smooth salsa - how to dance like this guy

Last friday I was in a salsa club and I saw a guy that danced so nice. He was very unique because he was very smooth, not the frantic stepping that is more associated with competition ( nothing wrong with that). It was just a smooth flow, at times his feet would not even move, he will just stand there and let the lady in turns and then do a little jump and get back to the basic -that looked very nice. I have seen a couple of people dancing this way. I wonder if it a style per say of dancing salsa? is this a style ?

I want to learn it, it was just a pleasure to see this couple ( for example, he will grab the lady's hand and put it behind her neck but unlike the way I do it, he seem as if he was throwing a rope in a very very smooth fashion).

The was no sharp movements per say and at times his feet will go like from side to side not the basic really rather , almost like a ballet ( not really ballet but I don’t know how else to explain it)

I am wondering how do I learn to dance like that? if it is a style then I could find videos or such, I live in Wisconsin so is pretty hard to get salsa instructions here

Sounds a little like Cuban (Casino) style Salsa. Check out the video clips on this site, and see if it looks like what this guy was doing...

salsaville.com/salc/video_clips/salc_demo.htm.

If so, let me know and I will give you a list of instructional tapes you can buy online.

Simona,

that's it .. I think that is the style at least I see some of the moves that I saw this guy doing in the clips on that page, specially this ones

salsaville.com/salc/video_clips/ny4.mov

salsaville.com/salc/video_clips/is4.mov

salsaville.com/salc/video_clips/is3.mov

I will appreciate a list of instructional tapes that will let me learn this style of dancing, I love it

Hi PielCanela! Welcome to Salsa Forums. Make sure you take a moment and check out the Video Clip and Member Review sections. May be some good information there that you could use.

PielCanela said:

Last friday I was in a salsa club and I saw a guy that danced so nice. He was very unique because he was very smooth, not the frantic stepping that is more associated with competition ( nothing wrong with that). It was just a smooth flow, at times his feet would not even move, he will just stand there and let the lady in turns and then do a little jump and get back to the basic -that looked very nice. I have seen a couple of people dancing this way. I wonder if it a style per say of dancing salsa? is this a style ?

Click to expand...

I SO know what you are talking about. We have a guy who dances like that in our dance studio. He makes every dance look so sublime! OMG! Every partner he dances with ends up breathless, and looking deliriously happy. As another fellow salsero put it after watching him 'He does not dance to the music...but makes the music dance to him!'

ding din ding! sounds like Miami style!!!!

I think it has to do more with personal styling than styles of salsa. How you dance also depends on the types of music.

Hey PielCanela,

Here's a list of the instructional videos that focus on that style>>>


Obviously salsaville.com. I have a few of their DVDs and they are cool. I recommend buying both the Demo DVD and the instructional ones. salsaville.com/salsa_a_la_cubana.htm. The new series that came out about a year ago is also worth it, but the moves are pretty advanced. However, it's fun to watch how the dancers move and how they put personality into their dancing. Only draw back is the narrator that counts. He's a bit annoying, but you can always turn the volume down.

There's Boogalu Productions >>> boogalu.com. Their DVD called Mueve La Cintura is a demo video that shows off some amazing Cuban dancers. Good one to get to see this amazing style. Also, check out the other DVDs offered by this Site.

For the more Miami flair>>> salsaracing.com. Henry Herrera, amazing Casino Style dancer, has all kinds of instructional tapes that feature this style. He's one of my favorites.

Plus, in a few more weeks...we'll be putting up video clips on our website (rumbanana.org) that show some of the basic motions of this style. I'll let the forum know as soon as they are posted.

Hope this helps,