trick them; I'm doing it to make sure that I am actually learning the lead.

Sometimes followers do us too many favors. :wink: Last year, at one point, I started to get the feeling that whenever I social danced with my instructor, that she was doing things that I hadn't led properly, just because she is familiar with my dancing and she could tell what I had intended to do. I had to ask her not to be quite so helpful, and to just dance with me like she would anyone else. And as a result, I did learn a few things that I wasn't leading properly.

I don't have a great feeling about myself in the salsa scene anyway because I'm a decent mover but I'm not as slim, young or pretty as some of the females out there.

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You'll get there. Attractiveness has a lot to do with confidence; feeling confident about your own dancing will automatically make you more attractive to partners. Plus, dancing is great for developing all-over muscle tone, so your figure will improve even if your weight remains the same. And as long as you and your partners are having fun, who cares what anyone else thinks?

Ms_Sunlight said:

I don't have a great feeling about myself in the salsa scene anyway because I'm a decent mover but I'm not as slim, young or pretty as some of the females out there.

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It's difficult to do what you know is not the move because that's what's being led - but you are right to do it - it might be worth mentioning to the teacher (if they're approachable) so that they can say something to the class about the ladies only following what is led - and that if they do not do it then it is the fault of the leads, not the followers - this will therefore put the onus back on them.

Salsa isn't about being young, slim, pretty, 6 ft, blonde, with legs to your armpits... it's about fun, enjoyment, laughter, feeling the music and dancing to it - as long as you do that and feel it on the inside that confidence will extend to the outside - and confidence is far more attractive than any pretty face - stick with it honey - we're with you!!

my current signature line.. it goes for both lead and follow... if it happens to make sense to them.

Does that come with an instruction manual?

And the silliness continues.

Ms-Sunny don't get too disheartened, lots of women experience what you have when they don't meet the ideal image - too short, too tall, too fat, too old (never heard of too skinny or too young lol)
- it can be quite discouraging feeling inadequate for whatever reason

But you can't sit and sulk. No matter what your physical appearance, I agree that the confidence makes the difference. And you can increase confidence is so many ways

- improve dance skill: I can't say enough just how much attention you can get from dancing confidently and with skill. If you feel overlooked for some physical reason (for me it was race and height) then unfortunately, you must compensate by being great at dancing

- shoes: so VERY important, can get you looking and feeling like a total clutz if you're not comfortable in them (last night is proof :lol: )
Anyway I usually take two or more types of dance shoes with me, incase the floor is not suitable for one of the shoes I have, or in case most of the skilled leads are shorter - I generally feel much more confident in jazz or lyrical shoes when dancing with shorter guys or spinning a lot.

- wardrobe: so very important to wear items that flatter and make you feel sexy and in charge. Go for flair, go for even exotic but all still practical for dancing, depending on your style of dance (body movement) and personality
*For me I go for a lot of complimentary and contrasting colors for my skin tone.
*I'm usually in high energy mode so I also go for items that allow a lot of free dynamic movements, and don't look too formal
*Also I also love swirly capes or skirts or slit pants or belts that are dramatic for spins - when I started learning spins it really bolstered my confidence wearing those
* It's also good to break out of wearing a lot of dark or black clothing, especially in a dark night club, it might get you unnoticed more often than desired (unless you're undercover, I definitely do that sometimes )

-makeup!: play with colors and tones especially for the eyes (and I think you mentioned that you['re great at eye contact, I'm not ) So that could be your thing to do, to enhance and "pop". Salsa is your chance to be dramatic, so step outside that proverbial box

well that's what I can think of right away. Stay strong!

africana said:

(never heard of ... too young lol)

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(all my under-21 friends hear from me that they're too young when I want to go to a club and they can't get in :wink: )

To go with your list of confidence increasers, I must say the obvious, that regularly working out and having a toned body (I don't mean cover model toned, just in good shape) can be a big confidence booster. For men and women, I can think of hardly any situation when weight training should not supplement a good diet. Weights have so many benefits, one of the biggest, especially if trying to lose some pounds, is that weight training raises your resting metabolism so that you burn more calories while you're just sitting there, sleeping, etc.--because muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat. I don't lift to get big, I lift to improve my posture (back/abs), to improve my dance, and to improve my health. Go 3 times a week, give it 4 or 5 weeks, and almost anyone will feel better!

While I agree with you in what you're saying I don't think that it's necessary to be slim or toned to be confident - by all means if someone wants to lose weight then your suggestions are ideal, but it's not the only way to feel confident.

I think that the main thing is to be happy with who you are - those who know me know that I am of a fairly slim build but I have friends who are not as young, slim or toned who have as much, if not more confidence than I do - it's a state of mind.

Dancing salsa is about fun and enjoyment - and you shouldn't have to be any age, race, size or shape to enjoy it which is the beauty of it - in general the salsa community is a very accepting, non-judgemental one.

I for one can't stand working out - I get very bored with it, so I use my salsa as my excerise - it's the only work out I do! (With all the salsa I do I don't have time to work out as well!)

Just so you know I'm not getting at you or arguing with your point - but as someone who used to be a little larger I know how sensitive people can be about this sort of thing, and I don't want anyone feeling that the only way for them to feel confident is to lose weight, or that anyone on the salsa scene will judge them on their age, size or any other visual characteristic - if they want to tone up then great, but if they don't that's ok too!

It's definitely not the only way, nor is it guaranteed to work. Keep in mind, too, that there are many people with relatively great bodies who look at themselves and are not confident, so people of all sizes can be sensitive about how they look. I'm one of them--I look at myself very often and am not satisfied with how I look, so I keep working at it. So I agree, it is certainly a state of mind.

Like you said, someone should not feel that they must be a certain size in order to increase confidence. Along the same lines, a person should also not feel that he or she must dance in order to increase confidence. So while neither of these is required to be a confident individual... they both certainly help, and they complement each other quite nicely.