The Salsa Dancing Truth – How Long Does It Take to Learn Salsa?
If you are as impatient as me you will want to become a master salsa dancer in a few days. However, being realistic this is just not going to happen. Although Salsa and dancing in general is an art form, that takes dedication, time and practice there are a few critical steps to take that can shave months off achieving your salsa dance goals. Here you will discover the answer to the common question so many beginners ask, how long does it take to learn salsa?
First of all the time it takes to learn salsa to a beginners ability will depend upon the resources available and the commitment that you give to learning new things. It goes without saying you should be part of a salsa dance club and attending at least twice a week to really develop your salsa dance steps. Finding a good salsa club can also help dramatically with the time it takes to progress. If there are more than 30 members per one session then you may not develop as quickly as you might with only half of that amount. Just think how valuable your salsa lesson really is! Can you afford to waste time and money? After all, salsa dance teachers often struggle to give one on one guidance to larger groups meaning they are less accessible to answer your questions and help develop your style.
Typically Cuban salsa is easier to pick up from absolute beginners but if you have danced before you may adapt to the cross body style of salsa quicker than absolute beginners. Either way it is better to settle into one particular style and stick to this which will speed up the learning process.
Attending salsa club twice a week is the minimum and if you can you should be getting more dancing in. If this is not possible even watching videos, studying illustrations or reading up on salsa dance steps. This can develop your salsa ability and this will really shine through when you are dancing in your salsa club.
The Internet provides everything you need to get started. You will find plenty of salsa videos and dedicated salsa websites. While these can be useful you certainly need some structure to your learning otherwise you will end up wasting time and actually ruining your chances of developing salsa techniques faster than other beginners. Most salsa courses have a one time low price and contain step by step salsa videos, guides and illustrations for you to learn each day. These downloadable courses really do complement what you learn at your salsa club and most of the beginners who succeed in mastering salsa have followed some form of extra course.
The beauty of these courses is that you don’t really need to dance when following them. The information and videos provide enough instruction to really shine through when you are dancing and they are great to watch back when practicing a salsa routine. You will find courses at a range of prices and skill levels, a great entry level course that myself and my friends have had huge success with is a course that teaches you how to learn salsa in 3 weeks. The videos are great to download onto your computer or iPod to watch before and after attending your salsa club.
So to answer the question, how long does it take to learn salsa? Well, I would say it will take around 2 – 3 months to dance at an ability suitable for the majority of professional salsa partners. This is assuming that you are attending a salsa club at least twice a week and following a high quality course.
CLICK HERE to discover the case study of a beginner and gain access to the same salsa course.
