Learn To Salsa Dance Blog

Lauren Froderman!

The 18 year-old from Phoenix was chosen by viewers to win the $250,000 grand prize. Lucky girl!

Did you catch the finale of So You Think You Can Dance last night? It was probably one of the best finales the show has had yet. There were so many awesome performances. They revisited several of the best performances from the season, and had some really cool new ones such as from the the Quest Crew as well as one from a 7-year old tap dancer named Luke Spring.

To top it all off, Ellen Degeneres made a special appearance and did a number with Stephen “Twitch” Boss set to the song “Outta Your Mind” by Lil’ Jon and LMFAO. She actually did quite well and it was really funny. I loved when she did the fake clumsiness and slapped Twitch in the face and then kicked him in stomach.

Fox will likely place the finale on the So You Think You Can Dance website in a couple days if you missed it or want to watch it again.

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Hulu.com is one of my favorite websites ever. They let you watch tons of new shows and movies for free and it’s all legal because they have agreements in place with the big television networks. If you don’t already have an account, I suggest you create one.

One of the best reasons to register at Hulu.com is that you can be notified every time a new episode of The LXD (Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) is available. This brand-new show is about ordinary people who come to discover that they have extraordinary powers allowing them to dance in magnificent ways. The show is fun, and feels like a mixture of So You Think You Can Dance and some sort of random comic book. Each episode really is a ton of fun to watch.

The LXD is a series that is only available on Hulu so if you want to watch it, that’s where you’ll have to go. The episode times vary, but none so far exceed 15 minutes so each show can be watched in easily digestible chunks. I definitely recommend checking it out. One of my favorite episodes so far is Robot Lovestory, which you can also watch below. I watched episodes 1-6 last night and plan to catch up on the rest this weekend.

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I never thought of the Charleston as a hip dance, but when you mash-up an old video featuring those wacky moves with music from Daft Punk, you’ll change your whole tune. “Around the World” matched up with this crazy dance is a perfect fit.

Watch the video below and you’ll see what I mean.

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As you learn more about learning how to Salsa dance, you’ll eventually come across a variation of the inside turn called a Frisbee turn? If you’ve never heard of it before or are having troubles perfecting it, check out the video below explaining it very simply and thoroughly. Keep practicing until your Frisbee turn looks awesome!

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As a dancer, you probably understand the importance of strengthening your ankles, but what sort of exercises can you do?

Exercise 1:

While standing, cross your legs, one foot over the other. Now slowly raise yours yourself up onto your toes and then slowly bring yourself back down again. Now cross your legs with the other foot in front and repeat. You can repeat this exercise several times or until your legs get tired. It’s great for the calves too!

Exercise 2:

Stand on one foot and slowly raise yourself up onto your toes. Try to keep yourself balanced for 20-30 seconds and repeat with the other leg. Consider using a stool or chair if necessary until your balance gets better.

Exercise 3:

Stand with your feet parallel, or with toes pointing directly to each side of your body and perform a demi plie. Go down into your knee bend and rise up as far as you can on demi toe then straighten your legs and slowly lower to the floor.

Repeat this exercise in reverse now by rising up as high as possible on demi toe, down to demi plie very slowly lowering your heels to the ground and then straighten your legs. Perform this exercise 5-10 reps or more depending your needs.

Try all three of those exercises and see if one of them works best for you. You should have strong ankles in no time!

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An article I came across just recently brought up a great point that I never really gave much thought, which is suffering hearing loss from frequenting loud salsa night clubs.

If you’ve ever been to a salsa dance night club, you know that the music can often get fairly loud. So loud that you can’t hear to well for the rest of the night. Of course, your hearing is back to normal the next day, but the long term effects aren’t so temporary.

The more often you suffer this temporary hearing loss, the more permanent damage you’re creating for your ear drums. If you go salsa dancing often, you should probably consider wearing some ear plugs.

Ear plugs don’t have to ruin the night for you either. You can pick up some musicians earplugs for fairly cheap, which are designed to soften the loudness without muffling it. Depending on the price you want to pay, you can find them in various colors, including clear, and even custom fitted.

So the next time you go to the club for some spicy salsa dancing, grab those earplugs and save your hearing, or else you won’t be able to hear the music that you love to dance to.

You can read the original article here.

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Salsa dancing can be tons of fun, but not if you’re being bumped into and trampled by others on the dance floor, like the events Agustin Gurza from the Los Angeles Times had to suffer through.

He attended a free dancing event held at the Paseo Colorado, which is a mall in L.A. and the people on the dance floor just didn’t have any respect for the other dancers surrounding them. He mentions that one couple was so intent on showing off that they constantly kept swinging into his space that him and his wife had enough and it was time to go.

I actually feel really bad for him and even embarrassed that people would act that way. Salsa dancing is meant to be social and fun, but if you want to show off, don’t ruin everyone else’s night out. So go out there and have some fun, and let everyone else have some fun too!

To learn how to salsa dance the right way, sign up for free lessons here.

To read more, check out the original article over at The LA Times.

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I’ve gathered several videos that can help you on your way to learning how to Salsa dance. The videos are only a couple of minutes long so it shouldn’t take up too much of your time and they are packed full of great tips.

You can learn the progressive basic step, the side break step, the back break step, the right turn, and your timing. The videos are short, but that’s a full afternoon of practice! Check ‘em out below.

How To Salsa Dance: Progressive Basic Step

How To Salsa Dance: Side Break Step

How To Salsa Dance: Back Break Step

How To Salsa Dance: The Right Turn

How To Salsa Dance: Salsa Timing

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So you already know that Salsa dancing is healthy for you, but did you know that listening to salsa music is healthy too? Actually any kind of music is healthy for the body.

Pop in your favorite salsa album and improve your concentration, lower your blood pressure, and stimulate your brain. There are many more benefits as well, in addition to just making you feel better. Watch the video below to learn more about how Salsa dancing can benefit your life.

Ready to improve your health? Sign up to receive some free video lessons.

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If you’ve ever done a web search in Google for anything, you’ve likely seen a link going to Wikipedia in the first spot, because they seem to show up for absolutely everything. Well, now there’s a similar site created specifically with dancers in mind. Dance Wikia is a Wiki for dancers, by dancers. Who better to create a Wiki right?

The best thing about Wiki’s is that users contribute to all the content on the website. If you are a Salsa dance instructor, you can promote yourself, and if you just want to learn to salsa dance, you’ll find lots of information here. You can post pictures, videos, events, or anything else related to Salsa dancing or any other kind of dancing you can think of. If it’s missing information that you feel is important to the community, add it!! I definitely recommend checking it out.

Get some free video lessons in your email too while you’re at it!

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