Do you lack confidence on the dance floor despite your extensive repertoire?
Do you struggle to find the beat when a timba plays instead of a commercial salsa?
Do you find it difficult when the timing of a song changes half way through?
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Follow this program and solve your timing problems once and for all!
Specifically designed for people who like to learn by doing
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A personal story..
I my name is Stephen from London.
I have your cd Salsa on the beat. Like many guys in London I have started salsa but have been unable to progress. when I do classes I am ok when doing the routines but am not able to dance with other people because I could not hear the beat ie I would attempt basic routines and the women would say stop stop and tell me that I am not counting. They would then stop and try to find the 1. I could not even recogonise the beat at all thus any confidence I would hsve drain away, and you would see me in one corner of the club hiding away. Totally shattered, this went on for appx 2 years untill I found your cd. Every day I listened for 1 hour per day and I started to make a connection after 3 days. I worked hard an am on day 12. My confidence is sky high, Im not saying I am an expert, but now am able to find the beat very often with Salsa music and can pick and choose the songs to dance with, which gives me a massive boost.
ie I am currently going to 2 classes per week Cuban Style and am doing work with a friend at hme x body style and counting the beats all the time. If you see me now I am totally transformed my body is loose not stiff like before. Thats because I can find the beat of most songs and move my body with the vibe.
This cd has transformed my life, I will be doing Salsa 3 evenings per week shortly and in one year I should be decent dancer on the scene.
Salsa is transforming my life, why did'nt any one tell me about this cd! (Stephen, stephen_maxwell_at_hotmail.co.uk)
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Today's Salsa CD review:
The Lebron Brothers – Pablo
This CD contains mostly boleros, so it is naturally suited for the romantic at heart. These boleros are unlike what we may traditionally expect however, since they do not have the full band sound of the classic Cuban boleros from the 50s, nor the more acoustic sound of the Son boleros. Here Lebron Brothers maintain they rough, ‘unplugged’ sound, made mostly of metallic percussions, a piano and two also very metallic trumpets for their arrangement; the result is a strident contrast between the inherently mellow spirit of the boleros and the atmosphere created by the band’s sound. It may take a little to get used to, but underlying this surprising solution there is very nice music. Needless to say, if fast music is what you are after you will be disappointed, since only ‘Que Sufrire'’ offers itself to be danced as a mambo and ‘Noche y dia’ as a Cha Cha Cha; so unless bolero is what you like to dance, you may keep in mind that this is a CD more to listen to than to dance to.
| Title |
Style |
Speed/Pace |
Our rank |
| Per que sera |
Bolero |
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3* |
| Que Sufrire' |
NY Mambo |
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4* |
| Olvidarme de ti |
Bolero |
Fast |
4* |
| Ella es en cielo |
Bolero |
Fast |
3* |
| Nunca te olvido |
Bolero |
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3* |
| Noche y dia |
Cha Cha Cha |
Medium |
3* |
| Escala musical |
Bolero |
Medium |
3* |
| aguas tranquilas |
Bolero |
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2* |
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Salsa CDs you can't live without |
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Today's Salsa DVD review:
Hips on Fire - Salsa for Beginners
Level: Beginners
Style: On1
Content: Basic elements
General Comment: The two instructors bring their Puertorican and Costarican background into the Hips on Fire style so you may expect a mixture of both. The result is salsa danced on 1, which includes both forward and back basic step as well as cumbia step and cross body leads as well as enchufle executed on the line. It is something the purist will not be able to recognise as LA, NY or Cuban style, but very useful to remind us of how easy it is to be constrained by conventions.
The DVD is taught with energy in a class environment, so you will see the instructors and some of their students demonstrating the steps. It is geared towards dancers who want to learn fast, get quickly on the dance floor to have fun and who may not be too concerned about technical details or patient enough to perfect the latest stylistic decoration. But for the purpose, it does the job: together with basic steps, you will learn the Hips on Fire basic right and left turn, for ladies and men and enough simple elements to enjoy your first salsa social nights.
Reviewed by Fabio of SalsaIsGood - Ok |
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Read more Salsa DVD reviews ... |
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On2? Which On2? |
Hello everyone
I am writing this post to all experienced salsa dancers out there, and in particular to all salsa instructors. I have a question which hopefully will spark an e-mail exchange from which I may understand a few things which are unclear to me. In order to put this into context, first a few 'facts'.
Fact 1 . Roughly speaking, most people dance salsa either On1, or On2 Modern Mambo (NY style) or On2 Classic Mambo (Puerto Rican style also similar to Cuban contratiempo). Today Modern Mambo is used more frequently than Classic Mambo at congresses and salsa classes around the world.
Fact 2 . Back in the old days (late 90s, say) whether you danced On1 or On2 was not a matter of choice, like the language you speak it was merely a matter of where you lived. Today, with more and more frequent salsa travels and weekly congresses, dancing On1 AND On2 is a must: we all need to be salsa multilingual.
Fact3 (here things may start to become a bit more controversial, but I proceed nevertheless).
- Converting a turn pattern or a shine from On1 to Classic Mambo (PuertoRican style) is very easy.
- Converting a turn pattern or a shine from On1 to Modern Mambo (NY style) is surely less easy.
Question(s) : Would it not be easier for the 'international salsa community' as a whole to adopt dancing Classic Mambo (PuertoRican style) as the standard 'On2' dance, in place of Modern Mambo (NY style)? Would this not make it much easier to convert from On1 to On2? Would this not make things much easier for travelling students as well as for instructors at congresses? Am I missing something here?
PS1. Just to clarify:
- On1 = [1,2,3-5,6,7] - Break on 1
- On2 Modern Mambo = [1,2,3-5,6,7] - Break on 2
- On2 Classic Mambo = [2,3,4-6,7,8] - Break on 2
Let's not worry of whether the man steps forward on 2 or on 6 in Mambo; this is a matter of symmetry between the dancers which we can ignore for now.
PS2. Eddie Torres explained to me the historical reasons why he introduced Modern Mambo (NY style) counting. I respect it, I believe it was a very clever idea and I have profound and unlimited admiration for him. This post does not intend to attack his style, his dancing and what he has done for salsa. I am just considering a possible simplification and a step toward unification of how salsa is danced around the world.
PS3. According to a very small survey I did, some established international instructors who were originally On1 dancers in fact dance Classic Mambo (PuertoRican style) when they dance On2 socially. According to what I see on YouTube (Oh dear, I hope I won't offend anyone now.) many declared Modern Mambo (NY style) dancers in actual fact dance to Classic Mambo (PuertoRican style) counting when they dance socially (I won't name names but you can check on YouTube yourself). How often is Modern Mambo (NY style) counting actually used, outside salsa classes and workshops?
I would love to hear your opinion, so please send me a e-mail at info@salsaisgood.com |
Check out our
Salsa DVD review page
An exhaustive list of salsa and Latin DVDs, with information about style and content, for you to better choose what to learn
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Check out our
Salsa CD review page
By dancers for dancers,
to help salsa fanatics, students in particular, to choose what music to purchase for their enjoinment and for their practise
more... |
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Creativity, Style and Salsa
How can I be creative in my dancing? How does SuperMario come up with his incredible moves? Did Eddie Torres invent NY style? What is style? Who creates a style? What does it mean to be creative anyway?
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