Hey guys, my name is Aleks. I’m your friendly neighborhood director of Toronto Dance Salsa.
I have had the pleasure of choreographing and witnessing personally weddings for my students and it’s just an incredible sight.
To see a couple come together on their special day, after working so hard, and just dazzle their loved ones.
The oooh’s and aaaahhh’s, the applause as everybody around is watching and gasping with excitement.
It’s just incredible!
Here is some advice you can take if you are considering doing a Salsa dance for your wedding.
Beginners
If you are an absolute beginner, which means that either you don’t know anything about Salsa or, you know, a little bit about salsa. So this can range from anywhere from three months of dancing up to eight to 10 months of dancing.
Song Length: I would encourage you first to pick a song that is 1 to 2 minutes (usually it means you ask the DJ or your choreographer to cut the song).
Tricks: Don’t do more than 3 tricks for your performance. When you see a pro or amateur pro performances on YouTube, you’ll see them go from one trick to another to a bunch of turns. It seems like a none stop rollercoaster.
Not only was it a very stressful process to get all the moves right from beginning to end. The whole routine had to be done perfectly…but they tend to have years of experience with if they miss one move, how to get back into the continued, memorized choreography.
The quickest hack is picking up three tricks! Doing one trick within the first 15 to 30 seconds, doing the next trick in the middle of the song and then the final big finish trick at the end.
Remember that your wedding goers aren’t experienced dancers and anything and everything you show will be wow. When you focus and nail down 3 great tricks and everything else is basics, turns that means you can make those tricks look amazing.
Intermediate dancers
You have been dancing anywhere from 1-3 years, no performance experience, and you have been social dancing for at least 6 months +.
Song Length: Anywhere from a 1.5 minutes to 2.5 minutes for a song is great.
Tricks: 3-6 tricks is a great place to be at this level.
Tips for Any level
Don’t overwhelm people with tricks:
Tricks is a great place to start but keep in mind whether you’re a beginner intermediate dancer. The most important thing are the connective tissue as I describe it that connects the tricks between them.
So the most important thing here is doing basic turns, crossbody lead, crossbody lead turns things that give people a chance to visually rest between the tricks.
I’ve seen performances choreographed and done. Where it’s just non-stop tricks and people just get bored. So like a performance like an orchestra. You want to have your highs and lows in the choreography (which is something you should discuss with the choreographer you go to).
Pick the right song:
In terms of the song you pick. I would encourage you to pick song to pick a song that actually makes you excited. So don’t just have someone else pick it, they may give you suggestions but it needs to make you feel something.
It should light you up. Why? Because you’re gonna be working on it, from anywhere from three to six months to a year, depending on how much time you have.
When you decided to start this journey and you’re gonna be listening to it to it, hundreds, if not thousands of times and you will get sick of it and you will love it again and you’ll get sick of it and you’ll love it.
So, make sure you pick a song that lights you up. That makes you excited,
How to have a next-level performance:
Have a story in your choreography that compliments the energy of the song. Imagine that this is the story of your relationship. This is the story of your future together.
It just, it’s absolutely. The next level because it will carry more emotions as you dance than just the moves.
NOTE: Of course, all these suggestions are based on the fact that you hire a choreographer, a dance instructor who’s had the experience to work this out and create this for you.
Choreographing Solo?
I would encourage beginner or intermediate dancers to do no more than 2-3 for beginner and for intermediate a maximum of 2 to 5 tricks.
YouTube is a great place to find a lot of cool moves for beginner and intermediate dancers.
Just pick moves that are no more than 2 counts of eight to not get overwhelmed.
Final Notes:
I can definitely do part two of this if you found this helpful.
Remember that people are coming to celebrate you, to celebrate your special journey.
No matter how many fancy moves you put in if you’re looking stressed if you’re not having fun if you’re hating each other throughout this process of working on the choreography and learning, it it’s not worth it. Focus on each other focus on loving each other supporting each other.
Pick a song that makes you FEEL good, you, not the choreographer, you have to like it.
Remember if you have more questions please contact me! There are so many more tips that I want to share with you! If you have a question, please message me on Instagram (torontodancesalsa), on Twitter (#torontodancesalsa), on Facebook (Toronto Dance Salsa) or email me at [email protected].
