One of the questions we get asked repeatedly by aspiring dancers, is ‘How do I become an advanced salsa dancer?’

Firstly, I believe that most dancers early in their development are not able to distinguish the characteristics of an advanced dancer, and often not until they have travelled on that path and reached the destination are they able to answer it. I also believe it is impossible for anyone to judge their own level; all we have is the comparison of the present and where we were in the past.

I will break the dance into 4 key areas, all of which need to be mastered, before anyone can be considered an advanced dancer, and the best, are exceptionally good at all of them.

Leading and Following – Salsa being a partner dance, this is the foundation and the first part you need to master.

Styling and Body movement – Many people would break these two up into separate categories, but for me they are one and the same, styling is an extension of the body movement, and generally if you don’t have good body movement, your styling will just look out of place, so it is not advisable to learn one without the other.

Spinning – The body turning one or more revolutions, with the weight balanced on one foot. In our style spinning is prevalent at the higher levels.

Musicality – This would include anything from staying on beat at a beginner’s level to hitting all the accents of the music at an advanced level.

A very small percentage of students actually focus on perfecting the basics when they start learning, most are intent on learning in the shortest amount of time possible, so when someone suddenly has the epiphany to take their dancing to greater heights, it normally requires going back and studying the basics again. This is incredibly daunting for the majority which is why very few dancers actually succeed and reach their goals.

Another mistake most students make, is spending all their time learning one aspect of the dance as was the case with me. I spent all my time learning how to lead and increasing my repertoire of turn patterns, which meant that girls liked dancing with me but I never looked that good dancing.

Now don’t get me wrong, leading and following is probably the most important aspect along with staying on beat, as this will get partners lining up to dance with you, but just remember as a male lead I prefer dancing with a girl who follows really well but looks terrible over a girl that follows nothing but looks amazing! Alex will say the same thing about the guys! So in essence learn how to lead and follow first but don’t forget the other aspects and incorporate them into your practice sessions.

So now the question most of you are probably asking. ‘How do you go about improving these key areas?’

As there is a lot of information to include which will make this blog post far too long, I am in the process of writing a separate article on each of the four key areas, I will publish them over the next four weeks.

All the key areas I will discuss will take time to perfect. If you have the desire to become an advanced dancer, the one thing you have to invest in is time. If your instructor is really good you can improve at a much faster rate, but you have to listen to what they are saying, take their advice and practice it. Like anything in life, to get good at something takes dedication and a whole lot of practice.

Be careful who you listen to and don’t let negative criticism get you down, use it as a motivation to push you to reach your potential. Never listen to anyone who says you can’t get there, because if you are that dedicated, you will get much further than anyone else thinks you can. As nice as it is everyone saying how amazing you are, don’t let it get to your head as until the best dancers are singing your praises, you are probably not there yet.

Look out for the first article on Leading and following which will be posted this week.

Leading & Following
Styling & Body Movement