A recommended way to do the Salsa lessons in Iphone/Touch

When you start - at least at the beginning level - you should realize that you will be exposed to something that perhaps you have seen before, but not tried as much in person. Just as any form of learning new material, it is a bit frustrating and confusing at first and that is to be expected. Review the video several times and "read read read" the descriptions - You'll be amazed how you learn something new every time you watch or read the material. Do not overload yourself with the course trying to "mimic" everything in one hour. If you have not realized, people take a couple of months to just learn maybe up to 10 moves, so there is no use trying to push yourself beyond your limits. It is not wise to jump straight to Vol 2 and 3 without having a good grasp of Vol 1. It would feel like trying to do a marathon without the proper training phase. You will actually get more frustrated with yourself or partner and even blame the application for not transforming you into a Salsa dancer. Remember to take your time. Start with one or two lessons per day. Practice all the time. Find your "sweet" spot when it comes to balance, weight distribution, coordination, and timing. Once you reach that point, try adding some styling - coordinate your steps with a shoulder shake or hip rotation. Again do it settle maintaining a good flow and making sure it would fit with your personality and dance floor attitude.

These lessons were created in a systematic way - meaning that the next lesson will be slightly harder than the previous one. What we are trying to do is to give you a good foundation that you will later apply to develop your own moves and patterns. And trust me you will. Once you realize how 90% of the dancing falls within a small number of core footwork for the follower, you will be able to design different "leading angles" while dancing. This simply means that the Leader is able to lead a particular move (e.g. Outside Turn) from different positions relative to the follower, using different hand hold or frame connection, and with the option of including self-turns in either direction. If it happened to us, it will happen to you. The key words though are patience, time and practice.

Site: http://www.latindancefactory.com/iphone

Cheers and happy dancing,

Christian

From concept to design: Open Letter

Dear all,

After a long, hardworking but fun period of development, one my earlier visions have finally come to life! Thanks to the magic of technology, we are introducing for the very first time a Salsa Interactive Application to download into your iPhone or Ipod Touch = "iTouch =)". At your fingertips you will have access to over 70 moves beautifully arranged in three different volumes ranging from Beginner to Advanced Level. Volume 1 is free and covers the basics - 19 figures. Volume 2 is $6.99 and cover intermediate moves - 27 figures. Volume 3 is $6.99 and covers advanced moves - 27 figures. Each figure contains a video demonstration and breakdown - just like i do in class - and a detailed text description of its execution including tips for modifying the figure, avoiding common pitfalls and linking them to other moves. In essence this is a great reference guide to take with you at all times - on the go, on breaks, at the dance floor. No need for DVD players or disks, as long as you have your device, you will get to it.

The reason why I have chosen the iPhone rather than DVD is because of the large ecosystem that this device is exposed to - The iPhone is available in over 30 countries and the number of people adopting this device is growing every day! The applications went live last night at the iTunes App Store and already some of the first customers thanked me for putting this together. These customers were from Florida, Illinois, France and Ireland! So in a sense, my classroom has grown from my living room to the rest of the world - and that is just amazing and incredible!

Never in my wildest dreams i would imaging God blessing me this way through Salsa. I'm thankful for the friends that I was able to meet and will meet and for the things I have been able to do. I also like to thank each one of you that stepped into my class because you have given me the chance to explore and develop a talent that I didn't know I have and your support helped me make all of this possible. Special thanks also goes to Miriam, my assistant that helped me with the project from day one.

I hope you enjoy this application as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Now you have no excuse! You can learn how to Salsa =)

To learn more please visit: http://www.latindancefactory.com/iphone

and please help us spread the word around - via word of mouth, email, facebook myspace or twitter

See you in class, dance floor, or your iphone/itouch =)

God Bless

Christian

Benefits of Dancing

La Solucion para todos los Problemas es la Salsa - Frankie Ruiz

Is the solution to all Problems is Dancing Salsa? Frankie Ruiz thought so. You may not realize it, but when you dance, you are engaging into a physical and emotional therapy. You are participating in being friendly, humble, and positive. Remember that this is an activity to be enjoyed, to let the stress out and have fun. 

For the Body - Dancing lets you engage in continuous body movement, which in turn stimulates and fortifies muscles and bones and enhances your coordination. For the Mind - Learning any form of dance patterns challenges and sharpens your mind as it forced to memorize and remember a series of routines and transitions between moves. For the soul - When dancing, the movements of your body reveal the capacity to understand and connect to another person, it brings you close to your partner, your significant other, and your classmates. 

Aside from burning up to 10 calories a minute, enhancing your endurance and helping you reach and maintain a healthy body weight, dancing let's you break the monotony and boredom of daily routine, gain more confidence in yourself and the ability to meet new people and in getting acquainted. Dancing serves as an outlet for self-expression.

Back to http://www.latindancefactory.com/ A site dedicated to sharing the amazing Latin American Dance Culture with dancers of all ages and backgrounds. For salsa classes and dancing in Houston, Pearland, and surronding areas, check our calendar of classes and events! Cheers!