Salsa Dance

Salsa dancing

It is the perfect way to GET FIT, meet a whole bunch of new friends, gain confidence, de-stress, all while having loads of fun!

Salsa dancing has a massive social appeal. There is a salsa social/party or event on most days of the week for you to enjoy your new skill.  This is the kind of exercise where fun prevails and burning calories is just the added bonus! The workout buddies are all there by default and ready to dance with you!

No partner required and no experience necessary!

We offer classes and courses that will take you from a complete Beginner ("from scratch") through to dancing like a "Pro"! Courses and classes for your level include Beginners, Beginners PLUS+, Improvers Intermediate and Advanced.

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What is Salsa dancing?

The word "Salsa" means something different to everyone. It is a term that encompasses a number of different things such as Latin dancing, the music, the culture, the style and flair, etc. Salsa is very cross-cultural and has to be respected. Although many countries around the world listen to the same salsa music, everyone dances it differently. In some Latin American countries, people interpret the music in their own particular way and dance salsa using their own unique blend of regional steps, styling, and turn combinations.

Salsa dancing is unique because it can absorb so many steps from all other dances. A salsa dancer in Cuba may not dance the same way as a salsa dancer from Colombia or a salsa dancer from Mexico or New York, Los Angles or -Italy! Everyone dances to the same music, but they might not use the same steps! Different salsa dance styles have developed due to this and you will hear people talking about "LA style salsa (on1)", "NY style salsa (on2)", "Cuban salsa", "Colombian style salsa", "Puerto Rican style salsa" or even "London style salsa".

There is no "correct" text-book method on how to dance social salsa. What matters most is dancing to the rhythm of the music. Despite the differences in style, all who dance salsa obey the underlying 8-beat rhythm. For competition style salsa, each competition will have their own guide lines on what style of salsa is allowed.

At LDS we specialize in the two linear styles - "on1" and do ocassional courses and workshops in the "NY on2" style.

History

The history of "Salsa" dance is peppered with hearsay and contradiction. Although few would disagree that the music and dance forms originate largely in Cuban Son, most agree that Salsa as we know it today is a North American interpretation of the older forms. New York's Latino community had a vibrant musical and dancing scene throughout the '50s but found limited success with the 'Anglo' mainstream. In the 1970s, adoption of the term "Salsa" reduced the linguistic and cultural barriers to mainstream adoption of Latin music and dance.

The modernization of the Mambo in the 1950s was influential in shaping what would become salsa. There is debate as to whether the dance we call Salsa today originated in Cuba or Puerto Rico. Cuba's influence in North America was diminished after Castro's revolution and the ensuing trade embargo. New York's Latino community was largely Puerto-Rican. Salsa is one of the main dances in both Cuba and Puerto Rico and is known world-wide.

Salsa music sample

Description of Salsa levels at LDS

Beginners (level 1)

At this level you will learn all the key elements and fundamentals of "linear" style salsa (on1). This course is aimed for the student who has little or no experience in salsa. We start from the very beginning with all the salsa basics, rhythm & timing. We will then continue with the fundamentals of partner dancing, basic lead and following techniques, turns and how to put it all together into basic figures and fun easy flowing variations.

Throughout this course, your goal is to learn the basic terminology, understand the 7 fundamental basic salsa steps and be able to lead (if you are the leader) OR be able to follow (if you are the follower) the basic figures and variations taught in the course, in order AND random order. The basics taught in this fundamental course are absolutely vital as they will follow you through and always be referred to in higher levels. When joining this course, you can repeat the course for free for 12 months and you receive an instructional DVD included with the course. We feel this course is the most important salsa course of them all, therefore giving you the opportunity to re-visit and repeat the basics at no extra cost for an entire year to make sure you get it 100%!

Pre-requisite: None

Beginners PLUS+ (level 2)

Upon request from students we have added this new course for Beginners who have completed Level 1 (Beginners Salsa) and feel they are ready to move on. This course will explore how you can change the look of the basics you have learned in Level 1 without changing your basic steps.

Basics boring...??!! No way! It is here you will creatively explore the beginners level further and find out how much fun it can really be with the simplicity of the basics and its variations! This course will also give you an even more solid foundation and understanding of the basics and build your confidence to prepare you for Level 3 (Improvers). Please note that this course is not suitable for absolute beginners since it is assumed that you have full understanding of the basic steps and terminology.

Pre-requisite: Must have full understanding of Level 1

Improvers (level 3)

In this course you will learn to combine and create variations of the fundamentals taught in the beginners course, taking your salsa dancing to the next level - Improvers. You will learn how to make your dancing flow with simple, fun and interesting moves. Basic salsa styling is introduced.

By the end of the course, you should be able to dance to slow and normal salsa music, lead and follow improver level combinations and keep the timing while dancing.

Pre-requisite: Must have full understanding of Absolute Beginners & Beginners PLUS+  (levels 1 & 2).

Intermediate A (level 4)

These classes are for dancers who are familiar with and is comfortable with all the basic steps, turns, partner fundamentals and variations of beginners & improvers. We will continue with exciting combinations by incorporating even more variations of all the basic fundamentals. You will learn new skills and fundamentals that an intermediate salsa dancers posses and master.

We will also focus on, and enhance your lead/following technique for the new skills, new footwork variations and introduction to preparations for double spinnnig. This level will use all the key aspects of the previous levels to prepare the student for the more challenging variations and shines of the Intermediate B (level 4) and Advanced (level 5).

Pre-requisite: Must have full understanding of beginners & improvers (levels 1, 2 & 3)

Intermediate B (level 5)

At this level, all the salsa knowledge and technique you have gathered up until now will get pushed even further. This level will explore the intermediate level in depth. You will learn new moves and we will teach you how to master them.

Here you will also learn more about body control, men's double spinning, ladies styling and spinning technique, body momentum, body mechanism while dancing, counter action and shines! You will remain in this level until you can master the main moves and more importantly - master the techniques taught at this level.

Pre-requisite: Must have full understanding of levels 1, 2, 3 & 4

Advanced (level 6)

The pace at this level is much higher than any other level due to the fact that we use all the basics and fundamentals of all previous courses and classes. More challenging, but fun variations, styling for men & ladies, shine choreographies, multiple spinning, "light n' shade", musicality and much more. At this level there are no limits (finally!) - it's ADVANCED, anything goes! Hooray!

Pre-requisite: Must have full understanding of levels ALL previous levels.

Salsa On2 - aka Mambo (conversion)

Now that you can dance On1, let us introduce you to Salsa On2 - also known as Mambo! Mambo is danced on the upbeat of salsa music (2 & 6), which changes the dynamics and feel of the dance making it smoother. In this course we will show you how you can use already existing knowledge, basics and fundamentals and convert it.

This curriculum tailored towards social salsa dancers looking to easily learn Salsa On2. 

• Timing Revisited - "Feel The On2"
• Signals - When To Initiate The Lead
• Footwork Essentials
• Convert Your "On1" Partnerwork to "On2"
• Fresh Combinations With Flavour
• Styling For Leads Follows Integrated

Pre-requisite: Must have full understanding of Salsa On1 basics and fundamentals (levels 1-3)