 |
 I know I shouldn't start with an apology but I will... the video below is adequate but we recorded it some time ago and the sound quality is not so good! It was also recorded as a backup for people who had started attending ouir classes - so, whilst we're not assuming any previous knowledge, we would probably record this differently for this webpage! So we will, I promise! Check back for a new version over the next couple of weeks (hopefully before the end of October 2011... We'll also add some music with some counting as that's likely to help you (although the later videos on this page do have some music you can try to practice to). Also... we'll be adding a Tango intro lesson here before long... for now it's all about salsa! The reason we've created this page is because we know that for a lot of people the idea of attending a dance class is a bit intimidating. If you've rarely, if ever, danced before you don't know if you'll be able to do it and you certainly don't want to find out the hard way surrounded by a group of strangers. So here's an opportunity to get just a little advance information to help give you some confidence before you turn up to the class. Here's the intro video - see how you get on...
Sorry, you need to install the free Adobe Flash Plugin to view this content.
...remember that most things that require skill take awhile to master - it's part of the enjoyment of acquiring a new skill. Dancing is like that... it takes awhile before everything begins to click into place and, to be honest, even the most practiced of us will admit that we're still learning - the process never ends. So don't expect to 'get' this straight off - what you're looking for here is a very basic feeling that this is something you can begin to learn - no more than that! People talk about having 'two left feet'... we've been teaching for about 10 years now and we still haven't found such a creature! It takes longer for some people to train their muscles to move fairly automatically to the basic salsa step but it's usually beginning to come together after the first hour. Admittedly some people take 5 minutes to 'get' the basic step - but between you and me... those people are just annoying! For most of us there's a bit of a learning curve... but that's all it is - a curve - with good teachers you'll cross it like a bridge! Salsa can be danced to any music that has a basic 4/4 structure - it doesn't have to be Latin music. By 4/4 I mean music where you can count 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 where you'll find the emphasis in the music is on the '1'. If that sounds confusing think of it this way - the music we dance to has verses and choruses - like any song... a verse tends to have four lines - each line can be divided into 8 beats - i.e. two groups of 4 which is where the 4/4 comes from. You'll find that in a line of 8 beats the first beat (at the start of the line) is played the strongest. In the music we dance to it tends to be that first beat in each set of 8 that we notice most clearly - so insteads of counting in blocks of 4 we count in block of 8 (confused? Stay with me here!). So you'll hear us counting 1 - 2 - 3 - and - 5 - 6 -7 and (and then we repeat). But what're those 'ands' about and what happened to the 4 and the 8? Don't worry, it confuses everyone - you'll see in the video that we actually step on the counts of 1, 2 and 3 but not 4, and we step on 5, 6 and 7 but not 8 - those beats are marked in the dancing with a sligh pause so we call them as 'and' rather than number them... it just seems to work better that way! Your challenge, should you choose to accept it (watch out for exploding briefcases...) is to step with the right foot on the right count! If you can begin to get your feet landing in time to the count then you're not going to have a problem with any part of salsa... And if you think you have a problem with it? Don't give up - it's probably due to the lousy video! Come and do a beginners class with us and we'll get you into it! You can also purchase a private less - half and hour costs just £20. For details of the classes we're currently running click these links: Bovey Tracey on Wednesdays Launceston on Thursdays Just to give a little flavour of how things develop, here are a couple of videos filmed to support classes we've taught (don't try to follow this stuff at this stage!)...
Sorry, you need to install the free Adobe Flash Plugin to view this content.
Sorry, you need to install the free Adobe Flash Plugin to view this content.
And here's a nice little freestyle video from one of our salsa nights held in Devon a couple of years ago..
Sorry, you need to install the free Adobe Flash Plugin to view this content.
 New layout!
|
 Here's the list of events over the next 30 days. To select a different time period or region click here Events in the South West: 25 May
casa cuba kingsbridge
kingsbridge |
Another great website by Gomango ...and check out
the unique design service we offer to dance businesses at Design For Dance