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Salsa & Mambo Video Reviews

SalsaMania

Intermediate Advanced Partnering Vol 1

Level: Int-Adv

Style: On1

Content: Turn Patterns

General Comment: Very nice... very nice. An 'old style' salsa DVD, but a very nice one. What I mean by 'old style' is that this DVD contains 8 turn patterns on1, full stop. Each turn pattern is first danced, then broken down to counting and then explained from the leading perspective; full stop. No styling, no breaking down of footwork, no decorations, no on1 and on2 versions, no slow motions, no frills. What makes it nice? The turn patterns themselves; it sounds very easy.. but only a few DVDs deliver on that.

As the title suggests, the turn patterns are divided into 2 sessions: 4 are 'intermediate' level, and 4 are advanced level. Nevertheless, all turn
patterns are 'complicated' as the dancers themselves explain, in the sense that they are the concatenation of several moves. Some of these moves are novel, most of them are probably already in your repertoire but the way they are put together is nice and looks very smooth and natural. They are 'complicated' also because they are all based on intricate arm work, followed by fast spins; but the explanation of the lead is good and details are inserted when the lead is unusual. The dancers demonstrate the turn patterns very well. Their dance is simple and elegant and most important for complicated turn patterns, it is smooth; despite they dance at fast tempo, still this material seems to flow very naturally, something I am sure will need quite some work to emulate. I expect learning these 8 turn patterns will take time, but I also expect they will feel very nice when mastered.

Reviewed by: Fabio from SalsaIsGood Recommended