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Salsa Speed Test – How Fast Can You Dance?


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Give it a try and post your maximum BPM (beats per minute) in the youtube video comments!

I wanted to do something different with this video and I turned it into a fun little game to see how fast you can dance salsa.

Why?

Salsa is a fast dance and, although dancing as fast as possible isn’t the goal of social dancing, when the tempo increases it’s a good stress-test for your skills.

It’s one thing to be able to do something slow. It’s a whole other thing to be able to do it smoothly and elegantly with your partner at high speed.

We’ll only use the basic step in this test but you can use this same concept when you’re practicing partner work:

  • Learn the move/sequence slowly to counts
  • Try it to slow music
  • Try it to faster music

That’s a great way to progress and find your current limit.

Once you’ve identified your limit, check your technique to find out what’s holding you back. Once you address your limitation and get some more slow practice in, you’ll likely be able to do it a little bit faster each time.

This test uses 160-300 BPM (beats per minute):

  • 150-180 BPM: slow salsa songs
  • 180-200 BPM: mid-tempo, ideal for dancing
  • 200-220 BPM: fast
  • 220+ BPM: very fast, usually stops being fun 😅

Test yourself and comment your speed on the youtube video.

Have fun with it!