How Many Salsa Timings Exist? (MORE than you think!)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.ค. 2024
- Salsa timing and musicality is a rich topic. There's so many ways you can dance to salsa music - On1 is just the beginning. If you want to start taking your salsa dancing and musicality to the next level watch this video and then check out our online courses to go deeper (links below).
00:00 Intro
00:35 On1
02:12 Helpful Vocabulary
03:22 On2: Contratiempo
05:35 On2: Cha-cha-cha
07:15 On2: A tiempo
10:17 On2: Syncopated timing
11:34 On Clave: The 2 Side
13:49 On Clave: The Strikes
16:03 On3
19:40 On4
22:19 Outro / What did you think?
#salsadancing #musicality #timing
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Did any of these timings surprise you? Let me know what you learned in the comments!
Very clear explanations 😊
Thanks! Means alot :)
So well done/explained. Thanks for the Beat Machine link as well!
Glad you liked it my man! My pleasure.
Thanks for your great videos explaining timing and all sorts of forms you can dance on given the 8 beats, the clave and all the other instruments.
In my country which is Curacao, the vast majority of people dance on 3 but with a nice twist. The male breaks underneath his body (center) on 1&2 and slightly moves forward with his right foot on 3, left on 4 underneath his body, 5&6 right foot underneath his body, left slightly backwards on 7, right on 8 underneath his body starting again with 1&2 underneath the body with the left foot.
This means that from a technical point of view we dance on the 3 with the right foot forward which is somewhat the opposite from what the vast majority of the world does. That we had a different basic than the rest of the world was first discovered during the very first World Salsa Congress in Puerto Rico back in 1997.
The ‘why’ we dance this way is based on the way we, from a cultural point of view, dance bolero. In the bolero we follow the base starting with the left from the center (underneath the body) on 1&2. Also we have a rhythm called ‘Tumba’ where we also initiate the dancing on 1&2 left center. So when we started dancing salsa, we just did the same thing.
Explaining you this you can add 1 more style to your list of 9. The 10th will be ‘The Curacao Style’.
Wow super cool Stephen! thanks for sharing. Do you have a video I could see? I understand thr counts and steps you mention but I can't imagine it being danced so fast to salsa. Would love to check it out -robin
BRO!!!!!!! MIND FREAKING BLOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW man ... what a good video... I've been dancing for like 20 years now and I don't think I ever really understood the beats and the counts until now... I mean logically I understood what people were telling me... but viscerally and intuitively it didn't make sense... but you explanation clarified and connected the dots for me... the dancing to the clave... that was on point! when I saw you dance to the clave it made sense in my body.. .like I could feel the music dancing on clave... and that made it easier to isolate the instruments for contra tiempo.... very cool bro.. thank you! Will practice and then put it into practice and see how it goes!!! If come to Miami le us know!!!!!!!!
Haha glad you got some mind expansion Cacu! For me learning about how the timings connected to the instruments made all the difference. Finally you can really understand and start feeling the music instead of just numbers. Have fun with it my man! -Robin
great video thanks a lot. I lived in ecuador for a while and a lot of people were dancing on 3 so now it all makes sense!
Cool! glad it helped. I still need to visit Ecuador :)
So helpful, thank you! As a follow, I literally just follow the lead but I'm working on training my own ear so I can identify the different timings people like to dance on. On1 and On 2 are easy for me to spot but the others still feel "off beat" to me, so I just focus on the lead and don't count in my head at all if it feels like it's a less-often danced count. :)
Yea you're totally right, On 1 and On2 will be the most common timings you run into. Awesome yiu're developing your ear, so worth it! -robin
Your explanations were amazing! Thanks a lot ❤😊
Thanks Flavia!
I'm learning L.A. Style and New York Style in my School at the same time and I can feel the difference between On1 and On2! First Lesson of New York was about Congas and Cowbell, very interesting....
It'll all come together with time. The steps and how you lead and follow are all the same, it's just the timing that changes. Eventually your ear will be trained and you'll notice. Glad they're explaining the connection to the instruments, that's great. -robin
Thanks for this musicality lesson
my pleasure! glad you enjoyed 🙏 -robin
First time I heard the clave explained like this. So much simpler then how I learned it!! I don’t dance to the clave much because I kept forgetting the right way to do it but I’m going to do it all the time now.
Cool Nelson! how had you previously heard of dancing on clave? -robin
Basically just dancing to every beat of the Clave, instead of just determining 2/3 or 3/2 and breaking on the 2 part.
More complexities
Muchissimas gracias!! Domo arigato!!
hah yes, it's rich! but can just focus on one or two. Whatever you like. -robin
This is an amazing explanation wow. There aren't many resources explaining these things on the internet. How/where did you learn this?
Wow thanks Sara! Umm, learning/investigation over various years from different teachers (people outside the culture and in it). Like you said, most people don't talk about it so you have to find the info over time. Living in Colombia has helped a ton as I can absorb the culture first hand from daily life and latinos who really live it. -Robin
Thank you. I love your channel..
Thanks so much Luisa!
I feel so glad that i bumped into your channel! Thank you so much very enlightening video & helpful!
Thanks so much for that lovely compliment! Glad it was helpful. -robin
Such a safe learning environment :)
Thanks! Glad you're enjoying. -Robin
Thank you very much Dojo.
Thanks for watching!
Great explanation! Thank you
glad it helped! -robin
Thank you! Very informative, as a new dancer I did not realize how important musicality for dancers. This will help!
Yes! it can seem overwhelming but just take it bit by bit. you don't need to learn it all at once. The most important thing is to have fun and keep dancing! -robin
Nice man , well explained.
Thanks Peter! glad you enjoyed man. -Robin
Great explanations on a great topic! Most of the videos on my channel this year have dealt with some of these timing issues.
Thanks! Yeah it's a super interesting topic so that's great you're talking about it too. -Robin
Thank you Robin for the splendid explanation of the different Salsa timings. I myself been dancing Salsa Socially for a couple of years and I enjoy it a lot. Social clubs that I go have DJs , most of time are not the Big bands type of Salsa music. It is hard to discern the different instruments where I can connect with On2 timing. Therefore I dance On1 timing.
Glad you liked it! yea I think the key is to be aware and then simply choose how you want to interpret whatever you hear. Thanks for the comment, keep having fun :) -Robin
Woooow, super helpful!
Awesome glad you enjoyed it! -robin
Wow. For shines it’s very useful.
Totally, you have options!
Very interesting.
thanks for watching!
I dance on 3 much more than on 2. I enjoy it when I'm bored or not in love with the song.
I find it works well to cumbia songs and in Havana I dance casino with a lot of older women on 3.
But I focus on and emphasize the 1, vs thinking 345 781.
Cool, I rarely hear of people intentionally dancing on3 so thanks for sharing.
@@thedancedojo it is just A tiempo. They don't think of it like that. My teacher in Havana never dances on 3. She prefers contratiempo, but says it is common enough.
Hello! Great video with lots of well explained information! Thank you so much! May I ask the name of the application you are using to conduct the rhythm (adding the cowbell / conga / piano etc) seems really helpful!
Thanks Stefan! it's salsabeatmachine.org
This is the best video I came across on the subject. A video you may have done already but I never found is an analysis of a sequence done by the champs and I do you "read" in terms of timing and steps. I found it amazing difficult to see the steps and timing when watching the pros.
Sorry, I didn't understand the last part, can you re-phrase it? "A video you may have done already but I never found is an analysis of a sequence done by the champs and I do you "read" in terms of timing and steps." -Robin
Awesome. I think as a new dancer, i keep trying to stick to 1 but some songs enunciate certain instruments more than other songs and i accidently pick up breaking on 2 or even 3. Part way through the song i hear the 1 and get confused, but maybe if I do some exercises switching between them i can feel more comfortable dancing to any beat
Happens to the best of us! But yeah certain songs definitely emphasize certain instruments/counts more than others so being versatile definitely helps so you have options and can enjoy the song in a way that feels best to you. -robin
Dancing on3 is actually not a mistake. It's very intentional. Do some research on Changui. Dancing on3 is not about feeling the 3 nor is it about the cowbell. It's about feeling the 1.... as a slow accent. The stronger and more drawn out the 1 beat is, the more likely it is for someone to dance on 3. Salsaton has a more on3 feel. Timba with a changui feel is danced in Cuba on3. Changui itself is a predecessor to Son and is itself dancing on3 with a slight syncopation to one of the steps. American style ballroom rumba is on3. If you dance salsa to hip hop or pop music, most of the time it feels better on 3. Just like Son is about accenting the 4 as a slow rather than accenting the 2 as a quick even though in Son you step 234, 678. Cuban dancers refer to Son as dancing on4 rather than dancing on2. Cuban dance is more about accenting the slow beats rather than the quick beats. But other salsa is about accenting the quick beats hence NYon2 or LA on1.
Hey Robert, really appreciate you to reaching out! I didn't mean to make it sound like dancing on3 is always a mistake, but that sometimes it can be for those trying to dance on1. either way thank you for that feedback and I'll do better in the future! Changüi has just recently come on my radar and I'd love to learn more. Do you have any recommended resources? It can be hard to find good ones so any help is super appreciated. Also open if you have any further critiques has to how I've explained the various timings. For ex: I know some people don't like calling contratiempo "on2" but I find it helpful to label anything with a break on the 2nd beat as "on2" and then specify which way of dancing On2 is being used. Thanks in advance. My email is robin@thedancedojo.com if you feel it's easier to chat that way :)
Robin specifically said dancing on 3 is not a mistake - unless you're trying to dance on 1.
Everything else you wrote - very interesting! I hope to re-read this once a month for several months.
Definitely didn't know changui was danced on 3. I was told it was danced similar to Danzon. The percussion has the hard beats on the &s and the bass is 4& and the trees is virtually all syncopation. I couldn't even begin to find the 3.
Thank you very much for this amazing video, I can only dance on1 but dabbled a bit on2 when I was younger. I have one question, the timing of the "moves" follows the break steps, right? So if a couple were dancing on2 and you didn't look at their feet, you can't really tell whether they dance a tiempo or contratiempo? I don't know if I was clear haha. Thanks!
Exactly. To the untrained eye/ear it will look the exact same. Those timings are very close. -robin
@@thedancedojo thanks!
Thanks! I enjoyed the video very much. Quick (and possibly dumb!) question: I wasn't sure if you were dancing as a lead or a follow in some of the segments?
Not a dumb question, its really common actually. so common I made a video about it: th-cam.com/video/DvFHrPunNxs/w-d-xo.html - When dancing without a partner (i.e. in a class doing shines) the convention typically is: on1 you dance to leads timing, on2 you dance to follows timing.
Your explanation is very clear. I only have one question: how is this with a partner (in each timing)? For example: in NY style the male starts backwards, not forwards (being in a couple, in free steps is how you showed it)
fair question! any timing can go forward or backward on either break step, those are just conventions or stylistic choices that may differ from region to region or person to person, make sense? NY style is not a timing, it's a style. I believe it's helpful to differentiate between timing and style, full article/thoughts here: thedancedojo.com/salsa-timing-on1-on2-on3/ -robin
@@thedancedojo Thanks! Indeed, one thing is timing and another style. I mentioned NY
style as a way to apply one of these timings. Greetings from Mexico
Thank you for this update. I wish you could have done this video with a partner ti better emphasize which style breaks forward or backwards when dancing on2 as a lead & follow would.
This video should help answer your question: th-cam.com/video/DvFHrPunNxs-/w-d-xo.htmlrobin
@@thedancedojo nicely explained. Just watched the video your linked here. I appreciate it a lot.
@@ForeverDiegooo you bet, glad it helped man!
One thing I'd like to know more about is when do we break forward or back when dancing with a partner, On 1 as a lead I would break forward on the 1 but On 2 my forward break is on the 6. Is there a specific expectation about this in different timings/styles/regions?
It's a great and interesting question but I'd say you don't really need to worry about it much. The only place I've heard of people breaking forward on 2 is Puerto Rico (keep in mind I haven't travelled everywhere), but when I spoke to Tito Ortos he said people break forward on 6 and on 2 in puerto rico, it just depends on the person. So I'd say in most places int he world breaking forward on 6 is most common (since eddie torres spread that convention), but even if you don't do it like the locals no biggy because you're still on time. And if you show up to a party you can always look at what the leads do if you wanted to check. In short, not a worry and all methods are ok! hope that helped. -robin
@@thedancedojo I've seen some Cuban dancers break forward on 2 as well when dancing contratiempo. The lead starts by stepping with the right foot on the 8th count, then moves forward to step with the left foot on the 2nd count, moves backwards with the right foot on 3, etc. I'll find an example and post it here.
@@thedancedojo here you have Maykel Fonts dancing on2 contratiempo and stepping forward on the 2:
th-cam.com/video/PliysVi854M/w-d-xo.html
@@thedancedojo I think the "look at what the people do wherever you are" is a really good tip, as it sounds like there's just a lot of combination, thx!
At least in ZUS 1950 to 60, many
books (& teachers?) taught in 2 or on 4, but neither side acknowledged the other.
ZUS? I think you meant USA, yea? I imagine it would have been much harder to be aware of each other, communicate and have a community back then without the internet. Maybe just a part of it -robin
+1
🙌
I'm doing Crosbody contratempo , but the tutor taught us to step one in the centre & the left foot goes back of the man & the woman goes forward . So I find it confusing when I do Cuban Salsa on 1 and then go back to Xbody then the tutor says Im dancing too fast & should slow down. I find it natural dancing to the Conga or clave.
It's hard to know what you mean without a video. But keep working at it. It's difficult to switch timings so you need to give yourself time! -Robin
@@thedancedojo basically the man steps back & the woman steps forward when starting of the basic step. So my left my foot back. I will try & get a video.
So on2 a tiempo is the same as shifting the basic step by one count. Seems like a very confusing way to dance! I'll stick to on1 cuban and on2 contratiempo (son)!
It's actually a super common way to dance On2, I see it a lot more than on2 contratiempo. But if you're used to contratiempo I get that it would feel weird. Keep having fun!
@@thedancedojo From reading online forums and websites I gathered it's quite popular among linear dancers! Stepping with the right foot on 1 sounds like it might be difficult to get in your system after getting used to dancing on 1. Interesting video though, good overview!
@@Fluxquark Yea exactly. learning new timings is tricky because of muscle memory but it's a worthy endeavour!
I learned too much in this video, I was looking for On2 clarification and when you explained it, I lost what I thought I knew. I thought that your "On2" was the only example where you started with your right foot. I was expecting your left foot to break back and right to break forward but not hating just explaining my confusion. Keep up the good work, appreciate you and your team..
Haha sorry about that Johnny. Salsa is a super rich topic so it can definitely get confusing. I hope this video helped your understanding a little! Thanks for the love :) -robin
Hands down. The #1 reason I have trouble going to social dancing, is that I don't know when a song is danced in what timing.
How would I know? Why would I choose one over another? Is there musicality what dictates it?
It's hard to digest.
I come from NYC, I'm ethnically Cuban, but live in Texas.
So the salsa I danced as a kid versus what I'm learning now. It's nothing like I remember.
@@adrianjabascal4749 I totally understand, it can all be kinda confusing. All you need to know is that any song can be interpreted in any way, on any timing - it's totally up to the dancer and there's no right or wrong. If anyone tells you different I would disagree. until your more advanced just dance the timing that's most common where you live. That's it, easy, no sweat. Going deeper into musicality can come later once you're having fun at socials and finding your groove. Whenever you're keen to dive in you can do the free trial of our online course ( link in the video description) and see if it helps you feel more confident. Either way, just go for it on the timing that's danced in Texas and don't gove it another thought! Email me robin@thedancedojo.com if you have any more questions. -Robin
@@thedancedojo Thanks Robin! I think I'll just enroll tomorrow morning. Should I be learning batchata also for social dancing?
@@adrianjabascal4749 If you don't feel overwhelmed go for it. if you do feel overwhelmed just start with one and add the other later. typically it's easier to focus at the start as it can speed up progress but everyone is different!
How about dancing on3, but still phrasing your dancing on 1? That is: right pause left right left pause right left.
I think what you're saying is what I did: Right foot on 1, hold the 2, break left on 3, step right 4, step left 5, hold the 6, break right 7, step 8, step 1 and repeat - correct? I cant remmeber what i did in the vid, I think I started by breaking back on 3 but regardless of what foot you start on it matches the phrasing the same way. make sense? try it! -robin
@@thedancedojo Yes, though I mean to think about it as 1_34 5_78 instead of 345_ 781_. Does it make sense? Like, do you feel the difference between singing it one way or the other?
@@joshandali13 it only feels different in how you say it, but its danced the same, so no worries either way! I'm never sure the best way to write it so it makes most sense to everyone, so it felt easy to start writing it with 3, the break step.
ᑭᖇOᗰOᔕᗰ 😣
This is the single greatest video of all time.
🕐🕑🕒❤🕔🕕🕖❤
Wow, thanks Tzoul! Means a lot -Robin