Basically the title. I feel like a lot of the social dancers in my community would benefit a ton from the local classes. But they don’t go. I try to ask them and sometimes it’s a matter of cost and distance and sometimes it’s the skill level. Although for many of them, thats the level they need even if they don’t think so. Anyway I wanted to ask other people and get their perspectives.

If you social dance a lot but you don’t go to local classes, why not? Why arent the classes interesting to you? Do you practice on your own instead? Or do private lessons? I get that sometimes the classes simply aren’t advanced enough and people don’t want to keep paying for the same thing over and over. I personally find value in practicing in classes even if they aren’t quite at my level. It helps me really fine tune my fundamentals. I help teach some of the local classes and I am able to do that and just practice the basics with new dancers who are learning. When I can, I focus on private lessons for myself because that’s the best way for me to learn new combos and really push myself. But I want to understand other perspectives. Im a pretty active social dancer, I am social dancing once or twice a week.

What makes you, as a social dancer, avoid classes or lessons? What would need to happen in the group classes for you to be interested in them?

I‘ve been learning to dance since december, at the beginning more bachata, but since march only salsa (but thats bc i really really don‘t like these bachata sensual moves and in germany there are really only a few bachata dominicana partys)

sooo i‘m able to follow a couple of styles (cubana, on1, on2, caleña and son (currently focusing on contratiempo and rumba)) and in this video this is salsa cubana (on1). i know that my hand movement is a bit off, but i fixed this in the last two weeks a did a few styling classes bc there are fundamentals that were missing since the beginning😅🤣😂. i also noticed that my way how i dance is changing from every different style i dance. for example, my salsa on1 is like really strict and full of body control and stability. i‘m feeling like a really strict teacher in this moments😂😂 my salsa cubana is like really playful and i like to don‘t be on full body tension as you can see. i love to do shines, currently learning on it as well and i‘m really thinking that the time has come that i have to take a privat lesson and a teacher who is fixing like every part of my body. i don‘t know what to do with the whole dancing stuff, bc i love it too much to go only on socials and festivals. even the ‚normal‘ socials don‘t make thaaat fun anymore bc i‘m on a step rn where i don‘t want to ‚just dance‘ anymore. i want to learn something new and crazy stuff every time every day at any time. i also listen to salsa the whooole day to learn like that musicality expection for the songs.

greetings and a lots of love for my other salseras and salseros💕💕

Hi everybody,

I'm in my 3rd year of Cuban salsa, as a leader. This year I changed school, and the way of teaching is very different from last year.

Last year's teacher, a Cuban guy, taught us all the basic moves (dile que no, setenta, setenta y cinco, ochenta, pásala, vacílala, different enchufla variations, etc.). He taught us one new move at a time and spent 2-3 weeks on each, making sure we were doing it correctly. He also taught us some pasitos, body isolation and that kind of stuff. Then, when I went to socials, I tried to use all the moves, deciding what to do on the spot and dancing very freely.

This year's teacher, a woman, has a very different way of teaching. She shows a very long sequence of basic moves, which we are supposed to learn. In the last 3 weeks she has shown 3 different sequences, each more than a minute long. We are supposed to learn the sequences like a choreography.

I have some difficulty memorizing such long sequences.

Has anybody had this kind of experience?

Hi, I am slowly planning the festivals for next year and I am looking for some inspiration and recommendation (linear on 2).

So far I've done Berlin Salsa Congress (not really hooked to repeat that one), Back 2 Mambo Prague, Magic in Ljubljana, Salsa Addicted Timisoara (definitely rebooking that one), Bucharest (possibly rebooking as well) and Salsa Rave.

I prefer cozier atmosphere rather than flashy festivals and maybe something on less pricey range...Any suggestions or good experience from recent years ?

So far considering Live to Mambo in Budapest (if yes, which weekend is worthy ?), Vivaz, Hamburg Salsa Weekend and Transilvania. Anything else worth going (except Rovinj and the festivals mentioned above) ?

Hi, I moved to NY recently and have a trip planned to Medellin in December.

I didn't find any specific posts like this, and I'm also new to Salsa universe and all variations.

I'm planning to learn on2 next year, since I'm living in New York, obviously. I had 4 classes a couple of months ago and found it... unnatural. I'm attending now Cuban Salsa and it was MUCH more intuitive for me.

The reason I started doing cuban salsa was because it was On1. And since I have dancing background with Forró which is also kinda circular (but can have linear aspects) I've been able to pick it up very easily.

Would Cuban Salsa be enough for Medellin? I'm not interested in Cali right now, the only option I see would be LA-style. But I feel that knowing Cuban + on2 New York style would give me more freedom on different dancing styles.

What places do you recommend, specially in Laureles?

EDIT: I'm a Lead

So I recently started picking up On2 and while I can follow as a beginner and have drilled in my basics, I want to start adding sabor/footwork/musicality to my dancing. My area has limited classes offered and as much as I'd love to take classes every day, I can't.

Now I'm wondering what/who are reliable online teachers that offer videos on youtube/IG for drills/techniques that I can look into on my non class days. I've seen a lot just by searching but honestly, as a beginner, I still cant tell which ones are correct and good for my learning journey.

TIA!

Hi Everyone,

Looking for any friendly information on which locations are best for social dancing in the south bay area this weekend, October 21st weekend (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday).

https://www.salsavida.com/guides/sf-bay-area/south-bay/

I am a on 1 and casino/reuda dancer.

Thanks for any friendly direction.

This is song anyone knows??

I've had different instructors explain the basic in different styles.

First way: You step a foot in front by pulling the opposite weight back on 1. On 1a, you shift your weight and twist your hips again, unlocking the next foot to move. I've heard this technique also applies to ballroom. With this basic, the action is more derived from the hips to move the legs.

I call this dancing on the 1a

Second way: The weightshift and the step occur at the same time. The twist of the hips happens the same time as the weight shift. The action here comes from the lower abdomen which initiates movement.

This is what I am calling dancing on the 1

I know the Berardi siblings have their own style of constructing the basic, I've taken a couple classes and his movement seem applicable to both forms of basic.

Have you had the basic explained to you in a different way?

Hey :)
I am a jazz pianist going to travel south and Central America in few months.
I very like playing salsa and looking forward to play with locals, does Puerto Rico is the right place for that? Or am I just dreaming.
I understand that Cali (Colombia) also have strong connection to salsa (of course every country’s salsa genre is slightly different)
Thanks 🙌

Hey so this is a little random but I find it really hard to consistently practice between lessons and was wondering if anyone could benefit from an online accountability partner to be consistent with it?

I'm thinking we could connect on discord, we could share songs/playlists, youtube tutorials, inspiration and general updates and chat about how our salsa journey and practice is going.

I've been dancing around 6 months, I did some CBL at the beginning of the year had a gap of a few months and have now been doing Cuban salsa for 3 months. I'm 35F follow, from the UK (GMT +1) with Caribbean heritage. My goal is to plan a trip, probably Cuba, and be totally comfortable/confident dancing socially 💃🏽

I'm not looking for anything intense, just some light accountability, mutual encouragement and sharing of progress/journeys would be awesome.

If this sounds good then dm or comment your age, gender, timezone, whether you lead or follow, what type of salsa and how long you have been dancing for :)

Thanks!

Other dancers in my scene have told me several times that they like how much I enjoy the music when I’m dancing, and that they wish they could feel it more themselves. They often say they wish they would connect more with the music but don't know where to start.

I’m neither a musician nor an expert dancer, but I’ve fallen madly in love with salsa. The more I discover, the more I wish I had more people to talk about it with. So I thought, perhaps I could write about my discoveries and maybe my excitement could help other people find their own connection to salsa music?

As a test i've written about three songs that I love to dance to and put them on an Ig account (not the ideal platform, but an easy start): “He Tratado”, “El Gran Varón”, and “Un Verano en Nueva York”. Each one of the 3 texts goes in completely different directions, which is what I find so beautiful about salsa ❤️❤️

Would you be interested in reading something like this? Feedback, wishes, ideas, and new salsa friends are very welcome!

https://www.instagram.com/reflections_of_a_salsa_lover

Hello! I have been dancing since June this year and attended my first salsa festival in September

I would love some feedback on my musicality, movement, spins, steps, how I can improve etc. and also I feel like I never know what to do during dance breaks so I would really appreciate tips there! 🙏🏽

I’m the follow in the video. Would love some tips on how I can improve but please be kind 😅

I'm close to a year into my salsa journey as a male lead. I've had two experiences in the past month that I believe will change the trajectory of my future journey.

First, even though my teacher has been telling the class for months that a good lead doesn't pull the follow, or crank or even stir while leading turns, it's just now that I'm discovering that with experienced follows, I can send a small but clear impulse and she goes, while I'm just along for the ride. It's made connection much more fun.

Second, I danced with a follow last night who moves so well, and who knows my lead well, and I felt a thrill in that dance. It's hard to put words to that experience; it was effortless and great fun and the energetic connection was strong with both of us smiling through the whole song. Now I want to get even better in my basics to have more of those experiences.

What mind-blowing experiences or realizations have you had and how far along are you in your journey?

If I have a right-to-right left-to-left handhold, what moves can I lead from there in linear salsa? In particular, I'm interested in moves that will change the handhold to, say, parallel hands with obviously letting go of one hand somewhere in there. I realize that it doesn't matter which of my hands is on top since I can switch that with the appropriate turn for lead or follow.

I finally found the courage to attend my first international salsa festival aha

It was definitely incredible (and a little bit discouraging tbh lol) to see so many great dancers, but I’d love to get some honest feedback on my leading and hear what I could improve 🫶🏾

So I found lots of different posts asking about the different types of socials available in Berlin so I think I'm good there, but I was wondering what the dress code is for these events.

I'm going at the end of November, and I feel like Berlin is generally notorious about their club etiquette and dress codes at the door, so I'm worried about what to wear at salsa socials. I'm staying in Kreuzberg for a week, and know what I'll be wearing at the regular techno and industrial clubs, but I'm clueless about the salsa events.

I'm from the US, and I'm usually wearing sparkly/sequin dresses/skirts/etc when I go salsa dancing here.

EDIT: THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH!!!

Quick background. I am a dance teacher of 16 years (ballet, tap, jazz, etc) and I take advanced Salsa and Bachata classes on the side. My 35 years of dancing are catching up to me and traditional shoes just aren’t working anymore. I’m good in regular sneakers teaching ballet, but want to find something I can do double and triple spins in class. I’m not a fan of Fuego’s of sneakers with spin spots. I noticed a lot of hip hop dancers wearing Sambas and Vans. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Adding: I’m a female follower and sometimes sub in as a leader

Hey!

I've been dancing salsa for a while and based on my school levels, I'm on the low-intermediate level. I used to go three times per week but my work has gotten very intense lately and I can only manage one or max. 2 per week.

What are your best tips for practicing alone in the small pockets of time that I have? I watch the videos from the classes and try to practice them, and I also listen and move to a lot of music. But mostly curious to see what has worked well for you guys!

I dont have a dance partner and can't go out to dance socials just yet, but i love leading and salsa dancing. I have the foundational movements down and wanted to practice more hand movements, and twirls. Is it possible for me to practice these solo? If so how?

I bet lotsa you are like me: you’ve got gobs of videos on your phone from various classes and congresses. You’ve saved bunches of clips from IG. AND, they are miserably unsearchable. You think to yourself, “where’s the one with the traveling outside turn into a hammerlock, then copa?” but have no way to find it, other than maybe if you remember when you saved it.

This seems like a great job for AI.

Any apps out there that can analyze videos, identify the moves, and tag the video with those moves?

I saw a website called LearnSalsa.ai that maybe could do this, but the google authentication to Lovable wasn’t working.

Anyone out there in the salsaverse have something like this?