I see a very common bad habit of beginner salsa leads. When they find a girl who's nice and wont mind practising with them, they'll "hold on" to the girl for the whole night.
There are many issues with this behaviour, .... which I shall not elaborate, but the main problem in context of learning to lead, is that the girl will get to be able to anticipate whatever you are trying and it will not give you a proper feedback of your true 'mastery' of the move anymore!
What I would advocate, is for every learner lead to find at least 5 practice partners.
Whenever the lead learns a new move, he should
1) Practice with one until it's smooth or until 15 minutes have passed (which ever is earlier)
2) Find the next partner, see if it's still smooth, if not, keep trying until it's smooth
3) Go to step 2
Once the move works well with all 5 partners, it's time to try it out on the dance floor with strangers.
Now, why don't we just go practice the moves with strangers?
There are multiple reasons, e.g.
1) When you practice with strangers, you are not sure of their level of following
2) When there is a mistake you can't be sure if it's you or them causing the problem
3) Most strangers wont give you (useful) feedback (because it's generally considered no polite to do so unless one is giving true compliments)
One other thing, how to pick practice partners? (good ones are hard to come by)
1) try to find those of a similar level (so that she wont get bored), e.g. classmates
2) try to find those who are keen to learn and knows how to give good/precise feedback (e.g. cant feel the lead, which part not smooth, where not comfortable, etc.)
3) try to find those who wont have pre-conceived notion of how things should be done and have an open mind. (this is VERY important)
4) try to find one who is an advance level follow. This would be the last one you try the new move on and her feedback would be the key to find any final issues. (e.g. instructor/performer, or just dance with your instructor)
Those are the criteria that I would look for. Really tough to find I dare say :P
It takes many many followers to train a good lead.....
Thursday 10 December 2009
Wednesday 9 December 2009
How to Apply Choreography in a Social Context
The benefits of choreography
Many people say that Salsa is a social dance and that the most beautiful aspect of Salsa can be seen on the social floor where the dancers play and dance their moves to the music, all in an impromptu fashion. I agree with that and I have seen some amazing dancing on the social floor. However, I feel that there are certain benefits to choreographing a dance that some people tend to overlook. In my opinion, choreography is important for beginners who are not seasoned dancers as it provides them with a good starting ground in their social dancing for the following reasons:
1) Easy to remember/recall steps while dancing
Many newbies to Salsa have very few moves to execute while dancing because their knowledge in dance is limited. Their variations are often interspersed with a lot of basic steps because they are thinking of the next move to execute. A simple choreography that is taught to them will allow them to constantly practice one variation after another, so that they can train their muscle memory to execute simple steps one after another on the dance floor without worrying about what the next step is.
Some people may think that this will make their dancing boring and repetitive as they constantly repeat the same things. However, I stress that this is for beginners and that doing repetitive steps again and again is better than doing many basic steps while worrying and ransacking your brain over what steps to execute next on the dance floor. Furthermore, the dancers can rearrange the sequence of steps after they are more familiar with the steps.
So beginners out there, put what you learn into a series or combo that you can easily remember. Don’t make it too long as that will be hard to remember. I suggest that you choreograph Combo 1 which comprises of variations A, B, C and D, Combo 2 which comprises of variations E, F, G and H, etc. That way, you also practice how to transit from one move to another!
2) Posture and other tiny details corrected – confidence in the steps obtained
A choreographed routine will ensure that you have executed the moves many times in that sequence. This will make sure that you familiarize yourself with the steps quickly as you repeat them many times. In addition, you will gain confidence in your dancing as you become more secure in your leading and following of the variations. If you have a teacher correcting you in your choreography, this is a plus point as a good teacher will not only correct your lead but also your posture, hands, expression and other tiny details to make you look good on the dance floor. It is easy for the teacher to correct you in such a scenario as you repeat the steps and he/she can check if you slouch in a particular step or if your hands are placed wrongly in a particular step. Once you are sure that you look good, you will get the confidence to dance and enjoy yourself.
3) Students who are less talented can learn about timing and rhythm and how to pose to a particular music through the choreography
A choreography to a particular music also helps students with problems in keeping the timing right while dancing as the fixed music will help them to familiarize themselves with at least one song. Once they learn to keep the count in the song, they can gradually learn to keep the count in other songs. The first song allows them to start ‘somewhere’ in learning about the Salsa beat.
A choreographed routine may also have pauses and different rhythms where the students are taught to pose or dance in response to the music. This teaches students how to play with the different musical styles of Salsa.
4) Finally you can piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle to mix and match moves
After learning the choreography, students who have become more comfortable with their routine can then choose to mix and match the variations or shines to vary their repertoire as they dance.
Many people say that Salsa is a social dance and that the most beautiful aspect of Salsa can be seen on the social floor where the dancers play and dance their moves to the music, all in an impromptu fashion. I agree with that and I have seen some amazing dancing on the social floor. However, I feel that there are certain benefits to choreographing a dance that some people tend to overlook. In my opinion, choreography is important for beginners who are not seasoned dancers as it provides them with a good starting ground in their social dancing for the following reasons:
1) Easy to remember/recall steps while dancing
Many newbies to Salsa have very few moves to execute while dancing because their knowledge in dance is limited. Their variations are often interspersed with a lot of basic steps because they are thinking of the next move to execute. A simple choreography that is taught to them will allow them to constantly practice one variation after another, so that they can train their muscle memory to execute simple steps one after another on the dance floor without worrying about what the next step is.
Some people may think that this will make their dancing boring and repetitive as they constantly repeat the same things. However, I stress that this is for beginners and that doing repetitive steps again and again is better than doing many basic steps while worrying and ransacking your brain over what steps to execute next on the dance floor. Furthermore, the dancers can rearrange the sequence of steps after they are more familiar with the steps.
So beginners out there, put what you learn into a series or combo that you can easily remember. Don’t make it too long as that will be hard to remember. I suggest that you choreograph Combo 1 which comprises of variations A, B, C and D, Combo 2 which comprises of variations E, F, G and H, etc. That way, you also practice how to transit from one move to another!
2) Posture and other tiny details corrected – confidence in the steps obtained
A choreographed routine will ensure that you have executed the moves many times in that sequence. This will make sure that you familiarize yourself with the steps quickly as you repeat them many times. In addition, you will gain confidence in your dancing as you become more secure in your leading and following of the variations. If you have a teacher correcting you in your choreography, this is a plus point as a good teacher will not only correct your lead but also your posture, hands, expression and other tiny details to make you look good on the dance floor. It is easy for the teacher to correct you in such a scenario as you repeat the steps and he/she can check if you slouch in a particular step or if your hands are placed wrongly in a particular step. Once you are sure that you look good, you will get the confidence to dance and enjoy yourself.
3) Students who are less talented can learn about timing and rhythm and how to pose to a particular music through the choreography
A choreography to a particular music also helps students with problems in keeping the timing right while dancing as the fixed music will help them to familiarize themselves with at least one song. Once they learn to keep the count in the song, they can gradually learn to keep the count in other songs. The first song allows them to start ‘somewhere’ in learning about the Salsa beat.
A choreographed routine may also have pauses and different rhythms where the students are taught to pose or dance in response to the music. This teaches students how to play with the different musical styles of Salsa.
4) Finally you can piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle to mix and match moves
After learning the choreography, students who have become more comfortable with their routine can then choose to mix and match the variations or shines to vary their repertoire as they dance.
"I Want to be a Good Dancer!" - 5 Steps to Dancing Success!
"I Want to be a Good Dancer!" - 5 Steps to Dancing Success!
1. Basics
A good Salsa dancer needs to have good fundamental techniques. In building a house, one needs a good foundation; likewise in dancing. The fundamental techniques can be divided into 2 categories: 1) partner techniques, and 2) non-partner techniques. The former simply describes proper lead and follow techniques while the latter consists of body and leg flexibility, and spinning techniques.
Lead and follow techniques are crucial in partner dances because the leader needs to know how to lead his partner properly and the follower needs to know how to respond to her partner’s cues. We can’t social dance properly, especially at the advanced level if we do not have the proper lead and follow techniques. That’s why we emphasize a lot on basic class in Actfa. Most people actually don’t realize the full importance of basic class (where they teach the fundamental lead and follow techniques) until they have been to an intermediate or advanced class where they find it hard to catch up in the class because they don’t have the proper techniques to execute the steps right…*
Besides learning how to lead and follow properly, we also need to have sound techniques in body isolation, flexibility and spinning.** This is vital if we want to look good when we dance. In Salsa, a dancer stands out if he styles well, spins well and is flexible. Body flexibility and isolation techniques are important for those shines and styling (e.g. body waves!) to look good. The more flexible our body is, the better it looks, as the body movements are bigger and more fluid. We also gain a better control over our movements when we master the techniques for isolation. Flexibility is necessary for dancers simply because it looks outstanding, and our legs and bodies move better and are not so stiff when we are flexible. Spin is crucial in Salsa as it is one of the main components in Salsa. Once we grasp the concepts of spinning, we can balance better and move faster. When this happens, we have a lot of time to style and look good because we are not rushing after the music or catching our balance. On top of that, our spins look sharper because they are faster and more precise.
2. Practice, practice, practice
Besides having a good foundation for dance, another golden rule is to practice. Repeating the variations or styling will enable us to be more familiar with the variations and styling. If we practice enough, we will commit the variations or styling into our subconscious so that we automatically execute the steps without consciously thinking of it. This is important in social dancing, where the movements are impromptu for the ladies. By training the steps into their subconscious, they will respond to the leader’s cue and execute the variations and styling automatically. This in time will train their sensitivity in responding to the lead. It is also crucial for the men as they can fluidly execute one variation after another only after they commit the steps into their subconscious. That way, they will not have to keep thinking of which step to do next when they dance with their partners.
3. But practice makes perfect, so find a good teacher
Although practice is important, we must also be careful not to practice the wrong steps. A teacher of mine once said, “Practice makes perfect. If you practice the wrong thing, you’ll perfect that”. So we all need to constantly check through a mirror or a video of our dancing to see if we are executing the steps the way we imagine it to be. More importantly, we need a good teacher or mentor who cares to teach us the right things and correct our mistakes. A good teacher will find out what we want, encourage us to pursue our goals and show us the shortest path to achieving it. He will plan our training for us so we don’t have to worry about what to learn, and prepare us both mentally and physically to attain our goal. A good teacher cares enough to scold and push us to achieve what we want, and more. Good teachers are hard to come by; great teachers are even rarer: cherish them.
4. It’s not the quantity but the quality of your variations/styling
Many people seem to want to learn one hundred complex variations, shines and styling, with the thought that if they know a lot of moves, they will be good dancers. It is true that many advanced dancers seem to know many moves and variations. However, I feel that it is more important to get the moves looking nice rather than knowing a lot of variations. Dancer A may know a lot of moves but the quality of his move may only be 2/10. Dancer B may know only a few moves but the standard of his moves are 8/10. Dancer A’s moves will look messy and average; any potential he may have as a dancer will not be obvious because he is like an uncut diamond – it looks like an ordinary rock on the outside. Dancer B may know limited moves, but he is clean and precise in his execution. Because of his cleanness and precision, he may stand out among other social dancers – he is like a small diamond, small but nevertheless sparkling! Of course, it is important to have both quality and quantity and the best way is probably to learn new steps gradually while perfecting those we know.
5. Be polite to others and you’ll always have people to dance with
A last but crucial point to being a good dancer is to build a good relationship with the people. Be polite to others: treat your partner with respect, respect other dancers’ space while dancing, thank your partner after dancing and guide her to the edge of the dance floor if you’re a guy. Most importantly, smile! It’s important to be on good terms with other dancers because you meet them frequently on the dance floor. Being on good terms will ensure that you’ll always have people to dance with!
* Actfa conducts Salsa Examinations certified by AUQE (www.auqe.com) which has 50 pointers in its Level 1 Basic Exam as guidelines for its students to develop the proper lead and follow techniques.
** Actfa holds Isolation & Body Conditioning classes twice a day to help its students to master their body isolations, flexibility and spinning techniques (www.actfa.com).
1. Basics
A good Salsa dancer needs to have good fundamental techniques. In building a house, one needs a good foundation; likewise in dancing. The fundamental techniques can be divided into 2 categories: 1) partner techniques, and 2) non-partner techniques. The former simply describes proper lead and follow techniques while the latter consists of body and leg flexibility, and spinning techniques.
Lead and follow techniques are crucial in partner dances because the leader needs to know how to lead his partner properly and the follower needs to know how to respond to her partner’s cues. We can’t social dance properly, especially at the advanced level if we do not have the proper lead and follow techniques. That’s why we emphasize a lot on basic class in Actfa. Most people actually don’t realize the full importance of basic class (where they teach the fundamental lead and follow techniques) until they have been to an intermediate or advanced class where they find it hard to catch up in the class because they don’t have the proper techniques to execute the steps right…*
Besides learning how to lead and follow properly, we also need to have sound techniques in body isolation, flexibility and spinning.** This is vital if we want to look good when we dance. In Salsa, a dancer stands out if he styles well, spins well and is flexible. Body flexibility and isolation techniques are important for those shines and styling (e.g. body waves!) to look good. The more flexible our body is, the better it looks, as the body movements are bigger and more fluid. We also gain a better control over our movements when we master the techniques for isolation. Flexibility is necessary for dancers simply because it looks outstanding, and our legs and bodies move better and are not so stiff when we are flexible. Spin is crucial in Salsa as it is one of the main components in Salsa. Once we grasp the concepts of spinning, we can balance better and move faster. When this happens, we have a lot of time to style and look good because we are not rushing after the music or catching our balance. On top of that, our spins look sharper because they are faster and more precise.
2. Practice, practice, practice
Besides having a good foundation for dance, another golden rule is to practice. Repeating the variations or styling will enable us to be more familiar with the variations and styling. If we practice enough, we will commit the variations or styling into our subconscious so that we automatically execute the steps without consciously thinking of it. This is important in social dancing, where the movements are impromptu for the ladies. By training the steps into their subconscious, they will respond to the leader’s cue and execute the variations and styling automatically. This in time will train their sensitivity in responding to the lead. It is also crucial for the men as they can fluidly execute one variation after another only after they commit the steps into their subconscious. That way, they will not have to keep thinking of which step to do next when they dance with their partners.
3. But practice makes perfect, so find a good teacher
Although practice is important, we must also be careful not to practice the wrong steps. A teacher of mine once said, “Practice makes perfect. If you practice the wrong thing, you’ll perfect that”. So we all need to constantly check through a mirror or a video of our dancing to see if we are executing the steps the way we imagine it to be. More importantly, we need a good teacher or mentor who cares to teach us the right things and correct our mistakes. A good teacher will find out what we want, encourage us to pursue our goals and show us the shortest path to achieving it. He will plan our training for us so we don’t have to worry about what to learn, and prepare us both mentally and physically to attain our goal. A good teacher cares enough to scold and push us to achieve what we want, and more. Good teachers are hard to come by; great teachers are even rarer: cherish them.
4. It’s not the quantity but the quality of your variations/styling
Many people seem to want to learn one hundred complex variations, shines and styling, with the thought that if they know a lot of moves, they will be good dancers. It is true that many advanced dancers seem to know many moves and variations. However, I feel that it is more important to get the moves looking nice rather than knowing a lot of variations. Dancer A may know a lot of moves but the quality of his move may only be 2/10. Dancer B may know only a few moves but the standard of his moves are 8/10. Dancer A’s moves will look messy and average; any potential he may have as a dancer will not be obvious because he is like an uncut diamond – it looks like an ordinary rock on the outside. Dancer B may know limited moves, but he is clean and precise in his execution. Because of his cleanness and precision, he may stand out among other social dancers – he is like a small diamond, small but nevertheless sparkling! Of course, it is important to have both quality and quantity and the best way is probably to learn new steps gradually while perfecting those we know.
5. Be polite to others and you’ll always have people to dance with
A last but crucial point to being a good dancer is to build a good relationship with the people. Be polite to others: treat your partner with respect, respect other dancers’ space while dancing, thank your partner after dancing and guide her to the edge of the dance floor if you’re a guy. Most importantly, smile! It’s important to be on good terms with other dancers because you meet them frequently on the dance floor. Being on good terms will ensure that you’ll always have people to dance with!
* Actfa conducts Salsa Examinations certified by AUQE (www.auqe.com) which has 50 pointers in its Level 1 Basic Exam as guidelines for its students to develop the proper lead and follow techniques.
** Actfa holds Isolation & Body Conditioning classes twice a day to help its students to master their body isolations, flexibility and spinning techniques (www.actfa.com).
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Obsession with new moves
A very common problem with new salsa leads, is the obsession to learn new moves.
Why do I call this a problem? Shouldn't they learn as much as possible?
Well, it's a good thing to improve one's vocabulary of moves.
BUT, and a VERY BIG BUT... what's the point of learning so many moves when you cant do ANY of them well?
I still remember during the early days of my salsa learning.... I was very concerned about being able to finish a song and not running out of moves.
Well.... that was until a famous dance instructor (female, follower) told me.... the follow couldn't be bothered if u repeat some stuff. They would be too busy showing off, kekeke.
Yah, ITS OK TO REPEAT YOUR MOVES!
In my opinion, leads should
1) learn a set of moves,
2) practice hard until they 'internalize' them. (i.e. muscle memory and can do with fast music)
3) After that, then add a new set
4) Go to step (2)
Many leads often skip the VERY IMPORTANT step (2) in their obsession with new moves.
Be patient... we have a whole life of dancing ahead. There are thousand and one moves to learn :) It's not possible to learn and remember all of them, kekeke.
In a social dance setting, it's better to lead simple moves well, rather than try too many complicated stuff and fail badly. (or worse, fail even at the simple stuff coz of lack of practice)
Just for illustration purposes. This youtube link is a BASIC RUEDA performance. It's one of my fav, because, only VERY basic and VERY simple moves are used and often repeated quite a number of times. Yet it still looks very nice! Why? Coz EVERYBODY in the circle can do all the moves really well. Simple moves FTW!
Why do I call this a problem? Shouldn't they learn as much as possible?
Well, it's a good thing to improve one's vocabulary of moves.
BUT, and a VERY BIG BUT... what's the point of learning so many moves when you cant do ANY of them well?
I still remember during the early days of my salsa learning.... I was very concerned about being able to finish a song and not running out of moves.
Well.... that was until a famous dance instructor (female, follower) told me.... the follow couldn't be bothered if u repeat some stuff. They would be too busy showing off, kekeke.
Yah, ITS OK TO REPEAT YOUR MOVES!
In my opinion, leads should
1) learn a set of moves,
2) practice hard until they 'internalize' them. (i.e. muscle memory and can do with fast music)
3) After that, then add a new set
4) Go to step (2)
Many leads often skip the VERY IMPORTANT step (2) in their obsession with new moves.
Be patient... we have a whole life of dancing ahead. There are thousand and one moves to learn :) It's not possible to learn and remember all of them, kekeke.
In a social dance setting, it's better to lead simple moves well, rather than try too many complicated stuff and fail badly. (or worse, fail even at the simple stuff coz of lack of practice)
Just for illustration purposes. This youtube link is a BASIC RUEDA performance. It's one of my fav, because, only VERY basic and VERY simple moves are used and often repeated quite a number of times. Yet it still looks very nice! Why? Coz EVERYBODY in the circle can do all the moves really well. Simple moves FTW!
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