So we still get a lot of level 1 students who attend the intermediate club class at our outings and I thought it would be a good idea to discuss this because it isn’t a good idea in general.
I am always very clear to say if you haven’t completed level 1 then it isn’t really fair for you, for the students and for the instructors if you go to the higher class. This is because you may think the combination isn’t too difficult because that is what good salsa is supposed to do: make you think it is easy! However, the truth is there is a lot of technique, repetition, muscle memory and skill involved in doing intermediate level turn patterns and if you haven’t learned it in a classroom you will not get the breakdown you need in a club class to successfully lead/follow the turn pattern. This can end up with you hurting your partner, yourself or someone on the dance floor.
I really enjoy teaching club classes but the quality of the class is obviously not comparable to that of a classroom. In the classroom, there are fewer people, more lighting, quieter and you have a chance to really breakdown the lead, the follow, the timing, the movement, the footwork and much more. There is time to slowly gain muscle memory and speed up the execution. Those who attend group classes have a much easier time and have a better quality final product when they attend a club class.
So you would be doing yourself a disservice in attending a class that is above your current skill level. It is also not fair to the group because we have to slow down the class to accommodate those that can’t keep up, your partner will not be able to learn well because they will have to spend time teaching you the basic moves, and the instructors will have to spend time teaching moves that are not necessary for us to teach in that level.
In our group classes, we insist that everyone who hasn’t taken level 1 with us and wants to go to a higher level pass an assessment to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to keep up to that particular class. But obviously, this can’t happen in a club. So hopefully everyone can attend the class we have set up for them and very soon you will be graduating to the higher levels!
