What do I need to wear?

Don’t panic – you don’t need to invest in a pair of tight trousers (guys) or a sequinned dress (girls or guys!!!). Salsa is a street dance and the most common attire seen on salsa dance floors is jeans and a top. You may get hot so jumpers generally not recommended… Oh - but please remember you'll be dancing with someone - so deodorant/perfume/aftershave is always recommended - and if you've just eaten garlic - then brush your teeth and bring some gum!!!

Do I need special shoes?

Initially no - most beginners are perfectly fine with whatever they normally wear. WeI would have advise against really high heels and really sticky trainers. As you get more advanced and start dancing regularly you may want to invest in some shoes specifically designed for dancing. Jazz shoes for guys (and girls who prefer flat shoes) and heeled shoes for girls. There are a number of places you can buy these... check out www.salsatribe.com for some initial ideas - and also check out our links page for some other great shoe websites.

Do you need a partner?

Absolutely not. Experience has shown us that people generally become better dancers, faster, if they dance with lots of different partners – therefore it is our policy to rotate everyone around during the class. As well as improving your dancing this also ensures that if the numbers of men and women don’t match then no one is left standing on there own for long… and it is also a great way of meeting people!!!

Am I too old/young?

Salsa is for everyone, and we have students from 12* years old to 84 - so if you want to get on the dance floor and give it a go… then we welcome you. (*a lot of the places we teach in are licensed premises and have age restrictions… check with us for details).

I’m confused – what’s New York Style/Cuban Style, On1, On2, Mambo? Which one should I be doing?

Salsa can be very confusing… across the world there are many different styles of salsa…and we could take a whole website trying to explain them all. All you really need to know to get started is that within the UK there are two predominant styles being taught and danced; Cuban & New York Style On1
The New York style that we teach is generally more linear, faster, sharper and technical than Cuban style (which is more circular ) I guess New York style is the more modern version involving the lady having to work a little bit harder ….which isn't a bad thing! Don’t worry though – I think everyone benefits from learning both styles as this means you can dance with even more people!!!!
On1 and On2 refers to the beat within the music you break on (change direction)… Within the UK (and indeed in most countries) most people dance On1. New York Style is typically danced On2, however in order to make it more accessible many teachers (including The Salsaholics) have converted the techniques and turn patterns to On1. As a beginner I would strongly recommend starting with On1 as you will have a lot more people to dance with!!!
Mambo is a term commonly used to describe dancing On2, New York Style. It is also used to describe a lot of the salsa music more suited to dancing On2.

Do you need to have any dance experience?

No – as mentioned earlier salsa is for everyone. Whilst dance experience might help you pick things up quicker, it may also hinder you (salsa tends to break a lot of ‘dancing’ rules… habits which can be quite hard to break). So – whatever you background I would just say – give it a try. The most important thing about salsa is to have fun.

Can I just turn up or are your classes run in courses?

All our classes are ‘drop in’ classes. The beginners classes are structured so that as well as covering the basic steps we go over a different basic move (e.g. single turn, cross body lead) every week. Therefore, it doesn’t matter when you join – or indeed if you miss a few weeks. Just come when you can – and we will let you know when you’ve mastered all the basics within that level and you are ready to move on.