News flash: You don't need to be the best dancer in the room to have a great time!
If you want to maximize your social dancing fun, you simply need to become "above average" in your area as fast as possible. Not the outstanding super star, but better than half the guys in the room.
A beginning guy walks into the club. Many quickly get discouraged when seeing some of the leads with years of experience. It seems like they are having all the fun, and many believe you have to be a near pro to have a great time.
During beginners hell-- that point where you can't remember much beyond the basic steps-- it seems like you need to earn that elite status to get the great dances. Through the new guy eyes it looks like such a daunting task.
Not so!
Secret Number 1: Above Average is a Major Tipping Point I say this to all the newer leads who will listen: "The fun in dancing is amplified dramatically when you get yourself into that 'slightly above average' skill level." There is nothing wrong for working toward being the best in the room, but getting into the top 49% changes the dynamics of partner dancing forever.
Once you're better than half the guys in any room, you grow even faster because the more experienced partners are much happier dancing with you. Part of the followers night is spent dancing with guys below your level, so you start earning a spot on their "preferred list."
Some partners position themselves closer to you so you almost have to ask them or risk being rude (it’s a great problem when it happens). Dancing with stronger partners improves your game too, and it creates its own momentum.
At the same time, when dancing with newer follows (who grow much faster than most new guys), they recognize you're better than many others and as they grow, they also want more dances with you. You win with both sets of potential partners.
Just the fact that you've grown to the above average level lets them know that you'll probably continue improving, and ladies are attracted to guys who are improving over time. Even if you reduce the pace of your direct learning, you’ll still grow with the momentum of your stronger partners.
Secret Number 2: "Average" is not real high at most clubs
Being the best in the room is generally a multi-year project, and by definition, few guys will reach that level. On the other hand, the average level at most clubs is not too high, and getting to average is not out of reach for anybody who stays in the game for a matter of months in many scenes, a year or two in most others. Depending on your dancing history and the overall level in your area, that could be from three months to three years, but in many areas it's in the lower/middle of that time scale.
The reality is most leads take some group classes for three to six months before simply social dancing and watching other guys. Some watch clips on the web to learn more and a few purchase some DVDs. When you learn primarily by watching, it’s easy to miss details. Of the guys who do take group classes, the majority take once or twice a week for a few months before cutting back. The dropout rates of group classes are amazingly high after the first four to six months.
If you make a concentrated effort, it’s easy to learn faster than average. In addition, most guys level off after a few months, so just staying in the learning game beyond the first six to twelve months can make you really stand out.
Secret Number 3: A few private lessons can make a huge difference
If you take some private lessons with a strong instructor, you can greatly accelerate your march toward quality dancing. You don't need to take 40 lessons, but most guys would be well served to take six to twelve lessons from an experienced instructor. They can show you tricks of the trade that polish your skills quickly, pushing you toward above average much faster than the guys who either learn on their own or primarily attend group classes. Instructional DVDs and YouTube clips can also make a huge difference although there is lots of trash/bad advice out there too. (Get recommendations from experienced instructors.) You want to feed your mind with images of strong dancers your whole dance life.
Over the longer term, I'm not advising you to stay and camp out at the slightly above average level. You always decide where you want to end up.
If you're starting out, set your initial sights on getting above the average for your scene as soon as possible. The momentum of getting to that level will carry most guys way beyond the 50% mark, with much less effort than the effort to get started. You’ll have enough success and experience to see what it takes to grow beyond, and you have a tail wind of stronger partners assisting.
Gentlemen in the above average group will tell you the view from there is very different than being the new kid on the block. It's worth all the effort and while being your personal best is an ideal goal, once you get a little beyond the average in your area, the joy is multiplied and the effort seems like it was trivial compared to the fun.
Let me know what you’re doing to get into that above average range.
Great things are not something accidental, but certainly must be willed.
--Vincent Van Gogh
This article was originally published years ago (Oct 2008). I've updated it before republishing.
In early 2008, I was asked to film a short interview for a Salsa documentary being produced by an LA film producer named Kate Thomas. A fun view into the LA dance scene and how it's more than most people think.
It’s titled “A Gozar (To Enjoy): An Introduction to Salsa Dancing”
It’s impossible for me to be objective about the results since I have a few moments. During the filming we talked on camera for about 5 minutes and then I'm edited down to a few sound bits along the way. It’s a great thing to send to your friends who are thinking of learning salsa, but keep putting it off.
Let them know now is the time to get started, and anybody is welcomed, even if they think they aren't great dancers now. Nobody cares and they can have a great time even as they get started.
Point out to them that you can be older (or younger) than most, non Latino, and a complete novice dancer and still end up enjoying the scene, even while learning. I'm living proof.
Maybe this film will help them get off the couch and join you at the club for some fun.
Check out the documentary and let me know what you think.
Side note: When this was filmed, I primarily danced salsa and that was it. Since then I've grown quite a bit and explored many other styles/genres. Dance is so vast, find one you like to start with, explore others when it works for you.
Dance music has a pulse, especially social dance music. A re-occurring heartbeat that often is obvious and explicit like a ticking clock, but can also be implied and not so obvious to those with less experience with the music. Are you hearing the pulse in both forms across a range of music?
I'm teaching at my "Music For Dancers" master class a while ago, playing a simple example and discussing the "pulse" of the music, one of my terms for "the music's heartbeat." Sometimes people just call it the "beat" and you'll see people tapping their toes to the beat or clapping. A very smart lady asks, "OK... can you be more specific about the pulse and how do I hear it..." She continued, "How do I know I have the pulse right, what am I listening for..."
The question caught me off guard because I've been teaching this dancers' music class for over 6 years and nobody ever asked that question directly. I gave her an answer, but I didn't feel it hit the mark and completely clarified the issue for her.
On the drive to a club that evening, it bugged me that I didn't make it clear as day for her, so I rethought how I'll teach that in future. I had one of those "ah-ha" moments, realizing that the pulse in the music can be broken down into two extremes: Explicit and Implied (also known as "Implicit".)
Most songs are someplace in between, but the pulse is like our internal heartbeat; always there even if we can't hear it or feel it without some effort. You can think of it like a second hand on a stopwatch, ticking at regular intervals, or the click-click-click of a metronome. Even if your watch is silent, the seconds are ticking by at regular intervals, just like the pulse in music.
If you hear it clearly in the music because it's obvious and marked by an instrument, it's explicit. Watches or clocks that tick or click out loud every second make their pulse obvious and explicit. In the music, explicit pulse can be marked by the bass drum, cow bell, piano or other instruments in the band. Usually the pulse is marked by one or more of the percussion instruments, but not always.
An implied pulse is like your silent watch, where the seconds are ticking by, but maybe it flashes every second, or sometimes just changes time once per minute. Even if you don't see or hear the seconds pulsing by, they are always happening in the background. In the implicit case, you learn to hear and feel the pulse, even if it is not obvious at first.
Just because many people can't find the "one" in some songs, the vast majority can at least hear the pulse in a listening session, even if they lose it while dancing. This is especially true in what I call "commercial" music, which is the popular music played on the radio.
That said, there are also a wide set of people that simply don't hear the pulse, and the reality is finding "one" is extremely difficult if you don't hear the pulse clearly. The pulse is a critical step toward hearing musical timing and without it you'll be considered an "off-beater" until you get it right.
I realized I had a couple perfect tunes in my collection where the pulse is being explicitly pounded out on the bass drum from the start to the end of the tune. The first tune is by "Ne-Yo" and few people expect his tunes in my playlist. (I'm a little older than most of his fan base.) He fits happily within my wide range of musical tastes and I like the song.
The song starts with 8 bass drum beats BEFORE the intro starts (OK... for the purists out there, there are some pickup notes before the other instruments join in...) That bass drum pulse continues throughout the song, like an old 1980's disco tune. It never stops; it marks the pulse from beginning to end and you can count from one to four (musicians' count) over and over on each bass drum hit and that is the pulse for this tune. Alternately, you can also count a "dancer's 8 count" (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8) and the bass drum hits on 1, 3, 5, 7 from the beginning to the end of the tune, with the 2,4,6,8 equally spaced in-between each bass drum note.
Few tunes these days have a bass drum on EVERY count from beginning to the end. In salsa or other dance music, it's rarely this clear or obvious but there are many other tunes with this same concept, especially music from the disco 80's.
Another example I like is the 1980's hit called "Forget me Nots" by Patrice Rushen. Will Smith did a cover of this tune for the first Men in Black movie. (There's a fun dance sequence toward the end.)
Be sure to listen to the original above, but the movie version is embedded below as a secondary reference. The pulse is clearer in the original version, and the bassline is a classic, take no prisoners groove that still challenges bass players today. (Originally performed by Freddie Washington.)
SIDE NOTE: To get a taste of the bassline, watch this clip, then listen to the original and you'll hear the amazing bass on the tune. This is a great ear training exercise and worth your time. The bass sounds are often used to verify your concept of "one" in salsa tunes. You want to be sure you're hearing the bass players in all music, and going back and forth a few times between the two links helps you hear the details. Again; A very valuable exercise. More on that another day.
Will Smith: From Men In Black - Explicit Pulse
Many tunes are a combination of explicit and implied pulse, with some sections making the pulse more obvious and others dancing all around the pulse. The musicians (and experienced dancers) are hearing the pulse in their heads, even if it's not being explicitly expressed in the music. (You'll hear some great examples of implicit pulse in part II of this article.)
The Ne-Yo and Patrice Rushen tunes linked above have a very explicit pulse, so if you just follow from the beginning, it's pretty difficult to lose once you hear it. That is the right starting point for many people who are not hearing the pulse in salsa tunes. Master these simple tunes (in terms of pulse) and it will make it easier as we explore "implied" pulse in part II of this article.
Please let me know if the pulse is clear on these tunes and send me any questions you have from listening to the tunes. Part II of this article will cover implicit pulse and further refine our concept of pulse in the music.
Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.
-- Margaret Mead
This article was originally published over 5 years ago (June 2009.) It's such an important topic I'm republishing it after some tweaks. I wrote about this topic long before the YouTube "Music4Dancers" video series was started. Click here to see the "Music4Dancers Pulse Series" playlist on YouTube.
This is part 2 of a series. I recommend you check out the first article before reading this one. Additionally, this article may include a couple musical terms that unfortunately remain undefined. I avoid doing that, but sometimes it happens for space considerations. Feel free to ask questions if anything is unclear.
As we discussed in Part 1 of this article, dance music has a pulse behind the scenes. Sometimes the music is very explicit, but just as often, the musicians are feeling the pulse, even if they don't beat you over the head with it. Please go back and listen to the example links in Part 1 if you haven't heard them in a while.
This article focuses on "implicit" or "implied" pulse, where the pulse is still consistent behind the scenes, but the musicians don't mark each count of the music. This is a more advanced concept and many people won't hear the implicit pulse without some simple one-on-one training and lots of practice.
Once you know the pulse exists and hear it in some tunes, it becomes more obvious across a wider range of music. It's always there ticking behind the scenes; it's a matter of figuring it out and connecting the dots with the clues the musicians give you. Dancers use this implicit pulse to provide a stronger connection with the music.
Many tunes have sections that are explicit and others that are implicit, and musicians are free to mix as they see fit.
A similar concept is a clock with a ticking second hand. A clock can be silent (implicit), but there is still a pulse 60 times per minute as the second hand moves from one second to the next. Some have an explicit tick-tick-tick sound every second, marking the time in perfectly spaced intervals. Whether you hear the ticking each second or not, the seconds are still ticking by at regular intervals. There is EXACTLY the same amount of time between each second ticking, and on some clocks you can hear each second tick and some clocks are silent.
Music is similar, with the pulse being more or less obvious, depending on the tune.
A Clock With Second Hand Pulsing Each Second
(OK... for the purist; modern electronic clocks often use quartz crystals which vibrate/pulse tens of thousands of times per second. They use electronics to count the pulses and group them into seconds (or fractions) for the display. For our discussion, we are interested in the consistent pulse occurring each second.)
When recording music, some musicians have a "click track" playing in their headsets that is NOT heard in the final recording. This is like a ticking clock or consistent cow bell, generally adjusted to click at the quarter note pulse of the music. The click track provides a reference pulse while recording, keeping the musicians perfectly on time, even if no drums or percussion are playing.
Drummers and some others in the band use the click track as an absolute reference for the underlying pulse of the music. As a listener you don't hear the click track, but it's often a silent partner in the recording process.
When you hear the Usher tune below, there is a beautiful guitar and voice introduction, with 8 bars (measures) of implicit pulse. There are no drums or percussion marking the time, but the musicians are all counting it in their heads. It's highly likely the guitarist had a click track playing in his headphones, and if you march in place to the music you'll see it's perfectly in time.
Usher - "How Do I Say" Introduction Has Implicit Pulse
The pulse is consistent from the beginning to the end of the tune, even if it's not explicit in the first 8 bars. Musicians will often say, "Time is running," to alert the other musicians that the pulse is constant, like a clock, even if nobody is playing the pulse directly.
Some tunes start with an introduction in which time is NOT running, and the musicians speed up and slow down, until the introduction ends, then time is running constantly the rest of the tune.
The end of a tune is another place it's common to ignore the pulse; musicians will often slow down the last few notes for emotional effect, effectively ignoring the pulse as it ends. Musicians can ignore the pulse in the middle of tunes, but that is very, very rare in dance music.
IF you have enough experience with music, the pulse will be obvious in the first couple of bars. In the last couple bars of the intro the guitarist "lays back" and makes it feel like he's slowing down, even though the time remains perfectly constant as it resolves into the next section. In other words, time is running from the first note of the introduction for this example, and it never stops.
Don't be bothered if you have to listen to the introduction over and over to get it right. I've heard the tune over 140 times this month, and I'm still finding new things I didn't hear before. (Great music has depth, and you'll hear new things over time.)
I could hear the pulse in the introduction the first couple times I heard it, but I had to listen to it again to verify I was right about time running from the start. It's normal to hear something, then listen again many times to confirm your gut feel about the pulse.
Musicians (and dancers) are not slaves to the click or the time; they are free to play ahead or behind the click if they want that feel, but they use the pulse as a "home base" and return to it most of the time. If they get too far off the pulse, speed up or slow down, that doesn't work for dance music.
Unlike the tunes in Part 1 of this article, the Usher drum track is a bossa-nova feel, with the bass drum playing a consistent groove which marks count 1 regularly, but dances around the pulse for a totally different feel compared to the explicit pulse examples.
An excellent strategy when you can't find the pulse in one part of the tune is find another similar section where the pulse is clearer. It's normal to find a very clear section in the middle or end of a tune and use that as a guide for figuring out earlier sections of the tune.
Master the pulse in the easy section, then go back to the introduction or the part that is unclear to you, and you'll have a much stronger chance of hearing the details. For example, I like the section from around :45 to 1:18 to figure out the underlying pulse.
If the pulse is not clear in that section of this tune, it probably won't be clear anywhere. You may find another section which is clearer to you. If you are new to finding the implicit pulse, this tune may be too complicated as a starting point.
In "How Do I Say," the shaker player is actually marking the pulse more clearly than any other instrument. He's louder or quieter in different parts of the tune. Check out the shaker player between the 1:07 to 1:17 marks, where his playing is more obvious.
He is playing on each of the dancers' 8 count, but emphasizing the red colored counts below, which includes the pulse plus some variations. (For musicians: he's playing the eighth notes, accenting the quarter notes 3 times, then accenting the 8th notes 3 times as he comes around to 1 again.)
Dancers' 8 Count (rednumber are accents): 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,1 ...
It's subtle and you may need to download this tune and hear it with ear buds and/or quality speakers to hear the details. (The YouTube sound quality is OK, but doesn't compare to the CD version.)
In musicians' count, the pulse of this tune is on 1, 2, 3, 4, even though each count isn't explicitly marked by the musicians.
If you are unfamiliar with the sound of the shaker, here's a clip from one of the leading drum/percussion companies, showing shakers. Notice that the percussionist can emphasize (accent) different patterns as he's playing.
Shakers from Remo
In the Usher tune, the shaker player is playing the same pattern throughout the tune (with minor variations), but because the drummer is also playing a complimentary pattern on his hi-hat, it's much harder to hear the shaker player alone. Their patterns fit together like a puzzle and it takes really advanced ears to break them out at points. The producer brings the shaker volume up in the section referenced above, and has him more in the background (quieter) during the rest of the song.
If you hear the shaker player and you hear the variations he plays, you know your ears are stronger than most. Many people reading this will not hear the details because their ears are not mature enough yet, and/or they need to hear the tune on a better sound system.
For some additional fun, figure out if the introduction is played by 1, 2 or 3 guitars. I thought I had it right the first time I heard it, then changed my mind after about 50 listenings. If you're a musician this will be more obvious, but most people will need to listen to the introduction 20 or more times to be sure they have the right answer. The proper answer is either 1, 2 or 3, so I'll at least give you a 33% chance of guessing correctly. (Guessing isn't the idea; please answer the question when you are willing to bet $25 on it... )
For my clave-aware friends, "How Do I Say" has implied clave until the drummer becomes more explicit with the clave pattern later in the song. (Implied clave is also beyond the scope of this article, but listen to the tune and you'll hear the cross-stick snare drum playing most of a 3-2 clave.)
Because implicit or implied pulse is a more advanced concept, I'll provide another example or two in "Part 3" of this series. Few people will get this concept with one song, unless they have prior music experience. If you're not getting it, the question is, can you hear the pulse during the main body of the tune?
Now that you know implicit pulse is behind all dance music, see if you can figure it out in tunes you like. Start with simple music before attempting it in more complex music like salsa.
More examples YouTube series (links below). Let me know what you're hearing in your favorite tunes.
Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake.
--Jackie Mason
This article was originally published July 2009. One of the example videos was removed from YouTube. I found another version of the song and replaced it so I'm republishing. Special thanks to Denise K for sending me a note letting me know about the broken video!
An old Russian proverb says, "Repetition is the mother of all learning."
That's a huge concept for growing dancers. Some moves start out difficult, but after repeating them hundreds of times, they become second nature. Repetition is the mother of all learning.
Of course, this applies to dance moves, music, sports, new languages, computer programming or virtually any other subject you decide to learn. No matter how you slice it, repetition is the mother of all learning.
Too few repetitions and it doesn't stick. Repeat it many times and it does. It's deceptively simple and very powerful if applied correctly.
How many guys have you heard complaining, "I don't remember those patterns" or "I can't remember the moves from class" or "I can do that slow, but once the music starts I can't remember that sequence." I suspect you can guess why.
My early drum teacher told me over thirty years ago; "If you can't do it effortlessly in a performance, you haven't practiced enough."
He was constantly reminding me that quality practice (repetition) was a requirement for excellence. One of the few excuses he allowed me to use when I couldn't do an exercise was, "I didn't practice that enough." I didn't like hearing it as a teenager, but over time his words stuck in my head and I realized he was absolutely right.
How many times do you repeat a new move before you own it? In some case, it may be a few times and others it will be hundreds or thousands of repetitions or more. The "few times" is an exception, and often the result of something you previous learned. In most cases it's hundreds or thousands of repetitions before things become mindless.
Newer dancers often under estimate how many times advanced dancers practice a move. That practice may have been on the dance floor, but owning a move is often the result of countless repetitions, over many months or more.
You forever see guys trying new moves with minimal practice because they see the more advanced dancers doing something similar. The advanced dancers make it look so easy, it's not obvious they repeated a sequence hundreds of times to make it look so comfortable.
If you want to learn a move, remember a pattern, step or feeling, do it over and over again, with attention to detail. Do it at different speeds, from painfully slow to burning fast. It's not magic, but it is a process.
Repetition is the mother of all learning, but be sure you are repeating things you actually want to learn. Mindless repetition, without refinement makes it easy to learn bad habits if you're not careful, so work toward repeating the habits, moves and patterns you want to master.
This isn't news to you, but this concept applies directly to your mastering the music.
Over a year ago I wrote an article titled "Listening to Music 100 Times or more" and it documents some of my experience with repeating music hundreds of times.
Repetition is not the only factor is learning, but it's a key factor and often under appreciated.
Let me know your experiences with repetition via the comments link below. And don't forget; repetition is the mother of all learning.
This is part 3 of a series. Please check out Part1 and Part 2 before reading this article. You'll find some overlap between the articles, but that is normal for a series.
Dance studio classes and club classes may appear similar at first, but there are distinct differences you'll want to keep in mind. Part 2 focused on club classes. This article (Part 3) focuses on studio classes.
Studio classes are different than club classes. As a rule, they're simply more serious in terms of skill development. Their goal is to do as much dancing as possible, refining the details and building your foundation for future growth. The social side exists before or after class, on your own time.
The instructors tend to push you toward improving your technique, providing plenty of details. Few studio instructors allow you to talk for even a minute or two between exercises. I've seen instructors almost yell at students who are talking during exercises. Think of it as an adult ed class at your local college.
It's not like military school, but it's also not for someone just "looking for a good time." The good times can be found when you're social dancing and your skills are greatly improved; class time is for growing and refining your skills. Don't expect alcohol at the juice bar (often water is the only option.)
At a club class, there is often a wide mix of skill levels, even when the class is advertised as "intermediate" or "advanced". With the help of a drink or two, everybody thinks they are above average and joins the fun.
Studio classes are often segregated by levels. Classes have titles like "Jazz 2", "advanced hip-hop", "intermediate turns", "open level" (code for "way over your head unless you're advanced", etc.). When you look at the schedule, many classes make it obvious they expect some prior experience.
At many studios, the classes labeled "beginner" or "basic" have a mix of "true beginners" but often the most advanced students attend to fine-tune their fundamentals. This raises the overall level of the class, and beginners can easily be overwhelmed. (Hang in there; over time it gets easier.)
If you attend a class that is over your head, it's expected you'll stand in the back and not get in the way of the more advanced students (some may run you over if you get in their path). Traditionally, the stronger students are in the front, and the newer ones toward the back.
Why should you even consider going to a dance studio or class that is NOT at a club? It often costs about the same (or more), and sometimes you can't even practice after the class or get a drink.
Studio classes generally focus on more foundational work that pays off over a longer time frame (weeks, months or more) but would bore most club students. That foundational work won't show up on the dance floor tonight, but a couple months down the road, you'll be a much better dancer than most club students.
Studio classes often work harder on the foundational aspects of the dance. They might take a week to study the music, work on balance, core strength and spinning foundational exercises, or regularly do exercises that pay off in the long term. This is because studios tend to operate under the assumption that the students attending are working to be above average.
Studio classes are often the place people go after they become bored with the club classes
This type of student wants to go to the club as an above average dancer, so they are looking for opportunities to grow their dancing quickly. However, many will do some homework if they are having fun. Many also cross-train in other types of dance, providing additional avenues for growth.
The value is often cumulative, with exercises leading to much bigger gains over time. This is why the studios are not for short term thinkers or for someone simply wanting new patterns for this weekend.
For example, if you take a jazz class at a studio, a third or more of the class is dedicated to conditioning, balance, stretching, strength and foundational exercises. The norm is to work on your foundation before you do any routines or "dancing". Attendees at club classes would usually walk out if you told them to stretch and do some balance exercises for 10 minutes before dancing, let alone invest 20 minutes in foundational work.
The dance studios provide excellent longer-term value for those looking to be above average. They are generally more serious and attract the more skilled students, raising the level for each attendee.
As you improve, it makes sense to check out both locations for growth. Use the clubs to pick up a few new patterns after you're experienced, or break into a new club where you need to make some social connections.
Let me know your experiences in the two locations.
Do you regularly move outside your comfort zone, trying to expand it over time? You should, because expanding your comfort zone and ignoring others while learning accelerates your growth.
Your mind thrives on variety and grows as you provide different stimulus. When you vary your location in classes you'll see different perspectives on the moves and be a stronger dancer in less time compared to those who only learn from one location.
If you take any dance class regularly or attend the same clubs, you'll notice this interesting thing about people: Most claim a certain location in the class or club as their own. After being there a few times, most find comfort setting up in the same relative floor space.
The regulars end up consistently dancing or exercising in the same location, in almost every class, unless someone new gets "our spot" before we arrive. They just don't know they have claimed our spot, but they'll learn.
Some people get downright indignant if you move into "their" normal location. You'd think they were paying rent or they owned the space, like the fabled parking spot with your name on it. You'll see some people showing up earlier than normal, just to lay claim to their comfort location.
In jazz or ballet classes, if you go "across the floor" (a series of spins/turning exercises, with two or three people starting every 8 or 16 counts), once the order for going across is established, it's an unwritten rule that the order stays that way for the rest of that class.
In other words, if I'm first in my line, I will be first for every new exercise specified by the instructor for that class. People who violate this unwritten rule are looked down on by others. Most people who go second, in the middle or last, do so class after class. They get comfortable with their relative order and stay there class after class.
In some classes I'm very uncomfortable in the front, but I make sure I go there occasionally as part of my "Dance like Nobody's Watching" concepts. I'm forced to focus on myself, my refinements, and ignore what others may be thinking.
Sometimes it's a major stretch for me, but over time, the results are worth it. Moving to a new location toughens you because you learn to ignore others, who may be more or less advanced. And if they really want to watch someone else (not likely), they can use the mirrors and see anybody they choose. Dancing in front of others is one of the dances goal anyway, so having it happen in class is actually a win when it happens.
This concept is also valid outside the classroom. Drive a slightly different way to class, work or the grocery store. Eat with your non-dominate hand sometime (bib optional), park in a different location, order something new off the menu, try no sugar in your tea and find ways to vary your own routine regularly. The more often you change up little habits, the more varied your stimulus, the faster you learn new things too.
There is plenty of mental comfort in keeping things routine, but it isn't the best way to learn and grow. If you attend a class regularly, avoid getting stuck in a rut and standing in the same location each class. Move around--you'll see that it changes your perspective. Get next to the instructor in some classes, and change sides in others. If you do this regularly, you'll improve faster, have more fun, and find new perspectives on some existing materials, making you a stronger dancer in less time.
The man who is too old to learn was probably always too old to learn.
-Caryl Haskins
Dance studio classes and club classes may appear similar at first, but there are distinct differences you'll want to keep in mind. This article focuses on club classes. Part 3 details studio classes.
At most dance studios, the mood is a little more serious. Studio classes tend to be focused on more foundational, technical and longer-term exercises, and the social aspects take place before and after class. I'll leave additional details for part 3 of this article.
At the clubs, it's about getting enough drinkers to pay the bills, and the dancing is a way to attract more people. I love the clubs, so don't take that as a negative, it's simply different than a studio. Club classes can be excellent social events, where meeting people is as important as the actual dancing. You should use both scenes to your advantage.
If you are a newer lead, club classes are an excellent way to find a set of follows who will dance with you later in the evening. Beginners benefit more from stronger social ties.
If you're a respectful and growing lead, followers will generally put up with your learning during social time. Few follows turn down leads they've meet in class unless you make a terrible first impression. (Hint: Be nice in classes! Let the instructor make corrections. This applies to BOTH partners.)
As a follow you can get an idea of which leads seem like they are learning, and which are just there to get their hands on a few ladies. Find the few you like and say something like, "Save me a dance later..." and they'll almost always find you after class.
If you're more advanced, club classes can give you a few new moves, and you don't need the details due to your prior experience. They can be a quick way to brush up on existing moves and/or get some new patterns that tend to be easier to learn. Most club instructors focus on cool moves and fun patterns, because that attracts more people.
Club instructors often gloss over details that will slow the class down, because you're not trying to create performers or high-level dancers, just get them to the floor with enough skills to have fun and make some new friends.
Many club guys return wanting something new each week, even though they didn't get close to mastering last week's material. Learning "new" is often more valuable than learning "well" in the clubs. This works to the more advanced lead's advantage as you'll "get" the combo and meet some new people.
Clubs often have some students who didn't even intend to take a class that night. They were meeting friends for a drink at a nice place, and hey, there's a "free" (or low cost) lesson, so let's join the fun. Salsa sounds like fun, so they decide to go along with it.
When I first started teaching in the clubs, I treated club and studio classes similar. Big mistake on my part; different audience, different mindset and the studio approach doesn't pay off well in most clubs.
I was too into the details, and half the guys just wanted to get their hands on the ladies, even if their dancing wasn't progressing much. Conversation time was just as important as dance time.
As I grew, I learned a very interesting concept from a veteran club instructor. During the class we played music and rotated the students so they could practice the patterns until the song ended. In the beginning, I would immediately start the next move, because I wanted them to get more dancing/patterns/information during the lesson time.
My experienced club mentor told me, "When the song ends, if people are talking, I wait a minute or two until the chatter starts to die down. As long as they are talking, I don't start the next session, even if it takes a few minutes." He was exactly right!
His concept is simple: If they are having fun talking to the people around them, that's as valuable as learning another dance step or pattern. He knew from experience that half the people wouldn't return, and others would only return if they meet someone interesting. The talk time established the social connections. Even while demonstrating/instructing, some chatter is normal at the clubs.
My mentor had a much higher return rate than many "better" dance instructors since he understood the social dynamics of the club.
Over time, I adapted his methods for club classes, because the social time between tunes creates a great buzz and people return. Attendees may not improve their dancing very much, or "get" a specific move this week, but that isn't the point of the class anyway. You need to help them have fun and return next week.
The overall quality of instruction can vary widely at the clubs, from world-class to the waiter/instructor who was already on the payroll. Enjoy the class and the people. It's often a fun time.
The clubs can be a decent place to learn salsa, but if you get more serious, you'll often seek out the studios. Part 3 of this series focuses on the studio's strengths and weaknesses.
Please let me know your experiences in the club classes.
I feel like I'm in a rut. Every time I go to bed at night,
I find myself getting up again in the morning.
--Brad Stine
News flash: You don't need to be the best dancer in the room to have a great time! 
