The Salsa Hip Movement

One of the first questions students ask when learning how to dance salsa is, “What about my hips? How do I move my hips?”

Many beginner dancers put too much focus on the hip movement and ultimately start dancing with very awkward movements. My advice to beginners is to focus on the footwork and timing first before even worrying about the hips.

The initial approach should always be to let the hips do their natural movement. Essentially, if you are doing the proper footwork with the correct transfer of weight to each foot, your hips will move very gracefully and naturally. This applies to both leads and follows.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of the basic step and of the hip movement. It is broken down into the 8 counts and 8 “&” which is the transition between counts. This is from the lead’s perspective.

Starting position:
Stand with both your feet together with all your weight on your right foot

Count #1:
Step forward with your left foot. Only place 25% of your weight on the foot.

Count &:
Transfer all your weight to the LEFT foot at the same time start to lift your RIGHT foot. Your hip should be shifted over to the LEFT side.

Count #2:
Step in place with the RIGHT foot with 25% of your weight on the foot.

Count &:
Transfer all your weight to the RIGHT foot at the same time start to lift your LEFT foot bringing it back to starting position. Your hip should be shifted over to the RIGHT side.

Count #3:
Place with the LEFT foot back to the starting position with 25% of your weight on the foot.

Count &:
Finish transferring all your weight to the LEFT foot. Your hip should be shifted over to the LEFT side.

Count #4:
Brief Pause

Count &:
Start bringing your RIGHT foot backwards.

Count #5:
Step backward with your right foot. Only place 25% of your weight on the foot.

Count &:
Transfer all your weight to the RIGHT foot at the same time start to lift your LEFT foot. Your hip should be shifted over to the RIGHT side.

Count #6:
Step in place with the LEFT foot with 25% of your weight on the foot.

Count &:
Transfer all your weight to the LEFT foot at the same time start to lift your RIGHT foot bringing it back to starting position. Your hip should be shifted over to the LEFT side.

Count #7:
Place with the RIGHT foot back to the starting position with 25% of your weight on the foot.

Count &:
Finish transferring all your weight to the RIGHT foot. Your hip should be shifted over to the RIGHT side.

Count #8:
Brief Pause

Look at these videos closely from expertvillage:

The Different Styles of Salsa - On1, On2, LA, NY, Miami, Cuban, Casino. You name it, you got it!

Here is a quick draft of the more popular type of salsa styles you may encounter.

L.A. Style or On1
This style of salsa dancing is very linear. Dancers use lots of dips, flips, drops, tricks and arm styling. L.A. style dancing is a pleasure to watch and a pleasure to dance and is usually danced on 1 (breaks are done on count 1 and 5).

Super Mario (www.millionmovesman.com)


N.Y. Style or On2
This style of salsa dancing is also linear and more like mambo. It is more focused on the use of body movements and free style footwork. N.Y. style is also very pleasurable to watch and usually danced on 2 (breaks are done on count 2 and 6).

iMambo.tv


The L.A. and N.Y. styles are very similar but some of the main differences are their approach to body movement. If you watch New York dancers, you will notice they are more elegant and have a smoother look and feel at dancing. Los Angeles dancers will be more crisp in their movements.

Casino Rueda Style
This style of salsa originated in Cuba and involves a group of dancers dancing in a circle. It is very lively and up-beat. There is always a “caller” that calls out the moves to be danced.



Cuban Style
The Cuban style of salsa dancing will seem to be more of a male-dominated dance. The rhythm danced to is much faster and the feet, arms, and body movements are quick-paced.

Other styles are Colombian Style, Cuban Style, Miami Style, and Puerto Rican Style.