“Dear Edie,
Do all Salsa teachers pack so much new stuff into a one hour class that you can’t remember any of it 20 minutes later? The girls say they’d be bored working at one sequence for a whole hour, so he has to keep them entertained, but the men have to learn, so we can lead :-\”
– Overwhelmed (more…)
“Dear Edie,
I really want to take dancing classes, but at the same time I’m really nervous because I can’t dance at all. I feel like I have TWO LEFT FEET. I’m not flexible at all when it comes to moving and dancing. Do you think that maybe I should order videos first before starting any lessons? I love to listen to music, but it comes to dancing I get really embarrassed. I know I’m going to be a stubborn one to learn, but I want to do it.”
– Scared to learn…not a quick learner! (more…)
“Dear Edie,
I’m enjoy and thank you for all your words of encouragement and advice. Most of it is invaluable to beginners like me who don’t need any help committing minor, and often times major, screw-ups in club etiquette and acceptable dancefloor moves.
My goal is to become an excellent follower and get through a song without causing a major stop and restart. I’d like to be able to follow well enough to dance an entire song through smoothly and joyfully. How important is it for the female to know all the routines/moves a male could lead you into in order to accomplish my goal. Or is it just knowing many but always be able to let go and “be lead?” (more…)
Beginner Class Attitude and Etiquette…
“Dear Edie,
I enjoyed the series of letters about the “beginner man” on the club scene. I wanted to add a comment about a few issues that I believe need to be addressed on this subject not only on the club scene but also in the dance class setting.
Let me preface by saying that I am a beginner female with some previous dance experience. I have been taking beginning classes for several months, and plan to take them for several more. After several weeks of class, I was bitten by the “salsa bug” and now in addition to classes 2-3 times a week, I go to clubs several nights a week, and take the (intermediate) classes beforehand. Most importantly, (more…)
The asking, asking a woman to dance, asking to dance, asking someone to dance,
Asking a woman to dance. The Asking.
Dear Edie
My Salsa-spirit is taking a down-turn. I am finally getting the nerve to ask women to dance at the clubs but they all say no. I have never danced at this club, so it can’t be the way I dance. I always shower/shave/brush before I go out, and I dress nice. I am polite and just ask “would you like to dance”. Then they say no thank you. After three no thank you’s I lose my nerve and self-confidence. This is only really a problem at one particular club, but it is where the best dancers are. I would just chalk it up to my lack of dance experience, except (more…)
“Dear Edie,
What do you think about the following? Most guys that are taking the Salsa class with me don’t feel comfortable (or confident) to ask “good” dancers to dance with them because if a guy makes (a) mistake(s) the good dancer won’t dance with them again. I think we are perhaps intermediate dancers, but to become good ones we have to dance with the good dancers, but it is like a catch 20/20? (more…)
Recent Comments