Salsa Articles

Benefits of Latin Dance Shoes vs. Regular Walking Shoes

Having the right gear is essential regardless if you dance competitively or for fun. If you’ve been wearing walking shoes at social dance events all this time, you’re probably putting too much effort into the spinning and turning simply because these shoes are not meant to be worn while dancing.

A good pair of Latin dance shoes will make a world of difference to your performance. You’ll find how amazing it feels to twirl, glide, slide, and spin without putting too much work into it when you’re wearing the right shoes.

If you’ve never thought about investing in a couple of social dance shoes before, now’s the best time to do it. With more and more dance studios opening up, it’s only a matter of time before your social calendar is filled with social dance events, dance classes, and rehearsals; you need to be ready!

But if you need more convincing, here are some of the reasons why you should ditch your old walking shoes and start wearing Latin dance shoes for dancing:

Salsa Timing: The Difference Between Salsa On 1 and On 2

There are a lot of questions and myths out there around the difference between salsa on 1 and on 2, so we’ve collected the facts here for you.

We hope this article will allow you to have more educated conversations on salsa timing, and help you decide which timing you enjoy more. It’s OK to love both!

Before we dive in, here’s some quick background…

On1 salsa timing is commonly known as L.A. style, which, in the past, has often focused on sharp hits in the music and flashy moves.

On2 salsa timing is commonly known as New York style. While the old school Paladium-era dancers danced On2 to beats 2-3-4, 6-7-8, the most common way of dancing On2 these days is called “Modern Mambo,” danced to beats 1-2-3, 5-6-7 (the same beats as On1). Modern Mambo was popularized by Eddie Torres and is known for its more sauve feel and complex turn patterns.

Let’s dig in and find out why these timings look and feel different.

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10 Ways to Practice Salsa Without a Partner and Get Damn Good Doing It!

There is no reason you can’t practice salsa without a partner. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to get better at salsa dancing. Yes, salsa is a partner dance, but you absolutely must be able to hold your own if you want to have fun, free your mind and be in the moment.

To prove anyone can benefit from some good old fashioned solo practice, I present you with…

The Benefits of Good Salsa Turn Technique

salsa turn technique1

In the fast-paced world we live in, we want everything immediately and too often this spills over into how we learn, leading us to glaze over the fundamentals and not reach our salsa dancing potential.

The problem is that there’s a misconception with fundamentals. People get antsy when they work on basics, they want to progress faster, “I’m ready to move on!” they say. But when you move on so quickly, not nurturing the foundation you’re building, you hit an upper limit, a ceiling. Read more →

How Salsa Turn Technique Will Change Your World

Taking 15 minutes to better understand turn technique could change your world.

A month ago, we cruised over to beautiful Kelowna, Canada with Patrick and Scarlet to teach some salsa workshops on turn technique. At the start of class Patrick and Scarlet asked everyone to social dance, using inside and outside turns, to get a sense of where everyone was at. I jumped in and started dancing with Rina (not her real name).

Immediately, I realized Read more →