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Salsa! (dancing, not yummy dip).
Ponge
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Well I've been talked into going to salsa lessons next week by a girl who I have a bit of a crush on, and lets just say I'm not the most natural of dancers.
She taught me the very basic first step, but if you guys had any advice I'd love to hear it. As it is I am very, very nervous!
She taught me the very basic first step, but if you guys had any advice I'd love to hear it. As it is I am very, very nervous!
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Also what style are these lessons based on? Most probably it will be LA style salsa.
Also - have fun! This is one of those things where even if you're terrible, having the confidence to be terrible is going to make you a joy to dance with. If you're hesitant and unwilling to lead you're not going to be a good dance partner. Just relax, have some fun, and try to be the best dance partner you can be.
Also, breathmints. And drink a bit of Orange Juice just before.
Salsa is awesome. Seriously, the woman does most of the work, you just need to be there to be a solid base for her. Focus on your frame, get the solid fundamentals like the basic turns and transitionals, and just let it flow from there.
PS - Girl asking you to Dance Class? GOOD SIGN.
2011 PAX Warmachine/Hordes Champion
Man, I am very jealous. I have been wanting to do Salsa dancing for 5 years but have been unable to get a partner to go consistently.
Your girl asked you to come to dance LESSONS, she doesn't expect you to be Rico Suave out there tearing up the rug. Just having an air of confidence and stand strong she will do most of the dancing for you. If the class is going too fast don't be shy to tell your girl that it is a little quick for you so you two can stay in pace with eachother. Go in expecting to mess up a bunch, laugh it off and try again.
Im sure as long as you are smiling your girl will have a good time.
I'm happy to try, though being honest, dancing gives me the heebyjeebies more than anything else in life.
I can do the basic footstep thing, but when I try to do the hip-figure-of-8 thing I can't do that yet.
I'm all up for new experiences and having fun, but it's great hearing what to expect! I just don't want to get stuck holding some poor girl back as I try to fumble my way through the moves.
Maybe not in the class. But practicing outside of class is a must, and she'll want to practice with you. This is a good thing.
You and most other American guys. Thing is, once you get over that, you will be, quite frankly, The Man. Being the one guy at the party/wedding reception/concert who knows how to partner dance and isn't afraid to ask a girl to do so will make the ladies joyful and the other guys green with envy. And you'll have a hell of a lot more fun then they will.
I wouldn't worry overly about that part. Yes, learn the basic footwork. But before you worry about the hip stuff, learn how to lead with your upper body. I find that most beginning dancers worry about their feet and memorizing steps, but (as a guy) what you really want is to be able to lead the lady. That means having good upper body frame and giving weight. If you aren't totally sure what that means yet, practice that with your lady friend before you worry about wiggling your hips the right way. Once you understand frame and weight, you can lead pretty much anything, whether it's salsa, swing, ballroom, or whatever. If you have bad frame, then memorizing all the steps in the world won't help much, because you won't lead well, and the lady won't know what you're doing, or what you want her to do.
Get over that hang-up as quick as you can. Remember this: she asked you to dance with her, or said yes when you asked her. Because she wants to dance with you. Don't worry about holding her back. If you're smiling and having fun, she will smile and have fun, too. It's not math homework -- it's dancing. Let yourself be silly, step on each other's feet as much as you need to, and laugh about it. You become a better dancer by dancing with people who are better than you. When you start, everyone will be better than you, and that's a good thing. It's how you learn. But it is so worth learning, so relax and have fun with it.
As the "leader" you'll learn the basic step, and then moves that go over it. Your job is basically to communicate to your partner what you want her to do, using your body. The first exercise one of my swing teachers would do with the beginning class was to have the couples hold hands facing each other, the followers close their eyes, and the leaders move them around the room. It sounds really simple, but the point is to get the couples used to communicating without speaking (go forward, go back, go left, go right).
One important tip is to keep tension in your arms - don't be a statue, but be firm. If your arms are loose, your movements don't get communicated to your partner. At the points where you're in contact with your partner, keep light pressure on - hold her hands firmly (don't crush them), keep some pressure on her back or wherever in those positions, etc.
I don't know if I've done a good job explaining what it's like to "communicate" that way, but trust me, once you learn it, it's a whole lot of fun. With just a bit of experience, if you're a good leader, you can dance even with girls who don't know how to dance, basically by "telling" them where to go and how to move with your hands and body position.
I've been doing salsa dancing for just under a year now, and I really enjoy it.
The best advice I can give to you is to have fun, and not think too much. The worst thing you can do is to get really inside your head, this will make the dance robotic and get into your head.
It's a great place to meet lots of other women too, so don't focus too much on your crush just relax and enjoy the other women there. Shall I tell you a little secret?? There is no point in focusing on one girl... it's a lose.. lose situation. The best way I've found to win over girls is to flirt with lots of different other women. When other women see you flirting with other women, it makes them curious about you and want to chase you.