Top 15 answers to questions you should know about Salsa Dancing.
Too old to learn to dance..
Acting properly on the dance floor.
I have been refused a lot lately. Why? Have you checked your ethics and personal hygiene on the dance floor?
Here are the 15 most frequently asked questions of instructors:
QUESTION 1) Am I too old to learn to dance Salsa?
ANSWER: 1) When we ask ourselves this question, there are many other projects that we have already let go by the wayside. Adages such as: “Why put off until tomorrow what we can do today?”, “Loves knows no age”, “Where there is a will, there is a way”, show us that as long as we make up our mind, the rest takes care of itself, especially when our heart is in it. Rhythmical expression in time to music through body movements transcends age; and dancing never aged anyone - quite the contrary!
QUESTION 3: How much time should be devoted to Latin dancing in order to become a proficient dancer?
ANSWER 3: As much time as needed! In other words, whenever discipline is a requirement for learning, shortcuts do not exist any more in the dance world than they do for swimming or any other sport for that matter. Of course, if you do have the time and opportunity to practice beyond your dance lessons, you will certainly develop more ease than those who do not put in more time, whether due to lack of time or motivation. Adults learn easily if they clearly understand what they need to accomplish - and learning to dance is no exception to this rule. Lastly, let us admit that there is something called talent - that is to say, a natural predisposition that can lead to some people learning more quickly than others.
QUESTION 4: Why take advanced workshops?
ANSWER 4: It is a golden opportunity to learn a variety of dances, a new style, even to subject our body to a new challenge that will help us on the road to our goal of becoming a “good dancer”.
QUESTION 5: Is it important to count steps when learning to dance Salsa, Merengue, Bachata and Cha-cha?
ANSWER 5: Absolutely, especially in the beginning. Doing so will allow you to clearly distinguish the basic rhythm of each dance as well as that of each pattern. Furthermore, counting to the beat of your dance lets you more easily recognize the rhythm of the dance music that you are listening to. This method works on an intuitive level and tends to develop your reflexes more rapidly with respect to the motions that you make. As you progress, you will no longer need to count, but will increasingly allow yourself to be guided by the rhythm of the music itself.
Some will do so through personal discipline; freely and out of sheer pleasure for the love of dance. For those who are driven, practice will come from a will to excel on a personal level.
On the other hand, how much time is spent on dance practice really depends on individual availability, physical resources at hand, etc. However, experience shows us that it is worthwhile to have a game-plan for practicing, that is, to set aside blocks of time knowing in advance what you want to practice.
Keeping to a set schedule as closely as possible and accomplishing everything that you had in mind will yield the expected results. It seems that the most beneficial practices are those that take less time but are more frequent. Read more
QUESTION 8: What are the means needed to develop a proper musical interpretation for all dances?
ANSWER 8: Musical interpretation is essentially the fine-tuning of rhythm through the expression of the body’s movement. We soon see that musical interpretation depends on the expression of the body’s gestures and consists mainly in the movement “taking the time” it needs to be executed.
Musical interpretation will therefore take place at the moment a couple will take its first steps or footwork, taking all the time needed to do so; neither too quickly nor too slowly, but fully. A proper musical interpretation therefore cannot be conceived until the movements are controlled and both dancers have developed a mutual harmony of rhythm - that is to say a cadence in the gestures they make together. Mastering a dance style is another condition that leads the way to musical interpretation. This means, for example, that one can better interpret a waltz musically by dancing it with rises and falls that are controlled by the body itself. Likewise for a Rumba if the hip movement is regular. Basically, the confidence that a couple displays while dancing, throughout the entire progress of their learning, will lead them to an improved musical interpretation.
QUESTION 11: Is it recommended to change dance partners?
ANSWER 11: Changing partners allows you to meet people, forge social likenesses and maintain a team spirit while supporting technical developments as well as confidence in those who like to dance. On a learning level of a dance couple, doing so allows the man to evaluate his leading abilities with another partner, while the woman can check if her way of following is suitable to a dancer other than her usual partner. It is an opportunity to polish one aspect or another of a dance, regardless how small the change is, in the name of progress.
It is often an experience that hides unknowns
It remains a relationship of helping whereby the more advanced of the two partners doesn’t exceed the skill-level of the other. It is appropriate to change partners when there is sufficient agreement among a couple that is taking the lessons together.
QUESTION 12: Is it recommended to join group dances for footwork?
ANSWER 12: These types of dances lend themselves well to a dancer’s autonomy and to training their reflexes through interpretation of techniques that are usually simpler and more accessible in a spontaneous way, as they are a part of free expression of movement. Subsequently, this practice constitutes an exercise in freedom of expression, an exposure to simple rhythms, participation in a group exercise as well as a sharpening of musical and personal expression of music. These dances can even be learned by those who are not learning salsa or any Latin dancing as such.
QUESTION 13: Is it better to learn a dance routine or to pick up patterns here and there, or even to move about freely?
ANSWER 13: A dance routine is undoubtedly a benefit to learning to dance. This is strictly a way for your instructor to best control his training and to develop a performance standard among the students in his group lessons. Routines are also used in performances or competitions. An accomplished dancer however, is one who evolves according to his creativity, and expresses himself according to a range of variations that suit the music he is interpreting. This type of dancer knows how to “work the floor” and is able to change his movement and interpretation at any given moment as not to get in the way of other couples also moving about close by. Ideally, a dancer would eventually be able to vary the sequence of a routine that he learned in order to make the routine his own.
QUESTION 14: Is it a good idea to take part in group performances?
ANSWER 14: A group performance is a sort of complement to a student’s learning. It is an easy way to put into practice what was learned throughout the course and provides an additional disciplinary framework for dance couples. The test for an amateur dancer requires him to develop an interpretation quality that is measurable against a dance standard. Preparing allows for each partner to further polish individual technical aspects. In other words, these areas simply represent additional activities that allow for a varied application of Latin Dances.
QUESTION 15: Is it important to know many variations and moves in order to know how to dance?
ANSWER 15: Knowing how to execute many variations or moves is not proof that one knows how to dance. Variations only provide a variety in expressing dance according to a rhythm. Knowing and executing a variation is one thing and mastering it to the profoundest rhythmical interpretation with impeccable style is another. Variations provide standards which are taught at different levels according to degree of difficulty throughout the training of a dance couple. This means that if a couple were to learn a variation that was too challenging and they were not duly ready for it, they would likely interpret this variation with great difficulty, even with frequent practice. Basically, it comes down to saying that it is better to know fewer variations and to execute them with style than to attempt too many variations that are poorly executed.
QUESTION 6: Is it important to practice?
ANSWER 6: Just as golfing, playing the piano or any other form of expression cannot be learned in theory only, neither can dancing be learned this way either. Unless dance lessons are solely meant as a means to meeting people, practicing is necessary to learning. An enlightened dance practice develops confidence and ease, activates reflexes and enhances movement while cultivating expression to a rhythm.
Furthermore, it is a beneficial exercise which, in the long run, yields precious dividends. “But how does one go about it?” you say. Here again, it all depends on your interest and ambition. Some couples practice in order to remember what they learned, while others do so simply to master what they learned.
QUESTION 7: How do I begin on time with the music?
Answer 7: It is quite true that dance, the expression of the body’s movements in time to a beat, is indivisible from music.
Some couples have a spontaneous sense as to when to begin moving to the sound of the music. Others do not always manage this. In any case, nature has provided the human body with symmetry and rhythm, so it is a matter of awakening these reflexes in a way that follows the music. An excellent way to do this is to begin by frequently listening to the different rhythms, to learn to count to them, to recognize the first count of the melodies in simple and regular musical pieces.
Shifting weight from one foot to another to the music, whether while remaining in place or walking, constitute equally good means to achieve this. Performing many dance steps also develops a freedom of gesture. Again, it is a question of understanding what is required, to put it into practice and having the instructor check the end result - and doing so as soon as possible.
QUESTION 9: My husband does not lead me when we dance. What should I do?
ANSWER 9: The learning process is completely different for both partners. Generally speaking, women are more sensitive to rhythm and more whole in their way of embracing dance, making them psychologically and physically more available from the start as they eagerly wait for their partners to lead them through dance. Men on the other hand, must learn a range of details right from the start; he must understand and master them. He must familiarize himself with the footsteps, develop a proper posture, learn to shift his weight properly, dance to the beat, vary his timing - all while leading his partner.
Keep in mind that the man must devote as much time to develop his personal style as the woman must to adapt to every other partner’s style. It is therefore simply a matter of time before the man will reach a certain level of ease and becomes more complete and consequently more precise where he not only can lead his partner, but other partners as well.
QUESTION 10: How should I act on the dance floor?
ANSWER 10: The same as you would in rush hour, in the sense that you would always need to keep an eye on the people and vehicles around you, with which you share space and room to move around in. Of course, couples in their final round of an international competitive free-style dance are in a different situation than couples dancing at a wedding reception, a club or a sugaring-off party. Sports ethics, courtesy and good-manners always take precedence on the dance floor. The idea consists of sharing the leisure of dance with others under particular circumstances and in accordance to the social ways of life.
It would seem that inconsiderate dancers still need more lessons in something other than dance. Dancing socially requires courtesy through moderation and participating without getting in other couples’ way, especially if they are beginners. It is correct to apologize if you inadvertently bump into another couple. Dancing socially is not about putting on a show, let alone practicing competitive dance routines, rather it is about keeping your arms to yourself and limiting the range of your gestures. In this way, you will make your reputation as an accomplished dancer.
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How should I act on the dance floor? I have been refused a lot lately.