h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Howdy,

Thanks for your reply re Salsa in Bristol. I do know of the clubs that run in Bristol I have been to one but not the others. I wanted to know what style of salsa, levels etc that the other clubs do. I am a bit fussy you know.

Any help would be great though.

Thanks,

Alf

Ooooh! You mean there's different KINDS of salsa???!!! I'll ask round at work tomorrow and see if I can get any gen. Whereabouts have you relocated to? You're probably only 5 minutes up the road from me!

"Relocated to" .....now, my Bristolian's showing

There are ineed different types of Salsa. Mainly Cross-body-lead(also known as New York style) and Cuban.

I do Cuban but can do a bit of New York.

I am in Stonehouse at the moment but I will be moving a bit closer to Gloucester in the next month or so. It about a 30 minutes drive down to Bristol so not too bad for a night out.

OK so you're 20 minutes up the road from Sodbury!


Afraid no-one in my microcosmos is admitting to salsa! Sorry I've failed miserably

No problem. Thanks for trying.

Your friends don't know what they are missing!

Sorry for interupting - the word "salsa" caught my eye!

I wasn't really aware that there were different types either (although I suppose there are with all kinds of dance...)

I've just started classes - 5 minutes walk away from my house. Time to count my blessings, eh?

Have you all been salsa-ing for a while now?

Hi LS - I'm here under false pretences - right location, wrong hobby! Fraid I don't salsa at all - a bounce round the living room to Basement Jaxx or the Black Crowes is about all I stretch to!


Anyway, welcome to the space - Alfster seems to be the expert on all things Salsa-ese!

Oooh, Black Crowes!

I saw them yonks ago...are they still performing?

I saw them last in 95 (?!), saw Rich Robinson a year ago on a solo tour. They split up and got back together in early 2005 - have been touring the States pretty much constantly ever since! Their website's pretty cool, but on my steam driven PC takes ages to run!!

Sorry I disappeared there so suddenly - my computer gave me the awful black screen of death. Actually, I've just ordered a new one, since the other one is so old and wobbly. (Posting this from work).

No problem - we had a "nearly" power cut so I went off line anyhow!

Howdy Lucky Star

There are a few version of salsa and there is always much heated debate on what they all really mean.

The most prevalent style is New York or Cross Body Lead(XBL) it developed in the dance halls in New York. It is quite a formal, precise looking style with the man and woman moving along a straight line and doing moves either as they exchange palces on the line i.e. when pointing east-west swapping places in a striaght line to point west-east. I do like the look of it and I am trying to build up my library of moves but I do not enjoy it as much as Cuban:

Cuban Salsa: supposedly the original salsa that developed from mambo though some say XBL developed from it. Cuban developed on the streets of Cuba. It looks more loose (some would say rougher) than XBL both the man and woman when dancing properly circle around each other. Cuban has a lot more body movement and wiggling in it and is far more sexual than XBL. However, it is sexy more than sexual. Some people do find it a little too close but are happy with XBL which is more open(but is sexy when danced properly and with some one who allows you to be like that).

Cuban is sometimes accused of not being technical and being easier than XBL. I do not find this the case. Cuban that looks loose and rough looks like thath because the people dancing are damn good. The circular motion and the almost epileptic wiggling of ones body parts takes alot of time, practice and udnerstandinbg of how your body and muscles move. I have also found that you can mess about in Cuban alot more than XBL and when you see a couple dancing Cuban next to a couple dancing XBL invariably the Cuban couple are smiling and the XBL couple are stoney faced(in general).

There is also Columbian/Venezuelan salsa that people call Cuban. This is more where the man stays in one place and the woman moves around the man.

There is also Salsa-on-the-2. This is simply(ha simply) starting on the second beat of the music rather than the first(a little like Cha Cha Cha). It puts a different feel into the dance. For some reason people who dance on-the-2 have been given this superior air in that they do not dance on-the-1 any more and wold not dance with any one who would. I have no idea how true this is.

Where and who have you started dancing with. a) I may know who it is and b) I may know where else you could go as well. There are good and bad teachers. Get a bad teacher and you will be at a disadvantage for years.

The most important thing to stress is do not rush to try and get onto the fancy looking spins. Nail your basics so you can do them in your sleep. It matters not one jot that some people will rush up the classes because they will probably be not good enough but not realise it and due to that really p*ss off people who they dance with.

I much prefer to dance with a woman who has nailed the basics and hence can do the basic moves well than some who thinks they can do fancy moves but cannot even do a basic spin. And men who rush up are even worse - the moans I hear from women who say certain men in intermediate or advanced classes cannot even lead properly is astounding and it really annoys women. It does make them appreciate a fairly good lad though.

Wow, what a fantastic load of information! Thank you!

I am going to classes in Belfast, started in October last. I've done lots of different types of dancing before (years of ballet, followed by oodles of tap, jazz and "show" type dancing), but never really a lot of ballroom styles. And it was something that my other half was interested in too, so it's a hobby that we can share.

I pick up steps really easily, and the instructor often uses me as his partner to demonstrate something. My biggest problem is that I tend to lead !

You should have no problem then. Basically dancing comes down to three things: Keeping yuor steps in time with the music, spinning left and spinning right. Everything else is just a variation on those three. But its amazing what you can create just by doing that.



Bad girl. Naughty girl. You know you should not do that. Do you how emasculated a man can feel when a woman leads? Of course, if the bloke is rubbish go for it.

If you can get along to XBK and Cuban(if its over there these days). It will expand your dancing alot. Your partner of course should stick to one style. If he does not like one try the other. Tell him not to be disheartened if it seems he is getting nowhere it will click. And you can teach him at home so he should have no problems.

The other big tip for him is at the beginning when free-dancing do simple stuff but do it well. Even if you just do three move and repeat them through a song a woman will appreciate that much more than him trying to do fancy stuff if she is more advanced and should be able to do it. The more advanced women will remember him as being a solid dancer and look for him as he improves. The best comment I have heard from a freind who danced with a beginner was: 'He is a good dancer and leads well but can only only do a few moves so you know what is coming.'(i.e. not the greatest dance she has had in the world but it was solid.)

If he keeps this in mnd he will go far.

< It does make them appreciate a fairly good lad though.>

Ag! that should have read 'a fairly good lead though'. Both sentences are true though.

Oh both are definitely true!

I must look up the website our instructor said he was with - salsabelfast dot com, I think he said.

Happy dancing

Oooh, had a great class last night, and we've now been moved up to the next level

Had fun doing the "tarito"(sp?) round in a circle dance, where you change partners all the time. And it's lovely seeing the whole class improve, so that we are at the point where we can string a few steps together into a routine.