Converting from On1 to On2

E

Estilo

Sometime last year I had the pleasure of experiencing the delights of On2. A teacher I know put on a workshop in which he attempted to convey the timing of On2. To assist with the difference in timing, he used a percussion track which emphasised the second and sixth beat. So, we had a go at dancing a basic, cucharacha and cross body footwork. Though we were dancing just the basics, I enjoyed the difference in the rhythm of the dance. Regrettably, I have had few opportunities to delve deeper into this style. However, the teacher I mentioned before has now started his own salsa promotion around where I live and eventually plans to hold On2 classes sometime in the not too distant future.

So, this has got me thinking ... Has anyone out there started off dancing On1 and attempted to learn On2? Is it easy to convert turn patterns you've learned from On1 into the On2 style? I've also heard that in the North of England, people tend to dance On2 as opposed to On1 - is that the case?

It would be great to hear people's observations about On2 and what interests you about it!
 
I have always learned on1. I've never done an on2 lessons although i can dance on2 quite happily because socially i've danced with a few great on2 dancers where i live. I've never had problems hearing which beat, and at first it felt alien to step on the 2nd beat, but i soon got over it. I can transition quite easily between the two and cuban. It just takes a bit of time like most dances.

Most of the time, just go with what song is playin.. feel it :)

~Giglet~
 
I've started with On1 about 2 years ago. Then about 9 months ago I started learning On2. I then spend about 2 month until I felt comfortable with the basic step, the turns and the cbl. But I suspect my experience will differ from others since as far as I know I'm the only person in the local scene learning On2. I guess that if there were others dancing On2 and being able to dance with them would change my experience.

And what interest me about it? Well, as I wrote in another thread, there are two reasons. First I've seen quite some On2 videos and wanted to dance like that. And second, dancing On2 allows me to dance a different style with a lot more girls.

And before I forget it there are already some threads about converting from On1 to On2. Just try searching for "On2" or "ET2". :)
 
Estilo said:
Has anyone out there started off dancing On1 and attempted to learn On2? Is it easy to convert turn patterns you've learned from On1 into the On2 style? I've also heard that in the North of England, people tend to dance On2 as opposed to On1 - is that the case?
Click to expand...

I was taught on2 before on1 in the sense that I was taught Ballroom Rumba for several years before I took up Salsa. I could never dance Rumba on 2 as I always reverted to on1 as soon as the teacher stopped counting. I am the same with Salsa.

To a considerable proportion of the population, dancing on2 is musically unnatural - I have had discussions with numerous people about this subject. Salsa is not the easiest of dances even when danced on1, so making it even harder conflicts with what IMO the dance is supposed to be about - inclusiveness.

Regarding your question about the North of England, fortunately the answer is no although there are isolated pockets here and there. To complicate matters further, there are different ways of dancing on2 as other threads on this forum have discussed.
 
Estilo said:
I've also heard that in the North of England, people tend to dance On2 as opposed to On1 - is that the case?
Click to expand...

It's not quite as cut and dried as that, there's plenty of on1 up here, but it's true to say there are strong on2 scenes in York and Manchester (where on2 is taught right from absolute beginner level), and there are good on2-friendly scenes in Sheffield and Leeds too.

salsology -manchester
encuentro latino -york
salsaholics -leeds
mambo collective -sheffield
 
sweavo said:
Estilo said:
I've also heard that in the North of England, people tend to dance On2 as opposed to On1 - is that the case?
Click to expand...

It's not quite as cut and dried as that, there's plenty of on1 up here, but it's true to say there are strong on2 scenes in York and Manchester (where on2 is taught right from absolute beginner level), and there are good on2-friendly scenes in Sheffield and Leeds too.

salsology -manchester
encuentro latino -york
salsaholics -leeds
mambo collective -sheffield
Click to expand...
I'd say the majority of salsa in north of England is On1 but as Sweavo says, there's a fair bit of ET2 to be found if you know where to look (Sweavo even tells you where to look!).
I could list all the On1 outfits I know to counterpart Sweavo's list, but it'd be pretty long and broring, so suffice to say "all the others!".
 
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