Salsa dance : Solo ??

Hi all,

Can't salsa be performed in solo? I recently (6 months) started learning salsa (LA on 1). When ever I visit my friends, they ask me to perform, I always say them that salsa is a partner dance, and I need a partner, who also knows salsa.

So, Is salsa strictly partner dance? Can't there be solo salsa performances?
I was searching about this on internet, I noticed that there is frequent usage of the word "shines" in this context. What is it?

I want to get some DVDs for solo performances. What would you suggest?

Yes, shines are done solo, often to give your partner a break from being led.

My instructor, along with two others, did a performance at the last Utah Congress that was all shines.

claws said:

Hi all,

I want to get some DVDs for solo performances. What would you suggest?

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i dont know about dvds, but these are great solo shows, imho:

frankie martinez - THE solo show - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKewPnkXUW0 - such charisma, oh how i love this show...and oh how i wish i never had to see 100 poor imitations of it by other dancers in the 2 years after :cry: also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3hYmJZEijc

leon rose - james brown (anyone have a link for this). i like 'it's a man's world, too' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbmwbFSQORQ tho i've seen him perform it smooth as silk (this version looks a little rushed). he seems to be one of the only guys who gets that men's costumes can be sexy too.

alex lima - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z5fzuavXGA - musicality, charisma, enjoyment and pelvis... :wink:

i've assumed you're a guy....?

Hey.. thanks for you replies..

Yes, shines are done solo, often to give your partner a break from being led.

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I see. So, salsa is not sctrictly partner dance? I mean, its not that you should always hold/lead your partner. Salsa can also be performed in solo, and its called shines. right?

I've seen the youtube videos in above post. They were great. But, I couldn't identify any of the steps in that video. Will the steps be different, while dancing in solo (shines) and while dancing with partner?

i've assumed you're a guy....?

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Yeah, I'm a guy.

claws said:

I see. So, salsa is not sctrictly partner dance? I mean, its not that you should always hold/lead your partner. Salsa can also be performed in solo, and its called shines. right?

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Right. Well, I'd say salsa *primarily* a partner dance, and best examples of shines are ones where you can see that the partners are mentally connected even when dancing solo (watching and responding to each other, playing with each other). But yes, you don't need to be holding your partner all the time. There's a general tendency that NY style (on2) dancers like shines.

claws said:

I've seen the youtube videos in above post. They were great. But, I couldn't identify any of the steps in that video. Will the steps be different, while dancing in solo (shines) and while dancing with partner?

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Right again. You don't just do "partnerwork patterns without your partner" when dancing solo. Like partnerwork moves, salsa shines have lots of "known/established steps". I have a list of standard NY (Eddie Torres) shine steps I got from my teachers. Then you can play with them and invent steps based on them or just do whatever you fancy, like when you are dancing at a regular club (I remember a video clip of a girl doing shines that looked a lot like some sort of marshall arts moves :lol. Having said that, if you watch people dancing solo closely, you will also see a lot of basic steps and turns heavily stylised to make them look nice.

Thanks a lot MacMoto for clearing the confusion. Actually, the usage of the word salsa is the cause of this confusion. If somebody says they are learning salsa, by default they mean *with partner*(atleast at my place, this is the case).

Now, after seeing the above videos, I want to learn shines more than partner work.

MacMoto said:

salsa shines have lots of "known/established steps".

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I see. So, where can I find the list of those well established steps?

MacMoto said:

I have a list of standard NY (Eddie Torres) shine steps I got from my teachers.

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Can you please post the list of steps here?

I was googling for a salsa shines DVDs. I found these two DVDs by Jose & Jami. What would you comment on these? or do you suggest any good DVDs.?

--- Basic Shines ---
1) Forward & Back Basic
2) Side Basic
3) Side Tap
4) Heel, Heel, Toe
5) Hot Toe or Kick Ball Change
6) Two Corners
7) Four Corners
8) Chase Turn
9) Suzy-Q
10) Forward Crossovers
11) Crossover Suzy-Q
12) Angle Suzy Q
13) Front & Back Crossovers
14) Mambo Jazz
15) Kick Pivot
16) Left Flare
17) ? Flare
18) Slave
19) Chord Beats Crossover
20) Chord Beats Side Steps
21) Cuban
22) Hook Step with Syncopated Back Rock
23) Spiral Kick
24) Spiral Kick with Turn
25) Double Crossover Tap

--- Advanced Shines ---
1) Forward & Reverse Halves
2) Zig Zag
3) Braid
4) Sailor Step
5) Forward Slides
6) Back Slide
7) Swing Step
8) Hunts Point
9) Grapevine & ?Addie-tude?
10) Cha Cha Shuffle
11) Chuck Step
12) Side Basic Bounce
13) Millie Doney
14) Swing Forward & Back
15) 4 Corner Swing
16) Side Pulsations
17) No Place Like Home
18) Reverse Crossovers
19) Suzy-Q Plus
20) Suzy-Q Grande
21) Rising Crossovers
22) Syncopated Spiral
23) Four Point Freeze
24) Zig Zag Special
25) Drunken Sailor

Seriously, frankie martinez rocks!!! He is awesome.
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claws said:

Seriously, frankie martinez rocks!!! He is awesome.

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amen to that. and i love that he doesnt buy into all the ego/marketing BS that's sadly become almost a compulsory part of being a famous salsa instructor.

especially when you consider how much salsa performances/performers have improved over the past few years, and his old performances are still awesome. and his lead is like butter....swoon. :bouncy:

claws said:

Thanks a lot MacMoto for clearing the confusion. Actually, the usage of the word salsa is the cause of this confusion. If somebody says they are learning salsa, by default they mean *with partner*(atleast at my place, this is the case).

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That's pretty much true pretty much everywhere, claws. Too much solo stuff can scare off beginners so it gets neglected in group classes. Look on youtube for "cali shine champ" for a really full-on example of what can be done (though you almost never see this in salsa life!)

When your friends ask for a demo, how about getting a volunteer, teach them the basic step, then lead them in a single turn, a guapea, and a cross-body lead...? All these moves can be led on complete beginners if you are clear and you go at a steady pace. It will impress your friends that you can do it on someone with no training! And if it doesn't work, well, your partner isn't trained so what did they expect?