Monday, May 11, 2009

Why Salsa Dancing?


Perhaps you have thought about tango, waltz, samba, and other forms of ballroom and you have already started taking classes. However, if you are looking for a fun social dance that is popular and fun to learn then you should be learning how to SALSA!

Salsa and Merengue, are the two most popular forms of Latin social dancing. If you go to a Latin dance clubs, you will definitely be hearing these tunes – no doubt about it.

I started learning Salsa L.A. Style (on1) in 2003. So why Salsa and not ballroom? The answer is simple: I didn’t want to be bogged down by form and technique (don’t think there is no form or technique in Salsa). I also wanted to have some freedom of expression (sorry, but I felt ballroom dancers all moved the same). But most importantly, I did not want to shake my hips the way male ballroom dancers did.

After a year of lessons I started helping the college salsa club to teach beginners and intermediate dancers and also performed publicly with the team. Teaching has helped me understand and also perform the movements of leads (males) and followers (females).

In this blog I want to share my experiences and knowledge as a student as well as an instructor to those looking to start and improve their Salsa dancing. I will be addressing some of the most common topic such as:
- basic footwork
- timing
- proper hip movement
- home exercises

I will also provide valuable tips, guidance, observations from my students, and videos I think will be helpful.

To learn more about the history of salsa check it out in wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salsa_(dance)

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