“I just have a quick question. The other day I went to a salsa class and the instructor said we shouldn’t use our thumbs when holding onto the woman’s hands. For me I find it easier to create and control the tension if I use my thumbs especially when it comes to dancing with women who lack tension in their arms. I tried not using my thumbs and it feels little awkward. What do you recommend?”

Well Mark here is my answer:

When you close your thumb or palm over the follower’s hands, the follower immediately relaxes their arms and, even subconsciously, thinks that because you have them they don’t need to do anything. The result is a follower with Spaghetti arms who won’t follow quickly and accurately your lead. So you may think that you have more control because you are holding on but in actuality the follower will not respond properly to your lead.

Instead, if you open your thumb and palms and curl your finger tips and try to have your partner create the same tension with only your fingertips, you will force your partner to create resistance in her frame to keep from letting go. The more often your partner lets you go the more she will strengthen her fingertips and create more resistance. So you may feel like it is out of control at first because you are losing your connection but eventually your partner will firm up her fingertips and frame and then you will have a partner who will follow you quickly and accurately.

In other words, it is worth the initial growing pains to get the right tension and frame so that you can move on to become a great intermediate and then advanced leader.

So followers and leaders, make sure you never use thumbs and palms and instead curl your fingertips slightly and pull a little to create consistent tension and resistance.

Hope that helps – happy practicing!

The post Mark’s Question! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Each workshop is $35 per person or attend two workshops for $65 or three or four for $30 each.

NEW Introduction to “On 2” Workshop!
Become bilingual! Learn how to transfer your skills from On1 to On2. If you are an intermediate/advanced On1 dancer or a On2 beginner, this workshop is for you! During this workshop you will learn how to “feel” the On2, deconstruction of the rhythm & musicality, polishing of the basic step, transfer of your On1 turn patterns and learn new fun ones! For dancers who have completed Level 3 or higher. Mon Dec 14th from 7:30 – 9:30pm at Empress.

Tango Up Your Salsa Workshop!
Searching for a new way to move in your salsa dancing? Tango Up Your Salsa! This workshop will show you how to capture the sensuality of Argentine Tango in your salsa dancing. Learn how to add Argentine Tango moves such as ganchos (hooks), boleos (leg “throws”) and molinetes (windmills) within the structures of your on-1 salsa footwork. For dancers who have completed Level 2 or higher. Sun Dec 6th from 3:30 – 5:30pm at Empress.

Dips & Tricks Workshop!
Want to kick your dancing up a notch by adding a few fancy dips and tricks? This workshop will teach you how to use your core to execute and balance dips and tricks effortlessly on the dance floor. This workshop will also focus on turn pattern options for proper and safe execution of getting in and out of dips and tricks in a social setting. For dancers who have completed Level 3 or higher. Sun Dec 13th from 3:30 – 5:30pm at Empress.

Casino Rueda Workshop!
A salsa style originating from Cuba, Casino Rueda is danced with partners arranged in a circle, or wheel (Rueda). Characterized by multiple partner and pattern changes called out from the circle leader (or caller) throughout the dance, Casino is a fun and highly interactive style of salsa dancing. Learn the meaning and execution of moves such as Da Me Uno (“Give Me One”), La Flor (“The Flower”) and Setenta (“Seven”). For dancers who have completed Level 2 and higher. Sun Dec 20th from 3:30 – 5:30pm at Empress.

The post New Intro to Salsa ON 2 Workshop! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

• Who should you dance with?
It is always best to dance with as many dancers are possible with a variety of levels and skills. If you are a beginner dancing with other beginners may be more comfortable. However, also consider asking those who are more experienced then you to dance which will offer you a good opportunity to follow a more complicated lead if you are a follower or experience a smoother follower if you are a leader. Remember that everyone was a beginner once so don’t be intimidated by others. If you are more experienced please be gracious and dance with beginners if asked as we all had someone help us learn and we need to keep this circle continuous and give back to the salsa community.

• Hygiene
You do not want to be the male or female who others do not want to dance with because of hygiene. Knowing that salsa is a close body contact type of sport where you touch others in a hot, sweaty environment, please be considerate and adhere to the following guidelines. Fresh breath is a must. Bring breath mints or gum to any dancing event. Anti-perspirant and/or deodorant are also a must. For excessive sweating, try Drysol. It can be bought at any Shopper’s Drug Mart and really works in controlling sweat. Some people bring a change of shirts if they know they are going to perspire a lot. Others use talc powder for damp palms. Some bring small towels or handkerchiefs/bandanas Take breaks often and keep yourself hydrated. Avoid heavy cologne, perfumes or oils as they can get musty in that environment and others may be allergic.

Following these tips will allow the salsa experience to remain a positive one for everyone involved. Remember that good manners, respect for others and awareness of the environment you are in will go a long way. Take the time to get to know your dance partners as it is a wonderful networking and social opportunity. But most of all, listen to the music, feel the energy of the crowd and enjoy the dance

The post Salsa Etiquette appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

The post Salsa Etiquette appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

1) Create tension in your frame – When you instructor keeps reminding you to keep your arms 90 degrees, open the thumbs and only use you fingertips in a light pull, they are reminding you to create tension in your frame. This is because salsa is not a choreographed dance. You never know what the next move is and the leader has to communicate what the upcoming move is with the tension in their fingers. To assist in the communication process, keep your arms at a 90 degree angle with your elbows flush along the sides of you bodies. Don’t stretch your arms. This weakens your tension. Both leaders and followers should not clamp their thumbs down on your partners hands because, again, this weakens tension. Your only hold should come from your fingertips curling and pulling gently against your partners fingertips.

2) Don’t look down – Looking down is a bad move for many reasons. The first is it shows your self consciousness which affects lead and follow. Your partern can sense when you aren’t confident and they become less confident about your lead or follow. Also looking down as a leader doesn’t allow you to see around you and you can end up hurting yourself, your partner and couples around you. Same with followers who look down. You can end up traveling too far or into another couple.

3) Listen to salsa music outside the classroom – Many students worry that they don’t understand the salsa beat. This is because they only listen to salsa music for 1 hour a week in a classroom where you are busy learning new moves and it is difficult to concentrate on several things at once. Instead, take the time to listen to salsa music in your Ipod or in your car and tap out what you think is the beat 1-2-3, 5-6-7. Slowly you will start to distinguish the one of the music and be able to understand the beat. This will then translate to better, more musical dancing in the classroom and on the dance floor.

There are many more tips to discuss. I will try to provide some more over the next few days!

The post Salsa Tips to Keep In Mind appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

For those who have never been to Lula Lounge, there are great live bands there and a really fun feeling to the club. The club is at the Dufferin and Dundas area. 1585 Dundas St. W., west of Dufferin 416 588 0307.

Here are some upcoming salsa events!

Friday, 21 November 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cafe Cubano
With their potent blend of dance-floor friendly salsa and high-energy showmanship, Cafe Cubano evoke the spirit of the legendary dance clubs of Havana. Afrolatino Dance Company

Saturday, 22 November 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cache
Toronto’s Fiercest Salsa Band, Caché delivers hardcore dance music inspired by the vintage salsa sound of the 1970s.

Friday, 28 November 2008
Luis Mario Ochoa Latin Jazz Duo (8pm) and Cimarrón (10 pm)
Luis Mario Ochoa and Cimarron bring their 100% Salsa show to Lula Lounge for a night dedicated to the dancer. This is Buena Vista Social Club night at Lula with give-aways of the Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall, 8pm latin jazz duo and dance lesson by Dance to Live!

Saturday, 29 November 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cafe Cubano
With their potent blend of dance-floor friendly salsa and high-energy showmanship, Cafe Cubano evoke the spirit of the legendary dance clubs of Havana.
More Info / Reserve

Friday, 05 December 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cafe Cubano
With their potent blend of dance-floor friendly salsa and high-energy showmanship, Cafe Cubano evoke the spirit of the legendary dance clubs of Havana. With dance lesson by Bailaboogaloo!

Saturday, 06 December 2008
Salsa Dance Party with Lady Son Y Articulo Veinte
The fabulous Lady Son (Yeti Ajasin) takes the stage with her powerful voice and muy caliente Afro-Cuban rumba/ son band.

Friday, 12 December 2008
The Son Ache Party with DJ Billy Bryans
One of Toronto’s most popular Cuban music groups, Son Ache performs their patented blend of high-energy son montuno that has been packing dance-floors for many years.

Saturday, 13 December 2008
Alberto Alberto y su Orquesta
Fresh off his latest tour with Cuban bandleader Maraca, vocalist extraordinaire Alberto Alberto debuts his new salsa band with original material from his newly released solo album Traigo de Todo.

Saturday, 20 December 2008
Salsa Saturday w Ricky Franco
Dynamic frontman Ricky Franco brings his powerhouse P-Crew Orchestra for a night of hard-core salsa with an R&B edge.

Saturday, 27 December 2008
Salsa Dance Party w Cache
Toronto’s Fiercest Salsa Band, Caché delivers hardcore dance music inspired by the vintage salsa sound of the 1970s.

The post Lula Lounge Discount! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

“Top 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Salsa Dancing Skills

What Level are You On?

Whether you are a beginning, intermediate, or advanced salsa dancer, there are certain tips and tools that will always come in handy when you want to dance at your best. It is one of the greatest things about salsa dancing. We are ALL ALWAYS learning, so that means that even the best dancers that you look up to will never know all there is to know about dancing. If we knew everything there was to know it would quite frankly get boring. Constantly challenging ourselves, as dancers, with new styles, moves and tricks is what keeps us dancing. So with that said there are certain important tips that will never die. I have been dancing socially for about 10 years now. When I feel myself getting rusty, I revert back to the ‘ol basics.

Top 5 Salsa Dancing Tips
1. COUNT 123,4,567,8, that is right…it may sound easy, but even now when I dance with experienced dancers I find myself wondering…”What beat are they dancing on?” Count silently in your head, especially when you are just starting out. I kid you not, I was counting out loud on the dance floor for the first 3 years. Not only did it help me to stay on the beat, but if your partner is observant enough, they might actually hear you and follow your lead.

2. Make salsa tension a top priority. Doesn’t matter if you are the leader or the follower. The connection between the two dancers is what makes salsa what it is. Remember the four points of contact in the closed position. The hands, the leaders hand on the followers shoulder blade, the followers hand on the front of the leaders shoulder, and the leaders and followers elbows that line up when in closed position. Remember to meet your partners tension and adjust to each individual.

3. Watch other dancers. Whether it is the class instructor you are watching, dancers in the salsa clubs, or salsa videos. Watch different styles of dancers and pick the styles you want to adapt to your own. There is no right or wrong style of salsa dancing. The more you make the style your own, the more interesting you dancing style will become. So take a little something from everyone, keep what you like and forget what you don’t.

4. Practice the basic step. This should go without saying, but it really does make the biggest difference. Practice in your kitchen, practice when you are walking around your house. The more you engrain the basic step into your muscle memory, the easier all of the other turns and patterns will become. Build a solid foundation with the basic step. It will never fail you.

5.Last, but certainly not least, listen to salsa music. You are what you eat, so to speak. If you listen to salsa music all the time, you will get more and more familiar with how the rhythm of the music progresses, and how your dancing will speed up and slow down with the music. Dancers connection to the music is really what make them amazing dancers. It is not about showing all your flashy moves, it is about letting the music move you.

The most important thing is to enjoy yourself. This may seem like a give in, but it is what salsa dancing is all about. It is natural to get nervous when you are first starting out. But we all started somewhere, so just communicate with the person you are dancing with and just remember that they were right where you are at some point in their dancing lives.”

The post Good Article About Improving Your Dance Skills appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

“Toronto Dance Salsa is taking you to Havana! We have teamed up with the global leaders in salsa holidays, Club Dance Holidays, to bring you a unique holiday this Spring. 7 nights of Salsa in Havana from 21 March 2009 to 28 March 2009. Salsa in Havana – what more could you ask for? This holiday is designed to completely immerse you in Cuban culture and the Cuban dance scene, both of which are energetic, very real and totally spontaneous. It’s all about forgetting who you are, where you come from and living in the moment. Enjoy 15 hours of Salsa classes with some of the most exciting Cuban Salsa teachers and dancers in Havana. We have a whole team in Havana dedicated to assist you in the classes in the mornings, take you to the best Salsa matinee afternoon dance sessions in the afternoons and accompany you at night dancing with you until late in intimate clubs, where the dancing is often energized by live bands.

The dancing …

You will love our team of professional Cuban dancers. What makes this Cuban Salsa trip special is the team of Cuban dancers who come out with you at night to the dance venues in Havana. This means that there are more dance partners to go round and enables you to dance with not just Cubans but Cuban trained dancers!

Cuban Salsa is about truly “inhabiting” your body, really dancing WITH your partner and feeling the music in your soul. You will find that there is more fluidity and body movement compared to LA or New York Salsa due to Cuban Salsa being at one with Salsa’s ancestors – Son, Rumba, Afro-Cuban dance, Cha Cha Cha and Mambo. Our team of Cuban instructors truly want to see you dance like a Cuban, and will work with you on the “feel” of the fluid Cuban body movement, as well as on the moves and the footwork.

What’s included?

*Thorough and entertaining syllabus in salsa (Minimum 15 hrs of classes)
*Beautifully organised programme of nights out with our team of Cuban dancers who really spice it up.
*Charmingly hosted by our team on the ground who are experts in salsa and in Cuba.
*Return direct flights with Air Canada from Toronto Pearson
*Meet and Greet upon arrival and return hotel transfers
*7 nights accommodation and breakfast in the luxurious Hotel Nacional – the best hotel in Havana.
*A well thought out programme including parties, soirees, restaurants, nights out dancing as well sightseeing suggestions.
*A full Orientation Pack containing information on where to eat, where to party, tourist spots, things to do etc so you can do your own thing
*A Welcome party and drink
*A choice of optional extras related to the holiday

How much is it?

The price is $ 2349 CAD. Book now and get the best possible price at $2149 CAD (for reservations booked prior to end of November). Be among the first 8 people to book and pay only $1999 CAD. This holiday has limited places and will sell out. This price includes all taxes.

How do I book?

Call Club Dance Holidays direct on 416 848 0501and refer to the “Toronto Dance Salsa Trip to Cuba for March 2009” and they will sort everything out for you. “

The post Come to Cuba With Us! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Here is some info about Luis Mario Ochoa and Cimarron who will be performing that night – hope to see you all there!

“Well known for leading a wide variety of big bands and latin jazz ensembles, for the Cuban Friday series, arranger and composer Luis Mario Ochoa has gathered a killer line up of Toronto based Cuban musicians to perform a repertoire of old school salsa music dedicated to the dancer.

Featuring Alexis Baro on trumpet, Luis Eniz on alto sax, John Johnson on tenor sax, Chris Butcher on trombone, David Virelles on piano, Yoser Rodriguez on bass, Alberto Suarez on timable, Luis Orbegoso on congas bandleader Luis Mario Ochoa on lead vocals, Cimarron will combine the foundation rhythms of Cuban son, salsa and cha cha with the New Yorkino classic salsa sounds of the 70’s.

Born, raised and educated in Havana, Cuba, Luis Mario Ochoa is a singer, composer, arranger and bandleader. In 1992 Luis Mario founded the group CIMARRÓN, named for its distinctive Afro-Cuban roots. Cimarrón, meaning wild and untamed, was the word used by the masters when referring to their runaway slaves in colonial Cuba.”

The post Outing to Lula! appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.

Yes it could be you or them. Maybe this person is a great stylist but not a great leader/follower. They could look great because they have the body movement, flare and style to enhance any dance. However leading/following habits are separate skills and you can be great at one and not so great at the other. That is why sometimes you will dance with someone expecting them to be a beginner and end up being pleasantly surprised by their skills – because maybe the leading/following is a lot stronger then their styling skills.

So yes it could be you or them. But more likely it is just a simple case of chemistry (or lack thereof). Some people you just click with on the dance floor. They may not be at your level, you may not even personally like them, but on the dance floor it is magic. Others, you just can’t get it right, no matter that you are friends or that you look good together or any other qualifying aspects. I guess it is similar when it comes to choosing a partner off the dance floor. Chemistry is very personal and there is no rhyme or reason.

Will this change with enough practice with that person? Maybe. My experience is that those I don’t gel with I almost always will never be able to gel with in the future. The only exception is if I wasn’t matched skilled-wise with the person and then either he or I was able to catch up and then we could dance well together. However this scenario is not about chemistry – it is about being on the same playing field.

I am sure you have all had instances of chemistry failure – please share!

The post Salsa Chemistry appeared first on Toronto Dance Salsa.