Do you ever get home from a class only to find you have completely forgotten the moves you were performing very well only an hour earlier. I do too, and I am teaching them!
Here is a solution; video them on your mobile phone. At the start or end of the lesson the instructor often performs the whole routine, this is the time to get your phone out ready to record. Once the routine is on your phone you can play it back and forth until your heart (and memory) is content.
If you are at a non Salsa Squad class you may want to check with the teacher first but feel free to shoot away at any of ours.
Also, whilst you are participating in the class you are developing an awareness of the routine. For the routine to pass from you head into your muscles you need to practice, and the sooner you practice the better.
So, after the class try performing the routine immediately during freestyle with as many different people as you can.
I know that the temptation is to go back to your old favourite moves but this will only hinder your improvement as a dancer….so be brave and try to nail what you have just been taught….you will advance a lot quicker.
Another useful tip is to remember how to START the move. Unless you have the correct hand hold configuration to begin with you wont be able to perform the move. For example, do you start with a 2 hand hold, right to left hand hold, cross hand hold with right hand high, etc etc.
Eventually, your goal is to be able to make moves up ‘on the fly’ almost without thinking too much but this is a higher level of development that only comes with continued practice. Until then just focus on a handful of moves and add the odd new one now and then.
As always, continue to spend time working on getting the basics right. These act as the foundation for your dancing. When these look and feel good everything else you do will look good too.
http://www.salsasquad.com
