Quote: (12-03-2014 12:08 AM)JayJuanGee Wrote:
Just waiting for an update from Black and White Spade...hahahahaha
Your wish is granted, brother!
Okay, so I've been going out to a few different Salsa/Bachata clubs over the past 5 weeks--just once a week, although this weekend I went to 2 places Saturday and Sunday night. I've continued the once a week private Salsa lessons and have also started a group Bachata class once a week.
The Progress:
-I'm definitely in the zone now. I'm pulling 7-10 girls a night on average, with about a 90% success rate when I ask a girl to dance. I've only been rejected a handful of times, I just move on and quickly find another to ask, it's no issue for me to find several girls to dance with at these places. I'm getting good at applying the 3-second-rule and am getting pretty balls-y, perhaps too balls-y at this point, haha.
-My private instructor is really good, she's really helping me to establish a great, technically-accurate foundation. My basic steps, body posture, basic 3-turn combos and cross-bodies are getting pretty clean and I just started practicing a cross-body turn/twirl last night that I found on youtube.
-I've made a few friends in the scene and at my studio, a couple of wingmen and few of the girls are familiar w/ me including the instructors, who are all pretty cool.
-Bachata classes are fun, I can at least have a few bachata dances when I go out now, but honestly I'm bombarded, the footwork is elegant and easier than Salsa, but the handwork is complicated. I'm focusing more of my attention on stepping up my Salsa for now.
Next Steps/Needed Improvement:
-I still don't really have the feel of the music!!! Seriously, I still suck at picking out the 1 beat and then holding a rhythm, especially on the slower, groovier salsa/jazz numbers! 50% of the time I can't really get on or stay on beat, which is obviously a major problem. I've been listening/practicing finding beats, tried some songs at my last private with my instructor. I listen for the bass lines or cow bells, but even those don't always accurately tell the beat. Salsa is nothing like the rock, country, rockabilly, blues, and r&b that I've played/listened to where you have an obvious beat or base loop that you can pick up on.
-I need to start adding the cooler turns and twists into my arsenal. I've been looking at youtube videos and just watching other leads when I go out. The privates have been great for my foundation, they'll be stopping soon as I can't afford to be doing them all the time. I want to get back into a more intermediate group class to start learning more moves and practicing with similar-level dancers.
-Right now, I'm bouncing around a few venues where they offer a free lesson to start the night and have a good mix of beginners, intermediates and pros. There are more venues that I plan to hit up that I haven't had a chance to yet. I grab the beginners, but honestly they're often not the best practice for me if they know nothing. I learn more with intermediates and sometimes the pros/instructors are helpful, although some of them start backleading and then I don't learn too much. I'm still somewhat intimidated by the pros and the hottest ones for sure, nonetheless I've had the guts to ask some of them and dance. Sometimes they're friendly and patient, sometimes they're bored, sometimes they backlead! I feel a mix of excitement, encouragement and intimidation when I've been out, but overall I've been leaving at the end of the night feeling pretty satisfied and with a few new tid bits to keep in mind and apply next time.
So, there it is. I'm doing Salsa. And a little Bachata. I'm pretty basic and still can't quite consistently find the rhythm, but I'm gutsy about asking all sorts of women onto the floor and my motions are getting much cleaner and more confident.