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Improvers Cuban Salsa

When you find yourself getting to grips with the simple basic moves of Cuban Salsa and readily picking up new one, you are an improver.

These notes are for Dance Cuban Salsa Classes, other teachers will have there own methods.

 

Thinking time

        You still probably need thinking time between salsa moves so you can decide what to do, how to do it and how that move you picked up in your last class started.
    Get use to being in close hold varying your direction every 8 beats. Vary the size of your step (Never to big thou) .
Sometime forward step and loss the back step you will find that close hold becomes even closer, nice. If the music gets energetic maybe give the turn a little more rotation. Music goes soft so mellow things down. Make yourself use this a thinking time. The nice thing about it is, that you could dance a whole track in close hold.

 

Leading

        Every now and then look at your lead and and ask yourself does my  leading taking into account of what the follower has to do. If you want her to move forward on the 1 and not a back step, an indication of the direction of lead must come before the 1. Be careful to give her time to pause in your lead before her travelling step on the 5.
        Don’t do all the work yourself as you will look as if you are just running around her. Cuban is a little more of the “let her do the moving and lets watch”.

 

 Cuban Dance Styles

  • Rueda
  • Son
  • Rumba
  • Orisha
  • Reggaeton

     

     

    • Following

            Your following will improve if you spot on your partner, for three reasons firstly if you are looking at him you will have an idea what he’s up to and prepare for it, secondly it looks a lot better if you have that contact and thirdly it puts you in the right position and makes you look like a couple.
            Your free hand must be always available or on his shoulder or other part of his body (waist). Unless you are off to do your own thing for a couple of bars in which case when you are finished make sure you have your left side towards him on the one so he can pick you up. Watch his arms, if he wants you close he will keep his arms close to himself,  to restrict your movement, so respond with the same. The opposite is also true. Take care with your turns that they are around him and not wondering way from him, easily done.
            All that Ladies Cuban Styling you have just picked up at the latest workshop. Put it in with moderation and don’t give it all away at once, there is such a thing as to much.

     

    Close hold

            The closer you are the easier the turn. Try it !

            The closer you are the more you can feel the lead.

            There are limits but generally it looks and feels nicer to dance close.

            Take care with up down shoulder/arm movement. The movement should contain that side movement you get from your rib isolation practice ( big small small - ) and should as always come from your core. That spot inside you in your upper chest.