by Shulagh Jacobs | Feb 8, 2016 | Men's Salsa, Salsa Technique
Many improver level dancers – particularly guys – feel that they aren’t really dancing. They worry that it looks like they are just stepping from one place to the next in the dance and don’t actually have any dancing of their own. At that point...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Feb 7, 2016 | Salsa Technique
The Difference Between an Intermediate and Advanced Salsa Dancer I was asked recently “What is the difference between an intermediate and advanced Salsa dancer?” Most people would immediately assume that it would be largely to do with the amount of moves...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Dec 12, 2015 | Dance Yourself Happy
Those films like Dirty Dancing, Cuban Fury and Strictly Ballroom… They’re not really about guy gets girl or girl gets guy. Well they sort of are, but only on the surface. They’re really about self expression. They’re...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Dec 12, 2015 | Salsa Music, Social Salsa Dancing
The hardest thing in the world is to step out of a comfort zone. So when I was first asked to start DJing regularly for Salsa Machine I wasn’t really sure…I was more interested in developing myself as a teacher, and was enjoying my social dancing...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Jul 13, 2015 | Ladies Salsa, Salsa Styling, Social Salsa Dancing
Don’t you just hate it when you go to a styling class, or watch a video on YouTube and the movements are so difficult and the timing so complicated that you know it’s going to take you at least six months before you’ll have it nailed down enough to...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Jul 12, 2015 | Men's Salsa, Social Salsa Dancing, Uncategorized
There’s one question that I always get asked by guys after class, or during social dancing. And it’s one I often can’t answer. That’s because it’s the wrong question. They ask me: “How do I get into X...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Jun 28, 2015 | Salsa Music, Social Salsa Dancing
Do you listen to the music when you dance? Sounds like a weird question…I mean of course you listen. You step on 1,2,3,5,6,7 don’t you…what else is there to worry about? You know which tracks you like, and you know that they give you...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Jun 14, 2015 | Dancer's Body, Ladies Salsa
I did a private lesson for a novice female dancer recently. She was struggling because she couldn’t relax her arms and shoulders enough to feel the lead and was mentally beating herself up constantly as a result. The solution was really simple. For the first...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Jun 6, 2015 | Men's Salsa, Salsa Technique, Social Salsa Dancing
I was terrified when I first started to learn how to lead. I was worried I was going to find it too difficult and I wouldn’t be able to pull off a decent dance with another woman, or be convincing enough when teaching guys how to do it. This fear was mainly due...
by Shulagh Jacobs | Jun 5, 2015 | Dance Yourself Happy, Salsa Styling, Social Salsa Dancing
The skill of improvisation in Salsa, or the ability to create turn patterns and shines spontaneously in mid-flow of the dance is not an innate gift or something that just happens when you’ve been dancing a long time. There are many extremely advanced...
