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Salsa~York caters for all abilities from Beginners to Advanced Level.

For more information, go to 'About Salsa-York'

or click the 'Levels' buttons above

Notes on Levels

What class am I in?

Click the 'level' buttons, above, for a full description of what you will learn, and when you’ll be ready to move-up.

How long will it take to learn?, and will I ever manage it?

Everybody is different, but anybody can learn to dance! It depends partly on how much natural feel for rhythm you have; more on how often you dance; and mostly on whether you 'have a go' during free time after the lessons. Click the 'level' buttons, above, for a rough guide.

Please don't over-estimate your level.

It's good to progress, but not to be in the wrong class. You won't enjoy it, you might  get frustrated, and you’ll holdback the class and the other dancers. 'Moves' are easy to learn when you're sure of the rhythm and you’ve got the basics - they are almost impossible whilst you're still frequently on the wrong foot, and don’t have the basics.

A word of caution and encouragement:

Salsa is not easy, especially for non-latinos. You need patience with yourself and be ready to laugh, and have another go, when you mess-up. Men, don’t give me that boring ‘two left feet’ stuff! I’ve heard it before, and the ladies are waiting for a dance! Relax! This is about fun!! Enjoy yourself!!!

By the way, it took me 3 sessions just to get the rhythm! Didn't think I ever would!

Footnote and Overview

There is an obsession with ‘moves’ in UK! Much said above is actually irrelevant to good dancing! When I first started out on the Salsa scene, I felt very intimidated by the standard of dancing I was seeing. I was happy to do a class, but didn’t want to get on the floor afterwards, and have a dance! After some years, I still see plenty of dancers with a much greater range of moves, and more fluent style, than I will ever have. It doesn’t matter, because I am now happy to dance with anybody.

One of the few ‘genuine articles’, in our Region, is Tanya Cusan Espinoza, from Leeds and Colombia. She has been dancing all her life and performs shows, which she designs and choreographs. You never see Tanya doing anything ‘flash’ on a dance floor, and she is openly contemptuous of dancers who throw their partners around! For Tanya, it’s all about using movement and body language as a means of expressing the relationships between you, your partner, and the music. Personally, I think this is a bit too ‘arty’ for most of us. The point is, nevertheless, an important one.

If you watch Cubans dance (the real ones,....not just English people dancing Cuban style), you'll see that they're not very interested in 'moves'....Often, they don’t know many! They just like to 'get down' and ‘groove’. They might not do many ‘moves’,...... but boy, do they move?!?!

In short, you can dance very nicely, enjoying the company of your partner, without a lot of flash moves. And guys, everyone's looking the girls, not you. Good leaders try to make their partner's look, and feel, good. They look at their partners, keep within each other’s capabilities, allow space for self-expression, smile, have a chat, and.....most of all.....they have fun!