Salsa Personal Training

How to use the Salsa Personal Training DVDs

Each DVD is organized in a number of different sections and can be used in 2 different modes, so it is very important you spend a few minutes reading this document and follow these instructions carefully to make the most of it. The following explanations refer to Volume 1 of the Salsa Personal Training but apply equally to Volume 2, since their Menus are structured in exactly the same way.

1) Each DVD is divided into 2 main parts, or modes, with 2 very different purposes.

2) The first part is something to watch, just like any other dance DVD; this includes the Watch all demos & explanations menu. Here we show all the material contained in the DVD. All material is both demonstrated to music and broken down slowly with counting.

3) The second part is something to exercise with; this includes the Exercises menu. This will guide you through the exercises and will let you practise the material in the DVD both in solo and with a partner. Consider it your Salsa Personal Trainer.

4) Obviously, the exercises are taken from salsa turn patterns shown in the Watch all demos & explanations section. We recommend you first watch this section carefully in order to understand how the exercises fit into the turn patterns. Once you have understood this relation, then try the exercises.

Figure 1.

Ok.. suppose you are ready to watch the DVD. Click on the Watch all demos & explanations menu with your remote control, as in Figure 1. You can now watch all the content of the DVD. Do not worry about breaking it down yet, this will happen in the Exercises session. For now, just watch and try to digest the idea behind the Salsa Personal Training method. Once you have understood the idea, proceed to the Exercises.

Now, suppose you are ready to exercise. We will now guide you through one of the exercises.

Figure 2

1) Click on Exercises as in Figure 2, you will see a Menu like in Figure 3.

2) We can choose two kinds of exercises. The Warm up & stretching are solo exercises which involve a single rope; they are designed to improve your flexibility, agility, speed and coordination. The Two ropes & Partnerwork are exercises designed to learn a salsa turn pattern and they can be performed both solo and with a partner; they involve two ropes.

3) Click on Warm up & stretching and you will see a Menu like in Figure 4, showing all the warm up exercises available. Just as an example, highlight Paseo a la izquierda and press Play on your remote control.

4) You will reach a Menu like in Figure 5. By choosing Paseo a la izquierda - Demo & Explanation you will be able to review the content of this exercise. This is the same clip for Paseo a la izquierda you saw in the Watch all demos & explanations section and it is here to remind you of this move.

Figure 3

		5) By choosing Paseo a la izquierda - with counting you will be able to practise the exercise following Patrice. In this clip there is no music and Patrice counts the music beats for you at a very slow pace, ideal for learning. Also, you see Patrice from the back, which is perfect in order to understand and reproduce the exact movements. The clip loops forever, that is, it never stops so you can practise this move until you are satisfied with your progress. To stop the clip, press the Menu button on your remote control, which will bring you back to the previous Menu.
Figure 4

	6) By choosing Paseo a la izquierda - with music you will be able to practise this exercise with Patrice following a music loop. This clip is faster than the one with counting and allows you to practise the move at a proper tempo. Also, now you see Patrice from the front, which provides some style clues. Notice the beat counter on the bottom left: it shows all the 8 beats of a typical music phrase, which helps you to ensure you are in time with the music. As before, the clip loops forever so you need to press the Menu button on your remote control to stop it and go back to the previous Menu.
		Figure 5

		7) Now, suppose you are done with the ‘Warm up & stretching’ exercise and you want to try the rest. Click on Two ropes & Partnerwork in the Menu as in Figure 3. You will reach a Menu like in Figure 6. You will see a number of available exercises. Suppose you choose Agossar. Once again, highlight it with your remote control and press Play. 8) You will see a Menu like in Figure 7: the different options work exactly as for ‘Paseo a la izquierda - with music’, however now you can choose whether to exercise solo or with a partner. If you exercise solo, you will use 2 ropes. In either case, you will be able to learn the move first by following the instructors slowly with counting and then at proper tempo with music.
Figure 6

9) From the Menu in Figure 3, by choosing Test your learning - warm-up exercises sequence, you can test your learning, your style, your memory, and your agility by following the instructor doing all the solo Warm up & stretching exercises in a sequence.

10) Finally, from the Menu in Figure 2, you can choose Further challenges. These are additional Cuban Salsa moves which come without the solo exercise with the rope. You need a partner to exercises these moves and they are here to provide some bonus ideas to increase your Cuban Salsa repertoire.