PHEW! We finally made it out of the pirouette portion of the challenge. And it was just that, a challenge….for ALL of us. Trust me, those things aren’t easy for me either. I am not a trained dancer, but NOW I go to classes to get trained and that is the best thing I have ever done for my dancing.
Ok, so the cross body lead is likely the FIRST salsa turn you ever learned. And I am pretty sure you use it about 735689909 times in every single song that you dance. For precisely that reason, it is important to give the cross body lead some focused training attention. It is ESSENTIAL for dancing salsa. You really can’t dance salsa without it. After over 7 years of dancing salsa I STILL train this little devil of a turn. Now, I like to focus on my technique, sharpness and creativity in the cross body lead. This is a great place to experiment with different footwork syncopations and musicality within partnerwork dance. For the purpose of the challenge, you don’t need to show any variations on the footwork, but I offer two syncopation examples for you to try. I will upload a more close-up video after this one.
Remember:
- You should still be spotting, even though it is a half turn.
- Turn out the feet, especially on the foot that pivots for the cross body lead.
- Bring your feet together after the turn. Work on your footwork being clean, precise and tight. No sloppy basics or cross body leads.
- Don’t forget the “hold your shirt” trick if your arms are going crazy.
- Don’t look down. Have fun and give the syncopations a try if you like. If not, just rock out on the cross body lead. Don’t brush off the fundamental stuff. If you can make the fundamentals look amazing, well thats really what makes you an advanced dancers.
So…get to it! Shoes are@burjushoes “La Alemana.” Keepin’ it funky fresh. I am pretty sure all the people that go to my gym think I am crazy whenever I put on my 4″ stilettos at the gym to make these videos! Hahaha! All in the name of salsa! #salsaspins #salsachallenge #doyouburju #salsastilettos #dance #danceeveryday
Written by: Isabel Freibeiger
Video by: Isabel Frieberger
