I have been going to classes about twice a week for the last eight months. I go to different classes and teachers so that I can get gain an all round experience of the different styles of salsa. What I have found without exception is that all the teachers teach salsa in a routine framework so that you could get four distinct moves or figures rolled into a routine. I have to say I'm getting fed up with learning salsa this way. Learning a routine in a class even with complicated moves is not a measure of how good a dancer you are but how good you are at copying the intructor and remembering. It is a challenge for observation and memory that is all, not dancing skill. Sooo why teach salsa this way, is there not any other way? I have a salsa video tape which demonstrates each move seperately which makes it very easy to follow. Surely this method could be taught live in a class. The format could go as follows. The instructor demos the move. Then goes through it slowly until the class has got it. Then it is practiced with music even if it just four bars long. The students are then told to freestyle it in ther own time with music without any calling. Here the students might want to begin with a basic mambo. Okay so that is the first move learned. The second move is taught in the same way. How the students put them together is up to them. So there we have two moves learned which might take up to eight bars. I think eight bars of salsa is quite enough for one evening. Maybe four bars is enough even if the class only takes half an hour, at least that is one move the students can take home with them that they have got throughly fixed in their body/mind system. At a salsa party if you are dancing spontaneously in the moment you do not dance class taught routines. That is dancing in the head which will curtail your natural expression. flowrite

• routines   flowrite (clive abbey)   Sunday 23rd February 2003, 3:54 pm
  • routines   les (Les)   Monday 10th March 2003, 7:07 pm
  • routines   les (Les)   Saturday 1st March 2003, 5:04 pm
    • routines   pullgees (clive abbey)   Wednesday 5th March 2003, 6:41 pm
      • routines   Bob   Thursday 6th March 2003, 3:03 pm
  • routines   Dave F (Dave Fenton)   Tuesday 25th February 2003, 9:56 am
    • routines   Nickylg (Nicky Lloyd Greame)   Tuesday 25th February 2003, 10:41 am
      • routines   flowrite (clive abbey)   Wednesday 26th February 2003, 1:07 am
        • routines   Brendan (Brendan Brolly)   Wednesday 26th February 2003, 4:58 pm
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