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Europe Salsa Dancing Experiences: Confessions of a novice Salsero
Hi there! In this piece I’ll try to convey my impressions and experiences as a male beginner salsa dancer, partly to reassure any men who are struggling that they are not alone, and to give the ladies some insight into some of the obstacles particular to men new to salsa.
I had been reasonably successful in various sports over the years, but long term injuries made me decide I needed a new pursuit. Why not salsa?, I thought. I’m fit and have a reasonable sense of rhythm (for an Anglo-Saxon!!). I’d seen the odd bit on the telly and it looked a bit complicated, but hey! It’s only a matter of practice, right? I mean, if it was that difficult it wouldn’t be as popular as it is, yeah? Shows how much I knew! It was a miscalculation on par with my incident with an escalator, but that story is for another time….
Firstly, the footwork. Like most men nowadays, I had never had a dance lesson in my life, content to shuffle on to the floor at the disco (after some alcoholic encouragement) and put one foot in front of the other in time to the music, with the occasional twirl thrown in for effect. This had stood me in good stead for more years than I care to remember. But now I had to learn to move my feet in ways that previously I’d only seen from Christiano Ronaldo! Basic Mambo, crossovers, Suzi Q’s for example, not to mention the turns! Added to which, all had to be done in time; but that’s something you can practise on your own. The biggest difficulty with salsa, especially for men, is that you actually have to dance with another person and, if you get it wrong, it doesn’t work!
Everyone else in my first class had been at least once before, so immediately I felt a bit intimidated, and then we were shown (move by move, admittedly) what seemed to me at the time to be an incredibly complicated routine. My difficulty was compounded by three factors: I couldn’t seem to remember more than three moves; Often when a move was demonstrated I’d do the mirror image; lastly and most significant, we’d CHANGE PARTNERS every 4-5 minutes!! This gave me a good idea of what I’d let myself in for! I must say now that any ladies reading this who were there that night, it was only your forbearance and patience that persuaded me to persevere, and I offer my heartfelt thanks!!
In salsa, as in other partner dancing, men do the leading. My impression of Ballroom Dancing is that there is a number of set moves, at least at amateur level so, once you have mastered these moves, both partners know what should come next, so leading may not be as problematic. Salsa appears to be more spontaneous, so the onus is on the man to initiate the next move. So here’s the problem for us men: what am I going to do next? What is the right signal to indicate to your partner which direction she should step/turn? What foot should I be on?
Another problem as a beginner is that your repertoire of moves is VERY limited. In fact you will probably use up all your moves in the first 30 seconds! What do you then do? If you just carry on with the same moves, you will start worrying that your partner is getting bored, especially as salsa tunes in a club seem to last for a very long time! Furthermore, tunes in the class tend to be at a slower tempo than in a club, helping you to get a grip on the routine (“nail it” I think is the expression), so it can be a bit of a shock trying to do those moves at what seems like 100mph!
Unless you are Mr. Super confident, (not as many out there as you ladies may think!) going out there on the dance floor for the first time is a real pressure situation. My mind went totally blank! Could only remember Basic Forward and Back, and Open Body. Try getting through 5 minutes doing only that! To be fair the girl was very understanding, but it wasn’t an experience that I was in a hurry to repeat, consequently sitting out the rest of the evening. THIS IS THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO! You have to get out there, forget about what other people think, no one is watching you!
The next party evening I had exactly the same experience. I thought I’m never going to get this, what am I going to do? In the classes I had found that the routines, though different every night, incorporated basically the same moves, but in a new sequence, and I’d lie awake at night trying to remember the moves: how did we get from that position to that one? So, although I was finding the Beginners’ Class much easier I still had a problem on the dance floor. I wasn’t to give up, I enjoy a challenge but something would have to change…………..
PART 2
So there I was, frozen on the dance floor, my mind a blank. This was all the more frustrating because, as at nearly all salsa parties, there were so many women standing around wanting to dance but they couldn't because they needed a MAN! Admittedly, there are some ladies who can lead but, because of the difficulty and lack of practice, there aren't that many.
The difference in the situation facing men and women in salsa was brought home to me in the Intermediate class. (Yes, sink or swim !). Sometimes when I've been stuck on a routine, I've asked my partner what the next move was and got the response, 'Sorry, I just follow the lead'. So, it would seem that a lady can virtually sleepwalk her way through a class, as long as she keeps her footwork going, whereas us poor chaps have to concentrate all the way through.
I digress. Back to my situation: chatting to a fellow who had started the classes before me, I found that he was in exactly the same position. We came to the conclusion that what we needed was a ROUTINE, because there was no way we could remember what we're doing now, if we had to think of what to do next! Preferably a routine that lasted a whole song but, even if it only lasted half a song, it could be repeated and other bits added on as we got more proficient, and, if you chose a different partner each time, nobody would know it wasn't spontaneous! (Yes, ladies, there are men who are worried of being accused of being predictable and boring! ).
I broached the subject of private lessons to Mina, the class instructor, and she agreed it would be a good idea, 'to give you that extra push'.
When I turned up for my first lesson, it felt strange to be the only two people on a dance floor. Mina said we should work firstly on the basics, because if you get those and the timing right, you can always build on them but, if you haven't got those right, then eventually you will come unstuck. Learning how to lead properly is also important. You may have a great repertoire of moves but, if you are not giving the right signals, the lady won't be able to follow. If the man leads correctly, the lady cannot move other than in the required direction. Gradually, we began to build a routine. We'd work on a series of moves until I was reasonably comfortable, and then we'd do it to the music. PANIC! Hands grasping too tightly, ( a cardinal error in dancing!), rushing through the moves before I forgot what came next. Added to which, I was gathering an audience of people arriving for the main class; and to think I'd been worried about people watching me at the salsa party!
After the two hours combined of lesson and class, I'd go home and try to remember what we did, practising it throughout the week. How did I practise? Don't laugh, but because I had trouble visualising where the lady's arms were on the turns, I'd try a move with a jumper on a coat hanger. Only problem was 360 degree turns. Friends (?) suggested an inflatable doll! Yeah, I can just see the look on the face of the fellow downstairs of my apartment block who sorts the mail! It was bad enough when I ordered some tablets to put in my fuel tank to improve the performance of my engine. The package arrived with POWERPILL stickers all over it, and now he thinks I'm on Viagra! Another option, I suppose, would be to use a skeleton, though anyone looking through the window would call the police!
Ah! I hear you say, why didn't you ask someone if they'd like to practise with you? Apart from the logistics of finding a time when both of you are free, 'Would you like to come back to my place to practise some Salsa moves?' could well be taken the wrong way!
So here I am after 7 or 8 lessons, looking forward to our next salsa party in two weeks time. My routine so far is about 50 moves; it may sound a lot but I think it is only about Ś of a song! Looks like I'll have to do some mixing and matching, but I feel more confident. I say that, but the real test will be if I have the confidence to ask a lady not from our class to dance!
If I don't see you at the party, watch this space and I'll let you know how it went!………………….
PART 3
So, how did I do at the party? Well, looking back at whom I danced with and how often, I think it totalled 20 dances! Because this was a live band each song lasted for at least 5 minutes, which means I was seldom off the dance floor. No wonder my legs started to buckle!
Did I dance well? Of course not! The songs still seemed too fast, forgot bits of my routine and not every lady read my lead, but it doesn't matter! The point is I was out there doing it, and that is a vast step forward from where I was. I was even asked to dance by a lady I'd not met before, which leads me on to some advice for any ladies reading this…
In comparison to a disco ,where a man asks a woman to dance and they step out on to the floor and each do their own thing, the dynamics at salsa are completely different. Unless he is confident of his dancing ability, a man will probably only ask to dance those ladies he already knows, feeling comfortable that they can both laugh when it goes wrong. Unfortunately for you ladies, the less confident dancers far outnumber the good ones so that, if you turn up at a dance or a party where you don't know many people , you may stand around a lot waiting to be asked to dance. The worst case scenario is that you have your first dance, show off your impressive moves, and frighten off every man except one or two experienced dancers. The solution? ASK A MAN TO DANCE!
In the same way that you are standing around wishing you were dancing ,so are most of the men there, only they have the added fear of looking foolish. Just think, if every lady managed to coax just one man onto the dance floor and give him some confidence, you wouldn't have to stand around so long for a dance !
If you're concerned that he may get the wrong message, don't worry! He'll be too busy concentrating on his dancing!
So what advice can I pass on to any new would be salsa dancers? PRACTISE!!!!!! I'm afraid there is no substitute for getting out there and doing it, so DON'T BE SHY GET OUT THERE AND DANCE!!!!
by Steve Prendergast from: http://www.salsacrazy.
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