Helping a beginner find the basic

[HothouseSalsero]

Last night I was out salsa dancing with a friend who doesn't even know the basic. She was having a lot of trouble getting it. I dance on the one, so I was showing her that style, and things seemed to be breaking down with her on the 4th count. She understood that there were four counts, but somehow she was getting ahead or behind.

She said it looked like I wasn't really holding on the fourth count. (She probably would have been better off not watching my feet.) I'm not sure exactly what it is that I am doing, but I know I'm dancing in time to the music. I demonstrated that if I wanted to I could add a tap on the fourth count. But I think I was doing some sort of weigh shifting/getting ready thing on the fourth count. Last night I was in the mood to make my footwork smooth, rather than more down and funky, so it may be related to that.

But back to my friend: I couldn't figure out what to tell her. It's frustrating that, despite knowing how to dance, I am apparently such a poor teacher that I can't even figure out how to teach the basic step. Any suggestions?

 

[Jmatthew]

In our intro class the teacher keeps pointing out how he's "dumbing down" the basic for us. There's constant movement through the four when he dances, but for us new souls he's making it a hard break (at least he was, now he's pushing us to "move through" the four.

Which, for me anyway, isn't proving to be easy. : ) BUT, back to your friend, it might make it easier for her to understand if you explain the difference between a sort of compromise beginner step that I think most everyone learns, and the way accomplished Salsa dancers step, and point out that she doesn't have to dance exactly like you to be doing it right for her level.

 

[peachexploration]

......
She said it looked like I wasn't really holding on the fourth count. (She probably would have been better off not watching my feet.) ........

Try teaching in eight beats: one, two, three (tap/pause), five, six, seven (tap/pause). Actually put the tap in there on the four & eight. More advanced dancers do not actually use the tap but for beginners, it is easier to account for all beats until they get used to it. Hope this helps.

 

[Sagitta]

The difficulty is in finding a way to manage the fourth/eighth beats for breaking on 1. When one dances even on the slow one's body is moving. Peach's suggestion of tap on the 4/8 beats will work. Though I'm not sure if it is the advanced dancers who don't do it. I think it is a matter of the advanced dancers don't need to do it. If I am into the music I am on beat, and if I'm not into it I wander, such as sometimes when they play a cha cha as a slow salsa song for teaching purposes. It drives me up the wall as I hear the cha cha cha loud and clearly!!

Listen to salsa music a lot?

 

[Sagitta]

I just found something about what I was talking about in the An Explanation of Rhythms in Latin Dancing thread:

Now, once you realize that, the real problem is that to be able to create a relaxed, groovy feeling, you yourself must be at ease. Conversely, if you're tense, you will tend to accelerate and create tension yourself. There is only one solution: practice and practice and practice until you are in control of your emotions (and your feet).

There is an important lesson out of this, even for beginners: when you feel that you are getting confused by the music and you start "losing the beat", at that very moment, you are ALWAYS accelerating. Relax, slow down, take a deep breath, and you will very often fall back right into it and will be home-free!

It's the tenseness that causes one to lose it. Relaxation is the key. Has consistently been the case for me!!

 

[Miguel]

Last night I was out salsa dancing with a friend who doesn't even know the basic. She was having a lot of trouble getting it. I dance on the one, so I was showing her that style, and things seemed to be breaking down with her on the 4th count. She understood that there were four counts, but somehow she was getting ahead or behind.

She said it looked like I wasn't really holding on the fourth count. (She probably would have been better off not watching my feet.) I'm not sure exactly what it is that I am doing, but I know I'm dancing in time to the music. I demonstrated that if I wanted to I could add a tap on the fourth count. But I think I was doing some sort of weigh shifting/getting ready thing on the fourth count. Last night I was in the mood to make my footwork smooth, rather than more down and funky, so it may be related to that.

But back to my friend: I couldn't figure out what to tell her. It's frustrating that, despite knowing how to dance, I am apparently such a poor teacher that I can't even figure out how to teach the basic step. Any suggestions?

Hey, HothouseSalsero.

I'm new to salsa dancing and all I know are a few moves so don't take my words for gospel ! Anyway whenever I dance with a lady that has never dance salsa before what I do is I grab her by her hands and as I step foward I push back on her right hand and then pull on her left as I break back (quick quick slow,quick quick slow), I put force into it but I don't use brute force is more like a gentle force. I even add flavor to it by saying things like: ahh-ha, yeahh, doing good, hell yeah that's it, 123,456-123,456 and crap like that (ladies love it)! It works for me and soon I have them doing a few turns, bodyleads, smiling and thinking they're the latin queens of the club 8) !
Where I live everyone dances on '1' (although naturally I can dance on '2') so therefore whenever I dance with a total begginer I show them on '1' which is the way my teacher shows me anyhow. But the main thing that my teacher stressess is that in order to be a good dancer you must know how to lead a lady and dance with her even though she has never dance before in her life, no matter the music playing! That's why I don't worry too much about shines because shines won't help you lead a lady they will help you look good but dancing is more than just looking good by yourself IMO. !

And you should really see me teaching merengue to the ladies :twisted: ! their hips break in two brother and that's when they really have fun. God I love merengue!

 

[Vin]

Hello HHS,
Whenever I (try to) teach the basic to beginners I
1) Break it down into 4 counts as explained by PeachExploration
2) I explain the step as quick-quick-pause, with the first quick said as you break and the pause being said as your foot settles back to the middle. I think this makes it easier for students to understand vs the traditional quick-quick-slow
3) I know it takes work but it is worth it to take the styling out of your step. In fact I have gotten to the point where I will rarely put styling into my step, it has made me much easier to dance with, especially for beginners.
4) Miguel makes a good point about leading the basic with your hands, the sad fact is that every once in a while this will not work with some women.
5) If the club plays a cumbia it might be easier to get someone used to the beat by dancing to a cumbia with a salsa type step.

 

[HothouseSalsero]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I could have done better. I hadn't been out dancing for at least a month, so I really was in more of a dancing than teaching mood. I think teaching a tap on four would probably help my friend get the rhythm. (Ironically, we danced one cha cha cha and she seemed to have less trouble with that!)

My friend is really only very casually interestde in this stuff, so I'm not sure she will ever take a lesson, though she was expressing interest in dong that on Friday night while she was watching some of the dancers. (Actually there weren't many people there who knew how to dance. It was a party held in a shared event area of a large college dorm, but outsiders were allowed in.) But her boyfriend has been away for a while now and I think one reason she brought up dancing is that she has been getting a little bored. (We just danced, incidentally, so don't get any ideas.)

I think any variation of "quick quick slow" would confuse matters, since it makes the fourth count less visible.

 

[SDsalsaguy]

Hey, if it works for you and your student, any teaching works. Personally I'm in the same camp as Vin on this one . . . either "Q, Q, pause" or "Q, Q, hold" seems to communicate what is called for. Over time I transition this into "Q, Q, ooze" so that there is body action across the double beat without disrupting the indelying structure already established. Kicks and flicks, are not sopmething I like to teach beginers becasue it creates a subtractive vs. additive model -- by which I mean from a "Q, Q, slow/pause/hold" model I can point out where a flick/kick can be *added* in, whereas a "Q, Q, Q, tap" model requires explaining to someone that they can (and sometimes should or may need to) *subtract* something from which they have learned as and taken to be basic (i.e. fundamental).

But, of course, none of this really matters in the long run... you've said that (a) your friend doesn't seem to be that serious, and (b) that the tap model seems like it might work for her which, after all, is the most important thing!

Interesting topic too...

 

[MacMoto]

"1, 2, 3, pause, 5, 6, 7, pause" was the way my first teacher taught.
This way I think it's easier to understand that there are 8 beats in which to complete your basic (since every beat is counted) even though you take only 6 steps.

 

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

Hi HHS,

When I teach the basic step to a beginner, I do it like this:

1,2,3,pause 5,6,7,pause.

I´ve found the pause seems easier to explain and understand than the tap. I always do the counting (omitting the 4 and 8 beat) and tell her, "forget about the music - I´m the music". This makes us have the same reference which in turn causes us to be in sychronized. I also tell her not to look at my feet but to look into my eyes. When she looks at me, she stops being self-conscious about her feet and just starts doing it instinctively. This technique works well for me.

 

[borikensalsero]

Sit down with your friend before you dance and allow her to listen to the music. Just have her feel the count for a bit then get up and have her look right at you, never at your feet. Ask her follow your body movement. Try using your upper body as much as you can to generate the leading as if you were dancing bolero, generate the back and forth motion of the basic with your upper body hence causing her upper body to follow, eventually forcing the feet to step in the desired direction. The hand thing only works for girls with a strong hold, if you find yourself teaching a pair of spaghetti arms, she'll never get it.

I would also suggest to stand on the side of the dance floor, have her stand besides you, then ask her follow what you are doing but by her looking at your face or shoulders. Don't allow her to look at your feet. By looking at your feet she is going to get more confused. Once you see that she's got it somewhat, grab her and try it together. You will need to hold her a little firmer, and you will need to use a lot of upper body leading minus the arms. Use the arms for connection but the upper body to start movement. By seeing the upper body move her instinct reaction will be to either back away from you or to step towards you. That instinctive reaction will give her, some-what, the basic form of the basic. Also make sure she has a good, equal pressure connection to you, so you can control her movement a lot better. After that, then worry about 1,2,3... You are at a club, it is much easier to teach someone if you make them relax and feel like they are dancing and enjoying the music, instead of learning. Which basically means, work on your lead. The way to make any person dance is by having a technically sound lead where you can compensate for skills of the follower, hence not only teaching her the basic but making her have a good time while learning/dancing, and improving your lead.

A person looses the beat because of tension and too much attention to the body instead of the music. When we get lost in what we are doing we screw up the beat. I’ve seen top dancers get so caught up in their moves that they end up getting off beat. For beginners is just the pressure of doing the right thing at the right time that messes them up, on top of not really knowing the beat.

 

[MapleLeaf Salsero]

Ask her follow your body movement. Try using your upper body as much as you can to generate the leading as if you were dancing bolero, generate the back and forth motion of the basic with your upper body hence causing her upper body to follow, eventually forcing the feet to step in the desired direction. The hand thing only works for girls with a strong hold, if you find yourself teaching a pair of spaghetti arms, she'll never get it.

Great advice Boriken.