Who Is This Course For?

This Salsa Improver Course is for those who have a basic repertoire of Salsa moves but are looking to build their confidence, expand their repertoire and gain the speed, smoothness and style which only comes from targeted technique training.

It is the natural follow-on from my Freeze to Freestyle Upper Beginner Course.

It’s for leads who care about giving followers great dances and want to understand what makes a social dance feel amazing for her.

It’s for followers who want to show up as an equal partner and reciprocate great leading skills with excellent connection, control and precision footwork.

 

Why Care About Technique?

Technique makes every single thing you do on the dance floor look, feel, and work better.

But above all, technique will make you much safer to dance with by making your movements more stable, controlled and consistent.

Busy social dance floors are fast, frenetic environments.

They require lightning fast reactions and split second timing.

And people do get hurt from time to time.

A stiletto heel through the foot one day, a whack in the head from someone’s arm styling, or a flying elbow in the face.

I often describe Salsa as a contact sport – and although it’s impossible to prevent accidents completely, many could be avoided with a bit more care and spatial awareness.

All partnerwork relies on knowing where your partner is going to be – and how dependable their movements and reactions are.

This is the mission of my Improver Salsa Technique training – to groove your core Salsa moves so you have that extra level of finesse and control.

This will make you easy to dance with and enable further, faster progression.

 

Salsa Technique For Leads

For guys the most important thing is that your lead is reliable and repeatable.

You need to have a strong, dependable frame and avoid any rough, snatchy leads, or wild movements which could pull the follower off balance.

You need to be spatially aware, and know how to manage the tension and help the follower understand the direction and amount of rotation you are asking for.

Your biggest limitation is not the amount of moves you know – it’s your ability to execute what you DO know with technical competence and precise timing at speed.

And all this without feeling like you are rushing to keep up with the music, or having to push and shove the ladies to get them to turn quicker.

Good leads do not need to tow the followers as they understand the preparation techniques for each move.

Salsa Technique For Followers

The follower also needs to be predictable in how she travels and where she ends up at the end of each turn.

For this she needs to manage foot placement and be in control of her own weight transfer and balance.

This means you should not be relying on the guy for support!

If you are not fast, light and responsive to their lead, you may find they use more force to move you quicker.

If you can’t reciprocate their connection correctly, you’ll miss the nuances of their lead. They will sense your limitations and play it safe with basic level stuff.

You may not even be aware of this as most guys will still go out of their way to give you a great dance.

They’ll have fun and connect with you, and they will take care not to push you beyond your technical limits.

However they will save their best dances for the followers who can not only keep up and be perfectly on point with their technique, but be an equal collaborator with their styling and musical interpretation.

Slow Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast

Many newer dancers want to rush their progress so they can get to the fun stuff – the more complex turn combos and styling.

However the habits and movement patterns you ingrain in the early days will stay with you – and if you get into bad habits they will be difficult to unravel at a later stage – when you decide to take your Salsa journey more seriously.

This is why there are people who have been dancing for many years, but don’t feel great to dance with.

Just as practicing everything slowly will help you refine your body movement to fill out the music, and learn how to time your steps to exactly hit the beat, taking your time to upgrade your skills now will result in more finesse and more fun in the long run.

 

What Makes Good Technique?

I believe there are five main skills a Salsa dancer has to master:

Balance

Footwork

Energy

Body Movement

Connection

And you need to co-ordinate these in your own body before you can dance smoothly with a partner.

Salsa is about motion, and includes lots of spins and turns at speed. 

For this reason, you need to know how to apply the principles of technique across a range of different moves, combinations and scenarios.

When you understand how to work with your body you can use the laws of anatomy and physics to achieve more than you ever thought possible.

 

Technique Doesn’t Have To Be Boring!

Some teachers believe that most recreational social dancers don’t have the patience to do what it takes to get really good.

And it’s true – many appear content with learning a handful of moves and repeating the same thing in the same way forever.

And this is one of the things I found most frustrating when I was learning. I kept asking my teachers what I needed to do to get better.

“Do more classes”

“Do more practice”

“Listen to more Salsa music”

The truth was I was doing all of the above and nothing really changed – because no one explained or broke down what good technique actually looked like, and what I needed to do to achieve it.

It wasn’t until much later when I took private lessons with better teachers that I learned how, and what to practice.

 

You Can Improve Much Faster Than You Think!

Many people believe that it takes months and months before they are likely to see and feel any real difference in their dancing.

And in my experience this is true if your only learning opportunities are big group classes where everyone is at different levels and the routines are long.

However this time frame can be reduced by focusing on the things that really matter – the details.

So which would you prefer out of the following two options?

Eight weeks of working intensively so you can master more challenging moves and combinations, and gain complete control over the way you operate on the social dance floor?

Or years of dancing the same moves in the same way because you don’t have the technical skills to do much else and no one has shown you how to do things differently.

Which sounds the least boring and the most fun?

 

Next Course Starts In:

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)

How Much Does It Cost?

The course is £199 per person and can be paid using this PayPal link:

What’s Covered On The Course

 

This course is designed to make your fundamental Salsa moves and combos smooth as silk.

I’ll show you how to improve your flow and manage your momentum so you can execute more frequent turns and spins seamlessly in partnerwork and shines.

We’ll cover spatial awareness and positioning so you are always in the right place at the right time – this in itself will change your whole social dance experience.

You’ll learn some simple versions of classic Salsa armography – hand throws, arm flings and drop-catches.

You’ll understand how to lead/follow these in partnerwork without memorising routines, or losing connection.

I’ll show you how to refine and style your footwork in partnerwork so you get that “cool” factor you see in more advanced dancers.

 

You Will Learn:

  • The essential “bread and butter” partnerwork combinations which everyone does in every single social Salsa dance.
  • A deeper understanding of lead/follow techniques
  • How to improve your speed, balance and weight transfer.
  • How to feel confident doing solo shines in partnerwork
  • Simple musicality tips which will elevate your dancing.

You Will Get:

  • Eight weeks of progressive learning 
  • Weekly 90 minute technique class
  • The same small group throughout (8 people max)
  • Access to my private facebook group exclusively for students
  • Online course materials via my website learning platform

Next Course Starts In:

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)

Next Course Starts On:

Date: Thursday 9th March

Time: 7-8.30pm

How Much Does It Cost?

The course is £199 per person and you can book your place using this PayPal link: