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Salsa & Mambo Video Reviews

Karla Espinoza

Ladies Styling

Level: Intermediate

Style: LA/Millennium

Content: Styling for solo and partnerwork

General Comment: As you may expect from an AL Liquid Silver production, this is salsa Millennium Style, powerful salsa, salsa to impress. If you like the style, you will find this DVD will teach you a few of the moves, flashy female salsa dancers often perform on the floor. The DVD is mostly aimed at intermediate dancers, since the moves are not too challenging, but in styling the issue is not whether you can do something but how you do it. Kara teaches well, shows the moves from different angles with and without music and has a pleasant down-to-earth approach. Some of the moves are designed for shines or ‘solo’ moments, while others are meant to decorate standard partnerwork, like cross body leads and other turns and are shown with the help of Al. The material presented is not particularly original, rather offers variations on moves currently belonging to the LA/Millennium repertoire; if this is the style you want to learn, Karla is surely one of the dancers to learn it from.

Reviewed by Fabio of SalsaIsGood - Good

Ladies Spins Vol. 1

Level: Int-Adv

Style: LA/Millennium

Content: Spins for solo and partnerwork

General Comment: Karla spins really, really well: she has good technique and she makes the spins look natural, something we all aspire to; she also teaches well and the combination of all this makes the DVD valuable. It starts with the very fundamentals of the NY ‘prep’, the movement ladies use to prepare themselves for the spins, covers the correct foot preparation, the body posture, spotting and proceeds slowly to the multiple spins which are the focus of the DVD. Then Karla takes the ‘theory’ and ‘applies’ it to the real spins you will have to master during partner-work, thanks to the help of Al; they demonstrate first how to practise the ‘prep’ in couple dancing, showing more exercises aimed at helping the lady balance properly; then they proceed to teaching how to execute multiple spins after a check, during a cross body lead and in other standard dancing positions. All details are shown from multiple angles with and without music (a very catchy one), in the relaxed and funny atmosphere to which Al’s productions have accustomed us. A good contribution from a good dancer and teacher.

Reviewed by Fabio of SalsaIsGood - Good