Even if you’ve never danced before. Even if you think you have two left feet. Learning to salsa isn’t about getting the steps exactly right. It’s about feeling the joy of moving, getting swept away by the fun Latin beats, and experiencing the pride that comes from doing something you weren’t sure you could do.
Most of all, learning salsa dancing is about connecting with a group of people who are just like you — people who are beginners, who love learning new things, who want a fun way to stay fit; all in a nonjudgmental atmosphere where the goal is to have a blast.
So if that sounds like you, you just need to decide what’s the right way to learn salsa based on your needs:
Private lessons
When you take private salsa lessons, you — or you and your partner — work with your own private salsa instructor. You’ll speed up your progress and get in extra practice. The advantages of private lessons are that you get more individual attention and more options for scheduling lessons. The disadvantages are that you don’t have the same party atmosphere and the opportunity to make new friends that you would get in a group class. Even if you only take private lessons, though, you can still meet people in the salsa community at Toronto Dance Studios salsa and bachata parties, where dancers of all levels are welcome.
Group lessons
Group lessons are a blast! When you dance in a group, you feel like you are at a party or a club. You have a sense of sharing the fun with everyone else in the room. At Toronto Dance Salsa, our instructors break down the steps and make it easy for everyone to follow. You won’t get as much one-on-one time as in private lessons, but our instructors and helpers will come around to provide individual assistance during our group lessons.
People in group classes bond over the shared experience of gaining confidence by learning a new skill. Many people make new friends in their group salsa classes. It’s easy when you have so much in common and when everyone feels so welcome and accepted.
Combination of private and group lessons
Get the best of both worlds by taking private and group salsa lessons. You will learn the steps in your group lessons and then have a chance to practice and refine them in your private lessons. You can even use your private lessons to speed up your progress enough to skip to the next level in your group lessons.
Alternate methods
If you want to learn salsa on your own, you can try books, videos and Skype tutors.
The advantages of books and videos are that you can review them as often as you want, practice at your own pace and fit them into free moments in your schedule. Also, they are inexpensive or free. Books have the disadvantage of not being able to show you the steps in motion. YouTube videos and DVDs do show you the flow of the moves, but without a live instructor, there is no one to see where you need extra help. Both, however, can be excellent supplements to live private or group lessons.
Skype tutors offer some of the advantages of a live instructor. But you don’t get to dance with your instructor the way you would in a private lesson, and you don’t get the party atmosphere of group lessons.
Find the place where you #belong
When you take private or group salsa lessons, you join an amazing community of people who love the same things you do. It’s a wonderful feeling to be in a group of people who are all moving to the same beat, all loving the same music, and all gaining the confidence that comes with learning something new in an atmosphere where nobody judges and everyone is having fun.
The salsa community is warm and welcoming. We would love for you to join us and discover just how good salsa can make you feel.
