Salsa Beginners Move No.15: Crossbody lead with a left hook turn

Ladies Salsa Shine

Salsa Beginners Move No.14: left turn in a haste, bounced off the waist

Salsa Beginners Move No. 13: many a hook, between the flick and the tuck

Salsa Beginners Move No.12: rounding off infinity

Salsa Beginners Move No.11: neck roll flip

Salsa Beginners Move No.10: drop - catch - spin

Salsa Beginners Move No.9: 'look ma, no hands!'

Salsa Beginners Moves. Vol.1 Ep.8

Salsa Beginners Moves. Vol.1 Ep.7

Salsa Beginners Moves. Vol. 1 Ep. 6

Salsa Beginners Moves. Vol. 1 Ep. 5

Salsa Beginners Moves. Vol. 1 Ep. 4

Salsa Beginners Moves. Vol. 1 Ep. 3

Salsa Beginners Moves. Vol. 1 Ep. 2

Salsa Beginners Moves. Vol. 1 Ep. 1

Salsa Concepts: Reverse Cross Body Lead

For some reason, most of the basic (travelling) Salsa concepts favour movement from a single direction. The lady’s left and man’s right -- the movement for either gender may not necessarily be co-related.

I believe it is important for beginners to explore movement from either side of the ‘line’ of dancing; especially men. Women do get the opportunity to travel / turn across both sides, but generally movement for men remains lop-sided. Consciously creating patterns from either side can help men add at least 30% more variation to their partner-work and make them a lot more unpredictable (hopefully).

There isn’t any content available on the internet -- either via videos or literature -- on the Reverse Cross Body Lead (RCBL). Even in the classroom, most instructors don’t specifically focus on the RCBL, unless it is built into a pattern.

Here is an attempt to fundamentally break down the footwork for the RCBL. Rather than keeping the footwork (for men) as a mirror image to the Cross Body Lead (CBL), a variation has been attempted by yours truly.

How to:

For simplicity of understanding and execution, the RCBL is almost a mirror image of the CBL.

Women’s Footwork:

(1,2,3): Regular back basic

5: Step forward with left foot

6: Step forward with right foot

7: Pivot 180 degrees over the right shoulder and end with left foot next to the right

Men’s Footwork:

1: Step with left towards the lady (regular step)

2: Right foot shifts out to the left side (behind the left leg or even surpassing it as the case may be)

3: Left foot moves next to right. Ensure  you continue to face the lady; however, the frame / feet do not create any obstruction for the lady

5: Step back with the right foot (tagging the lady for the RCBL lead)

6: Shift the left foot (to the right) and attempt to get the feet back in to the line of dancing

7: Pivot 180 degrees on the left foot as you slide the right foot back (right foot finishes next to left)

This variation in footwork for men helps create a different angle for the lead (less predictability), makes the movement sharper (adds finesse), and assists in adding more push / pull variations (integrates concepts better).

There isn’t much to tinker around with the women’s footwork, considering the lead serves as a means to an end (execution).

Salsa Concepts: Cross Body Lead

The Cross Body Lead (CBL) sets up the stage for dancers to move about and use their dancing space well. All the travelling concepts build on the CBL. The most important characteristic of the CBL is its linearity, which clearly helps the novice dancers distinguish between On1/On2 dancing as opposed the more circular movement of the Cuban style.

How to:

The execution for the CBL differs for men and women. The man will first turn away from the lady, and she will walk “across” and pivot later. This results in the lady passing briefly in front of the man, giving the Cross Body Lead its name.

In terms of execution the CBL is simpler for the women than it is for men. However given the frequency with which men get to practically use the CBL while dancing it somewhat makes it the most important figure for the men.

Attached image helps visually understand the footwork both for the men and women.

Women’s Footwork:

(1,2,3): regular back basic

5: lady steps forward with left foot

6: Lady steps forward with right foot

7: lady pivots 180 degrees over the left shoulder and ends with left foot next to the right.

Pointers:

Don’t be eager to jump forward for the CBL unless you are absolutely sure of the man’s lead

Counts 5 and 6 are two progressive short steps

Avoid pivoting until count 7 to keep your movements sharp and to avoid any confusion of direction

Men’s Footwork:

1: step with left towards the lady (regular step)

2: right foot shifts out to the side | pivot on the foot to come in perpendicular to the lady’s frame

3: left foot next to right | finish the pivot from count 2 and end up outside the lady’s frame completely perpendicular to her frame.

5: check step (right foot almost in place)

6: lift the left foot and move it pointing towards the left from the existing position

7: resolution (right foot finishes next to left)

Pointers:

While stepping out on count 2 ensure not to step too far out

Avoid going to far back on count 5. The closer it remain to the left leg, the better.

On count 6 the left leg trails the distance the partner has travelled (however, distance can always be controlled by the resistance between partners)