"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).