Salsa Josie

I am very happy to have had a busy November and December teaching in the Cabana de Salsa AKA the shed. From students who have been learning for a couple of years looking to improve technique to people wanting a crash course in salsa before a trip to Latin America, I've had the pleasure to work with old friends and some lovely new people.  When I am teaching a lot of salsa, I find that a theme can emerge. The recurring theme this month has been  slowing down . There are a few reasons why this is so difficult:  It's exposing! Fast dancing can hide all manner of sins. When you are going slow, there is nowhere to hide. Every unconnected body movement and bit of sloppy technique is visible. Moving quickly requires good fitness, but moving slowly requires detail and precision  It's tiring! When I dance basic step to long, slow track, and I really focus on filling the music, it is as mentally and physically tiring as three chaotic minutes of fast dancing. It's more com...

For me, the Holy Grail of dancing is not fancy moves and styling; it's musicality. The simplest and subtlest moves, breaks, drifts, pops and shimmies become little moments of dance ecstasy when danced in response to the music. They are great alone and even better with a partner!  Easier said than done. When you dance salsa, there is a lot going on. You need to time your moves, focus on technique, lead or follow, and be aware of the dance floor. That's a lot to think about. Do you have to think about musicality as well?!  Add to all that the complexity of salsa music. Unless you were born in a Latin American country or into a household of salsa lovers, your first musical language is not salsa. It is, if you were born in the UK in the last sixty or so years, probably pop or rock of some sort. You absorbed solid 4/4 timing from before you were born. You bounced to it as a baby. You jumped up and down to it in school discos. You tap the steering wheel to it as you drive. You still...