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!