Salsa City Forum » Salsa Music and Dance » Dancing on the 1 or the 2?

Lots of people suddenly posting the same thing at the same time :)

Umm actually although you don't have more 'time' in a literal sense you do have more time to recover from your turns due to your turns taking place over the 567 as opposed to the 23 On1.

This results in On2 dancers saying they have more time.

Sorry wrote that all wrong, On2 dancers turn on the 345 or 78-1 of the measure, essentially making the turn feel slower therefore giving more 'time'.

The most common timing for leading spins on 2 is on 123. The follower preps (get their feet in the right position for spinning) on 567 and then the leader starts spinning them on the 1. They can then keep turning until the 4 ready to step back on 5. If the follower spins with feet together rather than pushing themselves round then you can get in three spins by leading the turns on 1, 2 and 3. This isn't an exclusive on2 thing though. If the follwer does the same preparation on 1 then the leader can start them spinning on 3 rather than on 5 as you do normally. It does rely on the leader being clear about the prep and the follower recognising it and getting themselves into the right position.

Argh...if the original punter wasn't confused before I bet she is now!

The easiest solution for Maria, Hugh or anyone else a little confused is to take up Andy's offer to demonstrate the difference. My only practical experience is the Bristol class Andy mentioned, at which I struggled to do a mambo and CBL On2. On the assumption that I don't get too many people challenging my ability to do this passably On1, it was a useful exercise in demonstrating the difference in timing and feel.

Hugh talks about definitions. I'd be reluctant to talk about anything to do with salsa with that degree of certainty, but On1 and On2 refer to the beat on which you break, not on which you start. For On1 and Power2/ballroom it happens to be the same, but not for ET2.

Ha Ha - I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN LIKE THIS - I KNEW IT.

You should have just read the salsa mafia link and forgotton about it all - now look what you’ve done.

He is my opinion - not that it’s been asked for.

“power on 2” is the easiest as this is where you simply “break on 2” instead of on 1. It’s the same steps, same timing, just a beat later. The best way to do this is to listen for a salsa track with a 2/3 style clavé and when you hear the first strike of the clavé, step forward (as this occurs on the two). Try Salsa con Kandela’s KARAMBA or Lenny Kravitz = THINKING OF YOU for a Barn Door clavé to practice with.

Hugh - how can you say you’ve analyzed Eddie Torez’s video and then say it’s the same thing a beat later?!? Eddie Torez salsa is sooooo different - you loose the “recovery” step that ladies always do for one thing, ergo making the whole dance smoother and IMHO - a bit closer and to coin a welsh phrase “Tidy - er”

Don’t get me wrong - it’s worth knowing but let’s face it... If dancing “on 1” is good enough for the Vasquez Brothers, Josie Neglia, Leon Rose, Andy, Rohan blah blah blah It’s certainly good enough for us!

Phil Heath learnt from ET himself and does teach on two at his Bath venues and I know Claverton is occuring this w/e - why not get him to do a lesson on “on 2” Or - if you’re reading this Phil... then pleas sort us all out!

Did lil' ol' me start a heated debate with this question...? Goody! (Apart from all artistic endeavours, it's the only other thing that makes life worth the bother!) So, am salivating to give 2 a go. Eddie Torres, anyone know a suitable dvd/video title for the beginner on 2 so I can give it a go at home? Any other titles for the 2 dancer appreciated also. Glad to hear someone else considers Josie Neglia a good teacher which leads me onto my next question... Female Instructors.

Hi Maria,
there aren't too many on2 beginners videos or DVDs. You could try working out the basic steps from http://www.salsanewyork.com/ourdancemusic.htm#Basic_Step and then it'll just be case of practicing. Do you have anyone you can practice with? Another option is to try and do a workshop at a congress or, if you can get to London, there are beginners classes run by Manhattan Mambo on a Wednesday night. There are also classes in Birmingham on Thursday if that's any closer.

I’ve taken another look at the Eddie Torres video and I agree that there are fundamental differences between the “on 1” steps and the Eddie Torres “on 2” style.

In on 1 the steps break down as:
• 1&5 break step
• 2&6 step in place
• 3&7 close
• 4&8 pause

In ET on 2 it’s:
• 1&5 close
• 2&6 break step
• 3&7 step in place
• 4&8 pause

The close step and the pause are swapped over in the sequence.

If you think of the forward and back basic steps in both styles as being a line: in on 1 the pauses come in the middle of the line, in ET on 2 the pauses come at the ends of the line.

While both styles have a transfer of weight on beats 1, 2, 4, and 5, 6, 8, in ET on 2 the weight-shifts on beats 1 and 5 are much more emphatic, giving the style a more jerky (or crisp, if you like) look and feel.

If you’re not careful you can cover a lot more ground doing the Eddie Torres basic step than the on 1 basic step. Maybe that’s why, apparently, New York dancers are so concerned not to encroach on other couples’ space.

The cross-body lead is interesting: as demonstrated, it is executed over one bar with both the man opening out and the woman taking a step across on beat 1, and beat 2, for the man (nominally a break step) being relegated to being another step in place. This would be tricky to do as there is no preparation. But what the dancers actually do when they are dancing is different: the men open out on beats 6 & 7, so beat 7, usually a step in place, becomes a step to the left for the man. So a cross-body lead in Eddie Torres on 2 style is actually executed over 567_123_ with footwork that is much less easy to describe (and, I’m sure, teach) than the on 1 CBL.

The Eddie Torres on 2 style has the look, to me, of something that was contrived deliberately, “to be different”, as it were, rather than something that arose more naturally as a response to the music. After taking another, closer, look at it I’m very happy to stay “on 1”.

I’ve not seen the Eddie Torres video but the description of the cross body above doesn’t agree with what I’ve been taught by teachers in this country and others from the US (including Eddie Torres and Nelson Flores). The way I’ve been taught is nearly identical to on1 except over counts 123 rather than 567. Your description seems to include an open break before the cross body (which will then be on 678).

As far as your other points go, I’ve not noticed on2 dancers taking up any more space than on1 dancers - in fact in my experience its usually the other way round but that’s more down to the people dancing rather than what count they’re dancing on. I think the concern is probably more likely to come from a lack of space.

Dancing on2 does feel different with the music to dancing on1 and to me feels slightly smoother as you’re still moving through the pause (which you do a bit on1 but not as much). Whether that’s a good enough reason to go away and learn though is a going to vary from person to person.