In response to the hundreds of e-mails by so many of you who are not in Miami to personally experience the happiness caused by my information packed lessons...I will give you different concepts to help you gain a deeper understanding and perhaps a more relaxed and humorous approach to your dancing.

Key Points:

  • Safety in dancing
  • Efficiency in foot placement
  • Mastering your floor space

Good dancers have a sense of awareness about themselves in relation to others on the dance floor. In developing this awareness apply the following whether you are in a dance lesson, practicing by yourself and especially at a dance club

In salsa any step back should be small. This applies to the man as well as the woman. If your step back is large you will run into problems such as:

  • Stepping on other dancers around and behind you
  • Getting stepped on by other dancers
  • Not being able to comfortably stay on time to the music and your partner

Measure your step by placing the toe of your back step to touch lightly against the inside heel of your opposite foot (keep your weight on the ball of your back foot and the heel off the floor) then step forward with your opposite foot (normal walking step on heel first then roll to flat) *example.. as an exercise to train your feet practice going back and forward

step back with your left foot measured as explained above and forward with your right.. then step back with your right foot and forward with your left. At first watch your feet as you do this then practice without looking down till it becomes an easy movement. You will find that you will gain speed and conserve the amount of space you use on the dance floor. Master technique to let you move with ease and you will feel less pressured and can then enjoy and dance more to the music.

This is an extremely important point as keeping your back steps small respects the space of other dancers and protects you on crowded floors. If on any video you see the instructors taking large steps back it's only for the purpose of letting you see the footwork larger than life.