Salsa City Forum » Salsa Music and Dance » Learning Salsa

I wouldn’t mind if some of them didn’t let me pay attention to the teacher (Because I'm quite comfortable saying, “do you mind if I watch this a minute” -- if they don’t feel the need to pay attention that’s their business) if only they would all pay attention to me! I find it really creepy when you dance with a guy and he won’t look you in the eye, he’s staring off into space or looking over your shoulder (And not to watch the instructor demonstrating!) Okay, so I'm not the world’s next great supermodel, but I do have a wash and brush my teeth before I come out, you know? I'm not actually repulsive!

It’s not just guys. The other half gets this sometimes with ladies. We both find it really hard to dance with people like that. You're in a group class and rotating partners, you're going to dance with people who don’t rock your world, GET OVER YOURSELVES PEOPLE and remember you're interacting with a human being.

Thankfully it’s only a small minority of people, but...

I agree! One of the most important things for me is eye contact! It makes the whole dance completely different and more intimate.

Thanks for the nice words Passionate Salsera, you couldn't have danced with me after I'd finished my bottle of wine ;-) I think Thano is taking 3 somes tonight so bring as many girlies as you can. Let me know who you are and I promise to keep your identity secret. Hopefully see you there.

Jeff ov Ponty, I only got this today (Fri) after the lesson so apologies for not introducing myself! I actually only did half the lesson last night as I was really sick but it seemed good fun, shame about the lack of ladies! I've never seen so many men!
I'll tell u who I am on sunday at the wharf!
Oh and one more thing... Men please take note... Jeff ov ponty always smells good!! It makes a refreshing change from BO! If only we all (women included) made more effort!

Hi well u should go to O’Neill’s on a Monday, there are more women than men and the class is gettin bigger each wk.

Passionate salsera, it is such a shame you couldn’t do all the 3some lesson cos it really was alot of fun. There were probably more men than usual last night because a 3some lesson in these parts is very rare. I hope there will be more lessons to come! See you on Sunday.

Lyndahedges, the promise of more women over men is very appealing but I’ve tried that style of Salsa before (Cuban?) and I prefer the ‘on line’ style that Andy and Lucy teaches.

So what is the diff between them then? Is there much, or is that a bit harder than what john teaches?

I do the class at the Wharf on Sunday with Andy and then the Monday class you go to. I prefer the Sunday class for actual content and teaching, but unfortunately it's so crowded there these days it's hard to dance. As it's so crowded it can also get a bit disorganised when it comes to changing partners etc.

It's not any harder, and my other half reports that as a leader he picks up more practical tips there. Also, you get to hear more than one song during the class :-)

Lyndahedges. Not the world’s expert on all this stuff but I think “on-line” is based off turn patterns which come from - or go into a CBL a la Dean Maynard, Eddi the Freak, Rohan, Andy blah blah blah. Whereas a “cubanesque” style comes more from a ladies turn (Enscufla turns) and is more circular and a bit less “showy and dramatic” try Enriqué Perez in Bornmouth DON’T QUOTE ME ON THIS BUT... If Andy Witt would step into the forum, I’m sure he’d give a more concrete explanation.

Thanx for that wizzy. It all sounds complicated to me, I've only been doin it for 5 wks. I look forward to goin to the classes, just not sure if I'd be able to cope if I went to another 1 as well.