Comments on The Unlikely Salsero - Don Baarns: How Long Before I Get Good?

Loki,I think you replied on another article, menti...

2008-09-17T09:44:24.112-07:00

Loki,

I think you replied on another article, mentioning all your coaches and hard work. I didn't answer that one because your comments really require an article (I have a draft so far).

My summary is now you need to find a club in your area that has a class before the dance, take the class, and then dance with anybody from the class during social time(even if it's one lady) AND any ladies in the club.

You will already be ahead of most of the people in the club class, and nothing beats doing it live in the clubs.

The question is: Is there one club in your area that has classes before the official dance time?

That is the perfect way to get started at the club. Socially you meet parterns during the class, and they will almost always dance with you during dance time.

I wrote a series of articles on breaking into a club or event, and I suspect they will help.

Your next step is to simply get into the clubs, it's where you practice. Nobody expects you to be a pro... They expect you to be nice and if they see you a few times, most (not all) will dance with you.

Finding time: That frustrates me at points. I have days were I only get what I call "micro practices" that are a set of very small practices (1-5 minutes each). It's life for me as I own a business and have a large family. I do have some days where I get longer practices, but I can't count on that...

I squeeze time to in to practice around everything else I do in life. Some days I get an hour, many I only get minutes and it varies wildly.

If you look at my article dates, you'll notice holes in my publishing. I publish 3 articles in a week, then miss two weeks due to the rest of my life. Better to do what I can than say I'll only blog if I can do it X times per week.

More details in a future article.

Articles you might like:
** Micro Practices: Quickies Are OK!
** Power of Greetings

Use the blog Search (on the bottom left column) to find those articles. Note the results from searching show up at the TOP of the page (don't ask me why...)

This article hit home. I've been at it since Janu...

2008-09-17T08:42:03.097-07:00

This article hit home. I've been at it since January of this year. Three coaches,(which just served to confuse the issue :-)over a thousand bucks, a dozen group classes, numerous privates, and have yet to step out on the dance floor at a club. I agree that a couple of moves and having to focus hard on "thinking forward" is not going to be enjoyable for the lead, or the target (follow). I DO know that this takes practice, and one of the things that have been surprising to me is how difficult it has been to find someone (female) to practice with. Few women in this area go beyond a basic class. I asked more than one coach about this phenomenon (25 people in a basic class and about an even balance, and 4 in the next level class with one lady). The answer was uniform from three coaches. The ladies feel that after a basic class, it's the leads job, and there is no need to learn more. I've even resorted to posting ads on Craigslist for a practice partner with dismal results. I'm curious Don. We seem to share similar views on wanting to make a decent showing, how did you get enough time in to do so?

John,I'm with you on that... and plenty of guys bl...

2007-09-14T22:24:35.599-07:00

John,

I'm with you on that... and plenty of guys blew by me in the first year. Over time that has changed, as investing more time in the fundamentals pays off later.

Everybody is different and in time you'll find those same guys will find some rougher patches and you'll be the fast grower. The real trick is to hang in there a while and keep getting incrementally better. There are ups and downs but those who stay in the game are the winners over time. Plus your social network grows and it's always more fun when you know more people.

Please let us know how it goes over time!

Hmmm... I will defend my timelines, plus or minus ...

2007-07-10T17:26:06.144-07:00

Hmmm... I will defend my timelines, plus or minus a couple years.

It's a big question for people. I wanted to know how long it would take when I started. I found it was longer than I'd hoped for me, but everybody is different.

Nobody is "average" but in 3-5 years almost anybody can be an above average dancer in most scenes, local or otherwise.

My 20% is a generalization and your mileage my vary. I still feel comfortable that in a room of 20 leads, most guys with 3-5 years experience will be in the top 4 or 5 leads, assuming they have worked at it over time.

Fun can start way before that time, depending on your personality. I had fun playing drums when I was 15. Looking back I see I wasn't that good at it for 3-5 years after that time, and I was a very serious student of music as a young adult. The next five years is where the maturity comes in if you keep doing it.

Being a musician makes the startup phase much harder because you understand how poorly you are reflecting the music with your body. Longer term (a couple years or so) it's a huge advantage, but most muscians don't dance partially because the startup phases can be much tougher.

I'll write an article at some point explaining why musicians generally don't dance.

Your insights are welcomed and appreciated.

What the heck is an average person? Would an avera...

2007-07-10T14:05:05.151-07:00

What the heck is an average person? Would an average person commit 3-5 years to learning to dance Salsa? Would an average person even go far as to look for and find this blog? Is that 3-5 years meaning about 1 night of social dancing per week? Is five times a week for one year about the same as once a week for five years? What is upper 20%? Upper 20% in the world? Upper 20% among people who have been dancing for at least 1 year?

It's pretty ridiculous trying to be scientific about it and give specific number or timeline, but I also think your argument hits the correct note - exactly for the kind of people who have actively looked for and found a resource like this blog and tried to digest and apply advices given here.

Most people likely will be surprised to realize how incompetent they were after merely one year of learning when they get to their third year.

Also I would suggest that how fast one improves depends first and foremost on level of self-motivation with distant second closely contested by mental and physical ability (not counting disabled people of course) as well as level of dancer partners available.

Also I would suggest that amateur musicians (perhaps better to say people with rich musical background) will have substantial advantage over "average" people.