Salsa City Forum » News and Chat » How good is Salsa in Cardiff?

Top Post Welsh Lass...

Teachers I believe, should teach at a level where the people in any class are able to absorb that, which is being taught... or perhaps it would be better to say at the mean average of the level of the people, as you cannot hold a good class back for the benefit of someone who is a little slower than the rest.

Teachers are trying to impart their knowledge about Salsa and shouldn't therefore adapt to an area as such, because we are not Latin after all and so you would assume, we are trying at least, to learn something completely new and outside of our experience.

Contrary to what some people believe there are many variations regarding form and style as far as Salsa is concerned. And so because one person teaches something, which is different to, what another teaches you, it doesn't mean to say it is less relevant or wrong. It simply means that they have a different take on Salsa (rich sauce made from several ingredients blah, blah, blah) and so it is likely to be different than what you have experienced thus far.

You will decide anyhow which suits you best, which teacher you prefer and whether or not you'd like to expand your repertoire of style and moves by experimenting with different teachers.

The fact that style does seem to vary from area to area is probably because much of the style we initially adopt is what we have observed by watching the better dancers around us, including the teachers and so we try to emulate them. Remembering with regard to this point that the same teacher in any one area will have also taught many of the more experienced dancers.

You’re getting on my wick now mate. Your first post is BUGGER ALL like the most recent ones and you say WE’VE misunderstood you... Read it again - you come over like a real patronising muppet! Especially when you say QUOTE “Ladies try to style - BLESS”

Next You’re now saying that Andy didn’t answer your questions yet 3/4 posts ago you thanked him for his comments!?! Why didn’t you pick him up then?
You talk about CBL a-la New York - but BY DEFINITION NY is on TWO and to be frank is a CRAP FAD of salsa used because the clubs get so full there’s no room for anything else except for linear movements.

Any idiot can teach CBL style ’cause al they do is go back an forth, back and forth. Turn here, turn there, back and forth. It’s predictable and rather limited, (watch Dean Maynards videos if you don’t believe me) plus, it’s easy and THAT’s WHY so many teachers and pupils love to do it... 'Cause they can get good in a quicker period of time. The skill comes when (like Steve / Andy) you can dance a routine WITHOUT a CBL.

Now you’re challanging me to explain the multiple variations on a CBL that I’ve been shown.

This is compounded by the fact you can do a CBL so you may think they’re all SIMPLE VARIATIONS on the same thing, but to someone who is NEW they are not the same, they are VERY DIFFERENT! One CBL can be led with a pull, One with a push, one letting the lady walk on her own steam, One from a mambo, one from an open hold, blah blah blah. As a beginner who has more than enough to concentrate on when learning salsa - what the hell do you do when confronted with every teacher saying... “this is how you do a CBL” and then doing something TOTALLY different to what a previous teacher taught...

A dfferent analogy - think of learning a foreign language - you learn one word - “Television”. But the first person you meet calls it a “TV” and the second calls it “the box”, the third calls it the “tele”, the fourth “the small screen” - OVERLOAD! Sure - when you’re comfortable you can learn all of these but when your new you just call it a “television”.

This is why having a carbon copy of ANDY’s SALSA STYLE would be good as they would all teach the same thing, (speak the same language) ergo... NO CONFUSION at beginner level (although I admit Advanced would be dull).

I have tried to listen and understand all the points you’ve made and my comments have always been aimed to enlighten and possible resolve some of your “attack” - and I think I’ve managed to do so with good humour. Now it appears that you are simply trying to play Devil’s advocate changing your “tactics / comments” to suit you whenever someone successfully counters your point and are doing nothing more than winding me (and I expect others) right up the wrong way. I’d LOVE to know who you are to simply see if you’re as good as your comments / criticisms imply!

To be frank - I am bored of you now so will no longer be posting. (I’m sure Hugh will be relieved)

One closing point about Carbon Copies of Andy... A couple of posts (including mine) have mentioned Paul Gordon-Smith who was a phenominally popular teacher in Cardiff 2/3 years ago and was the advanced teacher at the Toad - he taught me a heck of a lot and has probabily had some influence on 90% of Cardiff dancers. He and Andy were as different as Chalk / Cheese, yet Paul was one of Andy’s origional salsa pupils and Andy taught him salsa from scratch! Stick that in your Pipe!

Hey Wizzy!

Something about the timing and style of your post tells me you've just come back from the pub so I'm not going to be too hard on you. Don't let MrChips wind you up, that's been his goal from the start.

I have to correct you about New York salsa being on 2 by definition. The fact that you think so is a tribute to the influence and self-publicising skills of Mr Eddie Torres, but, historically and currently, many New Yorkers dance on 1 and would be very surprised to learn that they don't dance "New York style".

Top post after top post... Loving it!

I was also taught a CBL at least four ways and they were all people trying to teach me a standard CBL from a mambo step. I've come to the conclusion that the first two were simply wrong - as in, they didn't work nearly as well as the one I do now.

Welsh lass, yes the style does vary from place to place. I think one reason that Cardiff is different from many other places is that a lot of the old guard started with John Pamplin and the style he teaches is very different from the LA-style type of CBL (let's not start arguing over definitions) that is so popular in most of the UK.

You've also mentioned one of my pet hates - men who don't adapt their dancing to the partner and who patronise and criticise inexperienced dancers (or even patronise and criticise experienced dancers who don't happen to understand their crappy leads...)

I just want to learn to dance salsa for its own sake because I enjoy it, I’ve always enjoyed dancing whatever form that’s taken. I think it’s brave for a beginner to dance with a better dancer.

It’s very intimidating looking at all the people who know what they’re doing when all you’ve got under your belt is a couple of moves you’re not even that sure of and I wonder if experienced dancers still remember that.

Patronising and criticising someone could scare them off the floor for good. Do people really want to be the sort of person that would do that? If I were in that position, I wouldn’t.

Fortunately I’m the sort of stubborn cow that can just take it, smile, walk away and say to myself, “one day matey I’m going to dance you off the bloody floor. It may not be soon, but some day... ” :-)

Talking about differences in style: when you get down to it, every good dancer (and every bad dancer too, for that matter) has his own unique style. When you take into account differences of body-shape, posture, fitness, experience, personality, and the facts that there are so many moves to choose from, so many ways of doing them, and no "standards body" telling us what we may do and how we may do it, it's inevitable, and, on balance, a very good thing.

But looking at some dancers (and not just beginners) makes me cringe. "Oh my God!", I think, "Why an I involved in something that can be so ugly? What must non-salsa people be thinking when they see something like that?" But then I see a couple dancing in a controlled, communicative, inventive, expressive, way that makes me want to emulate them and restores my conviction that what I'm doing is worthwhile.

Hi, I go to O’Neill’s on a Monday nite. Only been going for 2 weeks but I do find it hard when u ave to dance with men who know what there doing and then men who don’t. For us beginners it’s a bit hard to get used to. I love the dancing and will keep going.

I haven't been to the monday night class for a while. I usually do Andy's Newport class. The most important thing about all this is if you enjoy yourself. If you enjoy yourself and have fun thats all that counts at the end of the day :)

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Hey how did Bobby get his picture on net...? Wouldn’t it be good if we all could do this... I would love to know what Wizzy looks like...! :¬)