16/02/2016 - Salsa Souls at Riproar in Bristol | Left Turn

Class #011
Salsa Souls (Salsa), Riproar Club, Jo Kryulko, Bristol, UK - 16/02/2016

At least I think it was left turn. The teacher has gotten into a habit of teaching one thing before the break which looks complex, then something else straightforward after the break: I'm not sure if one is the leader's version and the other the follower's? Anyway, the part I remember is that the lead does half a mambo (step forward, shift weight forward, then step back), before tugging gently with their right arm. They then raise their left arm as they step forward, while the follower turns.

Seemed simple enough, until I tried it during the 'free dance' bit at the end. That resulted in a blank stare while I held their arm in the air, so I clearly don't have the timing right for the leading stuff, as I'm not giving them enough warning before the turn. It would probably help if I thought more about the number as I step (the whole, '1, 2, 3, 4, 5' etc thing), rather than just thinking about it as forward and back. I'm also still not getting especially stuck in with the free dance stuff at the end: messing up steps doesn't help, but I'll have to start forcing myself or I'll never get any better. Just like with BJJ, I'm not forcing myself to jump in often enough. ;)

I did get in a bit of salsa on holiday, as the hotel activities team was really good (especially on Spanish lessons, pretty cool to get a good three hours worth during my stay). However, they did tend to throw in a bunch of other dances: the female teacher was especially keen on reggaeton. Good work out and I certainly slept well that night, but not overly relevant to salsa. But meh, all fun. First time I've danced with a bloke in salsa too, as there weren't many people during the hotel salsa classes. :)