The Salsa Squad Blog

The last Friday of every month is POSH! at The Place, a chance for the ladies to, if they wish, get dressed up in their favourite little numbers. The class routines will also incorporate some simple and attractive ladies styling to make the ladies look even more glamorous, that's this Friday 30th July. Full details of the Place here.

4) Brean Sands 2010

Brean Sands, 2nd- 5th Dec 2010. Brean Sands is our annual blow out Salsa Weekender, well it is for me anyway! If you plan on coming then you can save yourself £20 if you pay your deposits before the end of July, £100 deposit secures a chalet for 2 people, normal price £190 per person after July, still a bargain. Once again we are booking the posher Club apartments with full time heating. All those who come as part of the SALSA SQUAD group get invited to the infamous chalet parties.

5) Tip of the week. Different Styles of Salsa

If you are relatively new to Salsa you may have noticed different styles of dance being performed on the dance floor. There are at least 7 different styles of Salsa, the most common in our neck of the woods being Cross Body Lead and Cuban Style. Then of course there is Bachata, Cha Cha and more recently Kizomba.

Back in the 90's when I started dancing Salsa I took Cuban classes for 5 years, that was when there were only about 40 people regularly dancing Salsa in Cheltenham, a far cry from where we are now. 

When we started SALSA SQUAD 5 years ago we taught Cuban Style for the first year or so before switching to Cross body Lead. We did this for various reasons, not least of which was  because the other teachers in the area were teaching it and we wanted to make sure our dancers would fit in with the existing scene.

Since then Cuban Classes have been introduced to the area so now there is a beautiful mixture of styles available which is great for the scene as a whole.

This has resulted in me being asked the question, 'What is the difference? 

The main diffences between the two styles is the direction in which the dancers travel.

Cuban Style involves more of a circular motion with an optional tap of the toe on beats 4 and 8. Cross Body Lead dancers perform turns up and down a straight line with no tap on 4 and 8. 

Having danced and taught both styles I adore them  equally. Neither dance, in my opinion, is better than the other, they are both just fab!

My only tip, but by no means a rule, would be to find the style you like, whether its Cuban or Cross Body, and then stick to it until you have become familiar with it. Then, if you wish, try another style.  However, if you are the sort of person who can learn two languages at the same time, try both!

That's all folks, see you at POSH! this Friday if you can make it.

Saludos

Paul and the SALSA SQUAD Team.