Salsa dancing is a great way to improve your fitness levels, and mental acuity and build relationships with others. This blog will take you through the steps that I took to improve quickly.
I still have a long way to go, but I’ve enjoyed the journey so far, and there are tips that I have for anyone who wants to start.
Why is Salsa Such a Fulfilling Hobby?
I am someone who likes to optimise in most areas of my life. Salsa, and dance in general is a great activity for anyone to take up.
Dance is a hobby which fulfils many human needs. It provides people with an outlet for their creativity and expression, improves your body language, elevates your physical fitness and posture, and helps you build connections with others. I mentioned dance as one of the activities you can do daily to improve your life!
I’ve realised that there are so many activities I would have to take up to achieve the same benefits that I get from dance.
Tip 1: Finding Groups and Teachers
You may have friends who can recommend places to learn salsa. If this is the case, then you can follow them along to their groups (probably ask them first).
I spent some time looking on Google and Facebook until I found some groups that seemed convenient enough in terms of class times. I then started showing up to classes.
I attended pretty much every class I could over two weeks to get a bit of a picture of the screen and find enjoyable classes. I ended up taking about 4 classes a week because I enjoyed salsa so much, and I didn’t feel too overwhelmed.
Here are some of the groups I have attended in Essex and London (I get around):
Salsa Club 205 – Ongar
Salsa Chillout – Mountnessing, Brentwood
Salsa Smile – Romford
Dance Tropicana – Chelmsford
Salsa Sensation – Laindon (Basildon)
Salsa Cocktail – Enfield
Salsa Viva – Bishop’s Stortford
Harlow Salsa and Bachata – Harlow
Salsa Intoxica – Brentwood (private sessions with Shulaugh)
Tip 2: Drill the Basics
There are some basic steps which everyone should practice and master. The forward basic, and side basic, should be something that you spend time at home doing to music. It helps to change up the tempo, keep on your toes, and maintain your centre of gravity above your feet.
I brought in a private instructor, Shulaugh, to help me with some of these basics as I felt “clunky”, and she taught me more of the subtleties. Also, I learnt to make the basic steps a bit more natural rather than keeping the feet in line on the 3rd and 7th count of the forward basic. I also work on my solo shines with Shulaugh which has helped me improve my footwork and cope with some of the quicker salsa tracks.
Initially, it is worth finding a few forgiving followers and leads to dance with during socials where you can practice some of these basics. I always explained that I hadn’t been dancing long and just knew a few basics, and many people were accommodating. I always make an effort to dance with beginners to help them feel welcome as it is usually quite intimidating social dancing for the first time.
Tip 3: Don’t Grip
Maintaining contact is important in salsa, but the key to being both a strong leader and a good follower is not to grip (depends on the hold, but it always has to be light). At the beginner level, followers tend to be a little tense and scared about the prospect of spinning or someone else taking control.
Some people make gripping a habit, and this can be a difficult one to break if it isn’t something that a follower or leader is conscious of early on. This problem is more often an issue for men who feel like they need to assert more control over the follower by providing a more forceful lead, but it can result in injury to the follower, so it is crucial to learn early to avoid gripping tightly. Even I’ve been slightly injured when a follower has gripped onto me whilst turning.
Tip 4: Maintain The Frame
Both the leader and the follower have to work on maintaining a “frame”. If a leader does not have much of a frame a follower finds it difficult to understand the lead and does not feel the same level of stability. If a follower does not maintain a frame, it can be similarly difficult to lead a follower as there is no tension.
Shulaugh had the analogy that working with a brilliant follower is like driving a Lamborghini, and I think it is an effective analogy; Lamborghinis are easier to control than most supercars but are capable of reaching high speeds.
Leaders have to maintain stability and control throughout the dance, and a large part of maintaining both is to hold your frame.
A quick tip is to imagine that there is a bubble between you and your follower and to say within this bubble. Another important idea is to think about maintaining a chest-to-chest connection between you and your follower.
Tip 5: Take Small Steps
Taking small steps is crucial to making your dancing smooth. When I first started, I was making gigantic steps and this affected my ability to keep time with the music, complete moves, and maintain contact with my followers.
If you take big steps, you’ll also discover that you can get tired quite quickly, as your moves aren’t efficient – taking smaller steps improves your dancing greatly. Larger steps also mean that you need to work harder to shift your centre of gravity, so you might end up off-balance.
Tip 6: Count to Music
I always count – I’m not yet at the stage in my dancing when I am always on time.
Practising dancing to music will improve your dancing tenfold. Slow salsa tracks, in particular, are great for refining your moves and improving your count.
It’s also a lot more fun. My favourite part of a dance class is when they put on the song where we put into practice what we’ve learnt.
Tip 7 – Wear the Right Footwear
I was dancing for weeks wearing a pair of clunky boots. Even trainers would have been 10 times better, but I have noticed a measurable improvement in my weight transfer since wearing split-sole jazz shoes.
I have no idea which jazz shoes I ended up buying, as I bought from a small local dance store, but check out the Bloch Amazon selection for what works for you. Bloch seems to be a very reliable brand.
Ballroom shoes can also work well as they look nice for social dancing. Ladies can wear Salsa heels, but they can also wear jazz shoes or trainers.
One of my friends has Fuego spin spot dance shoes which are cool, and adaptable, but not necessary for dancing.
Conclusion
So, that’s my guide for people who want to start in salsa. Building firm foundations in your basics is the key to being someone people want to dance with. It is an activity that can bring a lot of joy to your life, so give it a go sometime.
If you’ve got any other tips, let me know in the comments below. This blog simply expresses the things I have picked up on in my first seven weeks of dance.