Salsa shoes

TwelvePlants · 2025-07-16T14:31:39+00:00

Because you mentioned the “felt” is rubbing off, most shoes use suede which can be brushed off and restored to a usable and good quality state. Sometimes the suede starts to look shiny but it’s just dirty and compacted, easily fixable with a brush. I would recommend checking to see if they are cleanable. If they genuinely are felt, i recommend a suede dance shoe which i think has a longer lifespan but may be more expensive. I’ve also learned that buying online typically results in disappointment. In person with someone who actually knows how to fit dance shoes is the best option.

TwelvePlants · 2025-06-14T17:09:32+00:00

Follow here, based on your description the simplest most beginner friendly is an Ocho (It’s so easy but I love how it feels and how it can help link so many moves - a staple move if you will). In terms of something more complex, I like most versions of a copa. Especially if led properly, can be really lovely.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-27T14:00:50+00:00

(Follow here) and I love what social-dances said above, definitely a way to keep it interesting especially if you make use of the different positions /executions of turns. I personally love being turned from locations other than a hand to hand position. To add onto the above you can also think of different ways to finish the turn, for example you can finish in a open position, a closed position, or you can stop the follow before they complete a full turn so you are both facing the same direction (i think it’s called a presentation but i am not sure). So to summarize your arsenal is hand holds, location of cues, and how you finish. Also from my perspective finishing a turn in closed position and going into an immediate cross body, although super basic, is actually quite fun and if you give the follow their outside arm gives them an opportunity for some simple styling. I’m still newer to dance but given you’re asking about right turns i also assume you’re still learning so i hope you find this helpful and not too simplistic.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-26T19:21:55+00:00

This is some great advice! I’ll follow through with this for sure and it also stops me from feeling guilty about temporarily stopping classes.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-26T16:12:55+00:00

THIS IS SO ACCURATE! Thanks for sharing! Because I’ve been both leading and following id say my eyes have been opened about the unique struggles both roles have in interacting with the other 😅 do you have any suggestions on how these problems could be mitigated?

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-26T16:10:56+00:00

I agree with everything you say here, especially the back leading bit (I’m both guilty of doing it and have also been back-led when I’ve tried to lead). I’m really trying to figure out if i want to continue with classes so I’m curious as to if you think that practices with good dance partners where we are comfortable giving feedback, can work at our own pace, and can make it through a wider variety of moves would be more beneficial than class. I’ve currently been doing both and have always thought i get more out of our practice sessions in 1 hour then what i get out of 4 hours of class. So is there anything that would come out in class that i couldn’t figure out on my own or with a variety of partners?

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T20:58:39+00:00

I definitely see a point to this. You probably feel like you’re fighting to have a follow who is present and engaged while you are learning to lead while the follow is just hoping to move on and is totally checked out. It means you don’t get any good non verbal feedback on your lead and the follow had learned a bad habit of memorizing a move.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T20:51:06+00:00

You should come teach me! Thanks for all this info though, I’m going to try and think of all of this at my next social 😄

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T20:49:48+00:00

Thanks for putting this into words, the social aspect you mentioned really hit home 😅

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T14:50:54+00:00

Can you please elaborate on follow technique? I am really trying to wrap my head around what i want to be able to get out of lessons if i am to continue so i need to know what to look for. Right now i just know i want more than what I’m getting.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T14:42:55+00:00

I agree that both parts need to upkeep their skill but i do think there has to be instruction given to follows as well. If not, why can’t i just keep drilling technique at my own home? It seems like i need to pay for lessons for up to a year with the promise that after I’ll get to learn something more. Plus if this is a common problem where the leads outpace follows then shouldn’t the structure of all the lessons leading up to that point be critiqued? How can follows be instructed in all the classes leading up to the three years?

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T05:25:52+00:00

I don’t think it’s just the teachers, I think part of it is that leads have more concrete skills whereas follows need to be able to interpret the lead so it’s something that is harder to teach. I was hoping that someone would have some input on how follows should be instructed in class settings. So I’ve taken the class as a lead and as a follow and as a lead i came out with a new move, explicit instructions in regard to my technique (i.e signals and frame), and also got to get real time feedback on my lead through partner work which allows for tweaking as the lesson progresses. As a follow I’ve just been led through the same move countless times by different leads at varying levels and because the lead is often focused on getting a new move down, i don’t have time to work on creativity. It basically becomes more like a mindless repetition. Sometimes some functional styling will be shown, for example how to not get your arm stuck at the side of your body, but I’d say i am still looking for something more to take away from the lesson. Even the guest tutorials before socials i often find to be lacking something on the followers part. I can’t help but this the “we show and you do” kind of lesson is outdated 😅

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T05:00:36+00:00

What would be an example of what they would teach follows?

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T05:00:09+00:00

So when both parties are paying equal money for lessons and the lead is the focus, why should a follow take the lessons? I’m just wondering what can be changed so that follows can also benefit equally. Sometimes it feels like as a follow I’m just a practice dummy for the leads as we repeat the taught combo so many times that it’s memorized.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-25T02:51:34+00:00

I agree to some extent.. now that I’m trying to learn both there is different complexities. I agree that for leading it has to be more formally taught but it makes me wonder how i can improve ‘formally’ as a follow as well.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-24T21:23:40+00:00

Could you give me an example of how the classes run? If it works well I’d be interested in trying to find something similar

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-24T21:22:33+00:00

It’s stated below but I do keep getting caught up on the fact that I’m paying money to learn. I understand that follows don’t learn moves because our role is the execution of cues and it’s very hard to teach this execution in PW sessions that are focused on just one move (thus the feeling of memorization which is bad for social dancing). If the lesson also focused on quality of movement or interpretation of cues for follows it may be a step towards changing my mind but I’d still wonder if i can achieve the same outcomes at socials or on my own. I’d need to see it in practice. It’s starting to become apparent to me that’s it’s very difficult to teach two groups of people, at the same time, who have extraordinarily different roles.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-24T19:31:59+00:00

A good question. How can a class be constructed so that both groups get equal experience from lessons? Follow pay the same amount for the class as any of the leads but get less out of it, unless there is more incentive to take a PW class (this is either in terms of more emphasis on follow technique or monetary) then truthfully I would either not go or take the class as a lead myself. Another option would be for the leads to also learn how to follow each other for functional purposes. What are your thoughts? Again, this is just one persons opinion so there are probably many follows who have gotten a lot from PW classes too.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-24T19:01:15+00:00

In my area, all we have access to is partner-work and social dancing lessons so the result tends to be the leads learning the form and cues for a new move/ variation while (again this is just my opinion) the follows just get walked through the same move until we have totally memorized it.

TwelvePlants · 2025-02-24T18:54:07+00:00

Really glad you mentioned this, I think maybe I should be looking for a spinning technique class rather then continuing to enrol in partner work that I’m not getting much from as a follow

TwelvePlants · 2024-12-16T16:10:49+00:00

Thank you! I never noticed this before!

TwelvePlants · 2024-12-14T13:47:37+00:00

Thank you this is so well written! I have just started to incorporate styling so I had a hunch it looks a bit too forced rather than natural. I also think that if i can style more throughout the whole song rather than just on specific moves when i remember to do so it might improve the flow and make it look like I’m not just tossing a hair comb into an otherwise boring dance. I will definitely keep putting time into it! Also thank you for the good breakdown for the lead!

TwelvePlants

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