Tonight was the first of my second series of advanced salsa lessons with Roger. My friends Jason and Danny are in the class this time, and it is great to see them there, because that means we can all practice in one big happy dancing family. In pairs, of course. No dancing circles…dear god, no dancing circles!!
Anyway. I have this thing about getting complimented on my dancing during a dance class. In a social or open practice setting, it’s fine, but in a class I really don’t like it. It feels like a pickup line plus it strokes my overly healthy “dance skillz” ego when what I’m really looking for is feedback on what to improve. It doesn’t matter what I can do well already because those movements are probably already automatic. So tonight was fantastic because I got totally criticized by a few people. Yippee!
So the first was my teacher, Roger. He is one of the best dancers in the city and a pretty good teacher for form (great for styling!). He usually reserves his criticisms of my frame and connection one-on-one but this time he has given me homework: keep my elbow bent in an L at all times when doing on-the-spot turns, and ONLY pivot on the right foot during these turns. I guess I have been spinning with alternate feet or spreading my weight on both toes when doing multiple spins. if I master these, I should be able to continue to spin until my partner gets bored of turning his wrist and lets me go. If only he told me how not to get dizzy…
The next reviewer was a new person, Tony. He wasn’t a student in the class but he was on the sidelines for the whole thing. After dancing with him a few times, he started to give me tips on how to improve my handholds and tension. Apparently I am closing my thumb into the rest of my hand, almost on top of the pointer finger’s knuckle. This blocks the lead’s attempts to do certain turning motions. I also should be conscious of how much tension I give horizontally (do) and vertically (don’t!). As salsa lessons typically don’t go over the minutae of connection dynamics, I didn’t understand or notice many of the slight corrections he was attempting to convey. I will try, however, to practice the stuff I did manage to understand. Baby steps, I guess!
So….who wants to practice with me?!
Nov 25, 2005 @ 22:49:39
>>If only he told me how not to get dizzy…
Spotting. Don’t let your head turn in line with your shoulders. Pick a spot to focus on and keep your head turned towards it as much as possible during a turn, then snap around when you’ve rotated enough. Usually, you can spot on your partner (focus on chest level; if you look up you break posture), unless you’re travelling in which case spot down the line.
Spotting is usually a full turn spot, but half turn spots are doable as well. The basic idea is to keep your eyes focused on a single direction for the majority of your turn. This helps with balance and dizziness, gives you a longer reaction time/window, especially for stopping, and also makes your turns sharper once you get good at it.