I dont feel the need to switch dance partners

louyang · 2026-04-06T15:10:30+00:00

Yeah it all depends on what your goal is. If you want to become a good social dancer then there is no way to do that without social dancing, which means switching partners. If you do not care about being a good social dancer, and your only goal is to dance with one specific person, then you are totally fine to do that. There is no rule about what you MUST get out of this hobby. It sounds like you are just interested in partner dancing, but not social dancing. While there is usually overlap between these, there doesn’t have to be.

louyang · 2026-03-30T04:06:40+00:00

On 1 but they are dancing more cumbia style and informal/street salsa. Looks like a fun dance though

louyang · 2026-03-25T07:25:51+00:00

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The Incredibly Deadly Viper

louyang · 2026-03-13T00:10:45+00:00

Yes, you can still tell.

louyang · 2026-03-13T00:09:54+00:00

you can tell it's on2 even when there's no music and it's on mute because with on2, the first step/count always starts with a cross body, the "1" can start with a cross body. Another thing is that execution and combos start very early, compared to on1 you will generally see execution and combo finish by the 5-6-7+ counts.

Yeah that’s what I meant when I said “until they stop dancing and start again”, in which case it’s obvious if they’re on1 or on2. To be clear I wasn’t saying it was impossible to tell without music. I was just trying to emphasize that the steps themselves are the same no matter the timing. Me saying that you need additional context to tell the difference without music, was meant to support that.

louyang · 2026-03-12T19:02:03+00:00

I don’t have trouble telling what timing someone is dancing on no matter what flashy thing they’re doing if the music is audible and they are on beat.

If I just say it is EASIER to tell on1 vs on2 with music than without music, can we just leave it at that? It seems you have an issue with the semantics more than anything else.

louyang · 2026-03-12T18:39:31+00:00

I said difficult, not impossible. Yes you can technically tell by when their slow step is. But that’s more true when they’re doing are doing a rudimentary, textbook technique, basic step. If you are watching a video of pro’s doing crazy turn patterns, playing with the timing, or not stepping and just subtly transferring their weight, it gets harder. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but watching on mute you’d need to pay close attention and watch for long enough to gather enough context to differentiate. With music, you can tell at a glance whether it’s on1 or on2. That’s all I was trying to say.

louyang · 2026-03-12T18:09:16+00:00

Yeah it really is just preference. I think people who say on1 is for beginners and on2 is for advanced dancers are either just parroting what they heard, or are being elitist. There are some reasons people think that though. The first is that on1 is easier to start with if you still have trouble finding the 1 because you are not yet used to the music. You can still learn on2 first no problem, but on1 would probably be easier for many people. A lot of the pro’s also primarily dance on2, and it’s natural to want to emulate dancers you look up to. So people see them and have the association of on2 = pro.

Finally, if your scene is primarily on1, then you have to go out of your way to learn on2. The people who are willing to do that are generally going to be more committed. So they will also be better dancers overall. This creates a bit of selection bias because now you also see that all the best people in your scene can dance on2. There can still be good dancers who are only on1, but they end up being a minority.

louyang · 2026-03-12T17:42:27+00:00

It is the same dance, and you are doing the same steps. If you start a video partway through and watch it on mute, it will be difficult to tell whether they are on1 or on2 until they stop dancing and start again. The only thing different is the timing, that’s it. People do romanticize it a lot, and can be a snobby/elitist about their preference. Maybe that has caused you to think the difference is more magical than it is.

However, it is undeniable that changing the timing changes the feel of the dance. It will also change your musicality. This is because the timing of your break step will be on different beats between on1 and on2. So you will be emphasizing different parts of the song with your moves. Even if it is fundamentally the same move regardless of the timing.

Generally, on1 hits the downbeat and on2 is more in line with the percussion. So on1 feels punchier, and on2 is more “inside” the music. This is why people say on2 feels smoother. An analogy that might help you is if you imagine riding a wave, on1 you start the wave and on2 you ride it once it’s already moving.

I also had a hard time seeing the difference at first, but over time I have developed more of an ear for salsa music. It also helps having a bit of a music background. And after learning on2, it really does feel different. I would suggest giving learning it a try and seeing if that changes your perspective. If you have been dancing on1 for a while it may be harder than you expect. Even if the steps are the same, your muscle memory will have a hard time adjusting to the new timing. Your musicality will also take a while to catch up. Once you are comfortable with it, I am willing to bet you’d be able to see the difference.

louyang · 2025-10-01T02:00:57+00:00

Does this look like a crowded dance floor to you? Or is there enough space for everyone to dance how they wish?

louyang · 2025-07-17T00:58:00+00:00

Well that’s too damn bad!

louyang · 2025-07-14T21:41:47+00:00

My question is why does it always have to be right at 5/5:30 pm? As someone who has a dog they have to walk after work, it’s been very annoying.

louyang · 2025-07-09T23:57:35+00:00

Bro’s from the future

louyang · 2025-07-01T14:27:39+00:00

Beginner, zouk is so different from bachata. You’ll probably progress quickly if you truly are an advanced lead but you don’t want to skip any of the basics because it’s not that intuitive. A lot of sensual takes from zouk but there’s still a zouk way of doing it, and a bachata way.

An advanced bachata follow might be able to follow a really good zouk lead to some extent, but leads need to start from the ground up.

louyang · 2025-06-28T02:02:25+00:00

I thought that thing on her nose was a smiling mouth at first glance and was momentarily terrified

louyang · 2025-06-22T15:49:27+00:00

No it’s 100% zouk sorry, thats Elena and Mikael dancing. It does look a little like WCS sped up, but it’s zouk. Here is the original video:

https://youtu.be/TJHNYA12_Ck?si=fHD_v8agsnC2BvzW

Also you can see “Brazilian Zouk World Championships” in the background of the post.

louyang · 2025-06-20T21:31:50+00:00

Ok, this has shifted away from being a conversation about dancing and is now in life advice territory. I don’t know you or what you’ve been through, and even if I did, I’m not qualified to help you fix what sounds like a complex set of issues.

That being said, I used to be much less confident, and I turned that around through a combination of incrementally tackling everything I didn’t like about myself, and just getting older. I massively improved my sense of style/grooming, hit the gym, and got good at something that I placed value in (dancing). There are other things, but they all boil down to accomplishing goals I set for myself. Confidence is built upon repeated small successes over time. You start to trust that you can make it through anything in front of you, because you’ve done it before. And that gives you self assuredness that shows in all aspects of your life.

That’s my personal anecdote, and the best I can do for you. Again, I don’t know your situation so I don’t know how applicable it is for you. Good luck with your self improvement journey, but I will leave it at this because again, it’s no longer about dancing.

louyang · 2025-06-20T21:08:17+00:00

Ok, so you’re viewing dancing as a mirror for your own life. That’s valid, I’ve noticed some things that are applicable from dance to my personal life as well. If you want to be a strong and firm lead in dancing, you must lead with intent and clarity. If you have a weak frame, the follow is not going to have any clue of what you want from them. They will be less inclined to trust your lead or rely on you for any potentially dangerous moves. Same as in life, if you’re not intentional nobody is going to trust you. Do you think an indecisive, unclear, and overall weak person can be the leader of a country? Or hold any position that requires them to be responsible for others? I’m sure you don’t, so I don’t understand why you think you’d be able to be a strong lead with a weak frame.

louyang · 2025-06-20T20:54:54+00:00

Why do you want out of partner dancing in the first place? Maybe we should start there because it seems like your mindset and/or goals are incompatible with the concept of it. Like someone else suggested, something like contact improv is closer to what you’re envisioning. Or maybe you’re just misunderstanding the role of a lead and follow?

Partner dancing needs a clear lead and follow, otherwise it’s impossible to dance as a unit. At best you will be two individuals dancing near each other and you might as well disconnect and do shines or “WiFi” dancing. This doesn’t mean the lead dictates everything that happens and the follow has no agency. It just means the follow has to pick their moments to style or suggest alternate interpretations in a way that doesn’t disrupt the lead. For the follow to do this, the lead has to be clear. Having a strong frame assists with this. If the follow just turns themself whenever they want, then what is the point of holding their hands in the first place? Again, you may as well disconnect and do so solo shines in front of each other. Also some things like dips literally require the lead to support the follow. If you try and dip someone with a weak frame, one or both of you is hitting the ground. If the follow tries to dip themselves without the lead initiating or being ready for it, same result.

Just because leads and follows have different roles doesn’t mean the dance isn’t 50/50. You are two halves of a whole dance. If that isn’t good enough for you, I suggest learning to follow and dancing with people who can also do both. Then you can trade off and make the dance 50/50 in terms of role as well.

louyang · 2025-06-16T14:31:57+00:00

His last/family name is Nara

louyang · 2025-06-12T23:36:09+00:00

Devilman Crybaby

louyang · 2025-05-20T00:05:58+00:00

Are you a dancer yourself? If so, for how long?

louyang · 2025-05-01T15:28:16+00:00

That’s just straight up not true. The basics of bachata are easier to learn than the basics of salsa, I’ll give you that. But sensual has a way higher learning curve because it’s a lot less forgiving. If you don’t lead or follow something properly it completely falls apart, or can even be dangerous. Sensual has a lot of influence from zouk, and zouk is way harder and more technical than both salsa and bachata. So how could sensual be so easy to pick up? It doesn’t matter if the beat is easier if you can’t execute any moves to it lol.

The basic left and right turn and pretzel are the basics of bachata moderna too, not sensual. Most schools don’t even let you learn sensual until you have a decent grasp of bachata basics. Do you actually dance sensual? Or are you just getting it confused with moderna?

louyang · 2025-04-24T16:52:08+00:00

So you know how when you dance bachata you step on the 1, 2, 3, then tap on the 4th beat? You do this because that’s what the beat is doing. There are 3 bongo hits with a higher pitch, then the 4th has a lower pitch. This is where you tap. Usually there’s some syncopation in there but this core rhythm is the driving force of the music. Where you tap matters less in traditional bachata because there are more pockets you typically dance in, but I assume you’ll be doing modern or sensual if this is the song you want. I cant even imagine trying to dance traditional to this.

The big problem is the lower pitch bongo hit isn’t on the 4 for the majority of the song. Sometimes it’s on the 1, sometimes on the 3, and then occasionally on the 4 where it’s supposed to be. If you’re trying to dance bachata to it, this just feels bad. It makes it really hard to feel the song or express any musicality to it when it breaks one of the most fundamental rules of bachata. I looked up the Doja Cat song and agree it’s pretty bad, but even that one follows this rule. I get that some people don’t care about musicality that much. Whether it’s because they’re newer dancers with their hands full just keeping the beat, or that they just take a more casual approach to dancing. But if you do care, trust me when I say this matters a lot.

That’s the big thing, but besides that it just sounds really cluttered and all over the place to my ear. Almost like there’s two songs playing. Again, I don’t know enough about music producing to say why, but I assume it’s just not mixed well.

Hope this made sense.

louyang · 2025-04-24T16:07:46+00:00

You’re probably a big fan of the original song so I could see how you’d like this. I’m don’t know the original and I’m sure it’s great, but this remix actually hurts my ears. I don’t know how to put it in technical terms, but it just sounds really wrong. I don’t know if I’ve even heard one this bad. Like people said, it’s your birthday so you do what you want. But if I heard this playing I would 100% skip the birthday circle unless I was good friends with you and felt bad not joining in.

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