What is the fastest way to progress my salsa dancing?
Hey everybody, Patrick here once again from the Dance Dojo.
Today, I’m going to be addressing a question we had from one of our online students and that is…
Salsa Tips
When Should I Start Social Dancing?
We frequently get the question, “When should I start social dancing?” Our answer is always the same. Do it immediately. Read more →
How to Find the Beat in Salsa Music (4 Week Free Course)
Welcome to Finding the Beat, a 4-week course designed to help you overcome the number one challenge ALL new salsa dancers face: finding the beat in salsa music and dancing on time.
By the end of this course you will be able to…
- Better understand the structure of music
- Count music
- Hear the beat in salsa music
- Find the 1 in salsa music
- Stay on time while dancing salsa with much higher success
How to Frame Yourself and Be More Responsive: A Salsa Tip for The Ladies
When learning how to salsa dance, we often worry too much about our partners and not enough about what we’re doing ourselves.
In this tip we’ll explain how, as a follow, worrying less about the lead and focusing on framing yourself can actually improve your ability to respond to his signals.
Improving Your Salsa Frame & Connection: The Elbow-to-Hip Relationship
When dancing Salsa, the rule of thumb is to keep your elbows in front of and outside of your hips at all times.
Regardless of which direction you choose to lead (or are being lead in), maintain that proper elbow-to-hip relationship and it’ll enhance the success of your dances. Why? Read more →
How To Hold Hands While Salsa Dancing: Tips for Maintaining an Effective Connection
Once upon a time, not so long ago, Patrick was dancing with a male student who was using an excessive form of the “spider man grip.” It felt forced, seemed unnecessary and fuelled this tip. Read more →
Improve Your Salsa Turn Technique 10 Times Over With This Easy Drill
Raise your hand if you can’t wait for your next mediocre dance!
*No hands move* – that’s what we thought.
As Salsa dancers we turn hundreds of times per night (some nut jobs probably hit the 4 digits), but despite this staggering amount of repetition, SO many of us are losing our balance and limiting ourselves from experiencing incredible dances. That’s insane!
Simply put, if you’re off balance, you’re missing out big time. It’s time to end this madness and unlock your ability to turn better. Sound good?
This quick tip on salsa turn technique is going to change the way you practice your turns and it’s the perfect test to find out if you’re slacking off! Read more →
Practice Makes Perfect…or does it?
If I asked you to complete this sentence: “Practice makes….”
What would you say?
Perfect. Right?
WRONG.
Read more →
Think Twice Before Coaching Your Salsa Partner
You’re in the middle of a social dance, things aren’t going quite right and you’ve got this growing urge to tell your partner what they’re doing wrong.
Stop. Right. There.
If you’re not qualified to teach, don’t do it.
When a dance feels like it’s falling apart, coaching your salsa partner might seem like a great idea, but it ain’t. Here’s why: Read more →
Are You The Reason Your Salsa Skills Are Suffering?
You know what’s harder than learning to Salsa?
Learning it twice.
If you’ve taught yourself how to Salsa through social dancing, you might find yourself in this position. Read more →
How Much Hand Pressure Should I Use When Salsa Dancing?
New to salsa? Get started with our Free Guide: How To Dance Salsa For Beginners.
How much hand pressure should I use when Salsa dancing? Does it change in the open position VS the closed position?
It depends.
It could be a lot, a little, or none at all. The amount of pressure all depends on what you need to achieve. The idea is to exert just enough pressure for the move at hand. Read more →
8 Benefits of Proper Salsa Posture + How To Kick Those Hunchy Habits
Maintaining your posture in Salsa is one of the golden rules of leading or following.
Most people are unaware of the issues bad body posture causes, which is why few spend the time to correct it.
In this post, you’ll find out why proper posture is so critical to becoming a successful Salsa dancer and how you can fix your bad habits so you can start reaping the benefits that will take your Salsa to the next level. Read more →
What To Do When a Guy Is Dancing Too Close
It’s happened to you before and it’s going to happen again. Some guy is going to get all up in your personal space, dance way too close and you’re going to be left wondering what the heck to do about it! Read more →
How To Stay Grounded In Your Salsa Basic
New to salsa? Get started with our Free Guide: How To Dance Salsa For Beginners.
Polishing Up Your Front & Back Basic Step
Once you learn how to maintain perpetual motion in your basic step, it’s time to work on staying grounded. This will help you keep your rhythm and timing while making every movement you make much smoother. Like any dance, having these fundamentals down, is crucial in order for you to execute the trickier stuff later on.
Read more →
How To Improve Your Salsa Basic Step On1 & On2
New to salsa? Get started with our Free Course: How To Dance Salsa For Beginners.
Perpetual Motion In Your Basic Step
Your forward and back Salsa basic should always be in continuous motion. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the easiest way to learn it, so it’s common for instructors to teach newcomers the Salsa basic using a ‘quick quick stop’ rhythm. The ‘quick quick stop’ rhythm happens when you take the first two steps of your basic and finish your 1, 2, 3 count with your feet together. This ‘quick quick stop’ method isn’t wrong, but it will limit your ability to execute more advanced steps due to the lack of fluidity in your movement.
Read more →
He’s Dancing Off Time – What Do I Do?
This Salsa tip came about from one of the most common questions we hear follows ask.
Some guys are on beat, some guys are 50-50, some guys struggle as they get used to Salsa music and there are others who are off in their own world dancing to an ‘amazing’ rhythm that no one else can hear.
As always, you’ll have to approach each partner a little differently, but the ultimate question still remains – do I follow him and dance off beat, or stay on time? Here’s some advice for both the leads and the follows.
Read more →
Relaxing Your Elbows Makes a World of Difference – Salsa Tip
No matter what you’re doing in Salsa, relax your elbows. Why, you ask? Here’s what will happen if you don’t…
How To Ask For a Salsa Dance
First, Let’s Lay Some Ground Rules
Before you go approaching anyone to ask for a dance, there are a few important things you need to be mindful of:
- Look clean
- Smell clean
- Smile
- Don’t look desperate (even if you are!)
How To Handle Rejection in Salsa
Becoming OK With “No”
You’ve asked a lady to dance and she’s about to respond. Are you ready for it? it’s always nice to assume the best, but what if she says “no”?
Can you handle that? Will you take it personal?
Read more →
Dancing is a Conversation, Not a Fight
Social Dancing: An Imperfect Conversation
Social Dancing is a conversation. Not a perfect presentation. Like any conversation, social dancing is prone to its fair share of misunderstandings. At some point, it’s inevitable that a lead will initiate a move and the follow won’t respond as expected, so let’s talk about how each partner can respond in a situation like this.
Read more →