Musicality in on2 dancing

HiJackSalsa

HiJackSalsa

Changui
Hey guys, i've recently tried some on2 dances and they ain't gone too good.

i have learned on1 (which is what is most common in my scene) and have taught my self a little on2. however when i go and dance it i feel like all the musicality i have (or think i have) quickly dissolves. Often i will be dancing to the major melody which seems to have a build up on the 1234 and resolves on the 5678. I think this is called call and response tho im not that well versed in music theory so soz if i'm mistaken. Anyway to me preparing for something makes sense to sync up to the 1234 and then executing that when the melody resolves on 5678 makes sense to me. in fact not only sense, i can't understand how to do it any other way. so when i dance on2 i feel like i'm on time, but really disconnected to the music.

I assume i am missing something due to my inexperience so was looking to the forum for help. specifically how to start expressing myself when dancing on2

Thanks
 
oh i've got a video of me dancing the other day with a friend...there's a point in the music @52 seconds where i have no idea how u can't express that on2 perhaps people could use this as an example to discuss around.

oh and feel free to comment on my dancing if u like-i'm pretty thick skinned by now (thanks forums)

 
I guess the easiest for us to help you is to see a vid clip of you dancing on2? Bingo we're on the same wavelength! Call and response refers to parts of the salsa song itself.The following is a definition I found on an English salsa website:
"The son played in the older-style without the brass line-up, reveals its roots more readily [6]. Smooth African rhythms roll in the bass lines, headed by lyrics sung co-operatively: lead singers backed by other singers simultaneously, or they might sing separate pieces in alternation. The phenomenon of lead and backing singers taking turns is known as call and response, and is evident in the majority of salsa music, though it is found in other music forms too, like gospel." Your homework would be to find out what son is.
 
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Focus on son and bass line. Other than that I would not worry about musicality. Typical on2 is not fitting music by design. Advanced dancers bypass that by stepping off the tracks. Also girls will intuitively love most son elements that you bring to your on2 dancing.

Seriously, don't sweat about that. It took me too much time to drive musicality into broken framework. You can also watch dancers you like and steal from them.
 
Hey lookin good! Anyway check out this video of Terry. He starts off on2 and at 0:45 he switches to on1 and then switches back. A lot of the top leads do this, depending on the song.

EDIT: Actually it's at 0:42. Looks like he's in the middle of a cross body lead and then all of a sudden he thinks "oh crap here it comes!" and breaks away for his triple spin.

 
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Sal Sero said:
Hey lookin good! Anyway check out this video of Terry. He starts off on2 and at 0:45 he switches to on1 and then switches back. A lot of the top leads do this, depending on the song.
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While Terry hits the "1" at 0:45, he's still dancing On2. Please note that he extends his left leg after exiting the multiple turns and resumes partnerwork by 0:51, all while maintaining leader's footwork.

@HiJackSalsa, as other Forum members have mentioned, it is true dancing ET On2 emphasizes the conga tumbao. However, this is not at the expense of ignoring other rhythms. That is, you are not stuck simply hitting the 2 and the 6. You can use different footwork within the On2 framework to reflect different aspects of the music. This is particularly evident during solo footwork - for example, you'll notice that some shine patterns emphasize chord beats (1, 3, 5, 7), bass tumbao, syncopated beats, etc. The same concept would apply when dancing On1. In the end, you should be able to reflect the music as you see fit regardless of on which beat you choose to break!
 
Yea to-may-toe to-mah-toe. Point was he just completely breaks away in the middle of executing a move to express the music better.
 
All you have to do is change your thinking. I predominantly dance on2 and for me the "call and response" works because the energy is built up in the first measure and resolves in the second, so I execute the move in the first measure and then "settle" into the second, if that makes sense..,.

At the end of the day if you dance a lot of on2 you will get used to the feel and the musicality.

I was exactly like you - when I first started dancing it I felt weird, and it seemed counterintuitive because I was so used to the call and response feel of on1.

I'll admit it right here - it took me almost a year to get really comfortable dancing on2, and these days it certainly feels more intuitive, to me.
 
Sal Sero said:
Hey lookin good! Anyway check out this video of Terry. He starts off on2 and at 0:45 he switches to on1 and then switches back. A lot of the top leads do this, depending on the song.

EDIT: Actually it's at 0:42. Looks like he's in the middle of a cross body lead and then all of a sudden he thinks "oh crap here it comes!" and breaks away for his triple spin.

Click to expand...

I've watched this dance hundred times before. After reading your post, I watched it again. Terry is dancing on2, not switched to another timing.
 
I switched from on1 to on2 a long time ago. For a couple of years I could switch seamlessly from on1 to on2 from dance to dance. However, a while ago I got to the point where I almost have to count to dance on1. The point is that it will take some time to get used to listening to the parts of the music that make sense for on2 and will allow you to express the music.

My preference is to dance on2 these days. So much so that when my partner prefers to dance on1 I will do my shines on2 and then switch back to on1 when we go to closed position. I can't, without thinking about it too much, hear the music any other way. I do find it much easier to dance to the older salsa music from the 60's and 70's rather than salsa romantica.
 
olamalam said:
I've watched this dance hundred times before. After reading your post, I watched it again. Terry is dancing on2, not switched to another timing.
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At 0:41 he initiates a crossbody on 6, at 0:42 he reaches for her stomach to finish the crossbody on 2 but then decides to pull his hand back because he can hear the brass building up, he steps away on 3, preps for his spin on4, and on 5 he executes a triple spin that ends on the following 1. He then stands in place for 4 bars to "reset" before resuming on2 basic at 0:51.

That's not considered switching timing? And don't take this as an argument I'm genuinely curious.
 
salsamarty said:
I switched from on1 to on2 a long time ago. For a couple of years I could switch seamlessly from on1 to on2 from dance to dance. However, a while ago I got to the point where I almost have to count to dance on1.
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Surprised - you seemed totally smooth and seamless to me.

I haven't taken lessons on2 (sorry, just too busy! :( ), just the odd Oliver workshop, but can follow a strong lead. I do the opposite and shine on1 and wait for him to lead back on2 (that's more my atrocious timing, though). Anyway, all of these tips are extremely helpful.
 
Salsa Student said:
At no time was he dancing on1 which is what you originally stated.
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Terry will never dance on1. ;)
But I know what Sal means. A lot of musical dancers (on1 as well as on2) will pause or speed up their steps within a bar, to hit an accent with a move that else wouldn't hit at the right moment.
 
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