Salsa Dance Steps complicated? No they are not!

Have you ever wondered about all the salsa dance steps and moves you see? The Cuban steps, the Mambo Shines etc?

Have you ever looked at them and said 'Why are they dancing like that?' or 'My God, what a showoff' or even 'I wish I could do that' when you see someone doing the Mambo Shines?

Well, I will now explain how and where these moves originated from. So let's go!

2. Salsa Dance Steps

The basic movement occurring in the dance patterns of the various salsa styles is the stepping on the beat of the music.

Salsa is best grouped in pairs of 4-beat patterns counted "1-2-3-... -5-6-7-...". The leader starts on count 1 by stepping with the left foot. On count 2 and 3, they step with right and left, respectively. On count 4, the lead pauses or makes an optional tap with the right foot. On counts 5, 6, and 7, they step with right, left, and right, respectively, again followed by a pause on count 8.

As a standard, every step must be taken with full weight transfer. The follower part is identical, but with left and right reversed. In all patterns and styles, the leader starts with the left foot and the follower starts with the right foot.

This all makes sense doesn't it? After we take lessons and start dancing naturally we do not think about all this but if you think about this while you are dancing it all hangs together.

For those who have not had a lesson yet this may all seem confusing but just take a few lessons and go to a few clubs and it all come naturally.

The term "basic step" normally refers to a forward-backward motion. On counts 1, 2, and 3, the leader steps forward, replaces, and steps backward. On count 5, 6, and 7, they step backwards, replace, and step forward again. The follower does the same, but with forward and backward reversed, so that the couple goes back and forth as a unit.

This basic salsa dance step is part of many other patterns. For example, the leader may dance the basic step while leading the follower to do an underarm turn.

The following variants of the Basic step may be used, often called breaks.

* Forward break: Starting from any foot, step Forward, Replace, In-place, counting 1,2,3 or 5,6,7.
* Back break: Starting from any foot, step Backward, Replace, In-place, counting 1,2,3 or 5,6,7.
* Side break: Starting from any foot, step Sideways, Replace, In-place, counting 1,2,3 or 5,6,7.

Salsa danced according to the above salsa dance step is called Salsa On One, or briefly, "On One", because it starts on the first count of the 8-beat rhythm.If the first step (with the left foot) occurs on count 2 or 6, it is called "On Two". This Basic Salsa Dance Step pattern and timing are known also as "Power 2", "Palladium 2" or "Ballroom Mambo" style. This creates a distinction from another step pattern known as "NY Style 2" or " eddie torres Style".

Some consider dancing "On Two" to work more closely to the clave rhythm, the most basic rhythm of salsa music, as the steps start on the first tick of a 2-3 son clave. However, dancing "On One" hits just as many beats in the clave and hits the first tick if the music is using a 3-2 style son clave.

In short it's a matter of personal preference which counting to use, and most people prefer the counting of the style they were taught first when they began dancing salsa.

That's it for now folks.

Ok Folks. That was an introduction to the basic Salsa Dance Steps.

As you can see there are various versions of these steps as they can be danced "On One" or "On Two" as described above.

For beginners it is better to learn one way of dancing at the beginning by going to a class that teaches let's say "On One", learn those steps and dance socially with those steps and when you are confident that you are competent with "On One" take lessons for "On Two".

The sooner you do this the better as the longer you are dancing on one style the harder it is to switch to the other style (I am talking from personal experience) although it would vary from individual to individual.

As so many people are doing both styles now you will increase your dancing enjoyment if you can dance dance both "On One" and "On Two".

This means you can dance with someone who can only dance "On One" or "On Two" or who only wants to or refuses to dance "On One" or "On Two" - (some of you know what I am talking about!).

Ok. That's all now for Salsa Dance Steps.

Right! Would you like to know some of the Salsa Styles? Dancing "On One" or "On Two" lends itself to certain styles and these we will look at next.

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