The Best Time to Learn

Maybe you've already heard:

"The best time to learn salsa was twenty years ago.
The second best time is now."

(I love this Chinese proverb! Sam contributed it via a comment in another article. While I doubt the Chinese really were talking about salsa, I'll take the creative license excuse.)

Maybe you can relate: Many, many, many, many times I've wished I had started dancing years earlier (decades in my case). For a hundred reasons I didn't start earlier, so I have to simply say to myself, "Too bad... you didn't do it then, so shut up, practice, and make the most of now!"

It's easy for me to see all the younger people dancing up a storm and wishing I had understood the fun available in the dance world. But I didn't. I was having a great time in the music and business world, so at that time I was focused there.

I don't mean to complain about my background, my previous experiences help many aspects of dancing over time, but it doesn't make learning some patterns, connections or shines any easier.

Maybe you're similar. Maybe we should have started earlier. But so what? I didn't. If you did, more power to you. Otherwise, the harsh reality is "too bad!" and then move on. It may be tougher when we are older, but it's worth it. We're building strength, coordination, balance, mind-body connections and other helpful skills that pay off as we continue to mature.

Sure, sometimes I wish I had started this path earlier, but life is easy in the rear view mirror.

If you are not pushing yourself and tuning your dancing, now is the time... Just do it and do as much as possible. Practice when you can, keep growing all the time, and enjoy the ride along the way. If you simply keep doing it, the rewards continue to grow over time.

You will be fitter both mentally and physically, you meet lots of interesting people and learn more about yourself. You'll look and feel better, interact with people than otherwise possible, and improve the overall quality of your life.

It's too bad everybody doesn't partner dance, the world would be a better place. Until that happens (don't hold your breath), at least you keep at it, even when it seems like it would have been more fun earlier in life. Most of us wish we were better today, but at least we can be stronger tomorrow, and that's a major win if we continue down that path.

Let me know what you're doing to move yourself forward and stay in the dance game.

Most problems precisely defined are already partially solved.
--Harry Lorayne

When Followers Do the Unexpected

How do you handle it when a follower misses your lead?

My goal is to totally hide the fact that she missed something. Others should think her response is exactly as expected. I simply try to find something that fits with where she left off, even if it’s completely opposite of my original intent. Occasionally it creates something humorous, or amazingly creative, but that's just part of the magic of social dancing.

In an ideal world, nobody outside of me knows something was missed. When the "alternate ending" works perfectly, even my follow wonders if she missed something. Sometimes she just thinks my combination is a little weird or “unique”, even though it’s actually covering for a missed communication.

I expressed this thought on a dance forum I monitor and here’s part of a response I received: “I wish more leaders had that mindset. (And followers, too). With many leaders I feel I like I'm in some sort of exam and must do everything right which puts me under pressure. The most fun dances are with those leaders who make me feel like I was a great dancer (which I'm not) and when I do notice that I missed a lead, it doesn't matter. We laugh about it and missing the lead becomes part of the fun of the dance.”

This follower felt pressured to have everything right, rather than enjoying the dance. Obviously this isn’t my idea of a great partner dance. As a lead we want her feeling comfortable so she can do her best, which also makes us look better and everybody wins.

For me, I try to lighten up when I find someone is struggling a little. A little humor or a “it’s fine” smile goes a long way toward reducing the stress level. It's a dance, not an audition, and she'll remember you positively as she advances.

Maybe my music background helps. Things go wrong on stage. Equipment breaks in the middle of a song, I drop drum sticks, the singer starts at the wrong spot, someone counts a tune too fast or slow (usually me) or a soloist plays twice as long as expected. You name it, if you're on stage enough, anything that can go wrong, does...

I learned that handling the unexpected in a positive manner marks you as a pro. Smiling and pretending things are fine while you recover (and after) can go a long way toward making things better.

Once you ask someone to dance, then it's your responsibility to dance within her comfort zone. Leaders need to find materials that are fun but doable when they get a less experienced follow.

Sometimes it's a positive challenge to do a simple, quality dance with reduced complexity. When she doesn’t know a specific sequence, see what you can do to make it look great anyway. You may discover an alternate ending, or maybe find something more interesting than your stock sequence.

Missing moves is simply part of social dancing, and the marks of great leads is how well they deal with things that don’t go as intended. Keeping your head straight, smiling, acting like a gentlemen, finding creative ways to recover, and not letting her know she missed something is a win in the social scene.

Let me know what you do when things don’t work out as expected.

Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our
irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.
--Mark Twain

New Salsa Documentary: Intro to the Dance

A few months ago I was asked to film a short interview for a Salsa documentary being produced by an LA film producer named Kate Thomas. It’s called “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 3 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. (The Salsa Mambo Festival is a great place to start and/or dramatically grow your current dancing.)

Check out the documentary and let me know what you think.

An overnight success usually takes around ten years.
--Sam Carbin

Salsa Mambo Festival - Palm Springs - July 24, 08

We are now two weeks away from the best summer salsa event in Palm Springs, California. There is also a New Years event each year and they both have become favorite events for a huge set of people. (Disclosure: I've been teaching at these events for around 3 years now, and I'm teaching musicality and some other classes as well.)

You can get all the details at http://www.salsamambofestival.com/ (discount ends July 15th, so check it out now).

If you haven't checked it out yet, this is the time to act. There is nothing like having a few days totally focused on dancing. Workshops and pool parties in the day, dancing until 3 am each night.

Get up, eat, dance workshops, nap, salsa by the pool, nap, eat, dance, nap, dance and repeat the next day.

It' s interesting because if you're a beginner, you can dance with people from around the world, some who are also just starting, but many who have years of experience. The snobs tend to avoid this event, because the promoters work so hard to make it fun for everybody. I've seen Edie the Salsa Freak dancing with total beginners, and having a great time.

The instructors and performers are required to dance with anybody who asks. This means YOU can decide which stars you want to dance with, and they won't turn you down.

Beginners make huge improvements with the workshops, and the experienced people get to really refine their game, with a large set of seasoned pros. While I love the learning aspects, I'm addicted to seeing all the great people I've meet over the years. Some have improved, some haven't, but we always have a great time, because it's about the people. They always improve over the weekend, so it's a great time to tune-up your dancing as well.

When you sign-up, use "Baarns" as the referral code, (yes, a shameless plug), and be sure to say hello to me. I can't wait to dance with all my friends I only see twice a year and meet a new set of friends as well!

I'm still sporting my timeless gray hair, so I'm hard to miss. Be sure to say hello and tell me your thoughts on this blog. I'll be there all four days having a blast and I hope you're there too.

Left or Right Brain? Should I Care? Part 2

This is part 2 of the series. I recommend you check out the previous article before reading this one. Take a minute or two and view the spinning dancer before this article for best results. Click here to read part 1.

In the previous article, it’s interesting to find different people seeing the same graphic differently. While there’s some controversy about the accuracy of this graphic helping you to define left vs. right brain dominance, most people have a dominate side, with some more extreme than others.

The spinning dancer works because it doesn’t provide complete information. Your mind fills in missing information, and the still shots (below) highlight the two ways you see the same images. The white lines are what your mind is filling in for you, providing your sense for the turning direction. With the white lines, the extended leg is clearly in the front or back, rather than being left to your imagination. I’ll provide more info on the original graphic and the brain relationships in part 3 of this series.

Spinning Dancer With White Lines Added
While it’s natural to have a dominate side of the brain, dancers want both sides of their body working together, creating balance.

In other words, in a perfect dance world dancers would be more ambidextrous, with emphasis on the word “more”. After learning a motion or dance skill on one side or direction, dancers want to easily mirror the movement with the other side or in the opposite direction. Once you’re spinning comfortably in one direction, ideally you want the same ease and grace spinning the other direction. Easier said than done, but the overall concept is to build more mind/body balance and coordination.

How can you help this aim of being more balanced and ambidextrous while off the dance floor? It’s deceptively simple; take your regular, mindless, day-to-day life skills and practice them with the opposite hand (or feet if appropriate).

If your right hand dominant, try moving your fork to your left hand for a month. If you’re primarily left handed, obviously you’ll try the right hand for a while. (For many it will also become a low-cost diet plan, since eating with the opposite hand often slows you down.)

Eating is a great place to start, but don’t try this the first time with your glammed out salsa outfit. Napkins and/or a bib can be helpful and most people are amazed how simple movements we take for granted are not so simple with the other hand. Start with a few changes and add over time.

Your goal is to take everything you do mindlessly, and start doing it with your non-dominate hand until switching is mindless. In some cases that will take two weeks, but some activities will take months or years. So what? You were going to do them anyway, so it’s not some huge time sink and it benefits you in the long run.

There are so many things we do with one hand we don’t even pay attention to how we do it. I make a game of it, trying to see how many things I can do with both hands. For me this started in high school (too many years ago) where rather than paying attention, I would write the alphabet in block letters with my left hand. My teachers thought I was taking great notes, and instead I was learning to print left handed.

If you grab a glass with your left hand, try drinking with your right hand instead. Squeeze toothpaste with your other hand. See how many things you can do off the dance floor, and over time it will make a positive difference on the floor. It also builds your brain power, creates new mind/body connections, and improves your eye-hand coordination skills. In many activities I’m functionally ambidextrous, but I’m always working on improving the mind/body connections.

I’ve read that building these skills does make you smarter, but you can’t prove that by me. In theory, anything you do to build new skills exercises your brain and is a long-term win.

Here are some starter ideas that I do regularly. Pick a couple that seem interesting to you and then add your own. The more you do, the easier it gets to add another. In my case, my “other hand” is my left hand; since my right hand is more dominate. One of my life goals is to be as ambidextrous as possible. Try these:

• Eat with your fork and knife inverted (the knife took me a while)
• Stir yogurt, coffee, tea or other food or drinks, stirring with your spoon in the other hand
• Drink with your glass in the other hand
• Cook, stir, and prepare food with the other hand (avoid cutting off fingers while learning)
• Use your other hand to work the remote control with watching TV
• Move your mouse to the other side of your keyboard or desk and switch hands
• Brush your teeth with the other hand (invert the toothpaste squeezing too)
• Shave with the other hand (best with electric razors, although manual is possible if you are careful)
• Brush/comb your hair with alternate hands
• Spray hair-spray, cologne or perfume with either hand
• Put on lip balm, lip-stick and/or makeup with both hands
• When you have paper and are sitting, try writing the alphabet and/or your name with your other hand (triangles, squares, circles and stick figures are also great practice)
• Create text messages with both hands or just your non-dominant hand
• Hold your phone to the other ear, dial any numbers with your other hand (not while driving)
• Tie your shoes with the loops going the other way
• When using chopsticks, switch the hands holding them
• Going up or down stairs, start with the other foot (most people start with one foot or the other consistently unless they think about it)

I could go on, and that’s just a partial list to get you started. I’ve done almost all of them (I don't remember doing make-up) and you’ll think of a hundred more once you get going. And again, your goal is to provide yourself with more control over your body so when you dance, you learn moves faster than before, without investing normal practice time. Utilize your dance practice time for mastering the cool moves, and the more skilled your body is at movement, the faster you grow as a dancer.

To remind myself to practice switching hands, I like to move my wristwatch to the other arm. When I got my first wristwatch as a teenager, I wore it on my left arm. Today I switch it to the other arm, reminding me each time I look at my watch to do things with my less dominate hand/arm.

This system will not yield results overnight; but it’s a very low cost way to build new movement skills outside the dance floor. It’s a great mind/body connection game, it helps you long-term and it will improve your ability to learn new movements. It stretches your mind and builds your overall coordination, which benefits you both on and off the dance floor.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. I hope to hear about the activities you find to build your body balance.

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered,
you cannot grow.
--Ronald Osburn