Salsa Rapido method- Fast, Fun & Progressive

Salsa Rapido® - is not just another brand name but an alternative salsa teaching method that gets you dancing salsa faster, better and having more fun along the way.

I like dancing with fun, confident, stylish people and so that’s how I teach people. Call it progressive or just common sense.

Salsa classes reflect the values of the teacher. So who am I and what do I believe:

My name is Alastair Sadler I'm English and have been dancing salsa since 1992.  I created the Salsa Rapido® method in 1995 as a reaction to the traditional ‘dance class.’ It’s evolved into the fastest, most fun and progressive way into salsa.

In 2003 I created the world’s first 1-Day Intensive Salsa Course in London which has proved the longest running and most successful course of its kind anywhere in the world.

I’m still passionate about teaching social dance and the positive effects it has on those who get involved.

Why I believe Salsa Rapido should be fast and fun:

Fast! I work on the assumption that you don’t want to be a beginner for long. You want to walk onto that dance floor with the confidence of James Bond, knowing you can dance.

So learning is just a phase to go through. The shorter that phase is, the sooner you'll be out there dancing.

Can you get out there and salsa? Once you do, you'll discover that learning was worth all the effort. Don’t stop until you can dance. Once there, the chances are that you'll stay in salsa.

Surprisingly, learning quickly produces better dancers with less bad habits and misconceptions.

Fun! Classes should be fun and an entertainment in their own right. If you're having fun you're relaxed and spoiler alert.... you'll learn faster. Associating salsa with fun will draw you back to salsa again for more fun where you’ll meet others who also like having fun.

How is Salsa Rapido Progressive:

Confidence - I like dancing with confident people. Social dancing is a great opportunity to express our inner confidence. I don’t mean showing off, but the confidence we all express when sitting around a table having a laugh with friends. It’s also the confidence of connecting with other humans and together feeling inspired. It’s not about being the best, it’s about being the most you can be. Allowing the most confident version of you to be seen.  We seldom get the chance to practice confidence as a social skill but salsa is one way we can.

Method - I’ll use any and every trick, tip, wacky analogy and positive psychology I can, to get you dancing. After over two decades of teaching, I’ve quite a bag full!

Simplification - Salsa is easy and yet often it appears complex, something that will take forever to learn. Salsa Rapido® offers a simple conceptual framework. Parameters or rules within which to operate. Simple classification of types of moves, so once you get one example you’ve pretty much got them all in that category.

De-mystification - Understand the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ becomes easy. Keep the ‘why’ hidden and it becomes mysterious and complex and difficult.

Experience - Showing you what to do is easy. Identifying precisely what went wrong and how to fix it takes experience. Constructing a curriculum that avoids most of the problems and bad habits before they form takes a lot of experience.

Divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking is the approach where there are many correct and creative solutions  fanning out in front of you. This is opposed to Convergent thinking when you seek a single perfect way of doing something. Most social dance is traditionally presented convergently.  I teach divergently giving you many ways of looking good being creative within the parameters of what works across the world. More about that another time...

Travelling steps

 

Travelling Steps:

When you boil it down there’s only a few things you can do on a dance floor. Stay static, rotate, go somewhere and a few miscellaneous bits and pieces.
Travelling is part of the ‘going somewhere’ group.
To move across the dance floor we can either take small or big ones. I call small steps shuffling, and the big ones travelling steps.

Definition of Travelling:
A large step across the floor on any beat in any direction, but they must follow the rule of travelling.
Because travelling steps are numerous and used in every regional style, it's useful to identify and master the mechanical properties so we can easily master new moves that have similar properties.

Well Known Moves that include a travelling steps:

Cross Body Lead (f5), Dil’ Que No. (f5) Open Break (f1), Copa (f3 f5), Gupea (f2 f3 f6 f7),
Around the world (f2 f3 f6 f7), Paseala (f2 f 6)
[ The f before the number refers to the eight count as started on the leaders left foot e.g. f5 = Right foot of the leader and left of the follower. ]

The Rule of Travelling Steps:
When a follower travels across or around the leader, the travelling step  must be the follower's leg nearest the leader.
If this rule is broken, during the travelling step, the follower swings in towards the leader, which in terms of body language is overtly sexual. When tested on followers who have no dance experience, they consistently say this felt ‘wrong’ and following the rule felt ‘right’.
I know of no travelling moves that break this rule.

The Travelling Event:
A travelling step may be in any direction and on any beat as long as it also conforms with the rules of Footwork Sequence* and Travelling.
During the beat that the Travelling step takes place, the leaders communicates that a travelling step is to take place, in what direction and how far. The follower needs to receive this information and react accordingly.
The leaders communication i.e. his lead has to be at the very beginning of the beat so the follower can complete it within the beat.

There is always the temptation to start the lead before the beat that the travelling step is on. Often this has no consequence but will often provoke the follower to travel on the earlier beat which may break the rule of travelling and feel uncomfortable.

Preparation:
For travelling steps there is no prepstep or hint that a travelling step is about to happen.
It is necessary to ‘connect’ i.e. gain the full attention of your follower before the sequence starts. Without this connection the lead becomes an ambush and is uncomfortable and hard to follow.

The Lead:
To lead a travelling step simply push or pull the follower in the direction of travel.
It’s almost the same as if you are sliding a cardboard box so that across the floor.
The important difference is that the travelling step is led with connection and consideration. The leader accelerates the follower working with her body movement. The follower will find it intuitive and easy to follow. This allows for a wide range of variations and interpretation of the move.

Anticipation:
Often the moves using travelling steps are very prone to anticipation.
Please be aware that anticipation of travelling step is probably the greatest cause of injuries in salsa.
When the follower regularly anticipates, the leader loses confidence that the follower will react to variations in length or position. His reaction to this is to usually ‘dumb down’ and avoid complex moves. If followers want the best from their leaders, they must master anti-anticipation.

How far to travel:
Each follower will have a comfortable range of travel based on confidence, gait, floor conditions and shoe type. The leader can work within this range leading either more or less than average to achieve the variation.

Cross Body Lead:
The most common travelling step by far, is the CBL which mechanically is identical to the Cuban Dil’ Que No. They both are first beat travelling steps on the 2nd bar i.e. f5      *2

For leaders- Expanding and varying your repertoire of travelling steps is an very easy way to make a leader's repertoire interesting and dynamic.
For followers- Being able to follow any travelling step in any direction is a mark of excellence. The skill of attention, connection, balance, reaction and dynamic movement all have to be mastered.

Tips:
When leading from partner hold, lead with the hand behind the followers back rather than pulling with the joined hands. The lead is much clearer and the joined hands can correct and var the move.

Followers - I recommend that your travelling step ends with your toe touching the floor before your heal. This prevents twisted ankles when wearing heels and looks elegant.
Imagine you are travelling to a stepping stone. This modifies the travelling step movement and require the follower to control their momentum once arrived, which prevents a large uncontrolled step on the next step.



*1: Rule of Footwork Sequence- Salsa is based on a series of steps and pauses that is continuous and seldom broken. Left Right Left Pause, Right Left Right Pause 

*2: f5 refers to the foot work count, also known as the 8count.

 f5=    123_ (5)67_  

In musical terms f5 is the 1st beat of the 2nd bar.

The Mechanics of Spinning

In this article I will outline the mechanics of spins using the coil-spin method.

It is not a tutorial as video is a better medium, but a discussion of spins within the conceptual framework of event based freestyle leading.

Some of the terms I use may be unfamiliar and may need extra explanation. This is a first draft so please point out errors or ask questions.

• What is a spin?
• Spins vs Turns.
• The Rule of Spins.
• Powering the spin.
• The Coil-Spin method.
• Is the coil necessary?
• Other methods of spinning.

• Leading a spin.
• Before the spin sequence starts.
• Posture.
• Spotting.
• The coil.
• The lead of a spin.
• Leading from above the followers head.
• What beat is the spin on?
• Making it easy to remember.
• Prep-Steps.
• Tips.

Definition:

What is a spin?

I define a spin event as a large amount of rotation on a specific beat. Because of the large amount of rotation a spin will nearly always involve swivelling the ball of the foot on the floor as the foot cannot rotate a full circle. Because of their speed, spins can look fast and dynamic.

Spins vs Turns:

I define a turn as a series of incremental rotational movements that when added together to form the required amount of rotation. Turns are generally slow compared to spins, as it can take several steps to achieve the same amount of rotation as a spin. Because turns use smaller amounts of rotation they can start on any beat in any direction. Turns are led with a constant subtle push or pull.

The Rule of Spins:

‘Spins are in the direction of the foot being stepped onto’.

If you step onto your left foot it feels more comfortable to spin to your left (anticlockwise) than to your right (clockwise). This is because of the shape and configuration of human hips and legs. It is possible to spin counter to this rule but given the major influence on style of ‘consideration’ to one’s partner, the vast majority of spins follow this rule.

 

Mechanics:

Powering the spin:

The power for the spin comes from the core muscles around the hips, legs and waist of the person spinning. It is very rare for the leader to power the follower and usually unnecessary. It’s important for leaders to remember that to lead a spin successfully, it’s best to focus on communication rather than power.

The Coil-Spin method:

The most common and natural way of powering a spin is to coil the core muscles to store energy, in one direction, then rapidly launch the spin in the other. Think of throwing a frisbee. Your arm coils up in the opposite direction to the direction of flight, storing energy. Then the power is rapidly released to launch the frisbee. We naturally coil ourselves without thinking but leading this “Coil-Spin method” to lead a spin can feel counter-intuitive at first but with a little practice feels completely natural.

The coil is usually on the beat before the spin where it is comfortable to coil in the opposite direction. The secret to leading a coil successfully is to think of it as a subtle clue or hint that allows the follower to store energy ready to spin.

Is the coil necessary?

Without a coil the follower is ambushed by the lead. To ask the follower to rapidly accelerate without any preparation is uncomfortable and therefore inconsiderate

Other methods of spinning:

It is possible to spin without coiling by using the upper body to twist a as you spin or to use the traction of the floor to pull you around  as in hook turns, but I’ll save those for another time :-)

Leading a Spin:

Before the spin sequence starts:

The leader must gain the full attention of the follower. I call this - connection. Think of a conductor in the moments before the orchestra plays the first note. The intense connection creates a moment of stillness while the baton is raised. This allows the communication to be very subtle.

Posture:

Posture is very helpful for maintaining balance during and after the spin.

Maintain a straight and vertical back with a balanced pose. Test this by standing on one leg and seeing if you can balance.

Often instructors suggest a slightly bent leg while spinning. I can find no mechanical reason for this other than to reduce the height of the follower so the leader may not have to reach up as much.

The coil:

The beat before the spin the leader subtly coils the follower. This is best described as a hint or a clue. The follower stores power in the hip muscles and is now ready for the spin. The follower must not assume (anticipate) that there is definitely going to be a spin at this point, but is fully prepared if one is led.

Note: It is hard for a follower to tell from is the leader is coiling you or starting a turn. The only difference is your preparedness.

The lead of a spin.

At the beginning of the next beat the leader leads with a clear decisive lead in the direction of the spin. The follower releases the stored energy to power the spin and spins.

The lead and subsequent spin is the ‘dynamic event’ of the move. A spin event on the second beat of the sequence is called a 2nd beat spin.

The lead takes place at the very beginning of the beat of the spin and the spin is usually completed by the end of the beat.

During the lead the follower assesses the lead and judges whether it is greater or lesser than average for that leader. She reacts to that judgement making her spin greater or lesser, more or less crisp etc.

Leading from above the followers head.

Using the style influences of efficiency and consideration, when leading from above the followers head I recommend the position where the followers thumb could touch the top center of her head. This gives the subtlety/ efficiency and supports the balance of the follower. Big looping movements can look very beginner like. I recommend that leaders, wherever possible, are ready to support the follower in case there is a loss of balance. This often means letting the hand/s above the head linger a moment or two longer in position.

What beat is the spin on?

Spins can be on any beat in any direction but obey the rules of spins and footwork sequence. This means that they may be only be in certain directions on certain beats.

Making it easy to remember:

For 8-counters   f1, f3, f6 are anticlockwise and f2, f5, f7 are clockwise.

For musical counters b1, b3 in the direction of first step of the sequence. B2 in opposite.

	b1	b2	b3	b4
1st beat spin	Spin (already coiled on previous beat)	step	step	pause
2nd beat spin	coil	Spin	step	pause
3rd beat spin	step	coil	Spin	pause

Prep-Steps:

Prep-Steps are an exaggeration of the coil spin method, used in the ‘Choreography Model’ of salsa. The leader preps the follower with a learnt signal. The follower assumes the ‘prep’ position which coils the hip in the same way as the coil/spin method. The difference being that the coil often take place several beats before the spin.

Prep-Steps are not universal and often vary from club to club.

All spins that use a Prep-Step can be led easily with the coil spin method.

Spotting:

As you spin maintain your head in a fixed position for as long as you can. This is as if you are staring at a spot at eye level. Delaying the head’s rotation as if you are looking at the spot as much of the time as possible, allows you to flicks your head around very quickly. This helps prevent feeling of giddiness.

The worst thing you can do is allow your eyes to track around the room like a video camera. See tip on recovering from giddiness.

Tips:

• Check out how the follower moves with gentle turns before fast spins. Find out if there are balance problems, drift or grip issues before they are a problem.
• If a follower anticipates the spin every time you raise your arm, raise the arm within partner hold and hold that position until she’s broken the mental link between arm raising and spin.
• Whichever foot you start the spin sequence, the next FWS starts on the other foot.
• If you struggle to get the correct FWS after the spin try freezing at the end of the spin sequence. This will give you a moment of choice as to which foot is next. Quoting the FWS will tell you which one it is.
• Your favourite direction of spinning will be the one you are most familiar with. So practice the other direction more until you’ve mastered both.
• If you get a little giddy, stop spinning but keep dancing which helps settle the fluid in the inner ear. The point at which you start to feel giddy gets further away with practice.
• NEVER put talc on a dance floor. You are creating a slip hazard and taking responsibility for any resulting accidents!

What is Salsa Style?

What is Salsa Style?

Some questions benefit from a full answer and this is one of them.
Style is one of the most overused terms in salsa. Sometime used as a compliment 'great style' or often negatively as in 'poor style' 'bad style' 'wrong style' 'other style.
First I'm going to divide the term style into three separate terms:

Your Style:  

That is your personal style. The habitual way you dance. Your 'look'.

I like this simple easy definition-  Style = Habit.

It follows that 'good style' reflects a habitual look you like, and 'bad style' reflects habits you wish to avoid or loose.
Important! Whatever you practice becomes habitual and therefore your style, and that means the good stuff as well as the bad!

So what influences your style?
The main influences are:

• Efficiency- Dancers dance fast for hours, their movements become polished and efficient. So get efficient and look more advanced.
• Consideration- A leaders reputation in based on how good the follower feels when dancing with him. Play nice and you're nice.
• Confidence- Ditch the 'I'm a nervous beginner' style and practice the 'this is the real confident me style, even if it's a case of fake it 'til you make it!
• The crowd you dance with - Everyone wants to fit in and your style will adapt to the people you dance with.
• Where, when and who you've learnt from- but don't be defined by this. It's just your starting point and you make the choices!
• Who you're dancing with - Make them feel comfortable and challenge yourself to adapt. Yes this is consideration again but it's important!

 Styling: 

I define styling as extra movements that are deliberately used for expression.
e.g. At a strong 'Ta-da' moment in a track the follower shoots her arm into the air. -awesome!
This may be habitual e.g. at the end of every spin the follower flicks her hair.- less awesome!
Important! Styling is not part of the mechanics of leading and following.  Moves never require styling but can be enhanced by styling. Beware styling that affects the mechanics of leading and following as it limits the repertoire and breaks the flow of moves. At worse styling becomes a predicable cliché where individual personality and expression is lost.

Regional Style: 

Here we go....

Is your styling Persian?

Wherever salsa has become popular local trends have created regional styles. They often reflect local cultural traditions, innovations, fads and fashions.  In one city dancers do more of this and less of that, compared with those from another city who seldom do this, but do loads of that. Often the traditions define the regional style's default footwork pattern (basic step)

• The Cuban basic derives from Guapea (aka 'around the world' reversed) which in turn derives from a European gentlemen's bowing gesture c.16th century (think of the cat in Shrek doing a low sweeping bow with his).

• L.A. basic derives from the Ballroom/Latin American dance industry mambo step on one which came from the Mambo craze of the 1950's (Mambo originated in Cuba c.1938)

• Columbian basic derives from earlier dances of Bugalu and Pachanga (Mambo fused with cha cha cha).

Note. I love the idea that we're in some way connecting with past generations but hate it when people get hung up on 'authenticity.' In the UK if we want proper authenticity we should go learn morris dancing. Nooooooo!

Soft definitions are best:
Regional styles are best seen through loose fuzzy definitions. The more fuzzy the more accurate the definition becomes. Conversely the harder or more defined the description the the harder it is to find examples.
I was taught (incorrectly) that Cubans don't spin. That's a hard definition. I went to Havana and the Cubans were spinning away like electric drills. What should have been taught to me is that in Cuban style, if given the opportunity to turn or spin they will more often turn. A much softer description and a lot more accurate.

Here are a few soft definitions for you, there are many more regions I haven't mentioned.

• Cuban style: Rotational (Leader moving clockwise) Grounded, Loose upper body.
• L.A style: Linear (up and down a slot), sharp, crisp, fast,  emphasis on the first beat of the bar. 
• NY style: Linear, fluid, highly stylised, emphasis on the second beat of the bar.
• Colombian/ Venezuelan style: Static, fast footwork, rigid upper body.

Often dancers think there is their style (the authentic/ best/ proper ) and 'the other' If they've learnt LA style everything else is Cuban and visa versa!  Back in the 1990's I printed notes for my classes that had exactly the same two horse race, but back then it was Colombian and Cuban. Maybe everything becomes a Coke vs Pepsi concept in the end?

London Style: The first time the term was coined was in 1996 on the Streetbeat website. It was referring to a smooth rotational, soft Cuban style with the relaxed fluidity championed by  Afro-Caribean Londoners. By the end of the 1990's LA had swept it away and Leon Rose promoted a 'London Style' as a soft LA style or NY on one.

Style changes over time: Styles change, sometimes suddenly and sometimes very slowly. Cuban style suddenly changed in the mid 1980's when many Hispanic Cubans emigrated to Miami leaving a more Afro Cuban population in Havana. Naturally the style shifted towards a more Afro-Cuban style and Miami was the place for crisp and sharp Miami Cuban style.
I think it's fair to say that the influence of Hip hop, Street and Reggaton have influenced all styles.
In the UK, Strictly Come Dancing with it's millions of viewers, plus an influence of East European migrants with a recent tradition of Ballroom/Latin has greatly stylised the linear scene. While tourism to Cuba and our Afro/ Afro  Caribbean population have made the Cuban scene ever more Afro. There also seems to be a 'selfie' cultural effect on salsa where dancers are more conscious of their look and how they appear to the crowd.
Today's style becomes tomorrow's old/out-of-date style which becomes the futures 'retro cool' style.

The Future? Certainly a massive influence of style is the internet. Anyone can see any style from anywhere at the click of a button. Who knows if this will lead to one global style or even more defined boundaries. Cali (Columbia) style is now becoming quite linear. In my mind it's very possible that Bachata will become consumed into Salsa.  What will be the influence of China getting the Salsa bug big time?

Style as a limitation: This saddens me. It's fine for any instructor to promote a particular style but to denigrate other styles is unprofessional. Sometimes beginners receive the message that Cuban style is more fun or LA style is more sexy and it's a load of nonsense.
Even sadder is the idea that two people in a salsa club couldn't dance together because they believe their style is incompatible. I might have a car styled in blue (I do) but I can still drive a red car. The mechanics of leading and following and the body language of fun and confidence are universal.
An instructor who's goal is to only prepare students for one regional style will often promote techniques that achieve that goal with the unintended consequence of limiting the students to their style. Often this comes with the phrase "In salsa we do ..." The student assumes that the technique is universal throughout salsa and is embarrassed and disappointed where it fails when out dancing.

Recommendations: 

• In art schools students can't just learn oil painting. Students first do a  foundation course covering many artistic disciplines then specialise in their chosen one. Salsa Rapido is not a style but a teaching method that forms a foundation course where the mechanics are separated from the styling and all techniques are universal.  The style I promote is the confident considerate version of you! (plug over!)

• An Alternative is to go to several regional style classes at the same time. It's a myth that this would somehow be bad from a learning standpoint. Schools teach many subjects on the same day, if this were bad practice, children would do a week of maths then a week of history etc. It may be a little confusing at first but you'll learn loads.

• When comparing different classes, look for what's common and focus on what's necessary rather than superficial. Will it work everywhere? Does everyone in the world know this?

• Constantly look out for your bad style and fix these habits ASAP before they become your style. 

• Style isn't about keeping up with the trends or 'in' with the in crowd, but respecting everyone who steps onto the dance floor.

• Finally keep an open mind and try new things. Style will change, will you?

How I got into salsa

The two questions I always get asked are:
How long have you been teaching salsa?
How did you get into salsa?

Fliss and I c.1996

Back in the early nineteen nighties (last century!) my girlfriend Felicity aka Fliss aka D.J. Felicidad and I went down to the Notting Hill Carnival. Way off the main drag was a cul-du-sac with a loan sound system playing some alien music. "It's salsa" Fliss had had a Mexican landlady who'd taken her along to a virtually unknown artist call Celia Cruz. When I say unknown, I mean of course to the mainstream British public.
In front of the sound system people were dancing. It was a bit like jive and a bit like ball room but strangely different. There was no apparent uniform, everyone worn the fashions of the day. The movements were spinny and wiggly and smooth but nothin like I'd seen on Come Dancing ("mum can we turn over pleeeeaaaase") For years I thought it was sequin dancing as they all wore sequins. I still think that's a more accurate term than sequence dancing!
My point is, that this dance was different.
There was a flyer on the floor so I picked it up. It was for a Saturday night dance in Leicester Square run by a company called Salsa Fusion. It had an hour's class before so we could do that then dance all night!
We went, we did the class, we sat down and watched all night. Clearly more classes required.

To cut a long story short, we kept going to classes. We joined the Salsa Fusion demonstration team who we're still in touch will and danced at our wedding. We started to do some demonstrations of freestyle salsa for fun. One was at The Old Bull Art's Centre in High Barnet. By chance the following week a Colombian couple was supposed to start a ten week course. They didn't show so I got the call asking if I could take over the course.
That was April 1995
But the way: that picture was taken by my late father against some green curtains with Fliss wearing mum's high heels, a size to big, as she didn't have any! It's been part of our logo ever since.

Welcome to the Salsa Rapido Method

Question:
Have you ever thought of doing something, then forget all about it until later, when you have the same idea again?
When I started teach salsa I though it would be a good idea to keep a diary of my teaching. Then I promptly forgot all about it for a while. Twenty three years to be precise. Oops!
To be honest I've to-do-lists that go back way longer than two decades so time-scale wise, I'm really on it. (assuming a geological time scale)

So hear it is, my first post in the Salsa Rapido blog.
What's it all about? Good question! I'll come back to you on that one......
...OK I'm back and at the moment the best answer is (drum roll please.....)
It's about me, salsa, specifically teaching salsa and how salsa is taught.

Two massive changes are worth noting from the past twenty years:
First: hidden information is now instantly available to anyone anywhere.
Global info in a global world.
Last year my German car made in UK with a Japanese engine broke down. I fixed it using parts from Belgium via EBay with an instruction video from a man in Louisiana and another from a man in Korea. That's a tad different from the old days of mechanics with secret knowledge, special tools and a magical pricing system that defied gravity and only travelled upwards.
Thinking about my teaching, it seems very old fashioned to not share my experience.

The other change is science. So much work has been done in the field of psychology, and those clever thinky types have put it up on the web for the likes of my to read, absorb and use in my salsa teaching.

So here goes, enjoy :-)