Salsa - dance courses in Havana and Santiago
Salsa is an attitude to life. And there is hardly any other country like Cuba where you can experience this firsthand. Just like it is best to learn a language in the country where it is spoken, salsa can be learned best where parts of its roots are. Salsa itself is a universal language, which does not need any words and which does not know any frontiers. Nowadays, salsa is danced in many parts of the world and it is a beautiful form of communication. It lives from the contact with a counterpart. And if you have considered salsa mere technical step sequences, you will notice in Cuba that dancing involves something completely different. (Which doesn't mean, that a good technique isn't important as well.)
Apart from the technique, our courses deal a lot with "movimiento". This refers to the isolated movement of separate parts of your body, like for example shoulders or hips. Isolation is a vital component of many dances. Salsa without movimiento doesn't leave room for improvisation. And if you have watched a Cuban dancing, you might have noticed that they dance a lot of spontaneous excursions on the basis of dance sequences, and this adds zest to the whole thing. It is not easy learn this in the case of people who haven't grown up in the Caribbean. But the practise of these movements makes the body lithesome and by and by it even makes a simple basic step look more elegant.
When you arrive in Cuba, you will meet plenty of people on the streets who pretend to be Salsa teachers with lots of experience. Every hotel offers Salsa courses on a level of animation. Accordingly, almost every travel organiser includes "salsa" in the programme. We have had quite a hard time to find good Salsa teachers. Maybe the reason for it are our high expectations. We expect from a teacher that he or she teaches on a good or very good technical level, that a Non-Cuban understands the Salsa material taught and -of course- that he or she is reliable and punctual. We would love our teachers to be able to speak English, but maybe that would be a tall order. Besides, it is not really necessary. Our experience of the last 13 years as an organiser with an own programme of dance journeys has shown that the non-verbal communication in Cuba is excellent.
The classes usually take place in the afternoon in a cultural centre in the centre of Havana. Every participant dances with a male or female Cuban dance partner. In Santiago, you dance with your dance teacher. This means 2 hours (120 min.) of very intense dancing! The courses take place all year Monday to Friday (in Santiago every day) and you can start any time you wish after having made your application. Usually the classes are taught in small groups of 3-6 persons. When travelling on your own, you will probably meet other people in class you might want to join when, for example, going out at night.
Because of the individual dance partners, intensive training on any level is possible. This applies to professionals as to beginners. Don't worry, if you have never danced salsa before: The Cubans are happy about every European who travels to their country in order to learn salsa. And they have a lot of patience!
If you already have some basic knowledge, if you have danced for years already, or if you have even given classes yourself, then you will receive new inspiration during the individual class.
Apart from the individual dance partners, there is also Caruca in Havana! And even if she shouldn't be present, the classes guarantee top quality.