Difference between On1 and On2

Recently YQ taught the performance class a 'theory' lesson on musicality and difference between On1 and On2 Salsa. (I should convert the diagram to online... and post here)

One key point which I think is very notable is....

For On1, just before the pauses, both dancers are in 'closed' position (2 feet together)
For On2, before 4 and 8, the dancers are in Open position.

There is a big impact here, in that these pauses are 'photo moments', where people watching the dance get to see a break between flurry of movements.

This is also when On2 dancers like to style A LOT.

e.g. Every Open break, after 6,7... On2 dancers are in an open position, and a very common styling here would be for both dancers to look away and use count 8 to style, and come back to connect on 1.

Similarly, in a CBL, On2 leads like to do it OPEN (i.e. going opposite direction like in an open break) rather than forward (towards the follow), and point away (a styling move) at count 8, then step + lead on count 1 to execute the CBL.

Barriers to Social Dancing

Beginner guys have many many 'fears' when it comes to social dancing. I will list down some... in individual posts and write on how to overcome them.

Here is one which I heard recently....

"I wanted to dance with this girl, but she just finished a dance with an awesome lead.... if I ask her to dance now, it would be an anti-climax!"

Does that sound familiar? Basically it's a guy ego problem... we assume that the girls will compare :)

Honestly though, who cares? It's not like u're going after the girl? U're just going to do one dance and the hunt for the next target! :P

If she had a very intensive dance with another guy just before you, then... do a slow and smooth one to help her relax! (I'm sure she'll appreciate it)

The key thing is, enjoy the dance, SMILE. Even doing simple moves (especially on crowded dance floors) can be nice as long as both dancers are smiling and enjoying it :)

I will try to get a girl's POV for this sentence and post it here later.

Salsa On2

http://www.salsanewyork.com/ourdancemusic.htm

I found a very good summary of information and links in the above URL. Those who are starting to learn on2 should go read it. A wealth of knowledge in there.

Some parts I wish to quote are:

We Start On The Major Downbeat, And We Break On The Clave And The Tumbao - When Eddie Torres says that this On 2 timing and style of mambo dancing "logically fits the rhythm of salsa music", he is referring to the fact that the strongest beats in the rhythm, the 1st and 5th beats, are where we begin our moves: we begin our basic step, our cross-body-lead, our turn patterns, our shines. In other words, the beats with the greatest rhythmic thrust (1 and 5) are what power the "On 2" dancer's moves. The greatest "push" or "action" in the music's rhythm (the 1 and 5 downbeats) empower the greatest "action" in the dancer's body (the initiation of a move).

In addition, as noted above, we do our 2 strong body motions, the 2 and 6 breaks (change of body direction), on the major rhythmic beats of the clave, and the strongest sounds of the conga drum, the 2 and 6. So in all three ways (the strongest downbeats, the clave and the tumbao), this particular mambo dance style and timing expresses in its strongest body movements what the structure of salsa music expresses in its strongest rhythms.

We start on 1, we break on 2: This distinguishes standard New York On 2 timing from those which break on 1, 3, etc., and those which don't begin their moves on the 1st beat, such as timings where the dancers step on 2, 3, 4, and 6, 7, 8, for example Razz M' Tazz and some Palladium, ballroom and international styles. Cuban Pete's Personal Opinion - Quoting Fernando Lamadrid, "Cuban Pete, one of the greatest dancers of the Palladium era once explained it like this: "Dancing "On 1" is dancing "TO" the music. Dancing "On 2" is dancing "IN" the music. And at a panel discussion at the World Salsa Congress, he said "....Dancing "On 1" is like dancing to the melody of the music, while dancing "On 2" is like dancing in the rhythm of the music." It might actually be more precise to say ".......dancing "On 2" is like dancing in the rhythm of the clave's tension-resolving and dominant 2 beat". While these statements are only an opinion, they are not uncommon. They do reflect many On 2 dancers' belief and feeling, especially those who danced on another timing previously, that this particular method connects them more to the rhythmic percussive elements in the salsa music. And, by the way, most of us also love the melody and the words in the songs, not just the rhythm. The major point here is that the New York On 2 timing connects very well to the rhythmic structure of classic salsa music.

Please note, however, as mentioned in our Welcome & Introduction to this web site, that nothing here is meant to suggest that different ways of dancing to salsa music are any less legitimate or less enjoyable. No offense is meant, and none should be taken. There is no right or wrong way to dance. One can dance in many ways, and in connection with many different aspects of the music: rhythm, melody, mood, meaning of the words, tempo, harmony, intensity, etc. What matters most is what each dancer prefers.....and that they don't smash into their neighbors on the dance floor

And this

There is a lot of discussion about how New Yorkers dance On 2, and how that relates to the clave, the cowbells, the congas, etc., and how one must be attending to those instruments in order to learn how to dance On 2. This is not true. These discussions are usually by those who are not primarily and dominantly On 2 dancers. Here in the New York metropolitan area, when we learn to dance On 2 from friends or in classes, whether it is with Eddie Torres, the "Mambo King", or any of the many other excellent instructors noted above , we are not paying much, if any, attention to the clave or these other instruments. That is a much later focus in our learning.

In fact, when we initially learn any part of this dance, whether it is the basic step or shines, or more advanced turn patterns, we do not even play the music at all. Instead, we count out loud "1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7" while learning to place our feet or hands in the proper positions. In order to really understand the feeling of the clave and conga rhythms when dancing On 2, one usually must FIRST be an intermediate or advanced On 2 dancer. And that means that one must have mastered the footwork, timing, partnerwork and open shines to the extent that they are automatic, and that they feel like the only natural way to move to this music. I am not saying that this is the only way to learn our step, but rather that it is the most common method of instruction currently. As with music, while some may learn to play by ear, the majority learn by using a the standardized systematic notation; some may learn mambo in other ways, but the majority here learn by breaking down the dance into the count and the various turn and open shine patterns, many of which have names

Learn the moves 1st by counting, don't worry too much about musicality. i.e. we need to have our alphabets before we can form words and then sentences and then paragraphs and then to poetry!

Complacency

Be extra careful when you 1st dance with any girl.

No matter how familiar you are with your move, you can never predict her reaction.

So always LOOK and take precautions. Do not be complacent and assume that your move or lead will work as expected.

I've recently committed the above error when I danced with an old friend that I had not danced with for a while. Suffice to say, she moved when I expected her to stay on the spot. The result? I smacked her on the head.... it's so embarrassing and I hope there are no bruises the next morning :P

Which do u want to be?

The lead that compensates for the follow?
Or the lead that need your follows to compensate for you?

Clown moves

Super Mario have a set of moves that are utter nonsense but damm fun.
They are used to play and make a fool of the girl :P

I didn't understand the need of such moves until recently.

Girls in my school told me they are afraid of dancing with me. And I can feel them really tense up even before we started.

Why?? Simply because I'm their teacher and they feel that they are not good enough, etc.
I can understand how this feel like. Because, I was in their shoes years ago :)

Just that I never thought.. I would be at the other side of the wall, LOL. Now these moves... they are really crazy stuff... makes people laugh and forget that they were afraid. Makes people loosen up and thus be able to dance a lot better!

Haiz... but personally I have an issue because I'm a very serious person by nature, I really can't joke and not really a fun person in general. I can play while dancing, but that's only with a few people while interpreting the music. .... sigh. (see, everybody's got some things to work on... for me, it's... the fun factor while dancing)

Lead EARLY - Lead is transition, not the final state

If you signal EARLY your partner will have MORE TIME to react.
This will make it a lot easier to dance with you!

She'll have more time to think and maybe even add in styling!

Similarly, if you are stopping her turns, start applying the braking force EARLY so that it wont be so jarring. Thus she would feel that the dance is SMOOTH!

But how early is early??

For me, I start leading the next move as early as possible, i.e. Once I've planted her on one one foot, I'll start to shift her weight in the direction I want for the other foot!!

e..g. Once she's stepped on count 1, immediately I start the lead for her direction, etc. for count 2!

Every lead is a transition (1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, etc.).
You are telling your partner how to move from 1 count to the other count!!

Many beginner dancers (and even teachers) mistakenly lead the move (teach the move) ON the count rather than TO the count.

e.g. for a CBLT, leading the girl to turn towards the left, should start at 5 and end at 6. It's a TRANSITION. (note that at 6, it should CONTINUE to 7 in a SMOOTH way, not a stop can continue thing)

Many beginners will lead the turn only at count 6. Which is the DESTINATION, it's too late!!

This is related to the planting technique. BRING HER THERE! Move her and change her direction starting from count 5. The lead does not stop there! Continue the guidance and STOP + PLANT her where she should step at by the time she reaches count 6! It's a continuous process! Pace the turn and the amount of force used according to the speed. Apply brake when u need to change directions.

3 Laws of a good lead

1) We must always take care of the well being of our partner
2) We'll never blame our partner if anything goes wrong
3) We must remember to stay humble

Beyond Basics

We always ask our students to keep doing the basic class...

But there will come a point, when we will ask them to STOP doing basic. Conflicting instructions?

It might seem so, but actually there is no conflict!

The basic is still there! But it's been disguised, camouflaged!! The weight shift, the lines, the hook, the fundamental techniques, they are all there!! We just learn to hide them behind styling and other adjoining moves! Make the basic look good different. That's what advance dancers do :)

Independent Arm Movement

A move done by advanced dance and a beginner dancer can look very different. Very often, beginners and most intermediate dancers couldn't tell what made the difference....

One of the factors or tricks used by advance dancers is ... FAST independent movement of their arms.

1) When one arm of moving, KEEP the other parts of the body still
2) One when that move is completed then start on the other arm.

The impact of the above, ... makes the moves look extra sharp AND complicated. And in order to achieve it, it will often require VERY fast and accurate movement.

e.g. doing a Sombrero in rueda, it is very easy to turn the girl with both arms. But a more impressive way of doing it, is to turn with the right arm (open the girl up to face centre), then turn the left arm (close her position and turn further), then complete the move with both arms and comb.

One small change and the entire move looks different and much more impressive.

Learn to lead .... by following

YQ managed to learn my style of leading and leeched most of my moves simply by following.

She adopted the 'best practice' based on the various leads she had danced with and took all the techniques that worked.

Similarly, she also borrowed the worst ... and use them to help train the girls how to follow. Why so? This is to train the girls NOT to depend on the lead, and let them be able to keep their balance and poise no matter how bad the lead and how they are 'thrown around'!

When your lead is 'mature' to a level, it'll help a lot to try following. You'll be able to appreciate the girl's footwork, problems, etc. better. And thus be able to help compensate for the girl even more

But this only works... if your lead is 'mature' enough not to become confused with too many other things. There are guys whose movement became really sissy when they tried following too early, etc. etc.

Learn fast ? Pick up bad habits even faster!

Those who learn fast will need to watch out for one thing.
Due to the fact that they can pick things up very quickly, this applies to bad habits too!

As the chinese sayings goes 学好三年，学坏三天.
Thus seriously talented students must make it a point to listen to their coaches and consult them often.

Otherwise some habits will be VERY hard to correct once it's picked up.

How to add styling

When salsa dancers start learning how to style, a common issue is that they can't put what they have learnt during class into social dances.

This is often the result of being too 'greedy' and lack of planning. Planning when dancing salsa??? LOL, YES

Why greedy? Coz they tried to do EVERYTHING. It won't work (unless you are a genius). Coz most people cannot handle too many things at one go.

One technique is... PRE-SELECT a few styling moves (recommend up to 4 maximum).
PLAN how you want to use them in which moves.

Go out and use them on EVERY girl on the dance floor that night in every song.
By the end of the night, those moves you've chosen should be internalized (i.e. muscle memory).

Pick another set for the next night :)

The good thing about being a lead is that we get to choose the moves we want to do and thus has more control on the styling aspect. Make full use of this advantage.

For followers, the above method works as well. Prepare those few styling moves you want to focus and work on. Then during every dance of the night, use them whenever opportunity arise. By the end of the night, those moves should be internalized (or maybe a few nights, depending on the complexity and opportunity)

Training versus social dancing

There is a difference between a training and social dancing.

While training and practising, we will try to push ourselves beyond the comfort zone. Focus is on improvement and there will be many awkward moments where things doesn't work, etc. We'll just laugh it off and try again (while trying to figure out what went wrong)

But while social dancing, the focus is on enjoying the dance/experience. Taking care of the girl, charming her, etc. Thus we usually stay WITHIN the comfort zone and will only push the envelop if the follow enjoys that.