Basic Steps to get you through 1 dance

[DontDance]

Hey im a guy who like doesnt know crap about salsa, like i know you and your parnter hold each others hand and then you put your hand around your parnters waist...i think. Anyways is their another posture than this...and say i have to pull off atleast one dance, i dont want to look stupid, anybody here have simple salsa steps that can help me get through One dance?

:cry:

[peachexploration]

Hi Dontdance! Welcome to the SF family! :D Hmm, just one dance? Well, the basic specifics of Salsa really goes beyond one dance and to be honest, it's really not as simple as one might hope. Things to consider are timing, footwork, lead/follow parts of the dance and styles of salsa such as LA, NY, Casino Rueda, etc..

Are you aware of any Salsa schools in your area where maybe you could take a class? What about videos, have you viewed any that teach the basics? Here are a few online links to check out:
salsa-rhythms.com/7lessons.htm
salsastudent.com
bustamove.com

Hope this helps..... :D

[MacMoto]

Welcome, DontDance :D

i know you and your parnter hold each others hand and then you put your hand around your parnters waist...i think. Anyways is their another posture than this...
Depending on the style of salsa (there are several), you may be told to put your right hand on your partner's shoulder blade. This I think is the standard hold in LA style salsa. You may put the hand a bit lower, near or on the waist, in Cuban style salsa.

say i have to pull off atleast one dance, i dont want to look stupid, anybody here have simple salsa steps that can help me get through One dance?
As a guy, you will be "the leader" -- the person who initiates all moves in salsa dancing. Your partner will be the follower, i.e., she follows your lead. Because of this, it really is a good idea for you to take some classes. Salsa clubs often have beginners classes before dancing begins.

As the bear minimum, you need to know the basic steps like the mambo step (forward basic) and back step. This is actually the hardest part of learning salsa dancing, so don't be disheartened if you find yourself struggling in your first class -- every salsa dancer has gone through the same thing. Looking stupid is actually a stage you have to go through when you learn to salsa...

Once you have the basic steps and can step on the correct beat of the music, learn the basic (clockwise) single turn and also how to lead the follower to turn. If all you want to do is to have one dance, you can get by with just the basic steps and turns.

Good luck!

[RugKutta]

Just one dance? Be careful, you might only want one dance and end up getting yourself into more than what you intended......The salsa bug is out there....and if you get bit, it's all over. That one dance may end up turning into 5 or 6, and before you know it you get bit HARD and end up a salsaholic like the rest of us!!! MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!!! :lol: But of course, if that happens, you'll have to change your name :wink:

Anyway, welcome to the forum and good luck to you in Salsa. You got any questions, we're all here to help ya.

Luv, peace, and SALSA

Myron

[DontDance]

Hey i just want to thank peachexploration for those links you posted and the rest of you who answered, ive never been in a forum were everyone is as cool as you guys, and just wanted to say thanks alot!

[peachexploration]

It was my pleasure, Dontdance. :) Please check in and let us know how it goes. :)

[squirrel]

Good luck, dontdance!

[SDsalsaguy]

Please check in and let us know how it goes.
Yes, please let us know how things work out for you! :D

[DontDance]

Well Sunday was my "Big Test", I had done every thing i could, i looked at 4 lessons from the website that peachexploration gave me. I was working day and night on perfecting my groove . At first i looked like a robot then I moved my arms and stuff and copied this guy named chayenne who came on in a movie Dance With Me that happened to come on on saturday. The man has a very cool style. Well like i said i just wanted to get through one dance if anyone asked me. As the party was fading... i started to feel relieved, im like yes this is great i dont have to dance. Unfortunately, some girl from my class (whom many told me she had a thing for me) told me to dance with her... i cant describe how it was it was kinda of awesome and kinda of relieved and kind of Nervous. I mean out of all the people it just had to be her that was sitting way over on the other side ( I sat as far away as i could for a certain purpose of Not Dancing ). Anyways she had dance with this guy who was just doing the crip walk and the Pb & J to a Juan Luis Guerra Song...lol...so she wanted a change of scenery i suppose. So we started dancing, my basic step came out natural, then i did the cuban side step (i dont recall the right name) and well she was part cuban so she immediately was amazed, although a little bit lost cause she hadnt done that move in a while but it all worked smooth, i did the turn, very sensual i might say, and i was running out of dance moves...the song was pretty long, it was the end of onesong and started another.. i think it was Amor Narcotico by Chichi Peralta but i could identify my rythym and beat so easily...so when it all ended it was awesome, a small crowd was applauding us, it turned out no other guy knew anything else besides the crip walk, or break dancing, so i scored major points with the ladies! Everyone congratulated me because they thought i didnt dance at all... Its ok for me not to dance the "modern dances" because they find it normal, but when u cant dance to your regular genre's thats kinda of odd to them. Well after that she asked me to dance again...fortunately it was around midnight so i told her " im so sorry id like to have another dance but i have to go" hehe :-D . The dance ended well, and so did the day, now i feel a bit more confident about my dancing, and everyone in school looks at me in a different perspective. Im so glad i did all my stupid stuff at home and not in that dance :-D.

As for the girl....I think we are in the verge of a begging something other than a relationship were all we said was Hi and Goodbye.

Im glad their isnt another party im obligated to go to. Still Salsa isnt that bad, i think i adjusted pretty well from what i normally dance which is Swing and Tango, but their will be other days...THANKS EVERYONE WHO REPLIED TO MY POST WHEN I NEEDED HELP! I APPRECIATE YOU ALL!

[SDsalsaguy]

Glad to hear it worked out so well for you DD! :D

[squirrel]

good! keep us posted on future developments!

[blankspaceswithchips]

dude ur my hero

[SDsalsaguy]

Welcome to the Salsa Forums BSWC! :D

[peachexploration]

Welcome BSWC!!! :D

Hi-Five to you DD! That is awesome! :)