Los Angeles … California Salseras Dance “On-1”“Dear Edie,
I got [instructor]’s tapes the other day and watched them both non stop. They are excellent. Some of the steps I haven’t seen before. I spoke to [my friend] after seeing them and asked what was different about LA style and he said that you dance on 2. Is this true? and if it is why does [instructor] teach it on 1. We dance on 1 here although I have seen and many times myself switch to 3, depending on the previous manouver (1,2, or 3 lady turns). Do you do this also? Is it correct? I am going to practice all these steps in the next few weeks and I might have some questions for you. Do you think you can help me? The reason I’m asking is because I think timing is one of the most important things. I see so many people off time and wonder what they are dancing to. What do you think? Maybe we can start a discussion about all the fine points to dancing Salsa on your website… I haven’t seen any of that so far. It would help me and many other people, I think.
– Mr. RhythmDear Mr. Rhythm
First of all, your friend is not quite accurate. Most of the Salsa dancers in in Los Angeles are taught to dance on the “1”. I can dance on the “2”, and I know of only a handful of others that can as well. But 99.9% of us in LA dance on the “1”. I’ll switch to the “3” if the guy I’m dancing with switches to the “3”. Timing is VERY important, but there are occasions where switching is fine – as long as you know what you are doing (and your partner too), you can do this. However, I DO NOT recommend it unless you are dancing with someone who has:
A) Practiced with you
B) Is your partner
C) Hasn’t got a clue about rhythm to begin with.
Happy Dancing!
– Edie, The Salsa FREAK!!
Edie The Salsa FREAK!! Website
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