A Taste of Salsa, Volume I

In Volume I, Lisa and Andres present the steps and turns at a pace you can keep up with. They share the "how to's" and "how not to's" for proper lead and follow technique and detail the connecting pieces that are too often left out. In addition, equal attention is paid to both the leads and follows so that you become a dynamic couple and a solid individual dancer. As a result, your Salsa steps will feel more natural and your confidence will grow. This is just the thing for a non-dancer ready to take on their burning dancing desire!

In this volume, the following steps are introduced: Basic step Hand positions - Palms Up and Palms Down Body positions - Open and Closed Side to side step Swing step Transitioning between the positions and variations Combining variations Basic turn combination. Numerous practice combinations

With a bit of practice, you will soon become a Salsero.

Instruction for all volumes in the A Taste of Salsa series is given in both English and Spanish.

The next tape in the series, Volume II, introduces more advanced turning combinations, new ways of moving across the floor and focuses more on styling.
Customer Review: Great basics
If you are a novice and looking to learn in a correct and structured way, these videos (Vol I & II) are very sound and easy to understand. The videos are introductory, so if you already know the basics, perhaps they are not for you. Don't pay attention to the criticism of those who weren't smart enough to read the description and look for more information about the videos from the internet or the instructors' website. The videos are clearly labeled basic. That's why they are titled "A Taste of...." I gave it four stars because even though the intent is to make the tapes universal by making them bilingual, it does tend to slow the lessons a bit. Why not use subtitles for the alternate language?
Customer Review: Save your money!
This has got to be one of the worst Salsa instructional videos I have purchased to date. For the price you get very little. It is repetative and annoying. You only learn 3 steps. I would definately not recommend this video to a beginner.

Origin:

Mambo originated in Havana, Cuba in the 40s. The Mambo was originally played as a Rumba with an emphasis on 2 or 4. Once introduced, it fast led to other variations. Although Mambo did not last long and is only danced by advanced dancers today, it led to other styles that became popular such as Salsa and Cha-cha.

Music:

Mambo is an up-tempo dance rythm, usually around 200 bpm. Mambo, like Salsa is played in 4/4 with all 4 beats being evenly accented. Like a lot of Latin American rythms, percussion forms a very important part of the music.

Dance:

Mambo is probably one of the toughest dances to learn, especially is you are already used to dancing one of the other Latin styles like Salsa. Although the music is 4/4, the stepping is quite different. The steps are taken on the second beat as opposed to the first beat, which is one of the main differences that throw most dancers off. The other difference is that the weight change takes place three times in every four beats whereas only two steps are taken!

Latinos NZ Popularity Scale: 1/10

Mambo is rarely danced in Latin clubs in New Zealand, and is rarely taught in training institutes.

Article taken from Latinos.co.nz (http://www.latinos.co.nz)

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