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The 4 Stages to Becoming a Natural Salsa Dancer


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You’ve taken some salsa classes, watched countless YouTube videos, and yet, your dancing still isn’t at the level you want it to be. Sound familiar? Welcome to the party. This is totally normal.

Everyone struggles at some point, but the key is to avoid getting permanently stuck.

Understanding the four stages of learning can help you identify where you are, what’s holding you back, and how to push through.

Each stage has a simple fix that will keep you progressing—let’s break it down.

Stage 1: Unconscious Incompetence (Cluelessness)

At this stage, you don’t know what you don’t know. You’re unaware of your lack of knowledge or skill, and you might even think you’re doing fine when you’re actually making fundamental mistakes. The problem? You can’t improve if you don’t realize what needs fixing.

Why Do People Get Stuck? Many dancers learn exclusively through social dancing, assuming that experience alone will make them better. But think about pro athletes—do they only play games, or do they have structured practices?

The Fix: Stop relying solely on social dancing. Seek knowledge! This could be through YouTube, online courses, or, better yet, an experienced instructor or mentor who can tell you exactly WHAT you need to work on to reach your goals.

Stage 2: Conscious Incompetence (Awakened but Overwhelmed)

Now you’ve woken up. You realize there’s a lot to learn—but you don’t know HOW to learn it effectively. Many dancers get stuck here, endlessly scrolling Instagram and YouTube, trying to piece everything together on their own without a structured approach.

Why Do People Get Stuck? They try to learn everything at once or everything on their own, without committing to a step-by-step process. They also attempt advanced moves before mastering the basics, leading to frustration.

The Fix: Find a structured learning process. Whether it’s through an online course, private lessons, or group classes with an experienced instructor, you need a clear path that teaches you not just what to learn, but how to learn it.

 

The Common Beginner’s Trap (2:58 in the video)

You want to do move X, but you only have 50% proficiency at the three fundamental skills required for move X. Therefore your chance of executing it correctly is only 12.5% (50% × 50% × 50%).

Most people either ignore the base moves they suck at or are oblivious to their existence. They try to force their advancement in salsa without putting in work on their base skills.

 

But if you start working on your base skills, all of a sudden the harder stuff starts to become easier…

 

Until your base skills get so good it’s almost impossible to fail when you try something harder.

The smarter and more effective path is to master the basics first. This way your probability of success increases until it’s virtually impossible to fail when you start pushing your comfort zone.

 

Stage 3: Conscious Competence (The Struggling Student)

At this stage, you know what to do and how to do it, but everything still feels like hard work. You have to focus intensely, and nothing feels automatic yet. This is completely normal! But there are three common reasons people get stuck here:

  1. Avoiding Solo Practice – Partner dancing requires solid solo skills. If you can’t move well alone, you won’t move well with a partner.
  2. Not Enough Reps – Many dancers give up too soon. Aim for 1,000 reps of a skill before judging progress, then push for 10,000 to reach mastery.
  3. Lack of Feedback – If you’re not getting clear, constructive feedback, you’ll struggle to improve.

The Fix:

  • Dedicate time to solo practice.
  • Commit to doing thousands of reps.
  • Get feedback from a skilled instructor (not just someone who can dance well but someone who can teach well).
  • Record yourself dancing and learn to self-critique.

Stage 4: Unconscious Competence (The Natural)

You’ve made it! After consistent practice, everything starts to feel effortless. You move without thinking, respond instinctively to music, and dancing feels as natural as walking.

How Did You Get Here?

  • You found a structured learning path so you know WHAT to learn.
  • You learned the process of HOW to learn salsa and the ideas behind each technique.
  • You put in the reps and filmed yourself.
  • You developed the ability to self-correct and refine your dancing over time using your instructor as a model.

The Roadmap to Mastery

Reaching Stage 4 isn’t a one-time event—it’s a process you’ll go through repeatedly as you learn new skills in salsa. Identify your bottlenecks, apply the right fix, and keep progressing. The more you refine this process, the faster and smoother your learning journey will become.

So, where are you right now? And more importantly, what’s your next move?

 

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