How to be a Good DJ

Being a good salsa DJ isn't as easy as it seems! Here is my take on it... hope this helps!

Before you Start

Here are few a questions ask yourself before you begin:

• Who is your audience (beginners, advanced, mixed levels)
• What do they want to dance (salsa, cha, zouk, bachata, ...)
• For salsa, is it cuban salsa, or more linear/western styles, or are both cool?
  
• Do you want to play known "good old favourites", or do you want to play progressive music to help dancers grow and appreciate newer sounds and flavours
• Are you open to "requests" on the night
• How long is the set for
• Are you the only one DJing for the night (if not, you need to ensure that you have no double-ups, and that the tempo of both DJs is consistent for the night)
• Which media are you going to use? I prefer using iTunes from a PC, but I also like iPods too. MP3 CDs are okay, and if need be, I sometimes use good old CDs, but basically these are just a straight continuous playlist burnt to sequential disks.
  
• Do you want a pause between songs (for social interaction on the floor), or do you want it to be "hard and fast", where songs come one after another with no break at all.

Along these lines, here is a great article about whether or not to mix songs.

A few tips for the night

Here is some advice that I learnt the hard way!

• Have a backup of everything: your music (burn it to CD as well as having a copy on your harddrive). Carry your backup with you!
  
• Don't ever let anyone walk up to you when DJing and let them play a song off an iPod, CD, etc. It could be a shite song, it could jump, it could last for 20 minutes, and it could totally wreck the continuity of the line up.
  
• I never allow requests unless it lines up with what I am doing. If I am playing hard mambo and someone requests a samba, it's a no from me. But if it is a song that will fit, then sure, as long as it won't cause too much of an effort in terms of squeezing the song in.
• Playing directly from an iPod is sometimes a great idea. The playlist is fixed, there is no changing it, and it saves any arguments by patrons who want a song requested. You can just set it and forget it.
• Build up the intensity of the music as the night goes on. I always start with slower songs, and then every song is the same or faster than the last. To see why to do this, try putting on a slow song near the end of the night. That will be the last song you will play that night... the dancefloor will be dead. Everyone's energy will be shot, and it will be time to go home.
• In terms of equipment, make sure that you have enough spare batteries, power supplies, replacement cables, and noice filters (especially for laptops that run off power supplies). Also, if you are playing from a laptop, make sure that you turn off all the desktop sounds, and make sure that the laptop is set to not switch off after 2 hours of inactivity, and that the lid shutting doesn't turn the laptop into standby either (I accidentally depressed the button that the lid presses down on once, and that was the longest two minutes of my life!).
  

What is the right mix of salsa?

I have a magic formula. It is: 4 salsa songs, then something else. Repeat until done (with each 4-set faster than the last).

As for the "something else", this is normally whatever happens to be the next big thing in latin dance at the time (Zouk, Bachata, Reggaeton, just whatever). However, I am a bit of an oldie (really), so I always put a few oldschool cha chas in the mix too.

For my personal taste, I really really enjoy listening to cuban salsa. However, I don't dance to it, don't even like dancing to it, and hate it when it is played in dance clubs. So, at my nights, I make it clear that it is a linear/mambo night, and that it is for good social dancers, not beginners (there are other nights for them, such as dance school socials, etc). Harsh, maybe. Appreciated, yes!

Sound Quality

Never let an old musician set up the PA system! Why? They are usually deaf, which means that they set the treble up waaaaay too much. Instead... give them a high-treble (and loud) foldback speaker, and they will be happy playing from this.

In terms of music quality, do not compress your music files, in particular when the PA system is of poor quality. It will magnify the reduced quality of the music.

I always go for moderation when setting up PA systems... no massive differences between bass, midrange and treble, and always have the input levels just occasionally touching the top end of the scale. Once set up, I always go down and have a dance, just to get a feel for how the sound is actually playing out on the dance floor (and to check that all the speakers, subs, etc are going).

To Mix or Not to Mix

This is a hard one. I love messing with music... particularly live music. You know the deal... reverb on one channel, a slight delay, putting in a wee bit of an echo, ahh... I just love it!

As for salsa... I say no! As dancers, we rely on the beat, half beats, syncopations, and all sorts of other subtlties. In a rave when everyone is already smacked on ecstacy, it's cool to do basically whatever you like (probably due to the fact that you yourself are currently on an eight hour buzz too). As for salsa, dancers know the songs intimately, they know the breaks, they know the vocals, and they use this. If you flatten this out with an echo or a bit of reverb, it will really thrown them. And if you even think of layering in other beats or samples... well... you will soon be told where to go!

The Age Old "Am I a Good DJ Test"

This one surprises me big time. A DJ plays a new styled song, or changes from salsa to a riggaeton (or something else). The dancefloor clears immediately. Tumbleweed rolls across the floor. Oh well, a good time to go to the bar, except that everyone else has the same idea. So, the rule here is "if dancefloor clears out, don't do the same thing again". However, the number of (bad) DJs out there that either don't know this rule (or ignore it) really freaks me out... too often I see floor-clearing song after song being played. People tell you what works by getting out there on the floor (people want to dance and will dance to nearly anything). If the floor is empty, you are doing something really really wrong.

Running the Entire Night Yourself

Running the night by yourself can be fun. Just one word of advice: tell all staff that are in a position to turn PAs up or down, turn lights up or down, turn airconditioning up or down (basically anyone who knows where the switchroom is), to always, always go through you and only you everytime a request is made by a patron for something to be changed. Some people want the music up, the music down, the heating up, the heating down, etc. This is your call... as one person's bad call (particulary heating requests) can take a long time to fix, and annoy a whole room full of people in the process.

DJing Before, During and After Dance Performances

During salsa nights, there are often performances. Here are a few tips regarding these:

• Performances, to hold an audiences attention, should not really be more than two minutes (or so) long. For amazing performances, a little longer is normally fine, but not all performances are amazing :-)
• Try to only have a couple of performances each night, no more than four.
• For me, I try to get all performances done in one go... otherwise it interrupts the flow of the dancers too much.
• Having varied performances is a good thing... four salsa performances all in a row can be a bit too much.
• Have the introductory material for each performance ready ahead of time, and make sure that this has been double checked by the person doing each performance (there is nothing worse than a performer trying to correct a DJ/MC right at the start of the performance).
• Test each track for each performance ahead of time. Label each CD or track as "track 1", "track 2", etc, so you know which one to play next.
• Verify how each performance group wants to start the performance. Do they want to be out on the stage, then the music is queued, or do they want the music to play as they are walking out (having a clear protocol for when to restart the music, pull the music, turning it up, etc is important too - keep any eye on the main performer and see if they are trying to tell you something. If they are not looking at you, you are doing well).
• Make sure the music is loud enough. It might sound fine to you and the crowd, but if the music is too quiet on the stage, it can make a performance terrible. My advice: turn up the music loud... the crowd will tell you when it is too loud (by a few quick glances in your direction). The performers won't mind if it is too loud... they will be too nervous most of the time to register the loudness anyway!
• Check the music onstage beforehand. Often there can be soundwaves which bounce off the back walls from the main front of house speakers, which will overpower any foldbacks, but unfortunately with a one or two second delay. This is impossible to dance to, but undetectable from the sound booth and the audience seats.
  

Percussionists: How to Keep Salsa Dancers Happy

Congas

Watch the clave: make sure you keep the Tumbao pattern and the clave "in sync" with each other. If the song is using a 2/3 clave, play the basic Tumbao pattern (HandTap-SlapTap-HandTap-OpenOpen, HandTap-Slap-OpenOpen-Hand-OpenOpen), but if the song using a 3/2 clave pattern, play the Tumbao pattern in reverse order (HandTap-Slap-OpenOpen-Hand-OpenOpen, HandTap-SlapTap-HandTap-OpenOpen).

If you are not sure, try both (quickly). Also monitor the song... listen throughout the song... see if it is still feeling right. If a whole bunch of dancers are beginning to struggle finding the beat... stop playing! Play gentler, turn the mics down, move onto the cowbell or bongos, etc.

Too often non-salsa dancing congo percussionists miss this important aspect of matching the Tumbao to the clave. The net result is a sound that seems fine but just doens't feel right to the dancers. Particularly beginners... they will really struggle to find the starting beat (due to the overlapping rhythms).

Cowbell

"More cowbell" might be a great skit, but match the cowbell in salsa to when it is needed. In the mambo section, go nuts. But in a salsa romantica, the start of a slowly building song, etc, yeah... just go easy on that bad boy! There is nothing wrong with ceasing with the cowbell for a bar or two, having a listen, and then going again if you feel like it and it still suits the song.

Bongos

I can't get enough of the bongos, and I have a great respect for those of you out there who can jam on them and get the crowd going. Personally, I like playing the bongos as much as I can in a salsa song... since it is a fairly subtle instrument, it complements most songs. And yeah, when the time is right, letting rip with a freestyle jam is all good. The one word of caution I have is that in Bachata, I would tone the jamming down a bit... a lot of dancers (even if they don't know it themselves yet) really listen to the bongos for the timing... and when you take that away from them (to jam), it can cause a few dance floor disasters!

Shakers

Again, you really need to be a good percussionist to use shakers well. Unless you can hold your timing and keep shakers really tight, I say leave this for your own practice sessions.

Letting Others "have a go"

One of the biggest problems I have when playing at salsa clubs is that a lot of people (about one per night usually) will come and ask me if they can have a go. If I ask them closed questions such as "have you played before" or "do you know what this instrument is called" they normally reply with a simple yes or no. So, I now ask more open questions, but normally don't let anyone play. There are two reasons for this: one, they normally can't play at all, and it really annoys all the dancers (making me look bad in the process!), and two, I kind of like my instruments and don't like watching them get violated by people who just have no idea (but who do wear rather spiky jewellery on their hands).

Yes, it's tough love, but I just say no :(

Different Types of Latin Music

There are plenty of different types of latin music out there. Here are samples of the ones that I run into the most. Of course, of all the styles below, you can get mixes/fusions as well, such as Samba-Reggae and Cha-Pop (*shudder*)...

Here are a few of the pages that helped me compile this list:

• Alfonso Rios - www.latinmovesnz.com/dances.htm
• Vivio and Greydis - www.thecubangroove.com/dance_styles.html
  

Click the links below to hear a sample of each. Over time I will add more song types (as I learn what they are), and also add titles, etc.

Rumba

Note the 3/2 rumba clave, which can easily be confused for a 2/3 son clave. Rumba has three flavours: yambo (slow), guaguanco (meduim), and columbia (fast).

Son

Son is a more traditional style of music, of which salsa is derived from. Note the emphasis on the 1 and the 4 (across each two bars)... very characteristic of Son.

Cha Cha (Volver A Verte, Oscar De Leon)

No clave, and when the cowbell comes in, it usually hits all four beats in the bar. There is often a half beat on the 'cha cha cha' bit as well. Note how clear the guiro is when it comes to cha cha.

Guajira-Son (Amor Verdadero, Afro Cuban All-Stars)

Guajira is a syncopated country/folk style of music, which fuses 6/8 and 4/4 time signatures. It is often played by a single vocalist accompanied by a guitarist. When mixed with Son and played in slow 4/4 time, it is known as Guajira-Son. I personally have trouble distinguishing between some guajiras and cha cha, and happily dance cha to both styles :)

Son-Montuno (Dundunbanza, Sierra Maestra)... thanks to Andrei for this sample!

Not everyone agrees on what Montuno ('comes from the mountain') actually means in terms of music, or what Son-Montuno is. Montuno could mean the fast, semi-improvised section of the music near the end of the song (what musicians sometimes refer to as the mambo section), but it can also mean an accompanying piano melody as well. Either way, Son-Montuno is a fairly fast version of Son, and I can personally feel a slight cha-cha influence as well. Again, I find a cha cha feel in many son-montunos, and some people will even dance on-2 to son-montunos as well.

Cuban Salsa

Nice to listen to, damn hard to dance linear salsa to!

Linear Salsa (La La La, Direct Latin Influence)

Note how simple linear salsa is... everything is constructed over a two bar phrase, with simple baselines, melodies and lyrics. Very well suited to slot-styled dancing (a quick-quick-slow or light-and-shade dance pattern, as opposed to the circular pattern of Cuban styled salsa).

Salsa with English Lyrics

Note how even though this song is sung in english, it still has been constructed/played with the clave at the heart of the music. That's why it works!

A Latin Pop Song

This is a nice song to listen to, to dance to, just don't dance salsa to it, as it doesn't have the clave as its heartbeat!

Reggaeton

Reggaeton is a fusion of west-indian/jamacan reggae and dancehall with latin american styles such as salsa, bachata, cumbia and the like. It also has a strong rapping/hip hop influence as well. You can hear the bongos slightly in most reggaeton songs, and there is a faint implication of a clave at times too.

Salsaton (Sueltame, DLG - Deep Latin Grooves)

This is a fusion between Reggaeton and salsa. In some cases, Reggaeton will switch out for Salsa (so, less rapping, more montuno, clave, etc), and then back again (back to stronger beats, more of a hip hop feel, etc), yet in other salsaton songs, there will be a complete fusion of reggaeton and salsa throughout the entire song. Other flavours similar to Salsaton include Cumbiaton and Bachaton.

Salsa Romantica (Herida, by Brenda K Starr, from the album Te Sigo Esperando)

Salsa romantica is just a style of salsa. It tends to be quite light, with a lot of bongos and not so much jazz. The lyrics are always romantic!

Samba

Samba has a 2/4 signature, but the syncopated beats make it feel more like a 1-2-3 sort of a song (there are three steps in the samba basic). I love the big drumming in the background... it is intoxicating if you ever catch samba being played live.

Mambo - 40s/50s Style

Mambo of this style is a groovy kind of dance/music (done in the 40s, 50s, ...) which marginally resembles the salsa/mambo that is done today. However, it is slower, more centered, and can quite easily be danced entirely as a solo or as a group of individuals, as opposed to salsa which is usually a partner dance (shines excluded).

Mambo 1970s onwards

Mambo of the "new" style is a contentious issue (see this article from wikipedia). There are quite a few different terms for mambo, but when the music is referred to today, I define it as salsa music that is jazzy (New York influenced), and is fast paced from beginning to end - as if the entire song is one big mambo section of a salsa song (i.e. the section after the chorus where everyone is playing louder and faster). As for Mambo the dance (the modern version that is), well, I just classify that as salsa being danced on 2 in a linear style (so the use of "light and shade" instead of round Cuban circular turn patterns). Simple really! :)

Zouk

Zouk is a fairly new kind of dance style, with music to match. However, it looks very much like a laid-back version of Lambada, which I am sure it gets its roots from. To me, zouk has roughly the same 1-2-3 feel as Reggaeton, Samba, etc.

Another dance/musical style closely related to Zouk is Kizomba. There is far too much hip movement in this dance for me to tell you anything about it. Sorry!

Bachata

Note how Bachata has the same bongo pattern as salsa... it is just slowed down (and of course the congas, clave, etc are not played).

Merengue

A 2/4 timing signature. What your grandparents danced to before getting married. Enough said.

Cumbia

To me, cumbia feels jumpy, as if we were riding a horse. I have heard that cumbia might have been named after the Andes, which themselves are very "up and down". Makes sense to me! Interestingly enough, one particular type of basic conga pattern is called "Caballo" which translates to "horse" in English. If the caballo pattern is used in Cumbia, then it is all starting to make sense as to why it feels like a jumpy style of music.

Lambada

Lambada (in its modern form) grew in popularity along side salsa in the 1980s and early 90s. The dance style is similar to salsa in terms of leading and following, but the footwork is a three-step (a bit like slow samba) as opposed to a forward and back basic that salsa employs. Lambada music, in the 80s and 90s, however was bit more up-and-down compared to salsa... perhaps a little closer to cumbia. Again, anything with 2/4 or 4/4 timing works though, although in the early 80s, lambada was only really being played with 2/4 time signatures (a bit closer to merengue).

How to Follow in Salsa

Hi there!

In this post, I have given all the notes that I wrote up to help a couple of girls who were learning salsa but were having trouble following. Sure, they could have spent heaps of money on private lessons (my preferred approach!), but I thought I would share some advice with them as well (being the geek that I am!).

I hope these tips help you out!!

Basic step

Focus on doing your basic over and over - to slow groovy music, where there is no pause in the middle, only a smooth transition from moving forwards to moving backwards. From there, also practice cross body lead footwork all by yourself, and if you can, then build up to pivot turns all by yourself, and keeping your legs together during the pivot. Also focus on remaining on the line at all times, and small steps. Also focus on the foot placement... i.e. from inside foot to outside foot - rolling the foot to get a smooth placement and nice hip movement (it comes from the feet and knees, not hips directly).

Oh, and make sure that you don't lift your feet up like you are marching... they should just glide. Remember that on 2 and 6, it is just a weight transfer, not a step. So yeah, you are just gradually moving weight from one foot to the other, then back again. Six times in a full basic step. From there - i.e. once that is sorted - you can work on making the hips move in a figure eight, moving the ribcage, adding in the arms, and rolling the shoulders. But first of all, get the very basic sorted.

Body position

Slightly bent knees. Always leaning forward slightly. Well balanced. Dance on your toes more than anything else… i.e. never have your weight fully on your heels… ever. Keep the posture straight, and always have the chin up (very important) and chest out. This confident stance will make the single biggest difference to the appearance of your dancing.
Styling

Less is more. Styling needs to be sharp and short. Never style for more than one or two beats, and only style with a hand that you are certain will not be needed for those two beats. And only style if you are certain that your hand can return to a reachable position after the styling has taken place.

With arm movement… again, small circles. Don’t do anything that affects your basic or your ability to follow.

Hand position

Forearms fairly level with the floor. Wrists bent, with palm facing partner. Fingers from first to second knuckle level with the floor, rest of finger joints parallel with palm, allowing leader to slot in fingers between palm and fingertips. Thumbs free and facing inwards.

When dancing with one or both hands free, always have hands very close to side of ribcage, ready to catch the guys hand again. Also, always have hand in hooked position so that connection can be re-established. Never attempt to grab for the guys hand with your thumb…. Always connection through connection pressure, not grasping for a hand. That won’t work.

Connection

Active hands: The follower’s hands react to changes in direction (forward vs back). So, they must switch on when the leader applies pressure… i.e. resist the pressure, and then allow the pressure to direct your whole body in the given direction. In other words, do not let the leader pull your arm out of the “W” formation, or push your arm so that your elbow goes beyond the back of your torso. Just follow the direction of pressure, keeping your arms in a neutral position.

Do not allow hands to move (i.e. fingers to get pulled out of position). If pressure is applied to the palm of your hands, apply same pressure back. Same for fingers. The shape of the hand position never changes.

Never change your hand position during a move. Changing from hooked to flat will effectively release the guys hand, which will destroy the move. This is effectively the same as leading the move. If the guy wants the hand released for the next bit of the move, he will release the connection at the right time.

Try leaning forward (slightly) at all times (with slightly bent knees). This means that your energy is always forward, and you are able to react quickly to moves/signals that come. This means that at the end of a move, you need to be well balanced in order to remain in the forward-leaning position.

Lines

Always dance on the main track

Never finish a bar (4 beats) at a 45 angle (unless forced to by a leader’s pressure)… always stop facing the line or exactly perpendicular to it

For any move… stay on the line. After a free spin, after a crossbody lead, after a turn, anything. Always stay on that line.

Following

When the arm runs out of length, stop. Don’t over rotate.

Never let your elbows go beyond your torso in either direction. Always keep the “W” form of the arms between partners.

When your arms are moved upwards, power your arms yourself. In other words, don’t let the leader move your arms/hands up with his own strength. Instead, as soon as you feel your arms being signalled to go upwards, move them upwards until the leader has reached the desired arm height. Not doing this is often referred to as “having heavy arms”, or arms that are not relaxed.

Try following “on the way in” (or on the second beat). So, for a copa, don’t read the copa on beat one (by detecting pressure on your hand towards your right hip). This might not be a copa at all… it could be a 360, a send-back… or many other moves. A copa is best detected on the second beat… i.e. the pull in (as here you can figure out if it is a copa – the lead in will be diagonally across the line, whereas for other moves – on the second beat the guy might walk behind you, etc).

For the cross body lead, don’t wait for pressure on the back to complete the move. Just stick to your own timing. Travel on 5, turn on 6, back on 7. Resist the temptation to pause on 4, waiting for the guy to push you through the move.

As soon as the move is complete, get the body and hands back into a position where connection can be re-established and a new move can be started. This means getting your body weight correct, not being off-balance, not being off the main line, etc.

Never be a heavy follower. Always be ready to stop, change direction. In other words, be light on your feet, and very very responsive to changes in signals. For example, you might be doing a wrap, and be thinking that you will just get wrapped up for an eight count before being unwrapped. However, the guy might be wanting to quickly give you a grasp on the shoulder and check turn out of the wrap. This will only work if you are ready to change direction at any point in the move (within reason).

The key to following (and leading) is to be exceptionally light. Regardless of the move, there should be basically no pressure or forcefulness. It should just be about holding your own weight, and taking responsibility for your own movement. Do not rely on the guy to move you around, spin you, keep you on the track, etc. It is dancing – by yourself – but lead/signalled by a second person who is connected to you. And you can from time to time take the liberty of not following a signal – i.e. hijacking or blocking… just to prove the point.

Spinning

This is lead as:

Single turn prep – only ever a single turn. Don’t pivot… step the turn through

Check turn prep – prepare for at least two spins

If the spins start early (say on 3), expect at least three spins

If the spins start late (say on 5), expect no more than two spins

The final spin is lead by zero power… i.e. the final spin is done on previous momentum alone. If the current spin is not powered by the guy, expect that to be the final spin, with the arm closed down at the end of the spin. Some guys also signal with a quick hand grasp on the final spin.

Don’t spin the second the check turn signal is given (i.e. the hand is raised). Wait for the pressure to come on before spinning, and only spin at the tempo given… after all, it could be only two spins that span slowly (beats 3,4,5,6,7 and 8).

Use a cup grip… a loose cup grip… no grabbing on to fingers.

Keep your forearm straight up, your bicep parallel to the ground. Keep your body stiff and your arm in place… i.e. do not let your arm be spun first, followed by your rotated body. Your arm and body turn at the same time. Do not let your forearm rotate from your elbow (i.e. your wrist gets pulled in the direction of the spin). Keep your arm straight up… parallel with the walls and your body.

For moves that require spinning while travelling (pivot turns, outside turns, etc), keep the arm very rigid and active… i.e. be ready for potentially three or four spins, not just one. Again, this comes down to being responsive to signals, and using your own momentum to turn/spin, and not letting your hand/arm/upper body spin ahead of your upper body/lower body. If you allow this to happen, you will start to corkscrew, and end up getting “left behind”… i.e. the guy will have to stop the spinning as you will be spinning too slowly for the move to complete in time.

Dancing Salsa On 2

What is "Dancing on the 2"

Most salsa, particularly at the beginners and intermediate level, is taught "on 1". On 1 means "on the first beat", so for salsa, that means moving forward (as the lead) on beat one, or moving back (as the follower) on beat one. Sure, some styles of salsa have the follower breaking back instead of forwards at the start of the basic (the first bar), but that doesn't affect the timing or this discussion.

Dancing on two is dancing on the "off" beat instead of the "on" beat. Since the "on" beat in salsa is the odd beat (1, 3, 5 and 7), then dancing on two means starting the dance on the second beat, not the first.

So, to keep things very simple, dancing "on 2" is just the act of delaying your first step by one beat. That's it. That's dancing on two.

So What's the Difference?

To sum up the difference in one line, you need to hear the music to dance on 1, whereas to dance on 2, you need to feel the music.

The "on" beat in salsa is the predominant beat. One, three, five, seven. The cowbell hits this beat. The bass and lyrics normally start on (or very near) the first beat too. Regarding the clave, two beats of the clave fall on the "on" beat (a 2/3 clave will hit the "on beat" on beats 3 and 5). So, if you can hear individual instruments in the music, you can normally find the one (I only struggle when a lot of overlaid percussion comes in over the top, such as bongo fills or a different percussion pattern, such as the Caballo). Incidentally, of the three remaining clave beats, two of these fall on the "off" beat (a 2/3 clave will hit the "off beat" on beats 2 and 8), and the other strike is between the on and the off beat (for a 2/3 clave, this beat will be on 6 1/2).

Finding the two is harder. It requires a feel for the music. While you can normally hear the one and the three, sometimes you just need to feel for where the two will fall (i.e. between the two loud adjacent on beats). Or, if there is a loud clave present, listening to that will help you find the two (for a 2/3 clave), or the six (for a 3/2 clave). The conga slap (on two and six) is also a big help if it is clear from the music.

Why Dance on the Two?

I can't explain the difference in feel when dancing on two through a blog article. All I can say is try it! Once you do, and you go with it, you will be hooked. That's why dancing on 2 is called "The Dancers Dance". Here are some of my thoughts about dancing on 2:

• It feels like you are dancing "in" the music, rather than "with it".
• It feels like you have more time to execute moves, or in other words, the same song feels slower when dancing on 2.
• It feels like you are locked in a "groove" when dancing on 2. After dancing on 2, dancing on 1 (to me) feels quite robotic and "clunky". It sometimes feels too obvious/simple/overstated dancing on one after dancing on 2.

Now don't get me wrong... I have been dancing for years, and in my first few years there was simply no way that I could dance "on 2" to salsa... I struggled to hear any beat, let alone the subtleties of the on beat vs the off beat. But, when you do get to a more advanced level, on 2 dancing is great!

The "on beat" is more obvious in the song, so good for performing. Dancing on the two is more of a feel than a look (“the dancers’ dance”). On1 dancers dance “to the music”. On2 dancers dance “with the music”.

Do I Break Forward or Backwards when Dancing On 2?

New york styled on2 salsa (aka mambo) tends to have the leader breaking back on 2, so the girl/follower is moving forward. This is very very cool in a way, as it emphasises the girl more so than when dancing on 1. Why? Well, the big sounds in a salsa song tend to come at the start of each phrase (two bar pairs)... so on the 1,2,3 or thereabouts. With the girl moving forward on the first bar, she gets to execute her "big" part of the salsa basic with the "big" beats of the music (e.g. the girl turns, spins, arm flicks etc). For the rest of the phrase (i.e. the second bar of the 8-beat salsa basic), the girl gets to rest as she being set up/prepared for the next move. This is really different from dancing with the lead going forward on the first bar. Add dancing on the "off beat" to the mix, and you have the mambo dance style, which really looks and feels different than the more conventional "on 1, lead moves forward on 1" style of salsa.

The trick for me as a leader is that I am used to moving forwards at the start of each phrase (i.e. the 1 or the 2 per 8 count/2 bars), but when dancing new york style on2, I have to go back on 2. It's fine starting the dance like that, but after doing shines or holding for a musical break, or just after blocking the girl for a bar, I still get confused because I am so used to moving forward again on the left foot, not the right. But I will get there!

On 1 vs On 2 for Performances

If you are looking for general crowd-pleasing routines, I say go for big, on-1 LA styled routines. Crowds can hear the main beats of the music, associate the beats with the big moves, and so it works well. For a more educated crowd who would appreciate something different or more subtle, I would say go for on-2 if you can find the right song.

Subtleties of Timing

One main comment I hear from followers when they start dancing on 2 is how much time they feel they have after executing a spin - before they have to go back into their next basic step.

To be honest, I can't completely explain this yet... I need to do some more work on it! But, here are my thoughts so far:

• With on 1, there can be quite a noticeable pause between the preparation for the spin and the execution of the spin.
• With on 2, there is not so much of a pause, the leader tends to execute the spin (or whatever the move is) fairly quickly after the prep. In fact, I would go as far as to say that when dancing on 2, leads are slightly earlier... so pretty close to the first beat really.
• With on 2, the clave emphasises the 2/3, which can tempt the leader into executing moves in that short 2/3 space, hence finishing moves earlier too.

What About Shines?

Shines are for showing off! Can you show off to the subtle on-beat? No way! So do your shines on 1. How? Your dance teacher will show you, but there are plenty of different ways of going from dancing on 2 to dancing on 1 and then back again. Have a look at a good on-2 performance (any of Oliver Pineda's videos will do the trick!). You will see that while he dances on 2 (usually), his shines will be on 1. Does it work? I think so!

So, the cool thing about this is that when dancing on two, you can also incorporate dancing on one a little bit as well... which is great... the best of both worlds!

Here's a quick clip of Oliver just to demonstrate... watch for the shine break at 0:46 and 1:22 (yes, this is an on2 routine, but it's so fast it's hard to tell!).



What Sort of Music Works Best for On2?

To be honest, just whatever sort of music you feel like. For me, some songs are clearly on-1 songs (a strong off-beat, "big" sounds, etc), and I dance on-1 to them. For other songs, they are clearly on-2 for me (a clear clave, clean congas, jazzy, simple). But hey, whatever works for you.

As for followers, this is difficult, as you might feel like dancing to the opposite beat as your partner, but this is also a true test of how well you can follow (don't forget... leading is a hard job, so respect whatever your partner feels he can lead to the best... arguing won't make the dance any better!).

Counting the Beat

In my opinion, a lot of people tend to complicate on-2 salsa with all sorts of variations on counting the beat. For me, I find the best approach is to just count on-2 salsa the same as you would with on-1 salsa (Oliver Pineda showed me this, and it really works!). So, for on-1 and on-2 salsa, I always just count the beat as 1,2,3 [pause] 5,6,7.

For on-1 salsa, I focus on the count as follows: 1,2,3 [pause] 5,6,7. For on-2, I focus on the count like this instead: 1,2,3 [pause] 5,6,7. Please note that for on-2, I still count the 1 and the 5, and make sure that I place my feet on the 1 and the 5... but these two counts are for the step immediately preceding the main "2" and "6" steps.

I find this is by far the biggest help to me keeping in time on the social dance floor when dancing on 2.

What is Mambo?

The term "Mambo" is really overloaded from a salsa dancing point of view. Here are the three main meanings that I come across on a fairly regular basis:

Meaning #1 (From a salsa musicians point of view)

Mambo is the "jamming"instrumental section of the song, usually near the end of the song, where improvisation may also take place. The tempo of the music increases (thanks usually to the timbalero increasing the tempo or "drive" of the cowbell on each "on beat"), and the music tends to be louder (known as "forte" within a musical score).

Please note that this is a term used by latin percussionists, it is not a universal musical term.

Even "pop" songs often have a “mambo” section… listen for it next time your CD player breaks and you have to listen to the radio!

You will see how this "meaning of mambo" ties into meaning number #3... keep reading!

Meaning #2 (From a modern salsa dancers point of view)

In dancing terms, salsa danced on two, in a linear (or "slot") style, particularly when the lead breaks back on two, is often referred to as "dancing mambo style".

In terms of "mambo music" for this dance style, to me, I classify this as salsa music that well-suited to dancing on-2 to. The difference between linear-styled salsa music and more traditional cuban styled is the simplicity of the melody and bass lines, the conformance to very structured two-bar phrases (essential for a "light and shade" dance style), a resistance to incorporate any Cumbia or other "jumpy" percussion patterns (such as the Caballo), and a fairly jazzy influence. Mambo salsa music I perceive as being very jazzy, often quite fast, a clear clave, and conga "slaps" on the 2 and the 6.

Some types of music popular within the mambo scene today, however, appear to have very little conga or clave at all - reminiscent of 1930s New York jazz bands prior to the Cuban/Son influence.

Meaning #3 (From an old-timers point of view!)

Now this is where it all starts to get confusing...

Traditional mambo is akin to cha cha, just without the double step/chasse.

Here is a good article discussing the evolution of mambo, however, to keep things simple, I will give a quick summary here.

Danzon, a once very popular dance in Cuba, is the root of Mambo. Danzon was of English origin, bought to Cuba by the French (Danzon sounds like a folk song akin to a Waltz - here is an example sound file from wikipedia). Danzon was then influenced by African rhythms, and in the 1930s, the influence of Cuban Son increased, leading to a new sub-genre called danzon-mambo. A key part of the danzon-mambo is the mambo/finale section of the song (which incorporated the clave, congas and strong montuno melodies - very simple melodic rifts that are repeated with increasing intensity).

From here, based on the influence of dancers (in particular their struggle to keep in time with the complex syncopations of danzon-mambo), a simpler version evolved, which formed the basis of mainstream Mambo - the music and the dance. This first style of Mambo subsequently became hugely popular in the US (due to influences of large volumes of immigrants from Cuba, Puerto Rica, etc). Mambo was most popular in the 40s and early 50s, but then became superseded by Cha Cha in the late 50s. Of course, from Mambo and Cha, we get the Salsa of today (however, please note that while related, there are real differences in the footwork, partnering and music between Mambo of the 50s and the salsa-based Mambo of today!).

Here is a wikipedia link to an interesting article about Mambo-Confusion! I guess the real issue around the confusion is that Mambo refers to two styles of dance... one of which is the traditional basis of the other. And then the third term for mambo refers to the final/fast/forte section of a danzon... the root of both mambo styles of music...!

Cha Cha Cha

History of Cha Cha

The music of cha cha cha was created in Cuba in the early 1950s, derived from Mambo. The difference is that it had a syncopation between the fourth and first beat of the next bar, and that dancers typically started on the second beat, not the first.

A visiting dance teacher named Pierre Zurcher Margolie noticed this new style of dance, and took it back to London with him, creating ballroom cha cha. The dance also continued to develop in Cuba. Fundamental to the dance is the starting (or break) on two (not one), and the chasse on the four-and-one. The name Cha Cha Cha is an onomatopoeia for the sound of the feet when dancing the chasse part of the basic step, and the sound of the guiro as well (the down-up-down action on the four-and-one).

Differences between Salsa and Cha

Here are the key differences between the two dances (as I see it):

• Cha cha (the music) is very similar to slow salsa, but differences include the cowbell being hit on all beats (not just the "on beat"), and no clave (normally).
• The guiro also has a different pattern between salsa and cha (in salsa, there are two half-rests per bar, whereas in cha, it is a continual pattern).
• The cowbell can sometimes to a syncopation across the 4-and-1 as well.

Here is a link to a cha cha that I have sped up. Note that it sounds rather like salsa, except for the cowbell hitting every beat, not just the off beat.

On the other hand, here is a salsa song that I have slowed down to show just how similar it is to cha. Note, I purposely picked a section of the song which had no clave or cowbell, to align it fairly closely to cha.

Timing of the Cha Cha Basic

Cha is danced (normally) as: 2,3,4-and-1, 2,3,4-and-1. Don't dance cha on the on-beat (1,2,3-and-4), as this will mean that you miss the cha cha cha percussion of the song (provided by the only three major strikes of the congas in the entire bar - open,open,hand a.k.a. 4-and-1).

I feel that you can start the cha (as a lead) on either the 2 or the 6. To me, since cha doesn't have the clave, and does have a prominent 4-and-1 (due to the slowness, "uncrowdedness" of the song), I feel comfortable dancing on either the 2 or the 6... I really only count char as a one bar beat (where I identify salsa as a two bar song/dance).

The cha cha cha chasse is danced is on both the downbeat and the upbeat, which makes a nice bridge across the music.

Other Song Types

Note that there are other types of music than you can dance Cha Cha to (depending on how you feel the music). Many pop/rock songs have a cha beat to them (ranging from "Smooth Operator" by Sade through to "I hate everything about you" by Ugly Kid Joe). Of course, you can also dance cha cha to some other Latin types of music, including Guajira.