by: Fernando Cruz
Raise your hand if you've seen this: You go to a club, and there's "that guy"... You know who "that guy" is. He's the one spinning and twirling all over the dance floor swearing he's the best thing since sliced bread...
Now, I don't mean to point the finger at the guys here, but, this applies more to the guys than it is to the ladies. (Although, this is really for EVERYONE...) Here's the point. If your footwork, which is your foundation, is sloppy and all you try to do is compensate by doing crazy spins every chance you get. Your dancing "simply will not look good." In fact, it's very obvious when someone is trying to compensate for bad footwork.
Think about it this way: Imagine you're a boxer, and you've only trained in punching without paying much mind to your footwork... ...what do you think will happen?
It's kinda like building a house but not laying a foundation...you simply can't do it. If you try it this way, the house won't stay up for long. So worry about your footwork...in fact...
Go out salsa dancing and ONLY do footwork. No spins, no dips, no fancy stuff. If you can't look good with ONLY footwork, you'll never truly look good. So take the challenge. If not at the clubs or at parties, at least at home when you're practicing. Believe me you won't regret it...
Now, most of this has been geared towards the guys, but ladies, you too gotta get this. It's about how you move your feet. Without solid footwork, you simply won't be able to follow properly.
But how do you do it? Just by practicing. Practice your Basic Step, and your Cross-Body Leads. Tie one end of a shoestring around your right ankle, then tie the other end to your left ankle. Then practice your moves with your ankles tied together but do it WITHOUT any music. Once you feel comfortable with that, make sure you start practicing proper timing with music. Because once you do that, you'll master your foundation which is the footwork.
Copyright (c) 2003-2006 Spokane Dance Company. All rights reserved.
PO Box 5036 Spokane, WA 99205
509-328-4717