How to improve my dancing skills?

[Patrycja]

Hello!
I' m writing this post because I've recently started dancing salsa and I really like it. The beginning has been a bit challenging. Do you have any tips for improving my skills and feeling more confident on the dance floor? I'd also love to read about your experiences.

 

[opendoor]

..started dancing salsa.. The beginning has been a bit challenging. Do you have any tips for improving my skills ..

Hi Patrycja, welcome to DF. You should be more precise and tell us what is challenging? Rhythm, dissociation, balance, isolation, hand styling, foot styling, lead-follow technique, teacher find..

 

[Patrycja]

Hi Patrycja, welcome to DF. You should be more precise and tell us what is challenging? Rhythm, dissociation, balance, isolation, hand styling, foot styling, lead-follow technique, teacher find..

Thanks for your reply!
I think the most challenging things for me are keeping the rhythm and following the lead. Sometimes I lose the rhythm when I try to focus on the steps and my partner at the same time. I also feel a bit stiff when trying to get the steps right. This makes me react too late and the dance doesn't feel smooth. How can I improve this?

 

[bia]

Thanks for your reply!
I think the most challenging things for me are keeping the rhythm and following the lead. Sometimes I lose the rhythm when I try to focus on the steps and my partner at the same time. I also feel a bit stiff when trying to get the steps right. This makes me react too late and the dance doesn't feel smooth. How can I improve this?

As far as keeping the rhythm, I suggest practicing the basic step(s) for the dances you're learning by yourself as much as possible. To music when you can, but also just while counting to yourself in random moments in the day, while brushing your teeth, whatever. You want that basic movement and timing to be fully in your body, so it happens automatically. That will free up your attention so you can focus on following when you're with a partner.

 

[opendoor]

Thanks for your reply!
I think the most challenging things for me are keeping the rhythm and following the lead. Sometimes I lose the rhythm when I try to focus on the steps and my partner at the same time...

As far as keeping the rhythm, I would suggest right the opposite of what bia wrote. Only ideally, your dance partner's lead is in sync with the music. As a beginning follower, you have to cope with discrepancies. And you can't do that if you're automatically going through basic steps, routines or sequences you've memorized. That would only drive you further apart. The key lies in a musical understanding of the rhythm. This understanding comes naturally with time, but of course it's hard for you to bear because you're impatient. The alternative is to study the theory. You mentioned salsa. Here, the basic rhythmic pattern is two bars long. Once you've learned to recognize fragments of this "phrase" you can re-synchronize with the leader on the fly using so-called rescue steps.

 

[Pryn]

Salsa on 1 was my first partner dance and a passion for me. I've spent decades dancing social salsa.

I would tend to agree with Bia. Getting the tempo and timing into your body is essential. Its very difficult to do a rescue step or correction flare and fix it... if you're not confident on what to come back in on ("the fix") to sync with your partner.

I listened to salsa radio stations for a year and danced (alone) in my dorm room always listening for the 1. Once I had a good groove, I'd force myself to stop dancing, listen and find a 1 to restart on. I loved the radio because the songs are a mix of slow/fast/medium tempos challenged me to learn and recognize the tempo and anatomy of a salsa song quickly - just like in a club.

Following is key but your salsa lead will not put you on every step unless you're dancing with someone who is ballroom trained or an experienced instructor. In my experience you would be best served having your timing down cold.

Practice your forward-back basic, side step basic, and cumbia step basics as often as you can (even if it's just a few minutes here and there - and you can only pick one). Getting these internalized into your body to varying tempos of music will carry you a long way. (I still do the basic drills using these 3, plus 1-2 more that I view as slightly more advanced.)

Eventually, you will be able to focus on following and maintaining good connection when there is a person standing in front of you waving you around all over the place - and not think about the timing in your feet as much.

My source of confidence in salsa is not that I'm the best dancer in the world - cause I'm not. It's that no matter what happens (good lead or bad lead) I know I can maintain or get back on the correct timing and keep the dance going for my partner. This means they don't fear embarassment from an accidental bad lead, weak lead, or missed signal because I can cover a mistake (rescue step) with a flare or shine and get back on beat in less than 2 bars of music. It looks like a style choice rather than mistake.

Feel free to check out the DF Salsa/Bachata/Cumbia thread too for more tips, stories and experiences from other salseros and saleras.

Congratulations on starting salsa. I hope you will keep us posted on your journey!

 

[vit]

In salsa (and similar in BR latin), rhythm is the main thing; you absolutely need to get stepping on the beats into your muscle memory of legs and body. Find some salsa music and just step on the beats when you have time, cooking, brushing the teeth etc ... It's not just stepping, but moving the hips as well ... This is much more important than actual direction of particular step, I would actually suggest doing it on the spot first and later practicing it forward/backward/side with short steps first etc. In real social dancing, different partners will be leading similar moves different way, some of your steps will have to be shorter, some longer than you are used to, but as long you can step on the feet below you on the beat, you will be pretty much ok. It will also make easier to follow leaders dancing on1 or on2, if it's a mixed venue like mine - timing of the steps is the same (123-567), but direction of particular step is different, and when those directions come into your muscle memory before the rhythm, it's not that easy to do things just almost opposite way ...

 

[opendoor]

..when those directions come into your muscle memory before the rhythm, it's not that easy to do things just almost opposite way ...

Exactly !

 

[Brummbaer]

Do you have any tips for improving my skills and feeling more confident on the dance floor?

In general...
Lessons - that's to add to your vocabulary, to learn how to do it, and later, to tell you what you're doing wrong - and recovery strategies. And you need someone who is a good teacher with experience, but may not be the best dancer!

Practice - ideally with a partner (who doesn't just tell you you're wrong!), but stepping through moves to the music, listening and becoming familiar with the music and how you move to it. You need the 'muscle memory' so you're not having to stop to think. Familiarity through practice is the way. NOTE - there's no point continuing to practice something if you're doing it incorrectly - which is a point of lessons. You need feedback - and not just someone flattering your ego.

Socially - different partners. And being part of group(s) to get dances.

And back to lessons... to work out what went wrong (and that can be either partner!), and to fix it. And repeat...

 

[Pryn]

when those directions come into your muscle memory before the rhythm, it's not that easy to do things just almost opposite way

This is true. It is hard to switch to another timing like on2 later. Definitely add dancing on the spot too! My on the spot is just a very tiny side step because I've trained myself to move. Rather than a strict march in place.

I contend that if you can't move yourself directionally too, following will be harder. Social salsa leads vary but depending on your leaders training, some lead an indication when and where to start moving and change directions but it's on you to get there. This is unlike dancing with others like an instructor or someone trained with a strong ballroom influence where the leaders take accountability to move you through all of your steps, so all you have to do is keep time and they place you everywhere.

If you're dancing socially (meaning with lots of different leaders) your body will start to feel the differences in leading and you will adjust accordingly as you build experience.

 

[vit]

This is true. It is hard to switch to another timing like on2 later. Definitely add dancing on the spot too! My on the spot is just a very tiny side step because I've trained myself to move. Rather than a strict march in place.

I contend that if you can't move yourself directionally too, following will be harder.

No disagreement here. Although recent years I've been dancing more salsa than other genres, ballroom standard is still my preference - and one moves a lot there. So if I get a salsa follower that can really move and is enjoying doing that, which means she most likely had some serious dance training, I'll be more than happy to make her move a lot and also move a lot myself although usually she will be half of my age max, covering even whole dance floor in extreme cases and also adjusting the timing of some steps ... which wouldn't really be salsa anymore, but I don't care ... but if I have a follower that I see is enjoying her dancing making 10cm steps with lots of body movement and in nice sync with music, I'll happily adjust to that as well as much as I can, even if we do only a few moves as a couple during a song and she wants to make her turn using 4 bars instead 1 bar ... most other guys in my venue have different approach as well, trying to include as many complicated moves as possible ... so it's not easy for followers to dance happily with everybody

So hard to say what is more important - stepping/moving in nice sync with music, or being able to move flawlessly and in good balance ... both is very important, one should try to evaluate what is making him/her more problems and try working on that more ... but generally, in salsa there is more point on the rhythm than on the movement across the floor

 

[Pryn]

but generally, in salsa there is more point on the rhythm than on the movement across the floor

Agreed here as well. Small floor spaces in a restaurant/bar is not unusual so keeping time and rhythm in small movements works well there. You would likely use the dancing on the spot more in that scenario.

 

[opendoor]

...but generally, in salsa there is more point on the rhythm than on the movement across the floor

Sorry, I don't understand this statement. Because the dance itself and the substyle determine whether we dance in the LOD, in a slot, or on the spot.

 

[vit]

Sorry, I don't understand this statement. Because the dance itself and the substyle determine whether we dance in the LOD, in a slot, or on the spot.

My point was that in salsa (and other "afrolatin/cuban inspired" dance genres), people generally don't do long steps, but point of dancing is weight transfer, marking the beat, do body movement etc, which music with lots of percussion is calling for. Yes, "linear salsa" is generally danced in a slot, but it's just an agreement between dancers to maximize the usage of available space (just like LOD in BR standard). Popular myth is that dancing in a slot was invented during WW2 to organize dancing on military ships when in harbor, due to limited space on the deck ... "cuban salsa"/casino isn't danced in a slot, but is frequently danced with several couples in a circle - rueda

 

[Pryn]

but generally, in salsa there is more point on the rhythm than on the movement across the floor

@vit - Correct me if I'm misunderstanding your words, but I think Vit was saying timing is more important than how far or where you move.

I don't think he was launching a discussion about directional floor navigation/movements as called for by the music or substyle being danced.