The Back Basic, Cumbia Basic & Open Position
This lesson is part of our Salsa Program. Give it a try so you can get a feel for what it’s like to learn online with Patrick & Scarlet. Like it? Try the salsa program free for a week. New to salsa? Check out our guide on how to avoid beginner’s hell to make sure you’re focusing on the right things first.
After this set of salsa basic steps, you’ll have a solid idea of how to begin moving in different directions, while keeping time with Salsa music.
Demo
Moving from the Closed to Open Position and introducing your Back Salsa Basic
Transitioning from the closed to open hold should be a smooth natural motion and it gives you more space to do your Back Salsa Basic. The Back Basic is danced not only in basic partnering, but also frequently used while doing more advanced partner work. It also closely resembles the Cumbia basic, which we’ll show you next.
Cumbia Basic
The Cumbia Basic is similar to the Back Basic, but it adds a slight rotation. The Cumbia Basic comes from a dance called Cumbia, which is a separate dance from salsa, but we often make use of this basic step in salsa because the rotational aspect of it comes in handy!
The Cumbia Basic is also a must-know for dancing with Latinos. If you’re heading to Latin America, you’ll see this step being thoroughly enjoyed by the locals.