Salsa for Everyone – BASICS and BEYOND

Come and experience how fun and easy it is to learn Latin dances like Salsa and Bachata. Meet your friendly and highly skilled instructor, Dr. Stephen Jackson. Try out one of our classes while you meet new friends and fellow dancers who care about learning dance just as much as you. We are a safe, welcoming community that dances and learns together in a stress-free environment. See the Salsa and Bachata for Everyone class descriptions for more information on what we will learn together.

This is the introduction to popular Salsa dancing which evolved from Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean dance forms including Son, Son Montuno, Cha-Cha-Cha and Mambo. The class is perfectly designed for new and beginner dancers who will learn the fundamental and subtle nuances of how to connect with our partners. Each class will center around basic individual footwork and timing, and core patterns required for remaining in sync with our partners while enjoying the beauty and energy of the music. The class is simultaneously good for more advanced dancers as we revisit these principles but will be given additional nuances to improve precision, efficiency, and enhance their creativity real-time.

We will learn the following:

•Connection: Framing, points of contact, handholds, tension/resistance, non-contact communication, hearing the music (musicality)

•Partnering/Patterns: Basic step, right turn, left turn, open connection, cross body lead, under-arm passes, inside turn, outside turn, and intertwining these components to create dance combinations/patterns.

•Footwork/Timing: Hip/knee/foot control, in-place timing, the basic, side-step, crossed side-step, right turn, broken left, double cross, chord beat steps, triplets, etc.