The Guides to:
Salsa from the Start
Volumes I & II & III

Click on the image below to go to guide for the DVD:

             


Here is an example of the guides you will see on the following pages.

I suggest you print out the guides and the abbreviations below to have in front of you while watching the videos.

Section I:  Intro to Salsa timing, steps, and partner dancing

(Topic #) 1. Basic Timing of Salsa

Music is based on 8 count

Stepping is on 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7

(Topic #) 2. Two basic rules of salsa

First rule of Salsa Dancing:  Always alternate your feet

Second rule of Salsa Dancing:  Always take three steps in a row, and then pause one.

(Topic #) 3. Stepping anywhere

Stepping in place

Walking anywhere

Use the five boxes in front of each topic to check off your progress.

You can use the boxes however you like. However, we suggest the following:
The boxes are used as follows (from left to right):

  • Viewed at least once
  • Done viewing (don't need to view it again)
  • Practiced at least once
  • Done practicing
  • This last box is for whatever you want. (For example, a topic you really like, and want to come back to soon.)

Please notice the graphic in the top right hand corner of the above image. It indicates that you are currently viewing Section I, Topic 2.

You can go right to the guide to see what you are viewing. And, more importantly, you can first look at the guide to determine what topic you would like to watch. Then you just go to the DVD menus and click exactly where you want to jump to within the video. To jump to the "I-2", just click as shown below:

In addition, if you would you like to see the current topic over again, you can simply press the "Previous Chapter" button on your DVD remote control. If you want to skip the current topic, you can press the "Next Chapter" button to start viewing the next topic.

You can see that moving around in our DVDs is quite easy.



Key to Abbreviations Used in Guides
(In this videos series, all dancing to the music is danced "on1".)

     Basic Stuff
M          Man
W          Woman
L          Left
R          Right
CW         Clockwise
CCW        Counter-Clockwise

     Body Parts
L-elbow    Left Elbow
W-back     Woman's Back
MR-hand    Man's Right Hand
WL-wrist   Woman's Left Wrist

     Turns
WRT         Woman Right Turn
WLT         Woman Left Turn
MRT         Man Right Turn
MLT         Man Left Turn
2WRT        Double Woman Right Turn

     Hands
L-L         Man's Left Hand holding Woman's Left Hand
L-R         Man's Left Hand holding Woman's Right Hand
R-R         Man's Right Hand holding Woman's Right Hand
R-L         Man's Right Hand holding Woman's Left Hand
R-R:L-L     R-R hands above and L-L hands below

     Moves
XB          Cross-Body Lead
XB:WLT      Cross-Body Lead with WLT
R-R:XB      Cross-Body Lead with R-R

L-R:WRT     WRT with L-R hands
RE:WRT      Released WRT
RE:L-R:WRT  WRT by releasing L-R hands
 

     Additional Notation
Each '.' represents 8 counts of the music.
A '/' represents a separation between the first measure (counts 1-4) and the second measure (counts 5-8).
[Move#12]   Move#12 is done (in routine) exactly as shown earlier
(Move#12)   Move#12 is done (in routine) similarly as shown earlier