Week One (2-11-10)

In the first week of class, we began exploring ideas of connection and partnering. There were three major concepts that I introduced: space, connection, and timing.

FIRST: Space. We spent a little time moving our own bodies around the dance floor, finding where it is that we end and other people begin. We can move forward and backward, up and down, left and right. We can spin and duck, expand and contract, move quickly and slowly, and move near and far (in relation to both people and things).

SECOND: Connection. We talked about points of contact: hand to hand, hand to shoulder, and hand to waist.

However, hands should always be kept supple and flexible. Over-use of thumbs will limit your range of motion…keep your thumbs out of the dance! Instead, create a connection between hands that has the same amount of energy as if you were trying to start a fire, and is sticky (but not stuck), like a post-it.

We also talked about the jobs of the Lead and Follow: The Lead creates space, the Follow fills the space.

We worked with moving Points of Contact. We walked around the room, and then tried raising the point of contact. By drawing circles either across the face or away from the face (with one hand up and one hand down), both Leads and Follows were able to get into positions called “Cuddles” and “Hammerlocks.”

THIRD: Timing. We touched on this very, very rapidly at the end of class. We learned that the basic rhythm of salsa can be felt/sung/spoken in many different ways: yump-bump-baaaaaah; quick-quick-sloooooow; 1-2-3 HOLD 4…etc. I don’t care how you count the music, as long as you are dancing WITH the music. When you go out social dancing, more often than not, the only thing you will have in common with your dance partner is the music. Don’t disregard it! Listen for “exclamation points” in the music to get you started.

The basic salsa step that we started to work with was the same for both Leads and Follows (just offset by one measure): small step forward with your left and replace your weight back together; and then small step back with your right, and replace your weight back together.

Week Two (2-18-10)

We went back to the three concepts we worked on last week (Space, Connection, Timing) and began doing a little refining.

First, we practiced movement with a partner–moving space with a connection. Leads weren’t manipulating or moving the Follows; Leads were moving their own space, and Follows were actively filling that space. We could have a double hand connection, a single hand connection, or a cross-hand connection. Leads were also exploring moving under the point of contact.

Then we reviewed cuddles and hammerlocks. Both of these moves come from a “one hand up, one hand down” position, and then drawing a circle around the Follow’s head. Cuddles are hand across the face, Hammerlocks are hand away from the face.

But of course, anything the Follow can do, the Lead can do as well! Lead’s cuddle: bellybutton to LOW hand. Lead’s hammerlock: walk under the door (the UP hand). We discovered that a cuddle and hammerlock are essentially the same for Leads and Follows, the difference being whether or not the point of contact (POC) moves. Follow’s cuddle/hammerlock: POC travels around the head; Follow follows the POC. Lead’s cuddle/hammerlock: POC stays still while the Lead moves; therefore, the Follow stays still.

We began stringing these moves together with the Salsa timing (1, 2, 3 HOLD 4; yump bump baaaah; quick quick slow; etc.). If you’re not sure where to start in the music, listen for the cowbell!

Lastly, we worked on a Follow’s pivot turn (or “6 part turn”). Turning things usually happen when the turning person’s left foot is free, or when the turning person is moving forward into the turn. Therefore, Leads can lead a “hand away from the face” turn in the Follow’s front half of a basic. Follows split apart the turning parts and the changes of weight parts, so that we get a STEP-TURN-STEP-TURN-STEP pattern for the pivot.

One caveat about these class notes: Some people are “seeing it” learners, some are “hearing it” learners, and some are “doing it” learners. Not everyone will find these notes helpful! If this works for you–great! If not, don’t panic, many successful ballroom/salsa dancers still have a difficult time talking about dancing!

Also, as a reminder: the Welcome Packet (including the Survey) can be found on our website:

http://www.artofdancemadison.com/dance-lessons/welcome-packet/

I suggest that you fill out the Survey, even if just for yourself. It is helpful for me to read your thoughts on dancing, though, so I can get a sense of where you’re all coming from. However, I do realize that these can be very personal for some people. I promise that I will never share the information you provide!

Nice job this week–we covered a lot, and you all held your own!

Week Three (2-25-10)

This week, we continued to develop our understanding of cuddles (across the face) and hammerlocks (away from the face)

. Leads can also bring themselves into cuddles (bellybutton to low hand) and hammerlocks (walk under the door).

By drawing two circles around the Follow’s head, Leads can then lead a cuddle-to-a-hammerlock, or vice versa. Leads can also bring the Follow from a cuddle/hammerlock on one side to a cuddle/hammerlock on the other side.

We did a few little sequences, both in four measures: (1) Half a basic, go into a cuddle, half a basic, get out of the cuddle. (2) Half a basic, go into a hammerlock, half a basic, go out of the hammerlock. We talked about the Lead’s stylistic option of either stepping forward or backward during that half a basic when we are in the cuddle/hammerlock.

So…why cuddles and hammerlocks? You will find that the principles behind these moves drive many, many other moves in salsa…and in swing and waltz and rumba, and almost any other partner dance. There are only so many directions our bodies can move in, and these two moves are good exercises to begin to explore that range of motion.

We continued working on timing, getting our Salsa up to tempo. An important rule of thumb: where your feet are is not as important as when your feet are. You can–and will!–discover a variety of shapes that your body can take in relation to your partner. (Almost) none of these are “wrong”, they are just different. But the one constant that must always be there is the keeping the tempo of the music.

Let the heartbeat (timing) of the music drive your dancing, keep a gooey, sticky connection with your partner, and pay attention to how you are filling your space…and you will be fine!

Remember the one rule you should take from this class: just let go. If something isn’t working, you don’t need to keep doing it! Reset, and try again. Do what you need to do to make the dance work, but don’t ever let that heartbeat stop.

Week Four (3-4-10)

Tonight was our last night of class! How quickly a month can go…

We began taking the concepts that we’ve been working with (cuddles and hammerlocks) and putting them together in combination.

The first combination was the Sliding Door series. This comes out of a Hammerlock: walk under the door in front of you, sliiiiide along your partner’s back, and step back to facing each other. There were three arm variations that we covered: the “see-saw” (one arm up, one arm down); two arms down and ducking back out; two arms up and unwinding.

Then we worked on a Follow’s Cuddle to Tunnel combination. Starts with a cuddle, the Lead creates a “tunnel” that the Follow backs through, and unwind. We learned how the Lead can deflect the Follow’s space downward, creating a gap for the Follow to fill.

We also worked on a Barrell Roll, when both partners turn in the same direction at the same time.

We ended the class putting all these together and having fun with it! The fun continued at the Cardinal with an evening up tearing up the foor with some Salsa! And all of this fun will continue next Thursday with the next series of classes:

Darrell is teaching Salsa/Latin 103
…and I am teaching a New Dancer Rumba 101

You are all welcome to join either of these classes, just send us an email to register! Thanks for a great class–it was a joy to dance with all of you!

Sarah