So the answer to the question, in all seriousness? How long does it take to get good? Well it depends on a couple of things. In no particular order:

1. How much time are you willing to put in, outside of class?

Two people might start dance classes on the exact same day. One goes home after class, practises, goes out social dancing, practises some more, listens to music, practises some more, and then comes back to class the next week. The other guy goes home, goes to sleep, carries on with his usual work week, hangs out with friends, and then comes back to class the next week….and is utterly dumbfounded at how much faster the first guy is improving!

2. What’s your definition of good?

Everyone has different goals. For some, they want to dominate the competition circuit, become professional dancers, teach and run their own schools, and perform internationally. Anything short of that is unacceptable. For others, being able to dance confidently on a Friday night at the Salsa Party is all they want!

3. Are you a natural? Or unnatural?

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t subscribe to the theory that anyone is born destined to be a great dancer. Even Latinos who like to claim “it’s in my blood”…well, not exactly…they had the advantage of being exposed to dancing probably at a young age, hearing the music and the rhythms as they grew up, and quite possibly in a society and culture that celebrated and encouraged dance (unlike our culture here in Australia!)…and even then, it’s not a guarantee that they’ll be good dancers! But nevertheless, your past experiences all add up…did you play sport or do other things that required physical coordination? Did you play a musical instrument? Is your body physically tense or is it limber? All these things add up to determine how “natural” you are…or aren’t.

4. Do you have the right teacher?

The right teacher isn’t the one who has the most trophies. It’s not the one with the most students. It’s not the one with the most experience. It’s not the one with the slickest advertising, the one who dances the best themselves, the one with the most Facebook “likes”, the best looking one, or the most expensive one. The right teacher is the one that resonates with YOU. The one who can communicate with you clearly, in many different ways (just in case you don’t understand the first two, three or twenty ways they tried to explain). It’s the one who encourages you and makes you remember WHY you’re dancing in the first place. Hell, start off with finding one who spends most of their time TEACHING rather than dancing for themselves. Hire a TEACHER, not a dancer. Not that they’re mutually exclusive, but as an example, look at the best head coaches in any given sport. I guarantee you that none of them would make it as a professional player in those sports. But that’s another blog post altogether in the making….

5. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Are you having FUN?

I say this all the time. Dancing NEEDS to be fun. Why? Because that’s what it was invented for. Before competitions, performances, or even classes….people moved their body to the music to express themselves, to connect with others and to ENJOY it. But that’s not even the reason why I say it’s so important to be having fun. Here’s why. Have you ever tried going on a diet? Like a serious one? One where you decide, NO MORE CHOCOLATE. NO MORE MCDONALD’S. NO MORE THIS OR THAT. Instead, I’m eating salads, veggies, wheatgrass and other green stuff only. How long did that last for? I’m betting not very long. Chocolate, on the other hand…that’s EASY to eat. It’s easy to KEEP eating. Why? Because it’s FUN (read delicious). The best way to make sure you get better FASTER is to do it as much as possible, for as long as possible. The best way to do THAT is to make sure you’re having fun while you’re doing it.

If you’re ticking all those boxes; i.e. You’re spending as much time as you can practising, you have a realistic and reasonable definition of what “good” is, you have some previous experience that helps (music, movement), you have the right teacher, and you’re having fun, then the question won’t be “How long will it take?”, like you’re a child in the backseat on a road trip asking if we’re there yet. There won’t BE any need for that question, because now you can just relax and enjoy the journey!

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First though, let me explain why I chose these particular salsa songs for beginners!

1. They aren’t too fast. Some Salsa songs are really fast, and obviously, this makes it very difficult for beginners to focus on the music, while they’re still focusing on their steps.

2. They aren’t too “busy”. Some salsa songs can SOUND faster than they actually are! I call these “busy” Salsa songs…the tempo (BPM) isn’t particularly fast, but it’s deceiving due to the multiple layers of percussion rhythms playing simultaneously, not to mention other instruments!

3. They have one or two clear and easy-to-hear instruments that make it easier for beginners to match their steps to.

4. They don’t feature half-bars (changes from count 1 to count 5), drop offs or solos (when all the instruments stop except for one lone instrument)

They’re commonly played at Salsa Parties. Knowing these songs well can give you the inside track!

So, here goes….my list (in no particular order)

1. Fragilidad – Milagros Pineda

2. Chin Chon Chow – Louie Ramirez

3. Mambo Diablo – Tito Puente

4. Nabori – Lucky 7 Mambo

5. La Llave – Grupo Latin Vibe

6. Nino Africano – Yuri Buenaventura

7. Caminando – La Excelencia

8. Yamulemau – Joe Arroyo

9. Ay Mi Maria – Bloque 53

10. El Timba Hermano – DJ Timba

The Salsa Foundation (www.TheSalsaFoundation.com.au) FREE Beginners Salsa Classes in Melbourne, Australia”

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