Salsa Steps

19 Salsa Turn Ideas for Turning WITH Your Partner

Each set of salsa turn ideas is listed below. And each set has a variety of possible variations.

  1. Watch the video to see all the ideas
  2. Try them for yourself
  3. See if you can come up your own variations

Once you’ve tried all the ideas, mix them up in a social dance!

Lead Turns, Then The Follow Turns

Idea Set 1

Lead: quick left turn
Follow: right turn

Idea Set 2

Lead: quick left turn
Follow: left turn

Idea Set 3

Lead: right turn
Follow: right turn

Idea Set 4

Lead: right turn
Follow: left turn

Turn At the Same Time

Idea Set 5

Lead: left turn
Follow: right turn

Idea Set 6

Lead: right turn
Follow: left turn

Idea Set 7

Lead: left spot turn
Follow: left turn

Follow Turns, Then Lead Turns

Idea Set 8

Follow: change of place (enchufa)
Lead: hook turn

Idea Set 9

Follow: right turn
Lead: left spot turn

Now, mix them all together for a social dance!

 

Full Salsa Lesson: “Around the World” (Intermediate Salsa On1)

The full salsa on2 lesson is here.

Here’s a full intermediate online salsa class directly from our online Salsa Course with Patrick and Scarlet.

Keep in mind, before we teach patterns we ALWAYS teach you the individual moves that make them, so you understand each part of the whole. That’s the key to truly understanding salsa.

We broke the lesson into various parts. Just scrub the timeline to select where you want to start:

  • Demo
  • Section 1 (Lead’s Part)
  • Section 2 (Lead’s Part)
  • Section 1 & 2 (Follow’s Part)
  • Tips and Common Mistakes

In this salsa pattern we’re going to talk about and combine the following concepts:

  • Line of dance and rails
  • Right turns
  • Change of place

With just a few simple moves you’re able to create this fun salsa combo you can use for social dancing, perfect for intermediate salsa dancers.

Enjoy!

 

Try the Salsa Course

Curious what the rest of the salsa curriculum looks like?

Want to get a taste of the full Salsa Course with Patrick and Scarlet?

GET THE SALSA & BACHATA COURSES FREE FOR A WEEK

 

Adding New Moves into Your Salsa Social Dancing

In a recent video I talked about How to Break Down Complex Salsa Patterns into the individual moves that make them, so you can understand what you see.

Being able to name all the moves you see is the key. It allows you to learn things faster, remember patterns easier and take inspiration from your favorite dancers.

Today I want to go one step further and show you how to take all those cool moves you see and add them into your social dancing.

For inspiration we’re going to use the same two salsa combinations we looked at in the previous video (Bouncy Hands and Triple Trouble) and I’m going to show you which two moves I want to add into my social dancing.

Read more →

How to Break Down Salsa Patterns (and Steal Moves)

If you can’t name it and describe it, you don’t understand it deep enough.

Wish you could watch someone dance and understand exactly what you see, so you can remember moves better, learn patterns faster and take inspiration from your favorite dancers?

That’s exactly what I’m going to explain in this video, with examples, and stick around because later in the video I’ve got a fun challenge for you.

This is a part two of a video I did recently on How to Remember Salsa Moves and in that video I mentioned that beginner leads should spend less time focusing on patterns and spend more time focusing on individual moves.

Now I want to show you why this approach works and how, with practice, eventually you’ll be able to walk into any class in the world and pick up whatever combo they’re teaching within 15 minutes.

Read more →

How to Remember Salsa Moves (DON’T make these mistakes)

(Note: we use salsa as the example, but these techniques apply to any partner dance!)

We hear it all the time: “I can’t remember any of the moves I learned!”

Why is it that SO many leads dancing salsa, bachata and [insert dance here] struggle to remember moves?

Let’s dive in…

One of our salsa students recently reached out in our Facebook group asking:

I’m looking for tips on how to remember salsa moves. I have a partner I practice with and I try to run through the moves by myself at other times, but come social dancing all that practice seems to vanish and I can only remember a small amount.

The Problem

So as a lead how can you more easily remember salsa moves?

Firstly, this is such a common problem so don’t feel bad if you experience it. We’ve all gone through it, myself included.

Not being able to remember moves or forgetting problems is just a symptom.

The actual problem you’re experiencing is a lack of vocabulary and understanding of how everything connects.

Trying to memorize patterns from class isn’t the answer, but unfortunately it’s what most leads do and what most teachers teach.

The Solutions

Read more →