The fifth salsa class had the core members gathered: Juan-Carlos and Melanie, Robert and Gissela, and Eidi & I.
Since everyone had already learned the basics ("level 1"), it was time to move on to "level 2" (La Isla-style classification!). The classes will from now on always begin with some footwork to warm up and learn some solo moves - also called "shines" - and then the rest will be partnerwork where we combine various moves into a sequence, cheerfully known as La Sequencia. We will repeat the sequence from the previous class rapidly before moving on to a new one.
* First of all, let's introduce some very useful terms, on holds:
- Closed hold: When the partners form the "frame".
- Open hold: When the partners hold one or both hands. There is no frame.
- Straight hold: Open hold where leader's left hand holds follower's right hand and vice versa. Can be with both hands, or just one or the other.
- Crossed hold: Open hold where leader's left hand holds follower's left hand and vice versa. Can be with left hand above or right hand above, or just one hand or the other.
- Double crossed hold: The result of a straight hold after doing a turn. Can be with left hand above or right hand above. Always held with both hands.
* A word about why it's called "Line style": A key difference between line style and cuban style is the concept of the line. The follower always moves along a line. This means that as a follower, you're always doing one of two things:
1) Dancing in place where you are. You're not moving in any direction.
2) Moving in one direction along the line. All your steps are taken in that direction until the lead indicates you should either stop and start dancing in place where you are, or reverse your direction, or the next eight begins.
As a leader, you can be stepping around in many different directions to get out of the way of the follower as she moves along the line, but you are always leading in one of two ways:
1) Letting the follower dance in place where she is (stepping, turning, whatever).
2) Leading the follower in one direction along the line (stepping, turning, whatever). You must clearly indicate to the follower in which direction to step, when to start moving, and when to stop moving. If turning, you must also clearly indicate to the follower in which direction to turn.
* In the footwork, we introduced a new step: Susie Q. You cross your legs to one side on 1-2-3, and to the other side on 5-6-7, the crossing leg in front of the other one. Useful for solo dancing when waiting to pair up again. The rest of the footwork was a mix of the four steps we've learned.
* Today's partnerwork sequence consisted of some known and some new moves. The sequence was:
- Basic, start in closed hold
- Cross Body Lead, end in open hold
- Basic
- Right Turn for both partners, low hands, hand swap, end in crossed hold left hand over
- Basic
- Open Break, La Copa, end in crossed hold right hand over
- Basic
- Open Break, Sombrero
- Cross Body Lead
* We showed a new way to do a leader's right turn today: By lowering the hand and swapping hands during the turn. This is the "same" as a normal right turn beneath the leader's arm, but is especially useful (easier) if the leader is tall and the follower short. It is also a nice way to swap handhold from straight to crossed. The follower can help out here by maintaining her hand in contact with the follower's body during the turn.
* We repeated the Open Break: This is not a move in itself, it is just a preparation for a move. It consists of the leader taking a step backwards on 1, instead of forwards. This creates a tension in the arms - think rubber band - which gives momentum for whatever comes next. Note that the arms should never be fully outstretched; partially because it can hurt and partially because it doesn't look as nice.
* We introduced the step La Copa: It begins with an Open Break, hands crossed left above, the leader pulls with his right hand on 2 and stops the follower on 3 by placing his right hand on her right hip - at this point both are looking sideways, compared to the line. On 5-6-7 the lead guides the follower to return to her original position, similar to a cross body lead. It is called "la copa" because when done right, on 3 the lead leans to the left and the follower leans to the right, forming a "cup" or a "Y" with their upper bodies.
* We introduced the step Sombrero: It begins with an Open Break, hands crossed right above, the leader pulls with his right hand on 3 and raises it preparing the turn. On 5 the follower steps forward, on 6-7 the lead guides the actual turn - which is a left turn - both hands held high, and on 7-8 the lead's right arm falls below the follower's neck and vice versa. The follower steps in a similar way as in a Cross Body Lead with right turn, which we learned in the third class. The difference is that the leader is on her other side, so the turn is in the other direction: In Sombrero, the follower does 1.5 left turn (and of course the armwork is different). The next eight was finished with a Cross Body Lead, but leading with the right hand above the follower's arm instead of below it.
* Some difficulties noted during the class which we managed to fix:
- Difficult for leaders to remember the sequence: Yes, it is. There's no shortcut. It gets better with practice, it's as simple as that.
- The followers sometimes wanted to "help", since they knew the sequence, by moving before the leader has indicated the move. Avoid this, since it ruins the flow of the dance. The most important thing for the follower is to learn to listen to the leader's signals and follow them.
- In La Copa, the leader must clearly indicate on 2 that the follower must step forward on 3, and clearly brake her on 3. The follower must put down her foot on 3 - it was easy to be a bit late here as a follower.
- Leading Sombrero is much easier if the leader's right hand stays up during the whole turn (3-7).
- In the Sombrero, the line style version, all the follower's steps are taken in the same direction in order to maintain the line and momentum. Just as the Cross Body Lead with right turn, but the turn is to the left in Sombrero. In Cuban style salsa, the steps are different and usually done more "in place".
- On the 5-6-7 of the Sombrero, the leader steps a bit to the right, sort of a rumba step, in order to stay at the follower's side.
- On the first 1 after the Sombrero, doing a Shuffle step feels natural. We'll go through that step next class. Promise... :)
* We ended the class by skipping all the Basic steps between the different moves, which complicated things a bit but looks much nicer. And everyone got it right in the end! Now we're doing some real salsa dancing! You guys already know more than the average latino/latina, and from now on it'll just get better and better! :)
That's all we did in the fifth class. Great job, keep practicing!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Fourth salsa class: Lima, 2009-11-22
The fourth salsa class saw more attendants: Juan-Carlos and Melanie, Robert, and newcomers Gissela and Johnny participated. With Eidi & I, of course.
Since we had newcomers, this class was purely repetition of the third class.
* One thing with which all the leaders had problems was how to do a leader's right turn on 1-2-3. The difficulty turned out to be that they didn't step well on 2, and therefore had to push very hard on 3. When this was explained the turns looked much better!
* We did some fine-tuning of the leader's left hand grip when leading a turn: twist the palm inside the follower's hooked fingers, and gently grip the back of the follower's hand with the thumb for a steadier lead.
* The leaders also had some problems with the move cross body lead, which turned out to be that they didn't step well on 5-6-7. Clearly counting and stepping solved the problem.
That's all we did in the fourth class - repetition. Can't ever repeat too much. Keep practicing!
Since we had newcomers, this class was purely repetition of the third class.
* One thing with which all the leaders had problems was how to do a leader's right turn on 1-2-3. The difficulty turned out to be that they didn't step well on 2, and therefore had to push very hard on 3. When this was explained the turns looked much better!
* We did some fine-tuning of the leader's left hand grip when leading a turn: twist the palm inside the follower's hooked fingers, and gently grip the back of the follower's hand with the thumb for a steadier lead.
* The leaders also had some problems with the move cross body lead, which turned out to be that they didn't step well on 5-6-7. Clearly counting and stepping solved the problem.
That's all we did in the fourth class - repetition. Can't ever repeat too much. Keep practicing!
Third salsa class: Lima, 2009-11-08
The third salsa class was very private: Only Juan-Carlos and Melanie showed up.
We did a quick retake of the basics from the first class, basic partner work, leading, right turn. Then we started practicing the "cross body lead". Important things to remember from this class are:
* Line style salsa is called "line style" for a reason: The follower is always maintaining a line, moving backwards or forwards, facing "north" or "south". When changing place or doing turns, the lead moves out of the way so the follower can move along the line.* The simplest way to change place is a move called cross body lead. The leader opens up on 1-2-3, moving to the right side of the line. The follower does a normal basic step on 1-2-3. Then the leader pushes forward with his right hand on 4-5, indicating that the follower shouldn't complete a normal basic step but instead step forward on 5-6, making half a turn on 7 to face the lead. This move is very similar to the "Dile que no" move in cuban salsa. This move is often used to start or end a sequence of moves.
* A variation on cross body lead is cross body lead with right turn. It starts the same, but the leader raises his left hand to indicate a turn on 4. The follower initiates the turn on 6 and always steps along the line, facing left on 6, right on 7 and turning 270 degrees on 7-8, keeping the right foot in the air until the next 1, then moving into a normal basic step. This "5-6-7" turn takes some practice. The follower always moves in the same direction throughout the move, and always steps on the line. The leader must remember to be steady in the spin, using the shoulder to guide, not the wrist. The leader's left hand moves down on 7-8, indicating the end of the turn.
That was all we covered in the third class. Keep practicing!
Second salsa class: Lima, 2009-11-01
Since the first class left the participants hungry for more, the second class took place the following Sunday and so a tradition of Sunday evening salsa class was established.
Attendants: Juan-Carlos & Melanie, Robert, Eidi & I.
We did a quick retake of the basics from the first class. Then we continued with some new things and started on basic partner work. Important things to remember from this class are:
* In closed hold, most of the leading is done with the right hand (on the follower's shoulder blade).
* The follower must maintain a resistance in her arms. If not, the leader will not be able to lead correctly. If the leader pushes the follower's arm backward, the follower should step backward. If the leader pulls the follower forward, she should step forward. She should never let her arm be pushed behind her shoulder like a boiled strand of spaghetti, nor should her arm ever be fully extended. Think rubber band.
* To lead the basic step, the leader uses both left and right hand to indicate that the follower move backwards. This is how changing into the basic step is indicated.
* To lead the rumba step, the leader uses the right hand to indicate that the follower move to the lead's left. This is how changing into the rumba step is indicated.
* To lead the cuban step, the leader uses mainly the left hand, pushing down and to the leader's right, to indicate that the follower move backwards and to the leader's right. This is how changing into the cuban step is indicated. The right hand is also used to some extent.
* It is possible to lead all three steps with just one hand, putting the other hand on one's back. This is a great exercise in order to really understand how the leader signals the different steps, and transitions between them, to the follower.
* Another great exercise is for the follower to close her eyes and let the leader switch between the three steps randomly. It should be obvious for the follower which step is coming on the next eight. This exercise also highlights the fact that the lead must come slightly before beat 1 (on the previous 8, approximately) - if not, the follower won't have time to react to the change of step.
* Line style salsa is led using the long and ring finger - "hard rock salsa". This grip is different from the cuban style's way of gripping the lead's thumb. The follower never grips the leader's thumb in line style salsa.
* When doing turns, one usually starts from an open hold: Leader's right hand in follower's left hand, leader's left hand in follower's right hand.
* Right turn is done on 1-2-3 for the leader and 5-6-7 for the follower. On 1: Step forward like a normal basic step but angle the left foot slightly to the right. On 2: Step in place with the right foot, but point the toes backwards. On 3: Push gently with the left foot to spin to the right in place. The spin is on the right foot. One spins on the ball of the foot, never on the heel. For the follower, this is exactly the same but on 5-6-7.
* Leading a right turn is done by: Leader lifts left hand on 3-4, palm upwards like a waiter. Leader twists palm inside follower's hooked fingers in order to be able to gently pinch follower's back of hand with his thumb. The actual turn is indicated by a small push backwards just above and left of the follower's head. The follower does the rest of the right turn herself without the lead giving any force. The leader's "hard rock" fingers point downwards and form a "grip" for the follower in the turn, for extra balance.
* All turns are led using the shoulder and elbow. No turns are led by whisking around the wrist.
* If the leader does the right turn, the steps are: Leader lifts left hand on 7-8, palm upwards like a waiter. Leader forms an "arch" with the two arms, which is ready on 8, and on 1 "steps through the arch" doing the right turn.
That was all we covered in the second class. Keep practicing!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
First salsa class: Lima, 2009-10-25
The first L.A. style (line style) salsa class was visited by some friends: Robert & Trudy, Juan-Carlos & Melanie, Eidi & I. We started out with the real basics, and everybody had a good two hours of fun.
Some definitions:
* Leader: The person who leads the dance. Usually the man, but anything goes.
* Follower: The person who follows in the dance. Usually the woman, but anything goes.
* Eight: The 1-2-3, 5-6-7 counts form an eight.
* Move: A named sequence of movements on one or more eights.
* Lead/Indication: Guidance given by leader to follower, to indicate which move comes next.
Important things to remember from this first class are:
* To find the beat in salsa, you have to listen to lots of salsa. There are great tools out there; for example http://www.salsabeatmachine.org/, which allows you to turn the different instruments on and off. Salsa is a complex rhythm made up of lots of instruments, but there are three beats to listen for in particular.
- The "congas" drum is a quick double beat which falls on beat 4 and 8 - just in the part where you're not stepping.
- The "cowbell" is a variable beat which falls most markedly on 1, 3, 5, 7. However, it isn't present in all salsa songs. When present, it can be felt as a regular "pulse".
- The "clave" is an irregular beat which helps differentiate the first and second half of an eight in salsa. It is typically played with two wooden sticks. Its beats fall on 2, 3 in the first four beats, and 5, 6.5, 8 in the second four beats - or reverse.
* To "get" the right way to move your body, you have to find which muscles you use to move your hips and your shoulders. When moving your hips in salsa dancing, you use the muscles in your very lower back (some would say at the top of your butt - it's a fine line). When moving your shoulders, you should use your rhomboides, but your chest shouldn't move side to side. The non-latinos in the class needed to "activate their muscles" some.
* We went through four steps: Basico, Rumba, Cubano, and Son.
- Basico is when the left foot goes forward 1-2-3, and the other goes back 5-6-7. It starts from a closed foot position. When dancing in pair, it's reverse for the follower: Right foot back on 1-2-3, left foot forward on 5-6-7.
- Rumba is like basico, but to the sides: Left foot goes left on 1-2-3, right foot goes right on 5-6-7. It starts from a closed foot position. When dancing in pair, it's reverse for the follower. Rumba looks better with bent knees and lots of armwork.
- Son is a bit different, being more cuban style: It starts in an open foot position. Left foot joins right foot and returns to open on 1-2-3, then right foot joins left foot on 5-6-7. It's basically the same step most of us did at the 14-year-old discos, but stepping with each salsa beat.
- Cubano is like rumba, but instead of moving to the sides, the feet move backwards: Left foot goes back and right on 1-2-3, right foot goes back and left on 5-6-7.
* To get the latino "swagger" when dancing, it's important to put the weight towards the toes, and on the inside of the foot. That automatically makes your hips move more.
* Salsa is a "low" or "grounded" dance. When done right, it feels like gliding around. There is no "up-and-down bounce" in salsa. It is important to learn how to distribute your weight on your feet so, if you watch yourself in a mirror, your head maintains the same height throughout an eight.
* When changing between the different steps, the trickiest part is changing to Son from the other three: On the last 7 of the eight before the change, you have to step sideways with your right foot to end up in an open foot position.
* The frame is very important in salsa. This is how two partners hold each other in closed hold: Basically, the leader's right hand on the follower's shoulder blade. The follower's left arm on the leader's shoulder. The two arms should be in contact; this makes it much easier to lead well. The leader's left hand and the follower's right hand are held together.
That was all we covered in the first class. Keep practicing!
Some definitions:
* Leader: The person who leads the dance. Usually the man, but anything goes.
* Follower: The person who follows in the dance. Usually the woman, but anything goes.
* Eight: The 1-2-3, 5-6-7 counts form an eight.
* Move: A named sequence of movements on one or more eights.
* Lead/Indication: Guidance given by leader to follower, to indicate which move comes next.
Important things to remember from this first class are:
* To find the beat in salsa, you have to listen to lots of salsa. There are great tools out there; for example http://www.salsabeatmachine.org/, which allows you to turn the different instruments on and off. Salsa is a complex rhythm made up of lots of instruments, but there are three beats to listen for in particular.
- The "congas" drum is a quick double beat which falls on beat 4 and 8 - just in the part where you're not stepping.
- The "cowbell" is a variable beat which falls most markedly on 1, 3, 5, 7. However, it isn't present in all salsa songs. When present, it can be felt as a regular "pulse".
- The "clave" is an irregular beat which helps differentiate the first and second half of an eight in salsa. It is typically played with two wooden sticks. Its beats fall on 2, 3 in the first four beats, and 5, 6.5, 8 in the second four beats - or reverse.
* To "get" the right way to move your body, you have to find which muscles you use to move your hips and your shoulders. When moving your hips in salsa dancing, you use the muscles in your very lower back (some would say at the top of your butt - it's a fine line). When moving your shoulders, you should use your rhomboides, but your chest shouldn't move side to side. The non-latinos in the class needed to "activate their muscles" some.
* We went through four steps: Basico, Rumba, Cubano, and Son.
- Basico is when the left foot goes forward 1-2-3, and the other goes back 5-6-7. It starts from a closed foot position. When dancing in pair, it's reverse for the follower: Right foot back on 1-2-3, left foot forward on 5-6-7.
- Rumba is like basico, but to the sides: Left foot goes left on 1-2-3, right foot goes right on 5-6-7. It starts from a closed foot position. When dancing in pair, it's reverse for the follower. Rumba looks better with bent knees and lots of armwork.
- Son is a bit different, being more cuban style: It starts in an open foot position. Left foot joins right foot and returns to open on 1-2-3, then right foot joins left foot on 5-6-7. It's basically the same step most of us did at the 14-year-old discos, but stepping with each salsa beat.
- Cubano is like rumba, but instead of moving to the sides, the feet move backwards: Left foot goes back and right on 1-2-3, right foot goes back and left on 5-6-7.
* To get the latino "swagger" when dancing, it's important to put the weight towards the toes, and on the inside of the foot. That automatically makes your hips move more.
* Salsa is a "low" or "grounded" dance. When done right, it feels like gliding around. There is no "up-and-down bounce" in salsa. It is important to learn how to distribute your weight on your feet so, if you watch yourself in a mirror, your head maintains the same height throughout an eight.
* When changing between the different steps, the trickiest part is changing to Son from the other three: On the last 7 of the eight before the change, you have to step sideways with your right foot to end up in an open foot position.
* The frame is very important in salsa. This is how two partners hold each other in closed hold: Basically, the leader's right hand on the follower's shoulder blade. The follower's left arm on the leader's shoulder. The two arms should be in contact; this makes it much easier to lead well. The leader's left hand and the follower's right hand are held together.
That was all we covered in the first class. Keep practicing!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Salsa, beginnings
I'm a salsa dancer. I had no idea until a few years ago. By pure coincidence, during a trip to latin america (Venezuela) I was shown a few basic concepts and it felt like fun - I've liked to dance since I was a teenager, but I've never gotten around to learn a dance properly - just cheating some in bugg and waltz in high school.
Then I started going to classes in Stockholm, at La Isla (www.isla.se), which hosted salsa classes by Stockholm Salsa Dance (www.stockholmsalsadance.com), run by the very friendly Anturi family. I can recommend it warmly for anyone who wants to learn. Anyway, I got hooked, and learned more and more, and I've just never stopped since. It's not difficult to begin, but just like chess there's always more to learn.
Now, three years later, after looking for salsa classes in Lima, Peru of the same quality as those given by the Anturis, I've given up and started teaching my own little group of friends here, a beginners' class. It's really cool to change the role from student to teacher, and it makes me understand lots of small details when I have to explain them thoroughly to beginners. And so, I keep learning as well. And I am so rusty after more than half a year of not dancing as regularly as before. But it doesn't matter, because the secret of dancing is so incredibly simple: It's fun to move to music. It's fun to do it alone, and it's fun to do it together. And it has absolutely nothing to do with being ashamed of oneself - not in front of yourself, not in front of those who are looking, not in front of your dancing partner. That's it. Master that and the rest is easy. (Attention swedes: Now you know why "All latinos know how to dance".)
I will try to sum up some of the knowledge shared during those classes here. For my own sake, really. Memory is a fickle thing. And it goes well; I already covered the most important thing.
Then I started going to classes in Stockholm, at La Isla (www.isla.se), which hosted salsa classes by Stockholm Salsa Dance (www.stockholmsalsadance.com), run by the very friendly Anturi family. I can recommend it warmly for anyone who wants to learn. Anyway, I got hooked, and learned more and more, and I've just never stopped since. It's not difficult to begin, but just like chess there's always more to learn.
Now, three years later, after looking for salsa classes in Lima, Peru of the same quality as those given by the Anturis, I've given up and started teaching my own little group of friends here, a beginners' class. It's really cool to change the role from student to teacher, and it makes me understand lots of small details when I have to explain them thoroughly to beginners. And so, I keep learning as well. And I am so rusty after more than half a year of not dancing as regularly as before. But it doesn't matter, because the secret of dancing is so incredibly simple: It's fun to move to music. It's fun to do it alone, and it's fun to do it together. And it has absolutely nothing to do with being ashamed of oneself - not in front of yourself, not in front of those who are looking, not in front of your dancing partner. That's it. Master that and the rest is easy. (Attention swedes: Now you know why "All latinos know how to dance".)
I will try to sum up some of the knowledge shared during those classes here. For my own sake, really. Memory is a fickle thing. And it goes well; I already covered the most important thing.
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