Improve Your Salsa Turns
The move followers and leaders do the most are right turns. Although it is a basic move, the better you execute right turns, the more confident you’ll feel. So here are three simple things you can do to improve your Salsa turns.
Turn with Your Core
I was confused by this advice when I started dancing. More simply, it means to turn with your belly button. So your torso is twisting and leading the turn. To practice the twist, tap forward with your left and then use your belly button to twist your torso to the right as you look over your right shoulder. Keep twisting as far as possible, then bring your ankles together to finish the turn. Think of it as if someone is calling your name from behind you. You would automatically twist your body and then your feet follow. The same thing should happen in Salsa. Turn with your core first and you will improve your Salsa turn.
Keep Your Heels Off the Ground
Many Salsa dancers put their weight on their toes when doing a turn. Your weight should be on the ball of your foot – behind your big toe. The easiest way to practice this is to ensure your knees are bent and your butt is back. You can think of it as a T-Rex position or imagine you are leaning your butt on a bar stool. Now lift your heels off the ground just a little. You only need a millimetre or two. This position keeps you more grounded and prevents you from falling forward. Now you have two ways to improve your Salsa turns – turn with your core and keep your heels off the ground.
Suck in Your Ankles
Many Salsa dancers finish their right turns looking like compasses used in geometry class to draw circles. To help us draw circles, the end with the needle stayed firm and the pencil end swung around. Similarly, many people finish a Salsa turn with their feet apart. But you will be steadier and have more power if you keep your ankles together. Imagine you are wearing a skirt or a kilt. You don’t want everybody to see what’s underneath as you turn. So suck your ankles together. This will improve your Salsa turns immensely.
Check out my YouTube video if you want even more tips on Salsa right turns.
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