Stiffness in Salsa dancing. Where do you draw the limit?

Chris_Yannick

Chris_Yannick

Super Moderator
Staff member
Branching off from another discussion, what would you consider too stiff for a Salsa dancer? Is it all in the lower half of the body? Do you only look at someone's hips when they dance when you judge stiffness?

When I see many girls dance, they move their hips, and while that would seem to indicate that they aren't stiff, it can also look very unnatural. IMO, it's a bad look. For girls, I look at Griselle Ponce as someone who has great body movement who doesn't look unnatural when she dances.

Guys don't usually move their hips and if they do, it's more subtle than girls. Too much movement, IMO, would look silly on guys. Too little, and they are stiff.

What do you consider as having the right amount of movement as not to be stiff when dancing Salsa? And which body parts are you referring to?
 
Last edited:
Basically turning like Michael Keaton Batman is too stiff. For myself, I notice in to stiff if I am being overly cautious and trying to work hard on my "lightness" in the lead. I kind of look like the Salsaventura guy. Not knocking him or his lead but its not what I want to look like.
Also are we talking solo or partner work? To me and my tastes, a basic step in solo work looks WAAAAYYYY better with whole body engagenent then the"just proper stepping and weight shift will give you all that you need" school of thought, which to me is good Only partner work. But I'm one to talk with my substandard basic.
 
Just stumbled upon this video. This guy seems to have smooth natural body movement. Not stiff like Terry, or excessively flamboyant like Johnny Vasquez. But i'm surprised guys like these aren't more famous.

As @Smiley79 said in another thread that he becomes more stiff if months go by without dancing, I think a lot comes down to range of movement and looseness in one's body, together with muscle memory to move in a certain way.
 
1derpalm said:
Also are we talking solo or partner work? To me and my tastes, a basic step in solo work looks WAAAAYYYY better with whole body engagenent then the"just proper stepping and weight shift will give you all that you need" school of thought, which to me is good Only partner work.
Click to expand...

I don't think it should matter if you are dancing solo or with a partner. I might keep the upper body a little stiffer in partnerwork, but the lower body can and should still be moving. A lot of people look good dancing with a partner and don't look stiff at all.
 
TikiTaka said:
Just stumbled upon this video. This guy seems to have smooth natural body movement. Not stiff like Terry, or excessively flamboyant like Johnny Vasquez. But i'm surprised guys like these aren't more famous.

As @Smiley79 said in another thread that he becomes more stiff if months go by without dancing, I think a lot comes down to range of movement and looseness in one's body, together with muscle memory to move in a certain way.
Click to expand...

Andre is definitely good and I like his style. He likes doing moves that require traveling so he will move around the dance floor and his partner more than the average social dancer. I agree with your assessment of Terry and JV.

What does looseness mean? Loose in what sense? Loose to me sounds like when things just flail around with no intent or control, which doesn't sound very good when dancing.
 
Chris_Yannick said:
What does looseness mean? Loose in what sense?
Click to expand...
I often heard this term "cadera suelta " in spanish. Loose hips, in the sense that it moves smoothly without looking unnatural. I don't remember whay Griselle Ponce looks like dancing, but i think i've seen a fair share of people that move their hips excessively and it doesn't look very natural.

In contrast, you have urban dancers like this one that move their hips a lot, but it still looks natural. This kind of movement may not be the prefered movement on a salsa dance floor (maybe this is the gigolo look that @Smiley79 talked about :P ) , but i bet if one can move like that it will be difficult to look stiff in salsa :D
 
Last edited:
Chris_Yannick said:
I don't think it should matter if you are dancing solo or with a partner. I might keep the upper body a little stiffer in partnerwork, but the lower body can and should still be moving. A lot of people look good dancing with a partner and don't look stiff at all.
Click to expand...
It kind of does matter to me.
For instance, at 12:23 on the right is her preferred basic. It is okay and better than the left, but wothout a partner that is not appealing to me at all. Not to take away from the teaching itself. And I am not a fan of his badic on its own. I am also not a fan of their arm placement (unless it is in partner work). I would rather an Oliver Pineda, Sosa or Frankie Martinez. This is where disagreements come in. This is my best example of how I feel.

 
TikiTaka said:
I often heard this term "cadera suelta " in spanish. Loose hips, in the sense that it moves smoothly without looking unnatural. I don't remember whay Griselle Ponce looks like dancing, but i think i've seen a fair share of people that move their hips excessively and it doesn't look very natural.

In contrast, you have urban dancers like this one that move their hips a lot, but it still looks natural. This kind of movement may not be the prefered movement on a salsa dance floor (maybe this is the gigolo look that @Smiley79 talked about :p ) , but i bet if one can move like that it will be difficult to look stiff in salsa :D
Click to expand...

It doesn't look natural at all lol. I mean, for him it's natural. Maybe because I don't dance what he's dancing, I don't see the natural-ness of it. I do see the looseness in his dancing, but I have no idea how to relate that to Salsa hip movement.
 
1derpalm said:
It kind of does matter to me.
For instance, at 12:23 on the right is her preferred basic. It is okay and better than the left, but wothout a partner that is not appealing to me at all. Not to take away from the teaching itself. And I am not a fan of his badic on its own. I am also not a fan of their arm placement (unless it is in partner work). I would rather an Oliver Pineda, Sosa or Frankie Martinez. This is where disagreements come in. This is my best example of how I feel.
Click to expand...

If you have a good basic when dancing solo, then it should translate to dancing with a partner. The hip movement should also translate, just toned down a bit. The arm movements should be toned down a lot more, unless your goal is to send confusing signals to your partner.

The video you posted would be much more informative if they were dancing together. I suspect the girl's lower half would look the same.
 
Chris_Yannick said:
It doesn't look natural at all lol. I mean, for him it's natural. Maybe because I don't dance what he's dancing, I don't see the natural-ness of it. I do see the looseness in his dancing, but I have no idea how to relate that to Salsa hip movement.
Click to expand...
I think not being stiff translates from different latin dances. I notice it all the time. If my body is loose, my hip seems to move no matter which direction i step. If it's stiff, no amount of technique seems to help. Not overt like side to side in bachata, or the video you quoted, but i definitely feel my salsa step loosening up after dancing like that. I had a stiff back for a couple of months and now finally it seems to be reverting back to normal.
 
Chris_Yannick said:
If you have a good basic when dancing solo, then it should translate to dancing with a partner. The hip movement should also translate, just toned down a bit. The arm movements should be toned down a lot more, unless your goal is to send confusing signals to your partner.

The video you posted would be much more informative if they were dancing together. I suspect the girl's lower half would look the same.
Click to expand...
Lol. We are basically I just saying the same thing. I just read an old post and you who's my main statement to a Tee, twice lol. And I got some good vids to boot.
 
Another example of not stiff dancing, but something is off. Maybe it's the exaggerated arm movements, even though some of it looks nice, the whole package turns me off. It seems too cartoonish for me. Though I have to say they are a perfect match :)

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top