If you're new to salsa and wondering what the different levels entail here are a few pointers to start you off:
If you're new to salsa and wondering what the different levels entail here are a
few pointers to start you off:
 | Introduction to salsa: (otherwise known as the 'intro' class) Due to the ever growing numbers on Monday nights we've added this short class to give those who think they have two left feet or who want to go that little bit slower to have 15 minutes of 'I know nothing so teach me' salsa. In the class we work on the basic footwork and understanding the music without the added pressure of having to 'do it' with someone else. This gradual introduction to partner dance works on your confidence so that your first attempts at dancing with someone are not your absolute first steps in salsa too.... slowly and surely, that's the moto - and it works! |
| Beginners: The beginner level classes and workshops. This is the class that gives you a 'right foot' if you think you have two left feet, teaches you the basic footwork, holds, leading and following skills etc. that will be the grounding throughout the salsa levels. See this as the foundations to a building - if your foundations are good you can build as high as you like! We advise you take at least four classes at this level before dropping it, however, you can add the Improver level before then if you are a more able dancer or take more beginners classes if you feel the need. |
| Improvers: In the Improver group we take the standard footwork you learnt in the beginner class to the next level adding more footwork, more turns, cross-body standards, flourishes/embellishments and some basic dips - but the most important things that I think this level concentrates on are style and interpretation. This is where fledgling dancers get their wings and start to fly - but with guidance and at a manageable pace. |
| Intermediates: Yes, you know how to boogie by now and you're looking to add more styling, complicated routines with even more wow factor to your growing range of moves. You've got a good handle on timing and how to change your dance to accommodate the variables in the salsa you meet with during freestyle and with different partners. At this level you never need the instructors to remind you about your hands or weight displacement and you are comfy putting your own embellishments in - without them throwing your partner into a flat spin and destroying the dance! This is the level that you should think of as the one you will be dancing in for the longest - it is the main-stay of your dancing and represents one of the most important levels in dance. Salsa is a constantly changing dance and it is at this level that new styles are introduced before they're taken to new heights in the Advanced level and the wise salsa dancer will use this level to perfect their dancing staples - we have students who are very advanced but would not miss this level even after 2 or more years of dancing - and those are the most stylish ones on the dance floor! |
| Advanced: Okay, this level speaks for itself really! You should know the terms for the majority of leads, footwork etc. ( tho' as salsa is a dynamic and constantly advancing dance there will always be new moves.... it's impossible to know everything - that's what you learn in this class isn't it?) , be stylish and have a total grasp on timing in your freestyle excursions, have executed a range of dips with safe leads/good weight displacement, and most importantly be able to listen to instructions + have suitable fitness levels. It isn't enough to simply 'fancy having a go' because you want to experience these moves, you have to be ABLE to do them safely and without your partner being either put at risk or doing all the work for you. To put it simply - it takes work to get to this level and work to stay at it, but then nothing worth having ever comes from nothing does it? |
| Freestyle 9 - closing in the lower bar on Monday nights, 10 till closing on Wednesdays: Even if you're a total newcomer to the scene this is where you're going to see what it's all about, put your new skills into practise, dance with others, socialise with a drink while we play you the best in salsa sounds from across the Latin genre. Give it a try! We know that a number of dancers come for their lessons and then go for a drink in the lower bar until we come down for freestyle, some go out to grab a quick bite to eat and then return to us and a number of people who can't get to lessons just drop by for a dance and chat as soon as work allows..... it's up to you, but once you try freestyle you won't want to stop! |
Here are a few handy hints for those who are new....
and not so new, to the salsa scene.... plus a few answers to FAQ's we've come
across for those who're contemplating going to their first salsa dance. I really hope
that you find the information below useful and certainly if you're reading this prior to
embarking on your first lesson it may just give you some useful tips or allay any fears.
A first time for everything:
Each week we have new people joining our salsa classes
so you'll be in good company.... other, possibly nervous, first timers. You'll soon notice
that the whole vibe of the salsa class is fun - we enjoy our teaching and salsa and I
guess that comes across! Over the years we've noticed two particularly interesting
phenomenon's in new students.
1) students who have a sudden interruption of communication between their brains and their
feet
2) the student who thinks that unlike any other dance medium you will be a dance genius
after just one class
The first is no problem as you'll find that all lines of communication work perfectly well again once you're relaxed and you just enjoy the fun of the whole thing. The second is more of a puzzle. I wish that it were possible for a student to be a salsa Prima Ballerina within the space of a single class but it's a skill that you have to learn and as a teacher I'm learning even now... that's what makes the dance so constantly exciting and why salsa has such a great reputation for people of all ability levels getting out there on the dance floor together - we're all learning from each other all the time.
Practice makes perfect:
At classes you'll hear me batting on about taking part in
freestyle and going to gigs or other teachers events, this is because I really think that
there's no better way to consolidate your class learnt routines and techniques than to put
them into practice when you're not being governed by the predictability of a class
environment. I know it's a bit spooky at first but it gives you such a fantastic feeling
when you're on the dance floor and everything feels just right, or you excel your
expectations or you're just socialising with other dancers that there's no way you should
be missing out. Diablito students and instructors travel a lot and if you want to be sure
of a few 'known' faces at events just check the board at classes to see where we're
intending to go... and don't forget to add your name!
And here are some more handy hints and tips. The more irreverent of our tips may make you
smile or wince if you've come across them but all are tips we've picked up over the years,
added to by our own students and are hereby immortalised for you - enjoy! Don't
forget to send us your own tips!
What should I wear? Whether you're a male or female the first piece of advice is that you wear something that is cool as you will get hot. Many dancers take something to mop their fevered brows and some take a change of top - just in case. I think it's a great idea to have a something spare to slip into if it's not going to be a drag carting it about - I guess you could always leave spares in the car and nip out to grab them later if necessary. Whatever you do, don't buy new shoes for the occasion as they're bound to cause blisters and we can't have that can we? Ladies ask more questions about this particular subject and my advice to them is that you wear what you would to a party, or what you feel comfy in, but be aware of bits of anatomy waywardly finding their way out of clothes of a risqué nature!
Am I really up to dancing outside of a class? When I first started salsa I was lucky to go to a salsa concert within the first month of starting and believe me, I didn't know many moves..... things were a bit slower in those days! However, the whole event was so inspiring that I just couldn't stop dancing.... even when my partner and I were making things up as we were going along to compensate for only knowing 6 basic items! I think that anyone can do their thing at a salsa event and there's no better way to show you what it's really all about or inspire you to get even better.
I'm on my own so will anyone dance with me? You'd be surprised how often this little gremlin lurks in the back of peoples heads. All I can say is that neither male or female dancers need a partner when they come to classes and it's exactly the same at a dance. Not only that but it's perfectly acceptable for either gender to ask someone to dance with them, even if they are with someone, and it doesn't matter what level of dancer they are or their prospective partner is..... salsa's a very mature style of dance and nobody will think you're hitting on them just because you want to dance!
What time is it best
to arrive? This one always
makes me smile as my response is always the same..... You get there when it's convenient
to you, but if you want a short class to break the ice or 'whatever' then early is best.
Tables are always in short supply at gigs and if you feel the need to have a table as a
prop or to put your drinks on then an early arrival guarantees a table in the position you
want.... but be prepared to share with fellow dancers as the later arrivals get there.
Got any more questions that I
haven't answered? Send me an email and I'll try to update ASAP.
| Too tense? Both followers and leaders need to maintain the right amount of tension between themselves and their partner - too much and it's impossible to move each other too little and it's impossible to either give or receive those hand signals which make the whole thing happen. A good way to ensure that you have the right amount of tension is to stand and a normal distance to your partner with hands clasped at chest height, move outwards with just the balancing effect of your partner also moving outwards to stop you from losing footing. Check that you are both at the same angle... if one is doing all the supporting it may be that the others tension is too weak or that theirs is too strong - readjust! Now come back into each other. You should come in at the same angles and at the same time. If not, again you need to readjust your tension till you are equalised. |
| Get it in writing. If you have a habit of forgetting what you've learnt in classes why not write things down while they are still fresh? Many of our students, and visitors from elsewhere bring writing materials to classes with them to ensure that there's no chance of losing a cool move. (P.S. if you are ever asked to send someone copies of what you've written expect a nightmare as they'll want you to explain what you've written, don't remember it the same way or just generally want you to think for them... you have been warned!!!) |
| Hair extensions of rope-like proportions can wrap around your partner like a python - it's murder on the dance floor as they say! |
| Subterfuge! If you have a partner at home, however broad minded and supportive that partner may appear, it sometimes helps if you don't look as happy as you feel when you stroll home with a nights salsa behind that smile.......... I know it's a sad thing to say but many people get a little nervous when they think of hot Latin dancing and their partner in the same thought! When in doubt a number of our students have found that a little subterfuge helps. Wipe the smiles off your faces and mention the benefits of aerobic exercise and your life will be easier. |
| Light trousers are more likely to show sweat than dark ones... it's not for the slimming effect of black that it's worn on the lower half you know! |
| Cleanliness is next to Godliness in this dance - are you ever going to get hot! So any thought of nipping out without bothering to shower is going to come back to haunt you... and every partner who you waft over! |
| Changing for the better - well prepared dancers often take a change of clothes with them to gigs. This is great news for their partners as it means they stay fresh throughout even the hottest nights and has the added benefit of eliminating all those 'what shall I wear' problems for females as they have the option of wearing the lot... just one after the other! |
| Sachmo! For those who don't know, Sachmo was the nickname of the late, great, Luis Armstrong and what has he got to do with salsa? Well, nothing musically that I know of but he certainly moped his face with a cloth regularly - and as with the above 'tip' it's a great idea to have something that enables you to daub at your fevered brow! |
| Mints - you may not be a sweet chewer by nature but a discreet mint popped in mouth can keep your conversation sweet for ages. (I once danced with a man in London who didn't adhere to this and boy did I regret asking him, no matter how good a dancer he was - Karen) |
| Hand positions - the hand on the womans back really does mean BACK. Try to avoid letting it slip to her underarm as that's disturbingly close to her breast.... not that I'm suggesting that female salsa students have boobs that lurk under their armpits! |
and in case you think that we know it all and have all the answers here's a snippet
from a P.S. at the end of a recent email to our students where Karen describes her own
dance dilemas:
for those of you who know me well this will
not come as a surprise but for those who are new to the classes it might not be how
you thought my well regulated life panned out. Here I'll tell you what not to do
as I'd prefer you don't follow my lead - for the sake of your dignity, explaining as
simply as I can how I managed to end up looking like a glitter ball with no undies at this
latest event so you'll have to follow my drift to fully understand. A much loved member of
my family was going away and decided to take the only bar of soap in the house with them
and as I prepared to go out 'soap' was vitally important so I went through a bag of smelly
things I'd been given at Christmas and took out a wonderfully smelly object that appeared
to be soap and that had obviously been used before but then put back in the bag for some
reason. I was running very late by then and perhaps less than observant - in my own
defence. I started to use the 'soap' and wondered why it hadn't managed to produce
any lather but carried on in desperation rubbing away and hoping for the best. Then
noticed that it was producing a rather interesting sheen on me and a rather 'oiled' effect
which wasn't what I'd been looking for at all. It turned out that this was a glittery
massage bar and, sadly, I was caked in glitter that simply refused to come off my skin no
matter how hard I rubbed with towels as hard as pumice stone, and had the effect of making
me look like a metal coated alien. I wasn't best pleased! So, I went in search of advice
and the various suggestions from scratching hard as skin will allow to coating myself with
cream and then trying to scrape the stuff off didn't produce much of a change. I
wasn't happy to say the least and felt that if I didn't look like an alien then something
from the worst excesses of 70's disco would sum it up. However, having missed the last few
events I'd planned to go to I wasn't going to be put off and thought that lots of clothes
rubbing my skin on the journey to Oxford would do the trick. But girls, the humiliation
didn't stop there. When I started dancing I was aware of a certain amount of
attention, not to say open mouthed incredulity, from those nearest and as I hadn't done
that much I thought it might be due to the dire metallic sheen on my body or, perhaps, my
skirt floating a little higher than my knee. It was only when I mentioned it to Laura and
she thanked me for the 'moony' that I found out that the very sensible underwear that I'd
put on was in fact not so sensible as it was pink and gave the impression of no underwear
at all. So, to say that I didn't manage to dance much and that there was a certain amount
of folk doing double takes around me when I did - not to mention all the hilarity my
predicament seemed to bring about amongst the Swindon crew - it wasn't a sanguine night
for me at all.
Having regaled you ladies with this sad tale of woe I hope that if you want to avoid turning up looking like a knickerless glitterball you'll learn by my mistakes. If however, you choose to jump in and repeat my mistakes my best advice to you is that to remove the glitterball effect you should buy body wrap clay, plaster yourself in it and then try to wash the whole lot off. You'll end up wallowing in glittering swamp water and it'll get over bathroom walls and in places as far distant as lofts (don't ask me how, I'm not scientifically minded!) but it's the only thing that's managed to shift it..... almost shift it! Spot the odd glint of the remaining glitter at classes tonight and just be grateful that you don't inhabit my world!!!