Salsa Dance Steps

i went to a dance lesson ast night but i can’t remember the name of it. ladies always step backwards with their right foot, in the basic step. on the count of 1. so 1,2,3… 5,6,7. any ideas? thanks x

Almost all salsa styles are danced on1 with the exception of New York Style (starts on1 but "breaks" on2) and Palladium style or contratiempo (2,3,4…6,7,8). LA Style is the most well-known on1 style but On1 was around before LA style. LA style is much more acrobatic and showy than other styles.

On1 styles always start with a back-break for the lady on1. If it was danced in a linear pattern you can probably rule out Cuban style and Miami Style since they are based on a rotational motion. Although they do include a linear basic step as well so if it was a beginners class it could conceivable still be Cuban style but it’s probably safe to rule that out.

So I’d say probably some generic On1 style or LA Style

I’m trying it again after 6 months and this is my 2 week in class I understand it but its not showing in dancing I got the basic steps but the rest of the movements are slow and I said to myself I’m not going to quit this time.

You’d be surprised how many people try salsa and then stop for a while and then come back to it. Just like you the second time around people tend to be very serious about learning.

there are a pcouple of things that are hard for most people to learn: the beat and body motion. The best way to get comfortable with the beat is to listen to salsa music every waking moment. The more you listen the faster it sinks in. If you only hear salsa 1 hour a week at class, it will remain some sort of strange, exotic music and you will still be lost when you find yourself alone without someone counting 1,2,3 5,6,7 for you. Listen, listen, listen!

The body motion…don’t bother worrying about it. This come on it’s own when you do the basic steps properly. It may seem strange, but how you do the steps affects how your hips move. And all the arm styling etc that some versions of salsa teach, well they are not at all important to dancing, they are just something that someone thinks looks cool. If your hands are in the right place at the right to to performs the moves, that’s all that matters. When you are comfortable with the basic steps and the basic turns you will find that you can relax and develop your own personal style taking bits and pieces that feel good to you from the styling tips that your teachers give you.

I would also recommend that you go out to a club once a week. Find someone in your class who is also serious about learning and go dancing! Dance, dance, dance! It gives you a chance to really practice what you learned in class. When you have to work it out for yourself it sticks better. And then you will be ready for new moves at class the next week rather than having forgotten everything. And don’t worry about people at the club watching you. Find a uncrowded spot on the dance floor and go for it. I was scared to be watched until I realized that people were watching the best dancers and not watching me. Just don’t step on the other dancers feet or hit them with your elbow trying to do some fancy arm styling and you will be fine.

Good luck and don’t give up. If you listen, listen, listen and dance, dance, dance you will be dancing quite comfortably within 6 months. Don’t expect it to happen in 6 weeks.