Salsa Music, Emotions and Movement

Nicola Lambert, my partner, has been running TNT since my resignation in 2015. Once a month, Nicola invites new students to our apartment to listen to, think about and discuss Salsa music; we believe that all new students should be exposed to Salsa music and have Salsa music demystified as soon as possible. We do… Read more »

The Declining Middle Class of Salsa

I spend time analysing the local and global Salsa scene to identify new trends and opportunities. One observation is the increasing gap between inexperienced and experienced Salsa dancers. Watching the US presidential race Bernie Sanders repeatedly talked about the declining middle class, which I think is a great way of framing what I see in… Read more »

PSS: Building up to the Perfect Social

I have been involved in Salsa events and organisations for the past 8 years. I do not work in Salsa for money but for the excitement and the joy of bringing people together. I do not find much enjoyment in doing the same thing over and over again for too long and I am always… Read more »

A Dark Day for London Salsa

My blog was created to share my opinions about Salsa and to give knowledge to those newer in their Salsa journey. On Monday 24th October 2016, two promoters in London launched one of the most shocking and negative campaigns I have ever witnessed during my 12 years of dancing Salsa. This campaign was littered with… Read more »

The Falling Pound and Salsa

I have been dancing Salsa in London for 12 years now and over the past 8 years, I have been a teacher, promoter, event organiser and general Salsa educator. On Thursday 23rd June 46.5 million citizens cast their vote in the UK Referendum on whether the UK leaves or stays in the EU – this… Read more »

Opportunistic Leading

Many dancers have asked me where I find the time to think about the patterns that I lead; especially given the speed that I can lead. The answer is that I do not think about what moves I will lead next but use Opportunistic Leading. This blog describes the concept of Opportunistic Leading, why I… Read more »

What, Why and When of Salsa

The world of Salsa has changed remarkably over the last decade; from the number of people that dance, to the number of teachers and more importantly the awareness of Salsa as a dance activity.  Ask your colleagues or family members about Salsa dancing and you will get an opinion. However, as Salsa has grown the… Read more »

My Performance Courses

In my blogs, I am quite vocal against the proliferation of Salsa Performance Courses and the impact they have on up-and-coming dancers and the future of the scene. Some of my previous blogs about Performance Courses can be read here: Performance Courses – gives my perspective on the pros and cons associated with taking one of… Read more »

Building a Salsa School (Part 2) Customers

Running a Salsa School is just like running any other business. In the previous article, we talked about the need to understand your own purpose which will give you conviction during the inevitable hard times. In this article, I want to talk about the Customers of the Salsa Scene, how to reach them and the… Read more »

Connection in Salsa

The second part of my leading series is about connection and will cover how I create a physical and emotional connection with my partner. In the physical connection section, I will talk about my ideas behind preparation, initiation, development and finally the lead. In the emotional connection section I will talk about mood, energy, empathy and how this… Read more »

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Latest

  • Breeding Robots

    We all know what it means to be a robotic Salsa dancer i.e. a dancer that has no unique movement, no individuality and looks like they are just going through the motions in a well drilled manner. If you are new to Salsa this is common in your early stages of development but after years… Read more »

  • Glass Ceiling

    I have been active in the London Salsa Scene as a dancer and teacher for more than 10 years. To grow as an instructor I have spoken to many aspiring dancers about their growth in Salsa and one reoccurring theme with students has always been how to break through periods of stagnation – a metaphorical… Read more »

  • Salsa Quality

    I have talked to dancers from around the world and at all levels I can assure you that very few will disagree with the following statement: “I would prefer dancing with a beginner with very few moves but a nice quality about their dancing rather than a well-trained dancer with loads of vocabulary but no… Read more »

  • Salsa Timing On2

    Having spent many years helping dancers get to grips with dancing Salsa On2 we find that the biggest problem is generally to do with understanding the basic timing and how this relates to music. The majority of students who are interested in On2 are veterans of the world of crossbody On1, and therefore have a… Read more »

  • Salsa Art

    Art was my first life passion; as a child I would spend endless hours drawing anything and everything. Pencil, Pen and Charcoal was what really moved me as a child; I just loved the contrast between light and dark. Once I entered secondary school I started to formally learn more about art and added painting… Read more »

  • Salsa Social Dancing Course

    My first and last salsa social dancing course is nearing completion and in the previous week we had a recap of all the things that we covered. Salsa is so broad and there is always so much to learn. The aim of this course was to take my students on a journey and give them… Read more »