Learning On2 (ET Style) for On1 dancers Corner

africana said:
And by the way, any transitioning dancers tried using an instrument to help you dance on2 without having to count??
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Sort of...
The way I made my transition from on1 to on2 was via cha-cha on2. Dancing cha-cha helped retrain my ear so I could feel the 1 beat not as the first beat of the measure but rather as the last beat of the cha-cha-cha, together with the last tu-ku of the conga tumbao. Through this process I started noticing the conga pattern more, and I think it's still the conga rather than the clave I latch on to when I dance on 2.
 
Oh yes the cha cha is great, love it! It's been my primary way for converting my staunch on1 friends. Even they can feel the music on2
 
Ooh, Ooh, Ooh! My instructor tried to get that across to my fellow classmates one day: Actually starting off with Cha-Cha in order to make it easier to move to On2. Such chickens! :lol: They said no, no we can't do that, it's too hard. :nope: :cry: Little did they know, it was an exercise that would have helped quite a bit. :)
 
Great thread! I've taken it upon myself to learn "on2" and began by taking as many of the on2 workshops I could over the weekend at Palm Springs. Maybe not the best approach but it's got me thinking in those terms.

Thanks for explaining the different on2 uh, styles(?). There were a several on2 instructors at the event and not all of them started out the same way. After reading this thread I realize they were either Power2 or ET2.

My goal is to be able to dance with any Salsera, whether on1 or on2. I already dance Cha-cha-cha on2, so I figured why not Salsa as well?
 
Subject: here's an interesting article from salsafreak on on1 and on2 dancing


My Transition from Dancing on 1 to the New York 2
By Dan Wilson

Before I get into this most of you know what this article is about
from the title. For those of you that are unfamiliar the meaning of
dancing on 1 or 2 check out Edie's article at
http://www.salsafreak.com/steps.htm. Also, here is the disclaimer: I
didn't write this article to offend anyone. These are just my
opinions.

My wife Lory and I started dancing Salsa about three years ago. I'll
skip the details of how we got started (that's another story). We
wanted to learn salsa and decided to take some lessons. One of the
local nightclubs offered a weekly Salsa class so we decided to start
there.

The class was a six-week course taught by a local ballroom
instructor. This class provided us with some instruction on the
basics. When I say basic, I mean real basic! We learned a minimal
amount of partner work and a few shines. My biggest gripe is that the
instructor did not play much music while he was teaching. Music was
played after the class ended. Because of this we had some difficulty
dancing in time with the music when it was played after the class.

After several weeks we began to look for some instruction beyond this
class. From watching dancers at the local clubs we were very
impressed with a couple from New York, Tyrone and Myrna. They are
both excellent dancers. We met them and became friends. We took some
lessons from them once a week at their house and learned more from
them than we did in the nightclub class. At this point we were
hooked. We wanted more!

I read an article somewhere that advertised a Salsa instructional
tape featuring Eddie Torres. I immediately ordered the tape. I
remember the first time I watched the tape. I was very impressed but
a little bit frustrated because this tape teaches you how to dance
Salsa on the 2 (New York style) and we had learned on the 1. I later
found out that there are several different ways to execute a Salsa
basic. For example you can break on 1, 2, 3 or 4. There are a couple
of ways to dance on 2: the Ballroom 2 and the New York 2. For more
details on this check out http://www.salsafreak.com/steps.htm. At the
time we were beginners and were happy to learn on 1 or 2 or anything.
We just wanted to learn.

About that time we heard that Tito Puente would be making an
appearance in Atlanta. At this time (in 1997), the Olympics were here
in Atlanta and Tito was here to perform at an Olympic related event.
I knew that Eddie Torres and his dancers sometimes perform on stage
with Tito Puente. We thought that maybe some of Eddie's dancers would
accompany Tito to Atlanta. We hoped that maybe we could schedule a
couple of private lessons with some of his dancers while they were in
town. I surfed the Internet and found a couple of phone numbers to
call for information on Eddie Torres group classes in New York. A
very nice lady answered the phone and said that a couple of the
dancers would be here with Tito. She took my phone number and said
someone would call me if they had time. I never received a return
call from them. I figured the Olympic Park bombing might have scared
them away or maybe they were just too busy to fit in the lessons.

Several months later we went to New York with Ty and Myrna. They were
great guides for the New York Salsa scene. They took us to
Copacabana, Latin Quarters and Flamingo. My feet have never been so
sore. We had a great time. And the New York dancers! So many good
dancers! To say I was impressed would be an understatement. This
really motivated me to want to learn. We wanted to take lessons in
New York, unfortunately it was time to come back to Atlanta and would
have to wait until the next trip.

A few months later we planned another trip. I called the number
listed for information on Eddie Torres's classes. The nice lady that
I spoke to months ago remembered me. She explained that the dancers
were in a very tight schedule in Atlanta but if we came to New York
that she could arrange for some private lessons for us. I gave her
the dates of when of our upcoming trip and she asked me if we wanted
some private lessons with Eddie. I told her that would be great.
During the conversation I discovered she is Eddie's mother!

When we went for our private lessons with Eddie. We arrived at the
studio and met Elliott Lampert. He was working with Eddie Torres at
the time. He wanted to know how were able to schedule private lessons
with Eddie. I replied that Eddie's mother scheduled them. I found out
later that Eddie does not usually teach private lessons, just group
classes. He taught David Lee Roth some private lessons a few months
before us. The reason he agreed to work with us privately was because
of his mother. She asked him to do this for her. She remembered us
and wanted to do something nice. What a sweet lady! Thank You!!

The lessons started and Eddie Torres asked us to dance for him. I
don't get nervous if people watch me dance at nightclubs but this was
different. Eddie Torres was going to watch us dance. Yikes!! The
butterflies in my stomach felt more like humming birds! We were still
dancing on 1 at the time and still just beginners, dancing less than
a year. After watching us dance for a (long) few minutes, he asked us
if we wanted him to teach us on one or two. He said he would teach us
either way since we were taking private lessons with him we would be
going first class and could have it any way we want it. . We decided
to learn to dance on 2. It felt like starting over. I felt so awkward
at first. In the beginning, I thought that it didn't feel natural. It
seemed like dancing the basic inside out compared to dancing on 1.
Still, I was determined to get it. The lesson went well, Eddie was
very nice and made the lesson fun as well as a great learning
experience for us.

For several weeks after the lessons with Eddie Torres we continued to
struggle to with the New York 2 but I noticed the more I danced the
easier it became (and the more I liked it). Then one night, after a
few weeks of frustration, click…..a light bulb lit up. Wow! I could
really feel the music. I realized that I never felt the music before
until now. It's like a door was opened for me, a door I had been
trying so hard to open. Maybe I was trying too hard before. But it
seemed as if it just opened by itself. What a great feeling! From
that day forward, I decided I would never dance Salsa on anything but
the New York 2 again (and to this day I have not).

A couple of years have passed since we made the transition to the New
York 2. We've taken lessons with Nelson Flores, Dellile Thomas and
Glenda Heffer. They are all excellent dancers and teachers. As I told
you earlier, I don't dance on the 1 anymore. It's the man's decision
to start the dance and what to break on. I now avoid asking ladies
who prefer to dance on 1. On one occasion a lady ask me to dance with
her and said she noticed that I dance on the two. She asked if I
would mind dancing with her on one. I answered that I would love to
dance with her but it would have to be on two. I know, you're
probably saying "jeez, what a diehard" (I guess I am a diehard when
it comes to this). Sorry, I just don't enjoy dancing on 1 anymore. I
would rather dance on 2 with a beginner than on 1 with an experienced
dancer. Most of the ladies I dance with now can follow the guy
regardless of what he breaks on. So, it's really not a problem.

As I stated earlier, no offense intended. I'm not saying that
breaking on 2 is better than breaking on 1. Notice that I did not
attempt to explain why I prefer 2 beyond saying that it feels better
to me. Maybe breaking on the 1 feels better to you. There is no right
or wrong here. The most important thing is to have fun. Salsa is a
beautiful dance regardless of what you break on.
 
This is an excellent article on the history of salsa/mambo and the differences between On1 and On2.

worldsalsafederation.com/articles2.html
 
peachexploration said:
Ooh, Ooh, Ooh! My instructor tried to get that across to my fellow classmates one day: Actually starting off with Cha-Cha in order to make it easier to move to On2. Such chickens! :lol: They said no, no we can't do that, it's too hard. :nope: :cry: Little did they know, it was an exercise that would have helped quite a bit. :)
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Yesterday, in my private class, I got a real treat! Cha Cha the whole time! :banana: :D
 
Last night, I sucked in class. :? Some sort of funky shine sequence that I just could not get until toward the end of class. :( What I did notice is that the more the intricate these shines get, the more I need to do it with the music and if it's not "in" the music, I just can't get it. :? It also helps to have legs of spaghetti! :lol: :lol:
 
I went for my first private lesson ( well there were two of us). Lucy my friend and I went because I was so overwhelm by three patters that our teacher was showing. I already have a hard time remembering things, at the end of the hour I could not remember a single thing, luckily my friend has an extensive background in ballroom dancing and is more attuned at being instructed because he pretty much remember all the combos. after the class I basically had to spend the next hour in the parking lot just practicing so I could at least remember enough to do it at home.

I consider it very useful though, she, the teacher, point out that my basic was a little bit off, I was jumping in the middle and loosing the beat and my left foot, when hitting the first beat was going to my left side rather than going straight to the front, I haven't even noticed but I went to check some video I had of myself dancing and sure enough it look awful.

... I have a lot to practice still ... I see so many nice moves and want to get better, my little dance studio in my baseman will be done in a few more weeks, I ma so excited !!

Now my friend and I are planning to go to this dance club and hopefully try the new patterns that we learned with our respective lady partners
 
I took a class with Eddie Saturday, after the Congress workshops. It was supposed to be 2 hours ... it wound up being for 4 hours ... the man lives, eats, breaths this stuff. I learned a lot from just talking to him and taking several hours of classes over the weekend from him and Maria. I don't think I will be going back to On1 :(
 
peachexploration said:
PielCanela said:
.....Now my friend and I are planning to go to this dance club and hopefully try the new patterns that we learned with our respective lady partners
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How did it go, Piel? :)
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oh it was very good as always, we so couple of really good dancers there which is always an inspiration and it pumps me to practice even harder.
 
I started my first regular On2 (et2) lessons last night :D

I've done several classes over the years but there's never been a local club that caters for it. Finally, I've found one that's a little under an hour away.

And ... it went very well :) I've got to work on making the timing automatic over the weeks but I was pleased.
 
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