On2 is Harder to Learn

I have now completed my third semester of teaching both On2 and On1 at the University. At first I thought that since I have not taught On2 as much, that it was my fault the students learned less in the On2 class. But after putting a lot of work and study into my On2, I have come to the conclusion that On2 is simply more difficult to learn.

I had 6 weeks to teach them each semester. I found that I could get the On1 students dancing a variety of steps sooner, but by the end of the 6 weeks I could get both classes dancing pretty well. It just took a little longer for the On2 students to maintain the basic rhythm while performing different combinations.

Salsero, regarding your On2 students, did they learn On1 first? Curious because if they have already learned On1, it takes a bit of reprogramming before the adjustment can be made. Anyone else?

In both cases, the students were learning salsa for the first time.

My humble guess would be that with on2 you are required to follow the less obvious clues in the music..........by no means easy for the newbies (or for the ones who spend sooooo long on1 :roll: )!

Does anyone actually find on2 easier.....?

I find on1 easier, but this is what I've learned!

I guess on1 is easier because it is going with the main beat...

I started with on1 and I have been learning ETon2 for the last couple of months.
Power2 I think would be very hard for me to learn at this point simply because I am too used to the timing I already have.

I do think that ETon2 can be more difficult to learn(for the beginner) than on1.
First and foremost: If you want to practice dancing salsa in social settings, you will have to dance on1 99% of the time. The vast majority of those dancers that do dance on2 are already above beginner level and can be quite intimidating for beginners to dance with. Therefore on1 students will have a much easier time finding people with whom to practice.
Even if there is a significant on2 community and you do find a significant amount of people with whom to dance when learning on2 you are very likely to run into those that don't dance on2. If you are learning on1 you are much less likely to find someone who can't dance with you. I have met many people that dance on1 but can't dance on2, I have only met a couple of people that dance on2 but can't dance on1.

Physically ETon2 movements do require a little more coordination than on1 movements. This is because during a half measure you are moving with both feet as opposed to just one foot when dancing on1. Honestly I don't think this is a significant factor however.

I tried an On2 class the other week.

Definitely extremely difficult when your feet are wired to On1.

A few times when I lost concentration I found myself going back to On1 without realising it :roll:

JazzHands said:

I tried an On2 class the other week.

Definitely extremely difficult when your feet are wired to On1.

A few times when I lost concentration I found myself going back to On1 without realising it :roll:

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Yes Jazzhands, if you're already wired for on1, it a little difficult to get the on2 timing at first.

Yep, I dance on1 and once I went to a class on2. The timing is logical and it's not hard to hear and follow it, but the moment I lose concentration and distract my attention from the beat I just go on1. It feels so much better and natural I'm not very good, but the thing I'm very solid is rhytm (on 1, of course

This is a habit, apparently, because when I dance rumba or cha-cha, both on 2, I don't have to think for the timing at all (and I don't dance these often). The problem is that with salsa I have already built strong habit, asociated with the music and when I hear that music I just feel like dancing on 1. I suppose that's the situation with all people dancing on 1.

Dancing on 2 looks very nice and different, but it needs too much work on the basics at a stage when I don't feel like do it again. I'll wait until at least half of the people start to dance on 2

What is pretty funny to me is it seems like when you are in NYC dancing On2 seems to come more naturally because many people are dancing Mambo and you pick up a lot just through the environment. You people make some good observations about not being able to develop if you don't have other Mambo dancers to help you along.